Subaru Forester 2019–2024
5th generation (SK)
NHTSA data through 13 August 20262,460 complaints, 952 with mileageMethod
- Reports with mileage
- 952
- Median of reported failures
- 7,500 mi
- Most-reported system
- Visibility/wiper (29.8%)
- Recalls
- 6
Before-you-buy checklist ↓Check this VIN — NHTSA ↗
On this generation, 69% of complaints that record mileage fall within the first 12,000 miles, against 3 reports per 1,000 miles between 20,000 and 80,000.
Figure 1 · Subaru Forester 2019–2024 · 952 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 = 565 complaints.
- First 12,000 miles — 69% of all failures
- Rest of the range
- Median
- 10%
- 500
- 25%
- 2,100
- Median
- 7,392
- 75%
- 15,000
- 90%
- 30,000
Show the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10,000 | 565 | 59.3% |
| 10,000–20,000 | 207 | 21.7% |
| 20,000–30,000 | 79 | 8.3% |
| 30,000–40,000 | 53 | 5.6% |
| 40,000–50,000 | 15 | 1.6% |
| 50,000–60,000 | 10 | 1.1% |
| 60,000–70,000 | 10 | 1.1% |
| 70,000–80,000 | 5 | 0.5% |
| 80,000–90,000 | 2 | 0.2% |
| 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.
Owners filed 2,460 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019–2024 Subaru Forester, and 952 of them record the mileage at which the failure happened. That is enough to show not just what fails, but when.
69% of complaints that record mileage fall within the first 12,000 miles, against 3 reports per 1,000 miles between 20,000 and 80,000. Failures clustered that early usually indicate a design or manufacturing problem rather than wear.
The most-reported areas are visibility/wiper (29.8% of complaints, typically around 6,000 miles), problems owners could not categorise (13.8% of complaints, typically around 6,000 miles), the electrical system (11.6% of complaints, typically around 6,000 miles).
6 recall campaigns cover this generation.
If you arrived asking “is it reliable?” — this page answers the version of that question the data can support: which problems owners reported, and at what mileage.
How many miles does a 2019–2024 Subaru Forester last?
Half of the failure reports on the 2019–2024 Subaru Forester were filed by 7,500 miles and 90% by 30,000 miles — figures drawn from 952 NHTSA complaints that record an odometer reading, so they time reported failures, not the cars whose owners never filed one.
Before you buy a 2019–2024 Forester: the 3-minute check
Generated from 952 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. This area fails at a median of 6,000 miles — on any car this age it already happened or never will; the question is whether it was fixed under warranty.
- Ask for problems owners could not categorise repair records. This area fails at a median of 6,000 miles — on any car this age it already happened or never will; the question is whether it was fixed under warranty.
- 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, an early-failure pattern is comparatively good news on a used example: 69% of the reported failures occur in the first 12,000 miles, which on a car of this age means they have already happened or they were never going to. Service history matters more than mileage here.
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.
What fails, and when
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 system285 reports6,0001,000–20,000Electrical system: 285 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 driveline91 reports11,0003,000–30,000Transmission and driveline: 91 reports, median 11,000 miles, middle half 3,000 to 30,000 miles.
- Forward collision avoidance181 reports12,0005,000–16,000Forward collision avoidance: 181 reports, median 12,000 miles, middle half 5,000 to 16,000 miles.
- Visibility equipment107 reports14,0006,000–29,000Visibility equipment: 107 reports, median 14,000 miles, middle half 6,000 to 29,000 miles.
- Engine228 reports23,0006,500–36,000Engine: 228 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.
| System | Complaints | Share | Median | 25–75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visibility/wiper | 734 | 29.8% | 6,000 | 2,000–11,000 |
| Problems owners could not categorise | 339 | 13.8% | 6,000 | 2,000–14,000 |
| Electrical system | 285 | 11.6% | 6,000 | 1,000–20,000 |
| Engine | 228 | 9.3% | 23,000 | 6,500–36,000 |
| Forward collision avoidance | 181 | 7.4% | 12,000 | 5,000–16,000 |
| Visibility equipment | 107 | 4.3% | 14,000 | 6,000–29,000 |
| Transmission and driveline | 91 | 3.7% | 11,000 | 3,000–30,000 |
| Throttle and speed control | 78 | 3.2% | 11,000 | 2,500–26,000 |
| Lane departure | 62 | 2.5% | — | — |
| Brakes | 57 | 2.3% | 12,000 | 9,000–22,000 |
Where your car sits
Failure reports by the odometer reading they were filed at. Pick the anchor nearest your car — or type the exact mileage: your marker lands on this curve and on the timing chart above.
Figure 3 · Subaru Forester 2019–2024 · 952 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 — 98% of reports below
- 90,000 mi — 99% of reports below
- 120,000 mi — 100% of reports below
- Median — the staircase crosses the 50% line here
- Your odometer — appears after you enter it below
Nothing is smoothed or interpolated. Linear axis, same as Figure 1.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, public domain.
At 60,000 miles
98% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Visibility/wiper — median 6,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise — median 6,000 mi
- Electrical system — median 6,000 mi
- Engine — median 23,000 mi
- Forward collision avoidance — median 12,000 mi
- Visibility equipment — median 14,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 11,000 mi
At 90,000 miles
99% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Visibility/wiper — median 6,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise — median 6,000 mi
- Electrical system — median 6,000 mi
- Engine — median 23,000 mi
- Forward collision avoidance — median 12,000 mi
- Visibility equipment — median 14,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 11,000 mi
At 120,000 miles
100% of the failure reports on this generation came below this mileage. That describes reports, not your odds.
Reported earlier than this mileage — ask for repair records
- Visibility/wiper — median 6,000 mi
- Problems owners could not categorise — median 6,000 mi
- Electrical system — median 6,000 mi
- Engine — median 23,000 mi
- Forward collision avoidance — median 12,000 mi
- Visibility equipment — median 14,000 mi
- Transmission and driveline — median 11,000 mi
Which systems, and when
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 7,392 miles; the figures below show which parts of the car run ahead of that and which run behind.
Visibility/wiper accounts for 29.8% 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 29.8% 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 13.8% 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 11.6% of complaints (285 reports, 68 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 9.3% of complaints (228 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 7.4% of complaints (181 reports, 21 of them with a mileage figure), and it fails late — a median of 12,000 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 16,000 miles.
Visibility equipment accounts for 4.3% of complaints (107 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.
Differences between model years
Within this generation, complaint volume is not constant across model years. The 2019 model year drew the most — 1,084 complaints — while 2024 drew the fewest at 38. The median year sits at 211.
That makes 2019 an outlier: roughly 5.1 times the median year of this generation. A single year standing that far apart usually reflects either a first-year issue that was later corrected, or a component change introduced for that year. Anyone shopping this generation has a straightforward reason to prefer a different year, all else being equal.
Recalls and what they cover
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). Repeated recalls against the same area of the car generally mean the first remedy did not fully resolve the underlying problem.
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.
Reported severity
What owners reported alongside the failure itself, out of 2,460 complaints against this generation:
- Crashes
- 163 (6.6%)
- Fires
- 66
- Injury reports
- 72
- 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.
Documented problems
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.
By model year
| Year | Complaints | With mileage |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1,084 | 552 |
| 2020 | 804 | 329 |
| 2021 | 285 | 41 |
| 2022 | 138 | 18 |
| 2023 | 111 | 11 |
| 2024 | 38 | 1 |
Recalls (6) — is your car included?
Jan 2024 · 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 this recall is WRQ-23.
Jan 2024 · 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 a crash.
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 service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRP-23.
Nov 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. SubaruÂ’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 notification letters will be sent. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRO-23.
May 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 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRD-21.
Jan 2020 · 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 while driving.
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 replaced, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUW-08.
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. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUC-88.
What owners reported
I leased this car late march 2019 and from day one i smelled a gasoline like odor when turning on the car for the first 5 to 10 min. I've had BMW forn10 years and Subaru is new to me. I thought the smell was normal because it's a 4WD. At my last vehicle service at Subaru i mentioned the smell to them. They ultimately…
2019 · Fuel and propulsion system
Homelink, the in car operation for garage door openers changed creating what i believe to be a hazard. The current version only operates with the ignition on while previous models did not have this requirement. I contacted Subaru and their reply was "working as intended". My point is this, how many people might now…
2019 · 10 miles · Problems owners could not categorise
Windshield is defective and easily damaged. First damaged occurred on november 24, 2019 with 4501 miles driven. A small pebble struck the windshield resulting in a small star burst crack while the car was in motion. Second damaged occurred on march 15, 2020 with 8,651 miles driven. A stress crack from the passenger…
2019 · 15 miles · Visibility/wiper
The homelink garage door opener does not function when the ignition is off. This could be a dangerous situation for a woman, driving into her garage, shutting off the engine, then getting out of the car to walk to the front of the garage where the wall button is located. The driver, knowing that the opener is…
2019 · 20 miles · Electrical system
Built from 952 NHTSA complaints with mileage · snapshot 2026-08-18 · open data · reproduce this page