Car Model Guide/ Subaru/ Forester/ SH/ 2.0

2.0 EJ204

The naturally aspirated flat four, smooth and thirsty and famously long-lived when it's serviced. Head gaskets are the family's known weakness, so ask what's been done rather than assuming.

Overview

The 2.0 is the EJ204 petrol version of the Subaru Forester SUV (SH), sold 2008–2013 with 150 PS and manual or automatic. Demands diligence at level 3. Head gasket failure on the flat four is well recorded and the labour is what makes it expensive. 1 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Subaru Forester SUV (SH) · photo Subaru Forester (III) – Frontansicht, 10. Juni 2012, Wuppertal by M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Power150 PS

Torque196 Nm

Years2008–2013

Fuelpetrol

DriveSymmetrical AWD

EnginesEJ204

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 1 recorded in total.

62Demands diligence

Head gasket failure (petrol flat four)€1,200–€2,400partly checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −16 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 8 with no recurring fault reported

Engine✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Cooling⚠ attentionHead gasket failure (petrol flat four), €1,200–€2,400.

Emissions✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Transmission✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Electrics✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Suspension & brakes✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Body & interior✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

Phase	Years	Low	Average	High	Good buy	What differs
pre Pre-facelift	2008–2010	€4,800	€7,600	€11,500	€6,200	The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)	2011–2013	€5,250	€8,300	€12,550	€6,800	FB20 replaced EJ20 on petrol; Revised nose and interior; EE20 diesel gained a particulate filter

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

Head gasket failure (petrol flat four)EJ204 2.0 boxer€1,200–€2,400

Coolant disappearing with no visible leak, a sweet smell after a run, staining at the block joint and eventually overheating. The flat layout puts the head joints on the sides of the engine, and the gaskets there have a long record of weeping between the coolant galleries and the outside of the block. It's a wear item on this family rather than a defect.

Check: Look for dried coolant staining down the sides of the block and check the expansion tank level and colour. A pressure test is cheap and it's the only reliable answer.

CoolingcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented150–280k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once.

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

1 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

Head gasket failure (petrol flat four)Look for dried coolant staining down the sides of the block and check the expansion tank level and colour. A pressure test is cheap and it's the only reliable answer.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

These run enormous distances when serviced, so mileage matters less than the paperwork. What you want to see is evidence of coolant work rather than a low number on the dial.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil and filter Flat fours are hard on oil and the level needs watching between services.	12,000 km or annually	€90–140
Coolant and pressure test It's the cheapest way to catch a head gasket before it becomes a repair.	every 2 years	€80–140

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €8.0k

€4.8k€6.2k€12.6k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€6,200band €4,800–€12,550

🇺🇸 United StatesNot sold2.0 EJ204 was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelSubaru Forester 2.0
ChassisSH
EngineEJ204
Years2008–2013
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the sh median, all 2 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

The flat four gives the Forester a low centre of gravity and a character nothing else in the class has, and it's thirsty enough that many owners moved on to something else. Head gaskets are the family's known weakness, so ask directly what's been done and look for coolant staining at the block joints. Confirm all four tyres match in size and wear, since a mismatched set damages the centre differential on a permanent four-wheel-drive car. So check the underside carefully, as these are often used where the roads are salted.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	EJ204 2.0 boxer
Configuration	flat-4, naturally aspirated · 1994 cc
Fuel / injection	petrol · port
Model years	2008–2013
Facelift phase	Sold either side of the 2011 facelift, 2008–2010 pre, 2011–2013 LCI
Power / torque	150 PS · 196 Nm
Transmissions	5-speed manual · 4-speed automatic
Gearbox families
Drivetrain	Symmetrical AWD
Economy (real-world)	8.5–10.5 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU