Coscienzios

Model years to avoid

Subaru Forester

What it says about you

Opinion

Excellent visibility, no styling to speak of, and you chose it because you could see out of it. Everyone who drives yours comments on the greenhouse and you feel vindicated every time.

Not measured, not from the data, and offered in fun. Everything below this is not.

22 model years on record, 5,498 complaints filed.

The years to look at closely: 2020 (control valve), 2019 (engine light), 2018 (windshield), 2017 (windshield), 2016 (key), 2015 (coil), 2014 (coil). Everything else drew a normal number of complaints for this model.

What owners report, and when

Faults that dominated the complaints of more than one model year. Not the same question as which year to avoid — a car can have an ordinary number of complaints every year and have most of them be about the same thing.

  • windshield 2017, 2018 peak 36.3% of that year's complaints
  • tank 2011, 2025 peak 12.5% of that year's complaints

Every year

  1. 2026 3 recalls 14 complaints
  2. 2025 3 recalls 88 complaints
  3. 2024 2 recalls 28 complaints
  4. 2023 1 recall 73 complaints
  5. 2022 1 recall 95 complaints
  6. 2021 0 recalls 207 complaints
  7. 2020 control valve 594 complaints
  8. 2019 engine light 831 complaints
  9. 2018 windshield 491 complaints
  10. 2017 windshield 580 complaints
  11. 2016 key 409 complaints
  12. 2015 coil 613 complaints
  13. 2014 coil 403 complaints
  14. 2013 12 recalls 77 complaints
  15. 2012 15 recalls 105 complaints
  16. 2011 16 recalls 147 complaints
  17. 2010 17 recalls 262 complaints
  18. 2009 18 recalls 178 complaints
  19. 2008 1 recall 50 complaints
  20. 2007 1 recall 72 complaints
  21. 2006 2 recalls 88 complaints
  22. 2005 1 recall 93 complaints

What does a Subaru Forester say about you?

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Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints — compared against itself rather than against other cars, so popularity and age do not decide the answer.