14,357 tests in 2025
Subaru Forester reliability and MOT pass rate
76% passed first time. The 24% fail rate is 1.4 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 12 years old with 87,389 miles.
Pass rate
76%
22.6% of all cars failed; 24% of these did.
Fixed on the day
5.3%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
87,389 mi
12 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 1,141 | 8% |
| 6-9 years | 3,770 | 15.7% |
| 10-13 years | 3,099 | 25.8% |
| 14+ years | 6,314 | 31.1% |
What the Forester fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Suspension159 dangerous57.3%
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment8 dangerous34.1%
- Brakes390 dangerous22.5%
- Noise, emissions and leaks18.9%
- Body, chassis, structure32 dangerous15.8%
- Visibility2 dangerous14.9%
- Tyres415 dangerous14.3%
- Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems3 dangerous4.9%
Is the Forester getting worse?
The fail rate rose 0.6 points to 24.4% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 16,380 | 12 | 23.8% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 16,055 | — | 24.5% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 13,736 | — | 24.7% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 13,594 | — | 24.4% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Forester at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Forester in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn522 tests
- 2Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn425 tests
- 3Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction336 tests
- 4Position lamp: not working319 tests
- 5Coil spring: fractured or broken296 tests
- 6Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength266 tests
- 7Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt256 tests
- 8Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick230 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Forester collects 3.03 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn2,384 tests
- 2Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm1,917 tests
- 3Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened1,287 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick1,238 tests
- 5Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure1,176 tests
- 6Sub-frame: corroded and seriously weakened761 tests
- 7Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded740 tests
- 8Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases668 tests
Questions
What is the Subaru Forester MOT pass rate?
76% of the 14,357 Subaru Forester first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 24% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 5.3% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Subaru Forester usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn", recorded on 522 failed tests, followed by "Ball joint: ball joint excessively worn" and "Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction". By section, suspension appears in 57.3% of failures, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 34.1% of failures, brakes appears in 22.5% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 8%; at 14+ years it was 31.1%. The median Subaru Forester tested in 2025 was 12 years old with 87,389 miles.
Is the Subaru Forester getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 0.6 points to 24.4% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Forester trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
DVSA has published 12 safety recalls naming the Subaru Forester: Subaru Forester recalls.
Other Subaru models
Checking a particular Forester?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.