Subaru Forester 2011: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 773 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 61 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 39 in every 100298 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 14 yearsabout 109,979 miles
First tests counted: 773

What failed most often

Individual sidelight or tail light (front)23 in every 100 failed tests

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.

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 22 first tests23 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 22 first tests18 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 26 first tests4.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 81 first tests2.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 34 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 28 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

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: 61in 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: 29in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 61.4% of 773 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 70.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 10 fixed and the 29 not fixed make the 39 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 62 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2003	57 in every 100	469
2004	65 in every 100	651
2005	60 in every 100	797
2006	60 in every 100	743
2007	63 in every 100	714
2008	60 in every 100	481
2009	59 in every 100	365
2010	54 in every 100	649
2011 This car	61 in every 100	773
2012	63 in every 100	392
2013	68 in every 100	779
2014	69 in every 100	1,077
2015	73 in every 100	940
2016	74 in every 100	1,141
2017	79 in every 100	871
2018	83 in every 100	895
2019	89 in every 100	1,070

FAQs

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

Is the 2011 Subaru Forester reliable?

With 773 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2011 Subaru Forester differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist. In 2025, 61.4% of 773 first MOTs on the 2011 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 70.8%. Among 298 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), we highlight MOT failure patterns that show up more often than on cars of a similar age and mileage when the sample is large enough to trust. 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.

What is most likely to fail on a 2011 Subaru Forester?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2011 Subaru Forester at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (23.5%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.

How should I read advisories vs fails?

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.

What does this Subaru Forester 2011 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2011 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.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

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.