LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
LIVEACCIDENTTRACKER
Home / Car Problems Checker / 2010 Subaru Forester
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2010 Subaru Forester — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 262 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

262
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
21
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
6
Involved Fire
owner-reported
9
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Subaru Forester — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

2010 Subaru Forester

262 complaints

2011 Subaru Forester

147 complaints

2012 Subaru Forester

105 complaints

2013 Subaru Forester

78 complaints

2014 Subaru Forester

403 complaints

2015 Subaru Forester

615 complaints

2016 Subaru Forester

415 complaints

2017 Subaru Forester

589 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Seats 76 reports
Air Bags 42 reports
Service Brakes 38 reports
Engine 34 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 24 reports
Electrical System 13 reports
Unknown Or Other 12 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 10 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Seats ODI 11445634 12/30/2021

The left side of drivers seat collapsed. Upon inspection, the metal tab that was spot welded to the seat frame failed. The metal tab connects the left front of the seat to the power seat motor components and rail. The power seat no longer works and the seat sags noticeably to the front left. This failure occurred during normal driving conditions, and is typically not overloade…

Engine ODI 11292122 12/30/2019

HESITATES WHEN DRIVING OFF OR SLOWING DOWN ,GOES DEAD WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC.SOMETIMES THE ENGINE JERKS AND SHAKES. PLUGS HAVE 30,000 ON THEM AFTER TUNING UP.YELLOW LIGHTS WILL NOT COME ON AND NOTHING SHOWS UP ON DIAGNOSTIC CHECK. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

Air Bags ODI 10938856 12/30/2016

TAKATA RECALL -- REPAIR DELAYS -- HOW WORRIED SHOULD I BE? MY 2010 SUBARU FORESTER IS SUBJECT TO THE TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL FOR ITS FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG. MY SUBARU WAS PURCHASED NEW IN CALIFORNIA IN AUGUST 2010; IT IS REGISTERED IN CALIFORNIA; AND I HAVE DRIVEN IT EXCLUSIVELY IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, EXCEPT FOR A WEEK-LONG TRIP TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN JULY 2014. A…

Air Bags ODI 10938452 12/29/2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V358000 (AIR BAGS). THE PART NEEDED WAS UNAVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

Seats ODI 10938506 12/29/2016

AS I GOT IN MY 2010 SUBARU FORESTER THE DRIVER'S SEAT WITH LESS THAN 60,000 MILES SNAPPED. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY AT THE TIME, AND I WEIGH 180 POUNDS. THE WELDING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SEAT SNAPPED AND THE SEAT THEN SAT ON THE METAL BRACKET UNDERNEATH. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2010 Subaru Forester, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2010 Subaru Forester reliable?
Owners have filed 262 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2010 Subaru Forester, most often about seats. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Subaru Forester years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.