Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Subaru Forester 2010: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 54 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2010 Subaru Forester were passes.

Summary

With 649 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2010 Subaru Forester differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist.

At a glance

How 649 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
54 in every 100
Did not pass first time
46 in every 100299 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
15 yearsabout 110,788 miles
First tests counted
649

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2010 Subaru Forester vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

One fault: electronic stability control, 7.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 299 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 21 first tests7.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front)

Failed on 22 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Whether a suspension arm ball joint dust cover still keeps dirt out decides its grade. Severely deteriorated is Minor, while missing, or no longer preventing the ingress of dirt, is Major.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (front)

Failed on 22 first tests2.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Noise, emissions and leaks

One fault: diesel engine warning light, 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Diesel engine warning light

Failed on 20 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: brake light, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake light

Failed on 38 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

All stop lamps missing or not working is graded Dangerous, and so is a stop lamp that stays on when the brakes are released. A stop lamp that is missing or not working is Major. On some vehicles with LED rear lamps, part of the stop lamp can go out when the rear fog lamp is lit, which is not regarded as a defect.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Noted on 24 first tests26 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 23 first tests3.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 79 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Rigid brake pipes (front)

Noted on 20 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 41 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
54in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
10in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 53.9% of 649 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 46 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100200520102015Older carsNewer cars
4060801002010Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 56 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200357 in every 100469
200465 in every 100651
200560 in every 100797
200660 in every 100743
200763 in every 100714
200860 in every 100481
200959 in every 100365
2010 This car54 in every 100649
201161 in every 100773
201263 in every 100392
201368 in every 100779
201469 in every 1001,077
201573 in every 100940
201674 in every 1001,141
201779 in every 100871
201883 in every 100895
201989 in every 1001,070

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 649 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2010 Subaru Forester differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist. In 2025, 53.9% of 649 first MOTs on the 2010 Subaru Forester passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.9%. Among 299 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Electronic stability control appears more often than on similar cars (7.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 7.2× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Electronic stability control (7.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 7.2× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Electronic stability control shows up more often than on similar cars (7.0% of those tests; 21 observed failures; about 7.2× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2010 Subaru Forester include Electronic stability control, Suspension arm ball joint dust cover (front), Diesel engine warning light. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2010 Subaru Forester (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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