Your vehicle report
1998 Subaru Forester
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 101
- Received Oct 1997 to Feb 2020
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Wheel bearings fail prematurely14 complaints · 14% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Tires blow out or tread separates7 complaints · 6.9% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Vehicle catches fire from wiring6 complaints · 5.9% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #99V040000Vehicle 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.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 7 crashes, 5 fires, 5 people injured, 1 death.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 13 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 |
| 1998 | 15 |
| 1999 | 17 |
| 2000 | 20 |
| 2001 | 14 |
| 2002 | 8 |
| 2003 | 6 |
| 2004 | 7 |
| 2005 | 2 |
| 2006 | 3 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2008 | 2 |
| 2009 | 0 |
| 2010 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 101 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheel bearings fail prematurely | 14 | 14% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 7 | 6.9% | – | |
| Vehicle catches fire from wiring | 6 | 5.9% | – | |
| Manual clutch wears out or fails early | 6 | 5.9% | – | |
| Head gasket leaks coolant into engine | 5 | 5.0% | – | |
| Front brake rotors warp and wear early | 5 | 5.0% | – | |
| Vehicle rolls backward out of park | 5 | 5.0% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 4 | 4.0% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 4 | 4.0% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 4 | 4.0% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 3 | 3.0% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 3 | 3.0% | – | NHTSA recall #99V040000 |
| Engine burns excessive oil between changes | 3 | 3.0% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #99V040000March 3, 1999221,987 vehicles affected
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.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 1998 Subaru Forester.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN