Subaru Forester 2019–2024 problems by year and mileage
5th generation (SK)
NHTSA data through 24 September 20261,841 complaints, 800 with mileageMethod
Which year is yours? Tap it to see what breaks on it.
The 2019 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- 8,500 mi
- Complaints filed
- 833
- Recalls naming this year
- 3
At least 40% of the complaints about the 2019 were filed after 2020, and most complaints filed since then carry no odometer reading. The median here rests on the earlier reports and likely understates the mileage these failures happen at.
Most reported on the 2019
- Visibility/wiper370 reports · median 8,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise144 reports · median 6,500 mi
- Electrical system134 reports · median 8,500 mi
3 recall campaigns name the 2019: Suspension — rear; Engine and engine cooling — exhaust system; Steering — electric power assist system. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2020 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- 6,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 601
- Recalls naming this year
- 0
Most reported on the 2020
- Visibility/wiper252 reports · median 5,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise107 reports · median 6,000 mi
- Electrical system102 reports
The 2021 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- 8,000 mi
- Complaints filed
- 207
- Recalls naming this year
- 0
Most reported on the 2021
- Visibility/wiper76 reports
- Problems owners could not categorise41 reports
- Electrical system33 reports
The 2022 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- too few reports to time
- Complaints filed
- 98
- Recalls naming this year
- 1
Most reported on the 2022
- Visibility/wiper20 reports
- Problems owners could not categorise18 reports
- Forward collision avoidance15 reports
1 recall campaign names the 2022: Power train — automatic transmission. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2023 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- too few reports to time
- Complaints filed
- 73
- Recalls naming this year
- 1
Most reported on the 2023
- Problems owners could not categorise20 reports
- Forward collision avoidance13 reports
- Visibility/wiper11 reports
1 recall campaign names the 2023: Power train — driveline. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
The 2024 Subaru Forester
Close- Median failure report
- too few reports to time
- Complaints filed
- 29
- Recalls naming this year
- 2
Most reported on the 2024
- Problems owners could not categorise9 reports
- Airbag system7 reports
- Visibility/wiper5 reports
2 recall campaigns name the 2024: Power train — driveline; Engine and engine cooling. Not every car in a campaign is affected — check the VIN at NHTSA. Recall repairs are free.
Each tile shows the median mileage at which that model year’s failures were reported. † marks a year whose median likely understates the mileage: much of its reporting came after 2020, when most complaints stopped recording an odometer reading. The 2019 reports latest and the 2020 earliest, but part of that gap is age: the 2019 has had 1 more year on the road to accumulate mileage. 3 of these years carry fewer than 30 reports with an odometer reading and show no median at all, rather than one computed from a handful.
The short answer
“Is the 2019–2024 Subaru Forester reliable?”
- Median of reported failures
- 7,000 mi
- 90% of reports came by
- 30,000 mi
- Reports with mileage
- 800
- Recalls
- 6
At least 40% of this generation’s complaints were filed after 2020, and most complaints filed since then carry no odometer reading, so the median likely understates the mileage these failures happen at.
Most reported
- Visibility/wiper39.9% of complaints · median 6,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise18.4% of complaints · median 6,000 mi
- Electrical system15.6% of complaints · median 6,000 mi
Documented problems
- Fuel Pump2019
- Glass2019–2024
- Electrical2019–2024
- Powertrain (generation Context)2019–2024
Owners filed 1,841 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019–2024 Subaru Forester; visibility/wiper leads with 39.9% of them, and half of the 800 that record an odometer reading came by 7,000 miles. A count like this can’t rate reliability on its own: NHTSA records what owners chose to report, not how many of each car were sold.
69% of complaints that record mileage fall within the first 12,000 miles, against 2.3 reports per 1,000 miles between 20,000 and 80,000. On a generation this new that is expected: few examples have been driven further yet, so the timing says little about design or wear so far.
Before-you-buy checklist ↓At your mileage ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
How many miles does a 2019–2024 Subaru Forester last?
The newest model years (2024) are too young to have reached high mileage; most reports with an odometer reading come from the earlier years of the generation.
Complaint records can’t measure how long a car lasts; they show when reported failures happened. On the 2019–2024 Subaru Forester, half of the 800 complaints that record an odometer reading were filed by 7,000 miles and 90% by 30,000 miles.
Figure 1 · Subaru Forester 2019–2024 · 800 reports with mileage
Mileage at failure
Complaints per 10,000-mile bin, 0 to 200,000 miles, equal bins on a linear scale. Tallest bar = 483 complaints.
- First 12,000 miles — 69% of all failures
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 10%
- 650
- 25%
- 2,500
- Median
- 7,150
- 75%
- 15,000
- 90%
- 30,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10,000 | 483 | 60.4% |
| 10,000–20,000 | 169 | 21.1% |
| 20,000–30,000 | 68 | 8.5% |
| 30,000–40,000 | 38 | 4.8% |
| 40,000–50,000 | 10 | 1.2% |
| 50,000–60,000 | 9 | 1.1% |
| 60,000–70,000 | 9 | 1.1% |
| 70,000–80,000 | 5 | 0.6% |
| 80,000–90,000 | 3 | 0.4% |
| 90,000–100,000 | 1 | 0.1% |
| 100,000–110,000 | 1 | 0.1% |
| 110,000–120,000 | 2 | 0.2% |
| 120,000–130,000 | 1 | 0.1% |
| 130,000–140,000 | 1 | 0.1% |
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain. Complaint counts reflect what owners reported and are not a measure of failure rate per vehicle sold.
What this can and cannot tell you: these are complaints owners chose to file, not a failure rate. Popular models accumulate more of them simply by being common. How this is built.
Common Forester problems, and when they happen
Figure 2 · Subaru Forester 2019–2024
When each system fails
Bar spans the middle half of reports; the notch inside each bar is the median. Miles at failure on a proportional scale — equal distances are equal ratios, not equal miles.
- Visibility/wiper734 reports6,0002,000–11,000Visibility/wiper: 734 reports, median 6,000 miles, middle half 2,000 to 11,000 miles.
- Electrical system287 reports6,0001,000–20,000Electrical system: 287 reports, median 6,000 miles, middle half 1,000 to 20,000 miles.
- Problems owners could not categorise339 reports6,0002,000–14,000Problems owners could not categorise: 339 reports, median 6,000 miles, middle half 2,000 to 14,000 miles.
- Transmission and driveline92 reports11,0003,000–27,000Transmission and driveline: 92 reports, median 11,000 miles, middle half 3,000 to 27,000 miles.
- Forward collision avoidance135 reports13,0005,000–24,000Forward collision avoidance: 135 reports, median 13,000 miles, middle half 5,000 to 24,000 miles.
- Visibility equipment106 reports14,0006,000–29,000Visibility equipment: 106 reports, median 14,000 miles, middle half 6,000 to 29,000 miles.
- Engine234 reports23,0006,500–36,000Engine: 234 reports, median 23,000 miles, middle half 6,500 to 36,000 miles.
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it in “Where your car sits”
Ordered by median mileage, earliest first. The first 12,000 miles are shaded: that is the boundary this site uses between a manufacturing defect and ordinary wear, not a property of the world.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
All systems in a table
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility/wiper | 734 | 39.9% | 6,000 | 2,000–11,000 |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 339 | 18.4% | 6,000 | 2,000–14,000 |
| Electrical system | 287 | 15.6% | 6,000 | 1,000–20,000 |
| Engine | 234 | 12.7% | 23,000 | 6,500–36,000 |
| Forward collision avoidance | 135 | 7.3% | 13,000 | 5,000–24,000 |
| Visibility equipment | 106 | 5.8% | 14,000 | 6,000–29,000 |
| Transmission and driveline | 92 | 5.0% | 11,000 | 3,000–27,000 |
| Throttle and speed control | 79 | 4.3% | 12,000 | 2,500–26,000 |
| Brakes | 58 | 3.2% | 12,000 | 9,000–22,000 |
| Lane departure | 54 | 2.9% | — | — |
System by system, in words
Complaints about this generation are not spread evenly across the vehicle, and the systems that generate the most of them do not all fail at the same point in a car's life. The median failure across all systems here is 7,000 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
Visibility/wiper accounts for 39.9% of complaints (734 reports, 416 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 6,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 2,000 and 11,000 miles.
A single system taking 39.9% of all complaints is a concentration worth noting. It means that for this generation, most of what owners reported came back to one area of the car rather than being distributed across many small faults.
Problems owners could not categorise accounts for 18.4% of complaints (339 reports, 114 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 6,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 2,000 and 14,000 miles.
The electrical system accounts for 15.6% of complaints (287 reports, 67 of them with a mileage figure), with a median of 6,000 miles, close to the vehicle's overall pattern. The middle half of these reports falls between 1,000 and 20,000 miles.
The engine accounts for 12.7% of complaints (234 reports, 33 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 23,000 miles, considerably beyond the vehicle's overall median. That pattern is consistent with normal service life rather than a defect, though it matters for anyone buying an example already near that mileage. The middle half of these reports falls between 6,500 and 36,000 miles.
Forward collision avoidance accounts for 7.3% of complaints (135 reports, 19 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 13,000 miles, considerably beyond the vehicle's overall median. That pattern is consistent with normal service life rather than a defect, though it matters for anyone buying an example already near that mileage. The middle half of these reports falls between 5,000 and 24,000 miles.
Visibility equipment accounts for 5.8% of complaints (106 reports, 97 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 14,000 miles, considerably beyond the vehicle's overall median. That pattern is consistent with normal service life rather than a defect, though it matters for anyone buying an example already near that mileage. The middle half of these reports falls between 6,000 and 29,000 miles.
Known problems with the 2019–2024 Forester
Fuel Pump 2019
Denso low-pressure fuel pump impeller can crack and deform, causing the pump to fail and the engine to stall without warning; NHTSA recall covering MY2019 Subaru vehicles including the Forester.
Glass 2019–2024
Continued windshield cracking complaints from minor impacts.
Electrical 2019–2024
Parasitic 12V battery drain producing repeat no-start conditions, frequently associated with infotainment and telematics modules failing to sleep.
Powertrain (generation Context) 2019–2024
The turbocharged option disappeared entirely for the US market in this generation, and no manual transmission was offered. Every US 2019-2024 Forester is FB25D plus CVT, which makes this generation unusually homogeneous for analysis. A MY2022 facelift added the Wilderness trim.
Before you buy a 2019–2024 Forester: the 3-minute check
Generated from 800 mileage-tagged complaints, 6 recall campaigns, 4 documented problem areas. Print this page — the checklist survives print.
- Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. 6 campaigns cover this generation; an open recall is a free repair you can make the seller's problem.
- Ask for visibility/wiper repair records. Reports on this area come at a median of 6,000 miles — a newer example may not have reached that mileage yet, so ask what was repaired under warranty and what the warranty still covers.
- Ask for problems owners could not categorise repair records. Reports on this area come at a median of 6,000 miles — a newer example may not have reached that mileage yet, so ask what was repaired under warranty and what the warranty still covers.
- Check fuel pump on 2019 cars. Denso low-pressure fuel pump impeller can crack and deform, causing the pump to fail and the engine to stall without warning; NHTSA recall covering MY2019 Subaru vehicles including the Forester.
- Check glass on 2019–2024 cars. Continued windshield cracking complaints from minor impacts.
- Check electrical on 2019–2024 cars. Parasitic 12V battery drain producing repeat no-start conditions, frequently associated with infotainment and telematics modules failing to sleep.
- Complaint reports are not spread evenly across model years here — see the by-model-year table below before you settle on a year.
- End with a pre-purchase inspection of this car. Aggregate data describes the population; the example in front of you has its own history.
For a buyer of a newer example: 69% of the reported failures occur in the first 12,000 miles, and many of these cars have not covered that yet. The early window may still be ahead, so check what the factory warranty still covers and whether any recall on the VIN is open.
On inspection, visibility/wiper and problems owners could not categorise are where this generation's reports concentrate, so those are the areas worth a specific look. Visibility/wiper in particular shows a median failure mileage of 6,000, which gives a concrete number to compare against the odometer of any car you are considering.
None of this is a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection on the individual car. Aggregate patterns describe a population; the example in front of you has its own history.
Forester problems by mileage: where your car sits
Type your odometer reading, or read the common mileages in the table. Your marker lands on the timing chart above and on the curve below.
| System | Middle half of reports, mi | At 60k mi97% below | At 90k mi99% below | At 120k mi100% below | At 150k mi100% below | At 200k mi100% below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility/wiper | 2,000–11,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 2,000–14,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Electrical system | 1,000–20,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Engine | 6,500–36,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Forward collision avoidance | 5,000–24,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Visibility equipment | 6,000–29,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
| Transmission and driveline | 3,000–27,000 | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier | earlier |
Figure 3 · Subaru Forester 2019–2024 · 800 reports with mileage
Share of reports below each mileage
Share of mileage-tagged reports filed at or below each odometer reading. Steps rise only at bin edges, by exact counted shares.
- 60,000 mi — 97% of reports below
- 90,000 mi — 99% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 100% of reports below
- 150,000 mi — 100% of reports below
- 200,000 mi — 100% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it above
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
2019–2024 Subaru Forester recalls (6)
NHTSA records 6 recall campaigns covering vehicles in this generation. A recall means the manufacturer or the regulator concluded there was a safety defect or a standard was not met, and that a free remedy is owed to owners — including second and later owners.
The campaigns cluster around the transmission and driveline (2), the engine and its cooling system (2), the suspension (1). Several campaigns against one area can mean a remedy that did not hold, or separate defects in parts filed under the same heading; the summaries below name each defect.
Recall status is specific to the individual vehicle, not the model. Checking a VIN against NHTSA's lookup is free and takes under a minute, and it is the only way to know whether a particular car has had the work done.
Nov 2023 · 2022 · Power TrainAn inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera…
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.
What can happen. An inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Dealers will replace the inhibitor switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for…
Nov 2023 · 2023–2024 · Power TrainA broken driveshaft can cause a loss of drive power while driving or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is in…
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2024 Crosstrek, Impreza, 2023-2024 Forester, and 2023 WRX vehicles. The front driveshaft assemblies' outer race may develop cracks and break.
What can happen. A broken driveshaft can cause a loss of drive power while driving or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is in park without the parking brake engaged. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of…
The free fix. Dealers will inspect and replace the left and right front driveshafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru's customer…
Oct 2023 · 2024 · Engine and Engine CoolingLeaking coolant can contact a hot exhaust pipe, increasing the risk of a fire.
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2024 Forester vehicles. The engine water pipe may have loose attachment bolts, allowing the pipe to lose its seal and leak coolant.
What can happen. Leaking coolant can contact a hot exhaust pipe, increasing the risk of a fire.
The free fix. Subaru’s independent distributor processing facilities will tighten the water pipe attachment bolts. The affected vehicles have not been delivered to dealers or sold to owners and therefore, no owner…
Apr 2021 · 2019 · SuspensionMissing bolts may allow the rear stabilizer bracket to shift, increasing the risk of a crash.
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Subaru Crosstrek, 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and 2019 Forester vehicles. The rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and detach.
What can happen. Missing bolts may allow the rear stabilizer bracket to shift, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will retorque and replace any missing bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at…
Dec 2019 · 2019 · Engine and Engine CoolingAn unexpected loss of power while driving can increase the risk of a crash.
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Crosstrek, Forester, and Ascent vehicles. The aluminum Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve can separate, allowing the separated components to enter the engine, resulting in a loss of power…
What can happen. An unexpected loss of power while driving can increase the risk of a crash.
The free fix. Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the PCV valve, free of charge. If the PCV valve has separated and the components cannot be found, the short block engine will be…
Feb 2019 · 2019 · SteeringLoss of power steering assist would require higher steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
The defect. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Forester and Crosstrek vehicles. A connector inside the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) unit may short circuit resulting in a loss of electric power steering assistance.
What can happen. Loss of power steering assist would require higher steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
The free fix. None of the affected vehicles have been sold yet. Subaru has notified dealers and they will inspect the steering gearbox, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 7, 2019.…
Crashes, fires and injuries owners reported
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 1,841 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 99 (5.4%)
- Fires
- 36
- Injury reports
- 42
- Fatality reports
- 1
These flags are self-reported by complainants and unverified by NHTSA; one report can carry several flags, so the counts overlap and do not sum to a total. They are not adjusted for how many of these vehicles are on the road. No chart is drawn here on purpose: overlapping counts spanning very different magnitudes cannot be honestly encoded as lengths.
Forester problems by model year
The 2019 drew the most complaints of this generation, 833, most of them about visibility/wiper, and the 2024 the fewest, 29. A typical year drew about 152.
That makes the 2019 stand out at roughly 5.5 times a typical year. A count like this follows how many cars of each year were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as how often they failed, so it is not by itself evidence of a worse year; what each year's reports name, in its card and row, is the useful part.
| Year | Complaints | With mileage | Median miles | Most reported | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 833 | 468 | 8,500† | Visibility/wiper (370) | 3 |
| 2020 | 601 | 272 | 6,000 | Visibility/wiper (252) | 0 |
| 2021 | 207 | 37 | 8,000 | Visibility/wiper (76) | 0 |
| 2022 | 98 | 14 | under 30 reports | Visibility/wiper (20) | 1 |
| 2023 | 73 | 8 | under 30 reports | Problems owners could not categorise (20) | 1 |
| 2024 | 29 | 1 | under 30 reports | Problems owners could not categorise (9) | 2 |
What Forester owners reported
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the engine revved loudly, the vehicle continued to accelerate and collided with the rear of a…
2019 · 80,000 miles · Forward collision avoidance
The contact owned a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated, and the Forward Collision Avoidance system was inoperative, causing the front center of the vehicle to crash into five other vehicles while trying to stop the vehicle. The air…
2023 · 15,000 miles · Forward collision avoidance
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while trying to roll up vehicle windows from driver sits and passenger sit they would roll up to 3/4th all the way up and they would roll back down after. The contact stated this was a recurring event. The dealer was aware of failure and diagnosed issue…
2021 · 22,000 miles · Electrical system
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed inhibitor switch. The contact was informed that the inhibitor switch needed to be replaced. The…
2022 · 51,000 miles · Transmission and driveline
Built from 800 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-09-26 · open data · how it is built
Other Forester generations
- Forester 1998–2002 230 reports with mileage, most about the transmission and driveline
- Forester 2003–2008 582 reports with mileage, most about the fuel and propulsion system
- Forester 2009–2013 539 reports with mileage, most about the engine
- Forester 2014–2018 1,488 reports with mileage, most about the airbag system