Your vehicle report
2002 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
- 88
- Received Oct 2001 to Oct 2019
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Unintended acceleration despite braking15 complaints · 17% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline9 complaints · 10% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Airbags fail to deploy in crashes6 complaints · 6.8% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #02V282000Certain sport utility and passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions were produced with an improperly manufactured transmission parking rod. When the transmission selector lever is placed in the "p" (park) position, the transmission park mechanism, that is intended to hold your vehicle, may not engage.
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: 21 crashes, 1 fire, 8 people injured, 0 deaths.
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 8 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
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 |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 2 |
| 2002 | 18 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 10 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2006 | 5 |
| 2007 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 5 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 4 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 88 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 15 | 17% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 9 | 10% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 6 | 6.8% | – | |
| Vehicle rolls backward out of park | 5 | 5.7% | – | NHTSA recall #02V282000 |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 4 | 4.5% | – | |
| Head gasket leaks coolant into engine | 4 | 4.5% | – | |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 3 | 3.4% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 3 | 3.4% | – |
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 #02V282000October 30, 2002172,564 vehicles affected
power train: automatic transmission
Certain sport utility and passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions were produced with an improperly manufactured transmission parking rod. When the transmission selector lever is placed in the "p" (park) position, the transmission park mechanism, that is intended to hold your vehicle, may not engage.
The vehicle could then move/roll without prior warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the automatic transmission parking rod assembly. Owner notification january 8, 2003. An interim owner notification will be sent during november 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
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 2002 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