2011 Subaru Forester pre-purchase inspection checklist

2009-2013 Forester (plus 2005-2009 Legacy/Outback and 2008-2014 Impreza/WRX/STI) currently or formerly registered in the 20 salt-belt states and DC. Salt water splashes onto the brake lines through a gap in the fuel-tank protector and corrodes them until they seep. Remedy inspects for leakage, replaces lines if seeping, and rustproofs with anti-corrosion wax. This is THE brake-line campaign on this car — if a checklist or listing cites a different number for Forester brake-line corrosion, it is wrong. Cars outside the salt-belt list are eligible for the repair on request.

2009-2013 Forester and 2008-2014 Impreza/WRX/STI that were remedied under 14V-311 BEFORE 2014-12-23. Subaru determined that first remedy was inadequate because dealers were given incomplete repair instructions. Remedy applies anti-corrosion wax to the four-way joint connector area. The practical rule for a northern-market Forester: 14V-311 marked complete is not enough on its own — confirm the repair date or that 14V-830 is also closed.

2009-2013 Forester. The front seat belt assembly force-limiter may not operate correctly in a crash, so the belt may not restrain the occupant properly. Remedy inspects and replaces the belt assembly if needed. Cheap to close and safety-critical; a 2022 campaign on a 2011 car is exactly the kind of recall an owner never hears about after two or three title transfers.

2009-2012 Forester built 2007-11-26 through 2012-03-13. The rear center belt's automatic locking retractor does not meet lockability requirements, so a child restraint cannot be installed securely in that seating position. Remedy replaces the rear center belt assembly with a modified retractor. Directly relevant if you are buying this to carry a car seat in the middle position — pull the belt all the way out and listen for the ratchet.

2009-2013 Forester with the turbocharged engine only (2.5XT), plus turbo Impreza, Legacy and Outback. The relay controlling the secondary air injection pump can fail closed, running the pump continuously until it overheats and melts. Remedy replaces the relay. Naturally aspirated 2.5X cars are NOT in scope — confirm which engine the car has before treating this as an open item.

2009-2012 Forester sold before January 2012 and fitted with dealer-accessory puddle lights that illuminate under the doors. Road spray carrying salt can penetrate the light or its connector and short the circuit, generating enough heat to melt plastic and cause smoke or fire. Remedy installs an additional fused harness. Only applies if the accessory was actually fitted — look under the door sills.

2009-2013 Forester and a range of Impreza/WRX/Legacy/Outback/Tribeca, but ONLY cars in which a mechanical key ignition switch was installed as a REPLACEMENT PART. The ball spring inside the switch can break; a heavy key ring plus rough road can then let the switch fall from Run to Accessory, killing the engine, and the airbag may not deploy in a resulting crash. Remedy inspects and replaces the switch. Scope depends on repair history rather than build date, so the VIN lookup is the only reliable check.

2009-2012 Forester (with Baja, Impreza, Tribeca, Legacy, Outback) originally sold or ever registered in Zone A: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories. Propellant degradation from heat and humidity can rupture the passenger frontal inflator and send metal fragments into the cabin. Remedy replaces the inflator, free.

2009-2013 Forester and siblings in the same Zone A states, the following year's tranche of the same phased Takata remedy. Remedy replaces the front passenger inflator.

2010-2013 Forester and siblings in Zone A. Same defect, same free inflator replacement, next scheduled tranche.

2010-2013 Forester and siblings originally sold or ever registered in Zone B: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Same defect and remedy as the Zone A campaigns.

2010-2013 Forester and siblings in Zone C: 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. Same defect and remedy.

2009-2011 Forester and siblings in Zone A, the earliest of the Forester Takata tranches. Remedy replaces the passenger frontal inflator.

2009-2013 Forester and siblings in Zone A whose passenger inflators were ALREADY replaced under a prior recall using an inflator of the same design. Those replacement inflators can degrade and explode too; the remedy fits an alternate inflator. This is the campaign that catches cars a seller will describe as having had the airbag recall done — done once is not necessarily done.

2009-2013 Forester and siblings in Zone B, same re-recall of previously replaced same-design inflators. Remedy replaces the passenger inflator again.

2009-2013 Forester and siblings in Zone C, same re-recall of previously replaced same-design inflators. Remedy replaces the passenger inflator again.

Ten of this Forester's sixteen campaigns are Takata passenger-inflator actions issued in geographic zones and in phased tranches, and three of those (20V-001/002/003) exist specifically to re-replace inflators that a prior recall already replaced. Which ones apply depends on where the car has been registered, not just its build date, so the VIN lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls is the only reliable answer — and on a northern-market car pay particular attention to the brake-line pair 14V-311 and 14V-830.