This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owned a?2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, in a residential parking lot, the contact stated while he was parking, the vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into a nearby tree. The contact stated before crashing into the nearby tree the vehicle also hit a nearby pole. The contact stated that the acceleration continued to get faster and faster. The contact also stated that none of the air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact's wife was transferred by ambulance to a hospital for medical attention. The contact's wife suffered a compression fractured vertebra and she had been experiencing severe pain. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The vehicle was condemned to total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Both Rear Wheel bearings failed and required replacement at 65,000 miles. Apparently this is a common issue as a TSB was issued and a new backer plate was installed as water is getting into the bearings (design issue)
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle accelerated at high speed and stability, the traction control, the check engine, and the cruise control warning light illuminated, and the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the transmission module was updated, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the throttle pedal assembly was replaced multiple times, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 73,600.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at high speeds, the vehicle made abnormal grinding sounds. Additionally, the vehicle was vibrating while turning the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty bearing. The bearing was replaced; however, the failure recurred while driving approximately 70-75 MPH. The vehicle was then taken to Farrish Subaru (10407 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030) where it was diagnosed that all four bushings needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the four bushings. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,545.
- Fairfax, VA, USA
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We were driving at 75 mph in the left lane when our car suddenly dropped in speed to 40 mph as though the transmission had dropped into neutral. There were no warning lights or any indication about what was happening. We were in heavy traffic, with trucks and car hitting their brakes. This could have caused a very serious accident. We managed to move our car to the right shoulder. The car's transmission re-engaged and we picked up our speed. This happened 3 times in the space of a few hundred miles while we were on a road trip. I called Subaru. They had no idea what it was. We went to the nearest Subaru dealer and they ran a diagnostic test, even including a 12 mile test drive with the computer hooked up. Nothing showed up. They told us to continue our trip. Then it happened 2 more times! The last time, again, in the left lane, on cruise. The engine rpm clocked up at 7500 rpm before I was able to get the car off the road. The engine died and we had to be towed to a shop. Again, no warning dash lights. This is a serious flaw and very dangerous.
I was backing out of a parking spot, and there was a telephone poll behind me in my path. I needed to pull forward to navigate around this poll. After backing up some, I put the car into drive to pull slightly forward, and the car lurched aggressively, so much so that I got out to see if it'd caught on something. It did not -- there was absolutely nothing there. So I got back in and tried to continue forward, and the accelerator went full force. I floored the brake pedal, but the car behaved as though I was flooring the accelerator. The car drove itself over a cement block, through a staircase and into the brick wall of an abandoned building, continuing to accelerate for a few seconds while against the wall. Air bags did not deploy. I walked away without physical injury, thank goodness. There were no warning lights, symptoms of or dashboard indicators of a problem before or during the issue. Upon investigation online, we see that there is a pending class action for this exact issue. The vehicle has been inspected by our insurance carrier and been deemed a total loss. Insurance has asked that we turn the title over to them in order to receive our payout, and I believe they plan to destroy the car.
April 2022 my car started to make noises when accelarating. I took it to several mechanics who could not diagnose the problem. Dec. 30, 2022 I took it to another mechanic who thought it might be the brakes and replaced them. He then test drove the vehicle and the noise remained, so he stopped at a transmission shop and they said possible transmission issues, not sure. No warning light ever came on. I was driving on Dec. 31, 2022 when the sounds were louder. I turned around to go home and was in traffic and down shifted to descend a hill when I downshifted the car stopped and many warning lights came on the dashbosrd. I shifted back into regular gear and the left lane was available so I changed lanes and pulled in to the mndot parking lot which was about 100 feet away. I shut off the vehicle and had it towed to the Subaru dealer. They diagnosed the car with a broken transmission and that since I have a salvage title it is not covered. The repair cost is over $9000.
While driving 45mph on an icy road (approximately 25 degree(F) outside temp) the car suddenly lost power as if the CVT transmission was in neutral. However, it was still in drive. Pressing the accelerator only raised the RPMs but no power was sent to the wheels. There were cars behind me and my car was slowing down due to no power. I was fortunately able to pull off to the side of the road, stop, put in park. I put back into drive, power returned, and car drove normally for the remaining ~10miles of my trip. No warning lights from vehicle occurred during this event. This sudden loss of power could have been very dangerous especially given the road conditions. If drivers behind me were not following at a safe distance the sudden reduction in speed could have caused an accident due to the icy roads. I have not yet taken the car to be inspected, but will do so as soon as possible.
Driving in merging four lane traffic 70mph when forward motion stopped due to power loss. Almost wrecked getting to shoulder of road. Stranded in 90+ heat. Vehicle would not crank.
With no one sitting in the passage seat the warning light will not turn off unless the seat belt is buckled The CVT transmission is making a high pitch whining sound The dealership informed me the transmission is going out. There is a manufacturer extended warranty for up to 100,000 miles that I have not received. My car started to make the sound at 110,210 miles Subaru was fully aware of the CVT problems and are not being held accountable for the repairs. I have been quoted I-??ve $7000 from the dealership for a replacement The CVT is not repairable My car is now unsafe to drive. The CVT transmission can fail and not shift or not stop while braking
I was driving with cruise control going around 70 when the car started slowing down suddenly. Not wanting to slow down even more, I turned off the cruise control by hand using the cancel button on the steering wheel (rather than tap the brake) but when I then hit the accelerator, the engine felt like it was in neutral, revving past 6000 rpm on the tachometer. At that point, I realized I had no control over the drive train so I pulled off the road onto the center median of the highway, just as the engine died - fortunately, there wasn-??t anyone following close behind. We had been driving for about 1.5 hours with the AC blasting and the gas tank at that point was low, with less than 1/8 remaining. All this happened without any dashboard warning lights turning on. This was the very last leg of a ten-day, 2,000 mile road trip. I tried restarting the engine but only got clicking. Since I thought we-??d be struck a while and it was so hot, I turned the key to the accessory position and was able to roll down the windows. We sat there for a couple of minutes wondering what to do. It took another minute to find my AAA card. Before calling for roadside assistance, I tried starting the engine again and this time it turned over. We did not have any further problems in the remaining 100 miles of our trip (though I was very anxious about it happening again). I took the car in to a Subaru service center this morning (36 hours later). They did a multi-point inspection and road test but did not find any issues and were not able to replicate the problem.
Car continues to have ongoing lack of response with acceleration. Car was at dealer for 3 weeks for inspection after I was nearly rear ended due to lack of response in acceleration at a stop light, as well as shifting gears. No lights came on to indicate issue, thus the car was returned to me with no repairs. 2 weeks after car obtained from dealer, car again started having issues with acceleration, and pulling into a lot, the AT oil temp light, hill assist, ABS, and check engine light came on. In the 2 prior attempted repair sessions at dealer, the team stated that they were unable to replicate the problem that has been occurring nearly daily for almost 2 months, and stated that they cannot figure it out without any lights coming on. Given the lack of responsiveness to accelerate, my safety is at-risk as well as others, as I am not able to clear traffic as quickly as I should.
While attempting to make a left turn the car stalled and lost all power. The car had to be restarted and was able to drive back home. Took the car to dealership who stated it was a battery issue and a plugged air filter. NO check of the transmission was completed. This is the CVT transmission. The battery is 6 months old and the battery was tested multiple times by other locations and tested good. This stalling making a turn seems to be an ongoing issue with Subaru and the CVT transmission.
Hill start assist system failure. Apply power, but the car would not go very far before the brakes were automatically applied. Pull out into traffic and the car would not go. Dangerous. Warning message that the system hill start assist should be inspected by a Subaru dealer. Drove on deserted city streets for two minutes and then everything was okay except the warning light stayed on until I got home and turned the car off. I have found out how to deactivate the hill start system and I will do that. I have not yet taken the car to the dealer.
Premature wheel bearing failure, Subaru already has a service buletin (#05-70-19 announced on Sept 30, 2019) recomending installing revised brake backing plates due to factory installed non-flat backing plates which distort the rear wheel bearings/hubs causing premature wheel bearing failure. This is a well documented occurance noted on national Subaru web portals for multiple models with possible catastrophic outcomes.
The car regularly lurches or feels as it will stall. This occurs when trying to go from stops to starts both in a slow and faster manner. Has occurred while trying to turn left with oncoming traffic and I was concerned I may get hit. Dealership said -??all 2015 Forrester do this. It drives like the others on the lot. There aren-??t any issues and if there were we would see light-??. Obviously this is a know issue and Subaru doesn-??t want to address it. When it happens the rpms shutter abs the speed doesn-??t change
We were driving on the highway going 65 and then there were two quick shudders and jerks of the car. Seemed to lose power in those moments. Immediately after that, we could hear a faint whoosh sound when on the accelerator but the car did accelerate. That sound was not there before the shudders. Then about 30 seconds later the power gave out and the car started slowing down very quickly. Luckily we were in the right lane and could pull off to the shoulder quickly, though the shoulder was very narrow and dangerous. The car slowed down very quickly without applying that much brake. When we were stopped on the shoulder, I applied the accelerator, and the car was in Drive, and it didn-??t go anywhere. Then we put it in park and the car rolled forward. So both the drive and park gears were not working. We turned the car off and then back on to try the gears again. Same issues happened again with drive and park. This was a very dangerous situation that occurred quickly on a highway. The issue described and what we experienced seems to be consistent with similar issues with other CVT transmissions. We hope the NHTSA follows up with Subaru as we will be as well.
My 2015 Subaru Forester developed a high pitch noise emanating from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle currently has less than 50,000 miles on the odometer and I am the original owner. I discovered that Subaru has issued a TSB regarding the issue (NUMBER: 05-70-19). The noise is loud and distracting and it appears that a complete bearing failure is imminent. Subaru should extend the powertrain warranty for this item to 10 years and or 100,000 miles and cover any owners previous repair costs.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Jose, CA, USA