2013 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 95 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Forester. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 28% of complaints. After that come air bags (14%) and brakes (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 95 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 28% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 69 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 18 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 13 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 69 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 47,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 82,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 91% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2013 ranks 24th most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Subaru Forester with enough data (52 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 12 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I had a side impact on the driver's side that crushed the driver and passenger doors and blew out the driver's window. The impact nearly caused the vehicle to roll over and again the side air bag did not deploy. I was slightly injured but there were serious injuries in the other vehicles involved. I am concerned this may be a defect in the sensor system. The driver's door was crushed all the way in to the seat.
Driving down the road did not see a ups truck parked along side of. Road . Rear ended the truck had seat belt on air bag deployed and head still hit the windshield why didn't. The airbag and seat belt prevent this?
Subaru has 86k miles on it. We were driving down highway at about 60MPH and the car started making a horrible clacking noise. The car died. We started it again, all the lights went on and the car died. It had to be pushed off into a parking lot. Car has been towed to a subaru dealer and they are telling me that it has "catastrophic engine failure due to the 'rod bearings failing, all metal throughout my oil, and the short block (engine?) needs to be rebuilt." I really do not want this engine rebuilt nor do I want…
I understand that there was a recall for this vehicle that claims to be repaired- the ignition turning off while driving. This happened a few minutes ago while driving 65+ on the freeway and we were almost hit by an 18 wheeler because of it. Zero power whatsoever. I was able to put it in neutral and turn the key a few times and restart it. Afterwards, the check engine, stability control, tire pressure, seatbelt lights are all on, cruise control is flashing (I don't use cruise).