Other powertrain problem on the 1999 Subaru Forester
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 1999 Subaru Forester report other powertrain problem at a median of 55,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 40,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 90,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 47,840 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
11% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41,960 miles | 51,032 miles | 55,000 miles | 74,000 miles | 89,800 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $400–$4,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 21 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2020, at a median of 500 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 75,000 miles.
By volume the 2015 carries the most reports, with 51; the 1999 has 19. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Clutch prematurely burned out. Prior to this incident, the clutch would chatter or disengage in cold temperatures. The clutch was replaced, but failed again. This was a common problem, but the manufacturer did not acknowledge it. There was no solution for the problem.*ak the replacement clutch hadn't failed completely . It started exhibiting the same problems as the first one but at an accelerated pace. Consumer noted many other subaru owners in the bay area experienced the same defect and are not riding the clutch. *ph *nlm
With about 15-18k miles, I started having problems with stuttering in first and second gear. It was always worst in winter, when it was cold. I searched the internet for other issues and found several chat rooms where people were having similar issues. I took the car in several times to the dealers who said they could not duplicate the problem. When reading the chat rooms, some people did have the dealers say this was a problem. I called subaru's customer line and was told to go to the dealer. *jb
Have a 1999 forester l w/auto tramsmission. I can drive in reverse all day with no problem. Going forward is hit and miss. Sometimes I can sit for 15 to 30 minutes before the forward gears engage. Once forward engages, I have no problem until I turn off the ignition. Servicing the trans is a temporary fix for a few thousand miles and then the problem slowly returns. I really like my car, but I'm sure the trans will eventually cease working all together.evidently other are having same problem according to chat rooms.*ak
Also reported on the 1999 Subaru Forester
Wheel bearing or hub failure
Head gasket failure
Other engine problem
ABS module or sensor failure
Other suspension problem
Other wheel or tire problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 19 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other powertrain problem happen on the 1999 Subaru Forester?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 55,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 1999 Subaru Forester?
19 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed