Reliability & cost of ownership
Forest River Forester Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Forest River Forester? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Forest River Forester problems by model year
36 recall entries and 34 owner complaints on file across 16 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Forester | 2 | 1 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2024 Forester | 2 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2023 Forester | 4 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2022 Forester | 3 | 2 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2021 Forester | 5 | 2 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2019 Forester | 2 | 1 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2018 Forester | 3 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2017 Forester | 2 | 2 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2016 Forester | 3 | 7 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2015 Forester | 1 | 6 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2014 Forester | 3 | 3 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2012 Forester | 1 | 1 | No NCAP test | Full reliability report → |
| 2006 Forester | 1 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2005 Forester | 1 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2004 Forester | 2 | 3 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2001 Forester | 1 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Forest River Forester, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- electrical system9 complaints
- structure7 complaints
- tires5 complaints
- equipment4 complaints
- exterior lighting3 complaints
- suspension2 complaints
- unknown or other2 complaints
- engine2 complaints