2012 Subaru Forester: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 139 complaints
139
Total Complaints
42,513mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE
Top Issue
22
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

8,650 25th Percentile
42,513 Median Mileage
86,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE
27
AIR BAGS
20
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
17
SERVICE BRAKES
11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
7
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
6
POWER TRAIN
4
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
4
STRUCTURE:BODY
3

Severity Assessment

22
Crashes
4
Fires
12
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHILE DRIVING ON A MAIN ROUTE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KICKED ON AND PROCEEDED TO FLASH WHILE THE STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON DISABLING THE TRACTION CONTROL. THIS LASTED APPROXIMATELY 10-15 SECONDS, ALL LIGHTS KICKED OFF AND SEEMED OKAY. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED ONLY NOW..."
"WHILE DRIVING ON A MAIN ROUTE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KICKED ON AND PROCEEDED TO FLASH WHILE THE STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON DISABLING THE TRACTION CONTROL. THIS LASTED APPROXIMATELY 10-15 SECONDS, ALL LIGHTS KICKED OFF AND SEEMED OKAY. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED ONLY NOW..."
"WHILE DRIVING ON A MAIN ROUTE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT KICKED ON AND PROCEEDED TO FLASH WHILE THE STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON DISABLING THE TRACTION CONTROL. THIS LASTED APPROXIMATELY 10-15 SECONDS, ALL LIGHTS KICKED OFF AND SEEMED OKAY. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER THE SAME THING HAPPENED ONLY NOW..."

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