2020 Subaru Forester: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 791 complaints
791
Total Complaints
6,000mi
Median Mileage
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Top Issue
44
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

1,900 25th Percentile
6,000 Median Mileage
12,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
252
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
104
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
94
ENGINE
70
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
46
POWER TRAIN
30
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
26
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
21
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
18
SERVICE BRAKES
13

Severity Assessment

44
Crashes
11
Fires
35
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I OWNED MY 2020 FORESTER FOR LESS THAN 2 WEEKS AND I GOT A CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET GOING LESS THAN 30 MILES PER HOUR. I DID NOT SEE ANYTHING HIT MY WINDSHIELD, BUT HEARD A CRACK AND SAW THE CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD."
"PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAGS ARE NOT ENABLED WITH A PERSON SITTING IN THE SEAT USING A SEAT BELT EXTENDER. THERE ARE FLAWS ON THE SOFTWARE THAT IDENTIFY THE PASSENGER ACTIONS ENTERING THE CAR, WHEN THE SEAT BELT IS FASTENED AND WHETHER OR NOT A SEAT BELT EXTENDER HAS BEEN USED. IF A SEAT BELT EXTENDER IS..."
"PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAGS ARE NOT ENABLED WITH A PERSON SITTING IN THE SEAT USING A SEAT BELT EXTENDER. THERE ARE FLAWS ON THE SOFTWARE THAT IDENTIFY THE PASSENGER ACTIONS ENTERING THE CAR, WHEN THE SEAT BELT IS FASTENED AND WHETHER OR NOT A SEAT BELT EXTENDER HAS BEEN USED. IF A SEAT BELT EXTENDER IS..."

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