Subaru Forester vs Jeep Cherokee

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	Subaru Forester	Jeep Cherokee
Complaints on file	8,703	20,992
Model years covered	1998–2026	1973–2026
Worst model year	2016	2015
Best model year	2026	2006
Crashes reported	891	997
Fires reported	157	443
Injuries reported	376	562
Deaths reported	9	23
Most complained-about part	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers	Transmission & Drivetrain
Share of complaints involving harm	16.5%	9.6%

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%

Jeep Cherokee by year

1 1 1 1 8 24 26 72 118 287 368 297 175 571 618 732 584 496 553 516 508 329 18 3,965 2,662 2,046 1,927 992 2,418 382 214 73 4 5

73 78 80 81 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 06 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 26

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

What breaks

Transmission & Drivetrain 5,604 26.7%

Engine & Cooling 2,904 13.8%

Electrical System 2,409 11.5%

Brakes 2,197 10.5%

Other & Unspecified 1,775 8.5%

Acceleration & Cruise Control 967 4.6%

Body & Structure 892 4.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 780 3.7%