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.
Loss of engine power/acceleration. Traveling home in our 2015 Forester, VIN [xxx], 93K miles, when we encountered a problem. On the interstate, traveling approximately 70mph, our Forester seemed to come out of gear, all the dash lights illuminated & the gas pedal would not work as far as actually accelerating the car (the gas pedal would "rev up" when pressed, but there was no actual acceleration happening with the engine). There was no warning; no engine issues; no warning lights on the dash prior to this event. We were luckily able to pull safely off the interstate. We did shut the car off in hopes of "resetting" something but could not get the car to restart (it would just crank). Therefore, we had to have it towed. This is the third time this has happened in the past year on this vehicle. We have taken it to our trusted local mechanic. No issues were found, and no codes were identified. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Several issues: 1) replace rear strut assemblies. 04/22/19. (the car seemed fine but when they put it on a lift to work on brakes mechanics saw this. 2) the the engine shimmies and feels like it is going to stall. This has gone on since 2016. This happen when going about 30 mph. I had a mechanic look at it they found nothing. It still feels like it is going to stall. 3) bearings in rear passenger side in 2017. Rear wheels were making noise when driving around 40 mph. (different mechanic looked at this. 4) right front axle shaft replaced 06/26/19 this car has never been in an accident and is used for highway driving.
Subaru 2015 Forester 2.5L at cvt transmission no turbo engine revs to 4-6000 RPM transmission slams into gear car takes off accelerating without driver input. The driver must slam on brakes place the car in neutral to regain control. The car does this intermittently both at low and high-speed travel.. this car has been at dealer several times for diagnosis without success. This is dangerous in that the driver is at risk of loss of control due to high engine RPM and sudden acceleration with slamming transmission engagement requiring hard brakeing and placing the car in neutral to regain control. I believe this is long standing problem with this car and the origianal buyer traded in this vehicle because of this defect. I believe this is a problem with the electriclal engine control system that will only be diagnosised documented by 24/7 monitoring of engine functions. In order to catch the events as they occur no codes are being thrown or recorded. The dealers have refused to provide this service to diagnosis this intermittant problem.
The cam carriers on the engine began leaking oil, dripping onto other components. Included a sensor and the catalytic converter. Due to the sensor being drenched in oil, the vehicle began to have issues while in motion on roads with bucking and power because the system thought it was running lean. Researching the internet shows this is a common issue with the boxer engine style chosen for Foresters and can occur any time within 100,000 miles. If I had known this was a common issue, a mechanic could have repaired it prior to further damage but no recall information was available. Removing the engine to fix the cam carriers is an extensive, labor-intensive repair for something Subaru knows about. Not an expert but if a catalytic converter or sensor fails while the car is in motion, probably not a good situation for the driver or other vehicles.
In September 2017, I was driving on the highway when my Subaru Forester lost power completely and without warning. I was barely able to get to the shoulder and have the vehicle towed. It restarted after only approximately 2 hours. Luckily this occurred in the middle of the night with little traffic, or I likely would have been involved in a catastrophic accident. I contacted Subaru and learned I was eligible for an extended warranty due to possible cvt issues, but Subaru refused to assist me when I explained that I was overseas with the vehicle on official U.S. government assignment and that the local authorized Subaru shop needed authorization from Subaru to complete work on my U.S.-spec vehicle. I noted my alarm that several others had reported similar incidents, which could result in my, my children's or others deaths, but Subaru still did not assist in finding a solution. I believe the seriousness of this fault, as well as the fact that other Subaru owners are reporting the same problem up until this day (late 2019) should call for an actual recall of the vehicle, not only an extended warranty. I am a three-time Subaru owner and am shocked by the lack of customer loyalty regarding this serious vehicle issue. I continue to be on U.S. government assignment overseas so am unable to take the vehicle to a U.S. Subaru service center. Irrespective of that situation, the fact that I and the other owners who have reported this dangerous issue should result in vehicle recall before lives are lost.
- Dpo, AE, USA
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The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the vehicle started to consume an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was taken to tom wood Subaru (3300 E 96th St, indianapolis, in 46240) four times and they advised the contact to monitor the oil consumption. After the latest failure, the dealer determined that a new engine was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.
For the past few weeks I have been having major issues with this vehicle. The vehicle shakes as if it is going to stall. While on the highway or the street the rpms and power will suddenly drop and when I push on the accelerator the RPM revs up to a 5 or 6 but with little power and the engine shakes for the vehicle to even start moving forward. There appears to be slippage as well. This is a safety hazard not only for the driver, but passengers and other drivers on the road. The vehicle feels as if it will completely stop on the road. I have contacted Subaru of America and they told me that since I'm over my warranty by 24K miles they will not do anything. So Subaru will only warranty their cars for a max of 100K? this is very unprofessional and poor service, not to mention putting drivers lives in hazard.
Vehicle consumes oil at irregular pace. 1 quart needs to be added every 1,500-2,000 miles. This means using 3 additional quarts of oil in between oil changes. I am concerned about the environmental impact and for catastrophic engine failure.
While driving on highway at 70mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power. The engine revved but no response, like it was in neutral. The engine did not completely shut off, and I was able to get over to the shoulder. While coasting on the shoulder, the car sputtered as if it was out of gas, but I had 1/4 tank. It then began to run normally. I pulled off to a gas station, filled it up, and continued my trip without a problem. The occurrence was very dangerous on a congested highway.
My car losses power while I am driving. I merged into traffic on a two lane highway, and while my vehicle was across the North & South lanes, I lost power. Luckily all traffic slowed or stopped until I was able to move my car. This has happened 3 times now, I have had it to my dealer twice and was given answers like brake problems. Returning to the dealership 12/19/2019 for the third time, before I am killed, or cause a multi-car accident and other people to be injured. I have also reported this to consumer reports and Subaru's main location. Please notify me of anything else I can seek out as to not be killed or seriously injured in this car. Thanks.
Car hesitates when accelerating from a stop. Lasts 2-3 seconds, then slowly resumes speed. Very dangerous when merging, turning in front of traffic. Intermittent. Have taken it to Subaru dealer and two other mechanics and they have been unable to replicate the problem. One mechanic said oxygen was low and to try premium gas. Didn't make any difference.
Car stalled while driving, with no lights lit up on the dashboard. Happened twice, once at 5 mph and again at 25 mph. The two times it happened were about three minutes apart this morning. Then I drove three hours on the highway without a repeat of the issue. When it stalled, it felt like the wheels and engine became disconnected from the gas pedal. No engine revving was audible. It did not completely stop, but slowed to a crawl coasting totally on momentum, then started moving again on its own. This is what happened both times.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. While driving 60 mph, the hill assist emergency brake indicator illuminated and the vehicle decelerated to 40 mph. The vehicle was restarted and resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to stevens creek Subaru (3155 stevens creek blvd, san jose, ca 95117, (877) 869-0971) where it was determined that the motor was tilted and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 144,000.
While driving normal speeds, the car's check engine light came on. I scanned the code, the car is getting a P0016 code, and the car has a rough idle. The wilsonville Subaru dealer has said that a new ECM and cam sprocket needs to be replaced in order for this issue to be fixed. The issue seems to be a factory defect with the cam sprocket, "coming apart" and causing the engine to lose timing. This seems to be a common issue people are having online with this engine as well. Anad, apparently the issue will come back if the ECM isn't replaced as the ECM "hard codes" the error in the computer and it wont go away unless replaced. Making the issue unresolvable outside of drivetrain warranty without Subaru's assistance. Subaru is refusing to do the repairs.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that she had to apply a quart of oil every 1,500-2,000 miles before her next scheduled oil change. An oil consumption test was performed and the vehicle failed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact of manufacturer recall number: Tsb0215714R; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer offered to pay half of the repair cost. The contact spoke with mark miller Subaru South towne (10920 state St, sandy, ut 84070, 801-553-5200) who was working on her behalf with the manufacturer to find a resolution. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
On July 28, we were driving at ~70 mph on a freeway when the car lost momentum. The engine and electrical system seemed to still be operating, but the accelerator had not effect and we had to coast and brake to a stop next to the meridian. Due to dense, high speed traffic, we could not safely cross two-lanes of traffic to reach the shoulder. Brakes and steering continued to function and the car had fuel, although was close to empty. We could not restart the car, nor could the tow truck operator who reached us ~35-min later. The car started normally the next day, the dealer had no theory of why this occurred, and a mechanic who examined the car could not reproduce the problem, and said the fuel system was operating normally. We've owned the car since June 2018 with no previous problems and this was the first time this situation occurred. On July 7, we had the car serviced for a recall related to a brake lamp switch, I.e., safety recall: Wue90|NHTSA campaign: 19V149000.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the oil indicator was illuminated and the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of additional oil. The vehicle was taken to redding Subaru (481 E cypress ave, redding, ca 96002, (888) 859-0264), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 52,000. The VIN was unknown.
Twice while driving on the interstate on a 3-4 hour trip going approximately 70 mph using cruise control with approximately 1/12 - 1/6 tank of gas, my engine began to rev and at the same time lost power and speed. The first time I pulled off the road, shut the engine off, waited approximately 10 minutes and was able to restart the engine and finish my trip. It happened the second time with mostly identical circumstances. I pulled off the road, turned off the engine, waited and was unable to start the engine. I had to tow my vehicle to a dealership. They ran diagnostics with nothing turning up. They were however able to start the car when they tried. This was extremely dangerous being in 70 mph traffic and having no speed control. I have the dealership paperwork from the service. Now the engine does not seem to have the normal power it usually does when accelerating.
I have had my Forester since Nov 2014, and during the time of owning the vehicle I have had to add a quart of oil roughly every 2500-3000 miles in between services (5000 mile service interval) as the check engine oil level light illuminates. At two points that I have had the vehicle (roughly 50000 and 80000), I have had oil consumption tests run on the vehicle, both were returned as normal, and that the amount of oil consumed by the engine was within the parameters of the design. On 24 May 2019, I turned the vehicle in to a Subaru dealership in Hawaii for servicing (have used this location in the past), and they informed me that the oil is leaking into the coolant system inside the engine, and that the engine needs to be pulled and the upper oil pan seals and head gaskets need to be replaced. I fail to understand how this issue could go undiagnosed for the entirety that I have been having the vehicle serviced at Subaru dealerships, through two oil consumption tests, and just now the issue was diagnosed. I also understand that the amount of oil missing from the pan might not have been "consumed" as the service technician made a point to state, but I would say a pretty good indicator of an issue with the oil system, is the system losing oil. Also, after a cursory search of internet forums, this issue seems to be a common trend among Subaru Foresters, and the symptoms were covered in a similar technical service bulletin (tsb no. 02-157-14R), which includes my year, make, and model, but differs in that it only covers the manual transmission cars, not vehicles equipped with the cvt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Beaverdam, VA, USA