My 2015 Subaru Forester dies at highway speed with absolutely no warning. It has happened to me twice and to a maintenance tech from my local Subaru dealership once. I have tried to resolve this with Subaru to no avail. Here is a summary of the problem:
On August 31, 2018 I had been driving at freeway speed for about two hours. I was on level ground, dry weather, I think about 70-75°F. The trip computer said I had 70 miles till empty, but the low fuel light had not come on. The car behaved as if it had run out of gas. The engine RPM's rev’d like it slipped out of gear, then completely quit. Zero warning. I was able to pull to the shoulder. Almost all of the warning lights on the dash were lit.
For the next 90 minutes while I waited for a tow truck I would try to start the car every 20 minutes or so. The engine would turn, but no indication it was getting any fuel. While waiting, I researched several Forester blogs and found many identical incidents (highway speed, less than a quarter tank, engine revs then dies). One post said that after filling the tank it would start. So I had the tow truck take me to a gas station where I filled it with ~13.5 gallons of gas. That means the tank had about 2.4 gallons left and @30mpg=72 miles just like the dash said. That’s all I did, and the car started immediately.
My local Subaru dealer had the car for a few weeks and said they worked with Subaru to understand the problem. They detected an error with the fuel pressure sending units and replaced them (I believe there are two). Still during multiple test drives AFTER the sensors were replaced, their technician had the exact same failure as I did. The only difference, he was able to restart the car after pulling to the side of the road.
Then on January 2, 2019 my car died on me again. Going 60 mph on a two-lane highway with 40 miles till empty. Ironically, I was on my way to the dealer for a scheduled service appointment. I pulled to the side of the road. I turned the car off, then tried to start it. The car started on the second try.
The dealer then had the car for over a month and consulted with a Subaru factory rep. They test drove it for nearly 300 miles with special instruments attached but couldn't get the problem to happen again. They finally returned it to me but could not determine a root cause.
I've also been in contact with Subaru but they say they can't determine the cause and aren't willing to do anything else.
Would be interested in hearing from others who have had the same problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My 2015 Subaru Forester dies at highway speed with absolutely no warning. It has happened to me twice and to a maintenance tech from my local Subaru dealership once. I have tried to resolve this with Subaru to no avail. Here is a summary of the problem:
On August 31, 2018 I had been driving at freeway speed for about two hours. I was on level ground, dry weather, I think about 70-75°F. The trip computer said I had 70 miles till empty, but the low fuel light had not come on. The car behaved as if it had run out of gas. The engine RPM's rev’d like it slipped out of gear, then completely quit. Zero warning. I was able to pull to the shoulder. Almost all of the warning lights on the dash were lit.
For the next 90 minutes while I waited for a tow truck I would try to start the car every 20 minutes or so. The engine would turn, but no indication it was getting any fuel. While waiting, I researched several Forester blogs and found many identical incidents (highway speed, less than a quarter tank, engine revs then dies). One post said that after filling the tank it would start. So I had the tow truck take me to a gas station where I filled it with ~13.5 gallons of gas. That means the tank had about 2.4 gallons left and @30mpg=72 miles just like the dash said. That’s all I did, and the car started immediately.
My local Subaru dealer had the car for a few weeks and said they worked with Subaru to understand the problem. They detected an error with the fuel pressure sending units and replaced them (I believe there are two). Still during multiple test drives AFTER the sensors were replaced, their technician had the exact same failure as I did. The only difference, he was able to restart the car after pulling to the side of the road.
Then on January 2, 2019 my car died on me again. Going 60 mph on a two-lane highway with 40 miles till empty. Ironically, I was on my way to the dealer for a scheduled service appointment. I pulled to the side of the road. I turned the car off, then tried to start it. The car started on the second try.
The dealer then had the car for over a month and consulted with a Subaru factory rep. They test drove it for nearly 300 miles with special instruments attached but couldn't get the problem to happen again. They finally returned it to me but could not determine a root cause.
I've also been in contact with Subaru but they say they can't determine the cause and aren't willing to do anything else.
Would be interested in hearing from others who have had the same problem.
- John M., Cherokee, IA, US