Subaru Forester 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

39.1% of 6,978 MOT tests of the Subaru Forester first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 96.6 (95% CI 93.0–100.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2004 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Subaru Forester built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	39.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	6978
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 93.0–100.2)	96.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	6978
Rank among this model's 22 build years	7	of 22	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	6978
Tested in 2024	762	tests	median 124,139 miles	2024	762

Built 2004 against Subaru Forester normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 39.2% vs 42.2%; age 16: 39% vs 40.6%; age 17: 39.4% vs 41%; age 18: 38.8% vs 39.5%; age 19: 40.4% vs 40.3%; age 20: 37.4% vs 37.2%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Subaru Forester by registration · All Subaru Forester MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 Subaru Forester fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Subaru Forester built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	1,704	39.2	36.9–41.5	42.2	92.8
16	1,401	39	36.5–41.6	40.6	96.1
17	1,184	39.4	36.7–42.3	41	96.3
18	1,024	38.8	35.8–41.8	39.5	98.1
19	903	40.4	37.3–43.7	40.3	100.4
20	762	37.4	34–40.9	37.2	100.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,978 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 Subaru Forester?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is suspension: 40.8 items per 100 first tests, against 25.6 across all build years of the Subaru Forester. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Subaru Forester built 2004 against the Subaru Forester in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	40.8	25.6	2,845
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	40.6	23.6	2,834
Noise, emissions and leaks	15.8	7.7	1,106
Brakes	13.9	10.5	967
Body, chassis, structure	12.4	7.3	866

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,978 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 22 published build years of the Subaru Forester, 2004 ranks 7 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 103.3. 2005: index 94.0.

Subaru Forester build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1999	109.3	96.7–121.9	no different (rough estimate)	634
2000	102.6	93.1–112.0	no different (rough estimate)	1,050
2001	105.8	98.3–113.4	no different (rough estimate)	1,709
2002	105.0	99.0–111.1	no different (rough estimate)	2,655
2003	103.3	99.3–107.3	no different	5,989
2004	96.6	93.0–100.2	no different	6,978
2005	94.0	90.7–97.3	better	8,309
2006	100.8	97.1–104.5	no different	7,000
2007	96.3	92.3–100.2	no different	6,084
2008	98.7	93.7–103.7	no different	4,008
2009	110.3	104.6–116.0	worse (rough estimate)	3,576
2010	104.0	99.4–108.5	no different	5,634
2011	100.1	95.5–104.8	no different	5,639
2012	105.3	98.1–112.4	no different (rough estimate)	2,761
2013	95.4	90.2–100.7	no different	5,206
2014	97.6	92.7–102.5	no different	7,082
2015	105.4	99.4–111.5	no different	5,986
2016	104.9	98.8–111.0	no different	7,187
2017	94.5	86.8–102.1	no different	4,739
2018	91.5	82.5–100.6	no different (rough estimate)	3,779
2019	93.2	82.7–103.6	no different (rough estimate)	3,346
2020	140.3	104.2–176.4	worse (rough estimate)	494

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 99,845 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Subaru Forester 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/subaru-forester/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model