1998 Subaru Forester

No clear pattern

20.7% of complaints about the 1998 Subaru Forester arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1998 vehicle, but with only 121 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is power train (28 complaints), typically at 2.1 yr or about 30,000 miles.

Complaints: 121
Median age at failure: 2.8 yr
Median mileage: 98,000 n=23
Crash / fire / tow: 11.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

99V040000 1999-03-03

Service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:master cylinder

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS). (THE 1999 2.2 LITER LEGACY VEHICLES ARE EXCLUDED). IN EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER, THE BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR AND THE VEHICLE STOPPING DISTANCE IS INCREASED.

THIS CONDITION CAUSES THE VEHICLE STOPPING DISTANCE TO BE INCREASED, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Engine cooling mileage not reported 3 mo in service

GREASE AND OIL DRIPPING ONTO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER STARTS SMELLING. DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AKTHEY DOUBLED THE VISCOSITY OF THE DRIVELINE GREASE. FROM 90 TO 150 WEIGHT. TTHERE ONLY ONE PROBLEM WITH THIS.THE FUMES COMING OFF THE EXHAUST WERE MAKING ME SICK.THE LAEKAGE WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT I THOUGHT THE CAR WAS STARTING ON FIRE- FIRE HAZARD. *ADJ

Engine cooling mileage not reported 1.1 yr in service

VEHICLE DRIPPING OIL/GREASE ONTO THE CATALYTIC COVERTER, CAUSING A BURNING SMELL. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

Engine cooling mileage not reported 2.3 yr in service

SNOW AND ICE BUILD UP IN MODEST SNOW CAUSED THE ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM TO FAIL. IT WAS THE OPINON OF THE MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED THE CAR THAT THE FRONT GRILL OF THE WAS OF POOR DESIGN THAT CAUSED THE ICE AND SNOW TO BUILD. THERE WAS ONLY 4-6 INCHES OF SNOW THE DAY BEFORE. A MODEST AMOUNT TO CAUSE SUCH A SEVER PROBLEM. THE DESIGN OF THE FRONT GRILL TRAPPED THE SNOW. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN TO OTHER CARS IN THIS SNOW CONDITION. *AK OPINI

Power train mileage not reported 3 mo in service

GREASE AND OIL DRIPPING ONTO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER STARTS SMELLING. DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AKTHEY DOUBLED THE VISCOSITY OF THE DRIVELINE GREASE. FROM 90 TO 150 WEIGHT. TTHERE ONLY ONE PROBLEM WITH THIS.THE FUMES COMING OFF THE EXHAUST WERE MAKING ME SICK.THE LAEKAGE WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT I THOUGHT THE CAR WAS STARTING ON FIRE- FIRE HAZARD. *ADJ

Other Forester model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1998 Subaru Forester

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Forester model years

How to read this