Subaru Forester problems, by model year and system
3,454 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the Subaru Forester 2016–2026, and the 4 systems the record is deep on — electrical (570), airbag (447), engine (383), transmission and drivetrain (181). Each system has a page across the years; 12 model-year pages go deeper still. Every figure is a linked federal record; none is a failure rate or a verdict on one car.
The systems the record is deep on
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsElectrical problems across every model year, and the years with a page of their own →
Airbag problems across every model year, and the years with a page of their own →
Engine problems across every model year, and the years with a page of their own →
Transmission and drivetrain problems across every model year, and the years with a page of their own →
Subaru Forester complaints, year by system
Source: NHTSA complaint database| Model year | electrical | airbag | engine | transmission and drivetrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 22 in all | 4 | — | — | 1 |
| 2025 95 in all | 8 | — | — | — |
| 2024 29 in all | — | 7 | — | — |
| 2023 73 in all | 7 | 7 | 6 | — |
| 2022 98 in all | 10 | — | 10 | — |
| 2021 207 in all | 33 | — | 32 | 14 |
| 2020 601 in all | 102 | — | 84 | 32 |
| 2019 833 in all | 135 | — | 111 | 39 |
| 2018 495 in all | 71 | 122 | 32 | — |
| 2017 587 in all | 106 | 197 | 48 | 44 |
| 2016 414 in all | 94 | 114 | 60 | 51 |
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA naming each system, per model year; a bold count links the year’s own page on that system. Counts scale with sales and with time on the road; nothing here is a rate, and NHTSA’s headings are coarse (“Power Train” is the transmission and the driveline).
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseWhich Subaru Forester system draws the most complaints?
Electrical: 570 complaints across 11 model years, 17% of everything owners filed about the Subaru Forester. A count, not a rate — it says nothing about how many were sold.
Which Subaru Forester year has the most complaints?
2019 (833), 2020 (601), 2017 (587). Older years have had longer to collect them; the year pages show each year's share by system.