2005 Subaru Forester: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 105 complaints
105
Total Complaints
80,000mi
Median Mileage
SUSPENSION
Top Issue
23
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

41,600 25th Percentile
80,000 Median Mileage
135,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION
18
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
16
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
14
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
7
AIR BAGS
4
SERVICE BRAKES
4
STRUCTURE:BODY
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
3
POWER TRAIN
3
ENGINE
3

Severity Assessment

23
Crashes
1
Fires
15
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FIRST COLD DAY, PUT ON WIPER DE-ICER. PEBBLE HIT WINDSHIELD AT DE-ICER LEVEL AND WINDSHIELD CRACKED (1,800 MILES ON CAR). *JB"
"MY 2005 SUBARU FORESTER SUDDENLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN WHILE MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. I HAD TO PUSH REALLY HARD ON THE BRAKES TO AVOID SURGING AHEAD INTO TRAFFIC.*AK"
"MY 2005 SUBARU FORESTER SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AS I APPROACHED A STOPLIGHT. THE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL, THE CLUTCH WAS NOT ENGAGED AND MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE. THE ACCELERATION SUBSIDED AFTER I PLACED THE CAR IN FIRST GEAR AND SLIGHTLY PRESSED ON THE GAS PEDAL MOVING THE CAR FORWARD ABOUT A FOOT. THIS SU..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28