Factory build sheet
2009 Subaru Forester 2.5XT
Build JF2SH656-9 · 2.5L · All-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read JF2SH656 and position 10 reads 9. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Forester whose VIN starts JF2SH656 and carries 9 in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 248 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 248 known VINs
- 1 listed for sale now
Factory specification
As filed by Subaru with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 2.5 L
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Drivetrain
- Drive type
- All-wheel drive
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
- NHTSA body type
- MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
- Doors
- 4
- Manufacturer
- SUBARU CORPORATION
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1C
- GVWR
- 4,001–5,000 lb
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | JF2 | SUBARU CORPORATION · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | SH656 | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | 9 | Model year — 2009 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
NHTSA safety ratings
Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2009 Subaru Forester as a whole rather than this build alone.
Rollover
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
18 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2009 Forester. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
248 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to JF2SH656-9 shares the specification above.
- 248 Known VINs
- 1 Listed for sale now
Cars are filed by a fixed rule based on the VIN, so a car never moves between groups.
Neighboring configurations
Other factory configurations of the Forester, each with its own build sheet. The set is fixed by the VIN patterns themselves, so it does not shuffle as prices or inventory move.
- 2010 2.5XS 2.5L · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 4,204 vehicles · $6,950 median
- 2010 2.5X Premium 2.5L · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 12,172 vehicles · $6,995 median
- 2010 2.5X LTD 2.5L · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 5,019 vehicles · $7,888 median
- 2010 2.5XT LTD 2.5L · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · AWD 919 vehicles · $7,900 median
- 2011 Premium AWP 2.5L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult 5,555 vehicles · $6,995 median
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Vehicle counts come from the 248 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.