Dodge Stratus vs Subaru Forester

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Dodge Stratus	Subaru Forester
Complaints on file	3,617	8,703
Model years covered	1992–2007	1998–2026
Worst model year	1996	2016
Best model year	2003	2026
Crashes reported	294	891
Fires reported	272	157
Injuries reported	172	376
Deaths reported	3	9
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
Share of complaints involving harm	20.5%	16.5%

Dodge Stratus by year

1 462 776 451 334 344 270 269 193 110 196 99 110 2

92 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 1,051 29.1%

Brakes 425 11.8%

Transmission & Drivetrain 310 8.6%

Steering 308 8.5%

Suspension 300 8.3%

Electrical System 262 7.2%

Airbags 199 5.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 115 3.2%

Subaru Forester by year

138 156 95 169 109 238 270 105 121 89 67 228 307 195 140 94 576 897 617 796 678 1,084 807 285 140 111 41 126 24

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 1,265 14.5%

Engine & Cooling 1,014 11.7%

Airbags 908 10.4%

Other & Unspecified 814 9.4%

Electrical System 793 9.1%

Transmission & Drivetrain 564 6.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 531 6.1%

Fuel & Propulsion 511 5.9%