Pass rate
77.0%
Around average — 0.2 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 87 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £21–£67
2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 119,827 mi
Only 87 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Suspension
41.3% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2013 86.2% pass
- Avoid 2012 77.0% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 9.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 70.6%
- Typical mileage
- 120k mi
The 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer MOT pass rate is 77.0% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 41.3% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Subaru Forester X Boxer does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 2.0× the national share
Suspension accounts for 41.3% of everything recorded on the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer, against 21.0% nationally — 20.3 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Based on a small sample. 87 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Subaru Forester X Boxer? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 0.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 70.6%. The median 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer in this dataset had covered 119,827 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 80.4% of the time, April–September 72.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn", noted on 11.49% of tests.
- 87 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.0% overall pass rate, 70.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Subaru Forester X Boxer, the average is 82.0% — best year 2013 (86.2%), worst 2012 (77.0%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 87
- Typical mileage (median)
- 119,827 mi
- Make and model
- Subaru Forester X Boxer
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Suspension Component
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Forester X Boxer MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Forester X Boxer
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 21 | 66.7% |
| Yorkshire | 17 | 76.5% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2012 Forester X Boxer
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2012 Forester X Boxer
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the suspension joints 11.5% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 8.1% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the windscreen 4.6% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2012 Forester X Boxer through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £21–£67 — and 53% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £21–£67
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 53%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 87 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Forester X Boxer, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2011 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.0% to 86.2% — a spread of 9.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2011 80.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 77.0%pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2013 86.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2012 cars with a similar record
- Ford Focus 77.0%
- Ford Kuga 76.9%
- SEAT Alhambra 76.9%
- Volkswagen Jetta 76.9%
- Vauxhall Insignia 77.2%
- Ford Mondeo 77.2%
Closest pass rates among 2012 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 223 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 92 | 41.30% | 20.98% | +20.32 |
| Brakes | 40 | 17.90% | 20.89% | −2.99 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 30 | 13.50% | 12.21% | +1.29 |
| Tyres | 24 | 10.80% | 19.76% | −8.96 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 11 | 4.90% | 5.52% | −0.62 |
| Visibility | 11 | 4.90% | 4.97% | −0.07 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 8 | 3.60% | 5.57% | −1.97 |
| Steering | 4 | 1.80% | 2.57% | −0.77 |
| Non-component advisories | 2 | 0.90% | 4.18% | −3.28 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.40% | 1.76% | −1.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 11.5% | £40–150 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.1% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.8% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.6% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.6% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 4.6% | £3–12 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.6% | £80–200 |
| Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £3–15 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.5% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.5% | £3–12 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 47.1% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 19.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.6% | £45–110 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 12.6% | £80–180 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.3% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.9% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 22,150 mi |
| 30-60k | 5 | 80.0% | 36,834 mi |
| 60-90k | 7 | 100.0% | 79,171 mi |
| 90-120k | 32 | 71.9% | 108,956 mi |
| 120k+ | 42 | 76.2% | 139,615 mi |
Source: 87 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2012 Forester X Boxer MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer?
77.0% of the 87 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 70.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer?
The three most recorded items are pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (11.49%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.05%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.75%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 76.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer in this dataset had covered 119,827 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Subaru Forester X Boxer MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 80.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 72.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.