Vehicle report

2009 Subaru Forester

Fair price, market signal, reviews, and common issues — all in one place. Tuned to ZIP 43215 (from your location).

Fair price range

$4,350

$3,800 — $4,950

low confidence

Est. out-the-door

$5,315

$4,726 — $5,959

in Ohio (7.25% tax + fees)

What's shaping this price

  • Age (17 yrs)−$24,138

    11%/yr for suv

  • Mileage (40,000)+$507

    164,000 under expected

Local market signal · 432xx

Avg days on market

55

from 54 comparable listings

30-day price trend

↓ 3.7%

cooling

Prices for this trim in 432xx are trending down — a buyer's edge right now.

Price over its life

2009 → 2026
$10.3k$16.2k$22.1k$28k$4.4k200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026

Anchored on the original manufacturer MSRP for this trim, curved to today's typical price via segment depreciation.

Next 5 years (forecast)

2026 → 2031
$2.6k$3.2k$3.8k$4.4k$2.1k202620272028202920302031

Projected from today's typical price using the segment's annual depreciation rate, with a small penalty for accumulated mileage. Rough forecast — actual resale value swings with the used-car market.

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Affordability72-month loan · Ohio · 1,000 mi/mo

Potential monthly cost of ownership

Loan + insurance + gas — the three big monthly line items.

Estimated monthly total

Loan + insurance + gas

$417/mo

  • Auto loan

    72 months · 10% down · 7.5% APR (national avg)

    $68/mo

  • Insurance

    Full coverage · Ohio average for SUVs

    $96/mo

  • Gas

    21 mpg combined · $5.32/gal · 1,000 mi/mo

    $253/mo

Estimated payments — actual rates depend on credit, coverage, and driving.

Long-term ownership costsDepreciation + maintenance over 5 years, assuming 12,000 mi/yr

$7,171over 5 yrs

~$1,434/yr

  • Depreciation

    $1,921

    Segment: suv

  • Maintenance

    $5,250

    segment ballpark

Depreciation projected from segment averages against today’s typical price; maintenance is an AAA-derived segment ballpark. Loan, insurance, and gas are covered in the Affordability section above.

Safety ratingsOfficial NHTSA crash-test scores + owner complaint volume20 NHTSA complaints
  • Overall

    —

  • Frontal crash

    —

  • Side crash

    —

  • Rollover

    ★★★★★

    4.0 of 5

Averaged across 1 tested body/cab configuration (NHTSA scores by variant).

Safety recallsOfficial NHTSA campaigns for this year / make / model18 total
  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

    20V001000 · Feb 1, 2020

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

    20V002000 · Feb 1, 2020

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

    20V003000 · Feb 1, 2020

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part. The ball spring inside the switch may break, reducing the strength of the ignition switch. If this occurs, the weight on the key ring and certain road conditions could cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.

    19V297000 · Nov 4, 2019

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    18V014000 · Sep 1, 2018

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    18V013000 · Sep 1, 2018

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Subaru Baja, 2006-2011 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), 2006-2012 Tribeca, 2009-2012 Forester, Legacy, Outback, and 2012 WRX vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    17V014000 · Oct 1, 2017

  • AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2009 Forester, Legacy and Outback and 2006-2009 Impreza (including WRX and STI models) and Tribeca vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

    17V026000 · Nov 1, 2017

+ 10 more recalls not shown

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  • Common issues to watch for — model-specific problems, ranked by severity, with sources
  • What real buyers paid — actual out-the-door prices extracted from Reddit threads

Ownership economics

Real market data

  • 5-year total cost of ownership — depreciation + fuel + insurance + maintenance, itemized
  • EPA fuel economy — real MPG + annual fuel cost for this trim
  • Safety ratings + recalls — official NHTSA scores and every open campaign

Curated sources

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