2000 Subaru Forester

Typical pattern

21.8% of complaints about the 2000 Subaru Forester came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2000 vehicle — around the middle of the 213 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 3.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (20 complaints), typically at 5.6 yr or about 78,000 miles.

Complaints: 87
Median age at failure: 3.8 yr
Median mileage: 82,000 n=44
Crash / fire / tow: 11.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Power train mileage not reported 7 mo in service crash / fire / tow

CONSUMER PARKED VEHICLE ON A 5-DEGREE INCLINE, AND IN IN 1ST GEAR. 10-15 MINUTES LATER, CONSUMER HEARD CAR ALARM GOING OFF & SAW VEHICLE HAD ROLLED BACKWARDS, DOWN SLOPE INTO BUSHES. *AK

Power train mileage not reported 5 mo in service

ENGINE HAD A POROUS BLOCK. SUBARU OF AMERICA HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. EXPERIENCED CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF TRANSMISSION FLUID. CAUSE UNKNOWN. CAR CURRENTLY AT NEW MOTORS FOR REPAIR. MATTER HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AN ATTORNEY FOR POSSIBLE ACTION UNDER STATE LEMON LAWS.

Power train 45,000 mi 3.5 yr in service

THE VEHICLE'S POWER TRAIN ASSEMBLY FAILED AND CAUSED THE CLUTCH TO MAKE A CHATTERING NOISE. *NLM

Engine cooling mileage not reported 4 mo in service

THE OXYGEN SENSOR SWITCH IS NOT OPERATING. THE DEALER IS WILLING TO REPLACE IT, HOWEVER, HE CANNOT GET THE PART AS IT IS NOT AVAILABLE. THIS DEALER AND OTHERS SAID THEY HAVE SEVERAL NEW CARS WAITING FOR THIS PART. THIS MAY BE A NATIONAL PROBLEM, SUGGEST YOU CHECK INTO A RECALL. MY GAS MILEAGE IS NOW VERY POOR AND THE ENGINE IS STARTING TO RUN ROUGH. *AK

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.

2000 Subaru Forester

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Forester model years

How to read this