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What 105 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Subaru Forester Wilderness

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (105)Crash / fire / injury (21)Engine (27)Airbags (20)Speed control (18)Brakes (15)Electrical system (10)Fuel system (8)Body & structure (5)Transmission & drivetrain (5)Visibility & wipers (5)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (4)

27 of 105 complaints match · Engine · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Jan 4, 2014Engine

THE ENGINE CONSUMES TOO MUCH OIL FOR SUCH A RELATIVELY NEW & LOW MILEAGE VEHICLE. THIS IS THE 2ND COMPLAINT TO THE DEALER ABOUT THIS CONCERN. EACH TIME THE ENGINE OIL IS CHECKED THE DIPSTICK WOULD NOT REGISTER ANY OIL READING. ON THE SECOND VISIT, THE DEALER CHANGED THE OIL & FILTER UNDER WARRANTY AS PER BULLETIN 02-144-13R & HAVING ME RETURN AFTER AN ADDITIONAL 1200 MILES OF DRIVING. THIS ENGINE IS DEFECTIVE FOR HAVING OIL USAGE AT SUCH LOW MILEAGE AND BEGIN RELATIVELY NEW. I HAVE OWNED MANY CARS IN MY TIME AND UNDERSTAND ALL CARS CONSUME OIL AT SOME POINT OR ANOTHER BUT NOT WHEN THE CAR IS STILL PRACTICALLY NEW. DID RESEARCH ONLINE AND HAVE SEEN MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH SIMILAR COMPLAINTS, MOST WITH NO RESOLUTION. THIS POSES A SAFETY HAZARD MAINLY FOR THE OWNERS WHO ARE NOT AS SAVVY WITH VEHICLES. THE ENGINE OIL COULD RUN OUT & SEIZE THE MOTOR OF WHICH CAN HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING DURING HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10558426

Aug 19, 2013Speed controlEngine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHENEVER THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED, THE CRUISE CONTROL WOULD INDEPENDENTLY DISABLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS WORKING ACCORDING TO STANDARDS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,650 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 11,626. UPDATED 10/17/13*LJ

NHTSA ODI 10536127

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Working with the data? Download all 105 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2012 Subaru Forester Wilderness verdict →