IllustrationWHILE PLACING VEHICLE IN PARK VEHICLE JUMPED OUT OF GEAR AND ACCELERATED FORWARD, RESULTING INTO AN ACCIDENT. THIS OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES.*AK
2001 Subaru Forester
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2001 Subaru Forester do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 131.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Forester years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
80–25K
2225–50K
1450–75K
1775–100K
6100–150K
6150K+
73 reports with mileage · 66 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
31 crash reports0 fire reports20 injury reports
Vehicle Speed Control complaints
29 reportsWHEN APPLYING BRAKES TO PARK, VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED, JUMPING A CURB AND HITTING TWO PARKED VEHICLES. PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT. SUBARU WAS CONTACTED TO INSPECT VEHICLE.*AK *YH
VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING BRAKE PROBLEMS, ON ONE OCCASION WHILE DRIVING, CONSUMER PUT HIS FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, HOWEVER VEHICLE DID NOT STOP, VEHICLE GLAZED AGAINST ANOTHER CAR CAUSING DAMAGE. *SLC
WAS ATTEMPTING TO BACK INTO DRIVEWAY WHEN SUDDENLY THE CAR MOVED FORWARD. ENGAGING THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP CAR AND IT WENT OVER AN EMBANKMENT. IN PREVIOUS YEARS SUBARUS WERE RECALLED FOR BRAKE PROBLEMS.ALSO FOR PROBLEMS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. *AK
WHILE BACKING INTO DRIVEWAY ACCELERATOR GOT STUCK, CAUSING VEHICLE TO HIT A PAKRED CAR, CONSUMER STATED ACCELERATOR HAS STUCK IN THE PAST BUT ONLY WHILE IN REVERSE.*SLC
UPON EXITING DOORWAY OF DRIVE-THU CARWASH, TOOK CAR OUT OF NEUTRAL AND CAR LUNGED FORWARD ACCELERATING OUT OF CONTROL INTO TRAFFIC CRASHING INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE.APPLYING ANTILOCK BRAKES DID NOT SLOW/STOP ACCELERATION,AIRBAGS DID NOT GO OFF DESPITE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. *AK
INTERMITTENTLY WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED ENGINE WILL REV UP AND SURGE FORWARD SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY WITHOUT WARNING. DEALER HAS INSPECTED VEHICLE, BUT HAS YET TO DUPLICATE OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *AK
PARKING WITH FOOT ON BRAKES AND VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OVER CEMENT BLOCK. HAD HIT A FEW BUSHES AND THEN A BUILDING. UPON IMPACT, AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO A MECHANIC BASED ON REFERRAL FROM DEALERSHIP.*AK
THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCED FOOT TOUCHING BOTH THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AT THE SAME TIME, DEALERSHIP ADJUSTED THE BRAKE PEDAL HEIGHT AS STATED IN SERVICE BULLETIN 6-29-00 OPERATION #A543-008, HOWEVER CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS INADEQUATE AND THEY SHOULD BE SEPARATED APART. *MJS
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.