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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Subaru Forester — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 78 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

78
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
13
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
3
Involved Fire
owner-reported
11
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.

262 complaints

147 complaints

105 complaints

78 complaints

403 complaints

615 complaints

415 complaints

589 complaints

498 complaints

834 complaints

602 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Engine 27 reports
Air Bags 13 reports
Service Brakes 9 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 7 reports
Unknown Or Other 7 reports
Power Train 6 reports
Structure 4 reports
Exterior Lighting 4 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11707393 12/28/2025

I had a family member driving an 2013 Subaru Forester all-wheel drive with a manual transition. The car had crash and rolled. The car at the most rolled twice and none of the air bags never deployed. I have photos of the accident and of the vehicle at the towed yard and its clear as day that the air bags are still rolled up.

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 10490242 12/27/2012

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU FORESTER (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED TO 30 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FLOOR MATS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THE FLOOR MATS WERE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THERE WERE NO FURTHER…

Exterior Lighting ODI 11055843 12/21/2017

SINCE PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE WE HAVE REPLACED THE DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGHT 6 TIMES. IN THIS SAME TIME PERIOD WE HAVE REPLACED THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ONLY ONCE. THIS CONCERNS ME, AS IT MAKES ME THINK THERE IS A WIRING PROBLEM & A POSSIBILITY OF A MORE SEVERE PROBLEM

Service Brakes ODI 11496800 12/09/2022

My 2013 Subaru Forester had some noise (grinding) from the rear passenger side brake pad. I set up an appointment to have it inspected later that week. I then used my car to run an errand several days later. I was driving on the highway and found I had no brakes (brake pedal went to the floor). I was able to get to a parking lot and stop the car. When I exited the veh…

Seat Belts ODI 11155496 12/02/2018

SQUEAKY BRAKES, SEATBELT RECOIL

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 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 2013 Subaru Forester reliable?
Owners have filed 78 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Subaru Forester, most often about engine. 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.