2016 Subaru Forester 2.0L Petrol · ESK 552

This 2016 Subaru Forester passed its most recent MOT in October 2025 with 43,636 miles recorded, but the test revealed a clear mechanical issue: both the nearside and offside front lower suspension arm bushes are showing wear. While the examiner confirmed the wear is not yet resulting in excessive movement, this is a warning sign that the front suspension is deteriorating and will likely need attention within the next service interval or two. The mileage context is important here. At roughly 4,364 miles per year, this vehicle has been used very lightly for a ten-year-old car. Low mileage can be a mixed picture: it may mean gentler wear on the engine and transmission, but it can also mean long periods of standing still, which accelerates rubber degradation, fluid breakdown, and corrosion. Suspension bushes are particularly vulnerable to sitting unused, as the rubber hardens and splits over time. The wear pattern you're seeing now is consistent with age and standing rather than high-mileage abuse. The trend over the MOT records is stable but deteriorating. The vehicle passed cleanly without defects in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The appearance of suspension wear in October 2025 represents a shift: this is the first defect to emerge across five years of testing.