Does the Subaru Forester fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Subaru Forester records 1.45 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 1.68 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (−0.23, 95% interval −0.31 to −0.15). It ranks 384 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Subaru Forester by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Subaru Forester is “The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired”, recorded 947 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 947 | 0.91 |
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 163 | 0.16 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 147 | 0.14 |
| A statutory seat belt missing | 57 | 0.05 |
| A seat belt or flexible stalk damaged | 54 | 0.05 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 104,014 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Subaru Forester gets a seat belts and airbags advisory, how often does it fail next time?
5.9% of Subaru Forester MOTs with a seat belts and airbags advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.1 months and 5,182 miles later (529 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 529 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Subaru Forester 1999 · Subaru Forester 2000 · Subaru Forester 2001 · Subaru Forester 2002 · Subaru Forester 2003 · Subaru Forester 2004 · Subaru Forester 2005 · Subaru Forester 2006 · Subaru Forester 2007 · Subaru Forester 2008 · Subaru Forester 2009 · Subaru Forester 2010 · Subaru Forester 2011 · Subaru Forester 2012 · Subaru Forester 2013 · Subaru Forester 2014 · Subaru Forester 2015 · Subaru Forester 2016 · Subaru Forester 2017 · Subaru Forester 2018 · Subaru Forester 2019 · Subaru Forester 2020 · Subaru Forester in Norway · Subaru Forester in Finland · Subaru Forester in the Netherlands · Subaru Forester by postcode area · Subaru Forester body, chassis and structure failures · Subaru Forester brakes failures · Subaru Forester vehicle identification failures · Subaru Forester lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Subaru Forester noise, emissions and leaks failures · Subaru Forester road wheels failures · Subaru Forester steering failures · Subaru Forester suspension failures · Subaru Forester tyres failures · Subaru Forester visibility failures