Other body or interior problem on the 2018 Subaru Forester
3 crashes 3 of the 24 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other body or interior problem gets reported
Owners of the 2018 Subaru Forester report other body or interior problem at a median of 15,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 65,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 62,652 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
77% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,602 miles | 6,000 miles | 14,000 miles | 30,000 miles | 65,254 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
Of these reports, 3 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $200–$2,000 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 2025, at a median of 100 miles, and latest on the 2022 at 200,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 76; the 2018 has 24. 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.
Vehicle was being backed out of the garage to replace the trash can. After backing part way out of the garage when I put the car in gear it shot forward and I was unable to stop the vehicle until it hit the back garage wall. When the vehicle was then put into reverse it shot backwards, also. I was unable to stop the vehicle until it was totally out of the garage. The vehicle seemed to accelerate on its own. Damage was done to the front end of the vehicle, the garage wall and the inside utility room and hallway.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru forester. While driving over 40 MPH, the vehicle shook violently and vibrated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (suburban subaru, 1821 maplelawn dr, troy, mi) where it was diagnosed that the failure was caused by a build up of dirt and debris in the wheels and wheel wells. The contact was advised to power wash the wheels and wheel wells to prevent the failure from recurring. In addition, the engine idled while the vehicle was on a slight incline. Suddenly, the engine began to rev high and the vehicle erroneously drove forward. The failure occurred as the driver was getting back into the vehicle and the accelerator pedal had not been depressed. On several occasions, while on a slight incline with the engine idling, the vehicle would suddenly roll backwards once the brake pedal was released. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who found no failures with the vehicle. The manufacturer was informed of the failures and did not assist. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 2,500. *tt consumer stated violent vibration and shaking at 45mph or greater especially in winter months…
Oct. 25, 2018. Car in garage stationary/started vehicle/ dashboard red warning light of seat with belt/airbag. Turned vehicle off. 1/2 hour later, returned to car, saw headlights on, two front doors locked/didn't start car. Called dealer and took in. Said airbag problem and need passenger seat replacement-but on big backorder/months and months. No firm date. Said choice: drive it at risk/ or take a rental. Gm gave us loaner. Gm said this is first one he has heard of at their dealership.
Also reported on the 2018 Subaru Forester
Other visibility problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Windshield cracking
Other electrical problem
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other speed control problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 24 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 body or interior problem happen on the 2018 Subaru Forester?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 15,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other body or interior problem on the 2018 Subaru Forester?
24 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