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.
Twice in the last 4 months, after turning into a parking place and accelerating gently to pull forward into the space, the car surged forward much more than it should have given my light acceleration. The first time this happened I slammed into a split rail fence which broke, damaging the vehicle. The fence parts went over a restraining wall and damaged a house. I was able to stop the car but it came very close to going over the 6 foot restraining wall, which might very well have killed me. It happened again today in a different location but similar circumstance and no damage was done because I was able to stop before it hit the house. The car surged on its own. I had the damage to the car fixed, but the problem has not been confirmed by a service center. The damage was inspected by my insurance company and repaired by an auto body shop. My insurance rates will be increased because of the incident. There were no warning lights, messages or other symptoms prior to the episodes.
Rear wheel bearings are needing to be replaced at 65,000 miles, car is less than 5 years old. No specific incident is connected to this premature failure.
I recently purchased a used Subaru Forester with about 92k miles. About two weeks after purchase, I took it to a Subaru dealership and a multi point inspection revealed a cracked catalytic converter. The tech stated that this was discovered by visual inspection. This failure causes a safety issue by leaking exhaust vapors into the cabin. This failure occurred with no warning lamps or messages/codes.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated she was parking in a parking space when the vehicle accelerated at a very high speed without any warning causing the driver to crash into a building. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the contact shifted the vehicle into reversed and the vehicle accelerated backward at very high-speed once again causing the contact to hit another building. The contact was the only person that was injured. The contact was uncertain if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 4,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving into a parking space at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, which caused a collision. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle crashed into a traffic signpost, a boulder, and then a tree, which stopped the vehicle. No injury was sustained and no medical treatment was received. No air bags were deployed. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed that the computer system did not show a failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The vehicle was not deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Prior to the collision, the vehicle had inadvertently accelerated on several occasions. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
- Grand Island, NY, USA
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The CVT transmission is begining to fail, the car has come near stalling several times and has a very rough/lurching shift while accelerating onto highways and merging. Subaru dealership says it does not qualify for a warranty replacement even though Subaru extended the warranty specifically for this problem.
Follow up-to complaint #11420905 submitted 6/14/2021. The car was taken back to the dealership due to stall, hesitation, slowness, and erratic uncontrolled acceleration. Safety was the main issue. The dealer confirmed the concern and replaced the transmission with a remanufactured one. The problems still remain with the exception of the stalling. We believe this situation requires further thorough investigation and possible recall or new transmission installation.
The 2018 Forrester XT was taken to Subaru Dealer (Gwinnett) for a routine 42,000-mile service. There were no issues with the car. Shortly after picking up and driving approximately 30 miles the car stalled twice at traffic lights. The engine was restarted but started to exhibit sluggish and erratic acceleration, especially from 0-45 MPH. The car was taken back to Gwinnett Subaru the next day. They did some data retrieval and found a mass airflow event, cleaned the air filter, test drove the car, and released it to us. The next few days, the same problems were experienced but the car did not stall. At one point, at a traffic light, the car would simply not accelerate even with full pedal pressure which was gradually increased. When it finally did, it was uncontrolled and erratic. Highway driving once speed was reached seemed normal, but any acceleration from a slower speed was problematic. On Monday 6-14-2021 the car was taken back to the dealer due to serious concerns about safety and the possibility of the loss of power when critically needed or when on the highway. The dealer promised to investigate the problem further. That evening, we were informed that it was their assessment that the car would need a brand new CVT transmission. The car has approximately 41,100 miles and we were told that it would be covered by the 5 years/60,000 miles powertrain warranty. Expected to take 7-10 days for repair.
I have ac problems, refrigerant leak, actuator problems, bad compressor. I have serious cvt surging and suspension problems that make vehicle unsafe to drive. The car literally begins to hop like you are stomping the gas and breaks back and forth and can easily make you lose control. It sometimes does nothing when pressing accelerator for way too long making it dangerous pulling into traffic. Windows roll down without pressing button and won't roll back up unless you roll them all the way down first and usually it just rolls right back down again. Aweful trying to drive while fighting with windows that won't stay up. Suspension is so destroyed from the surging and hopping that it cannot be aligned. The vehicle destroys tires rapidly and unevenly. Gas mpg is terrible, especially if you run ac. Steering assist is dangerous and will sometimes jerk wheel away for no reason causing you to scrape curbs and nearly hit a pole once.. breaking assist is also dangerous as it will slam breaks for no reason. Lane departure beeps a lot for no reason. Wipers are garbage. Windshield glass is too soft and all dust scratches it making visibility poor the trunk often will not open no matter if you push button on key, inside car or on trunk. The door seals fell off, cheap clips fall off that are supposed to hold important things in place, glove box shock broke. I'm sure there are other issues too. Suspension is a big issue however, completely shot from surging. Far too expensive to get whole new suspension. Dealership ignored all complaints and purged all records of visits so I couldn't file lemon law. Subaru is very dishonest. So many things need recall that it is a lemon pure and simple.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru foster. The contact stated while parking her vehicle she shifted into park, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a building. The contact mentioned no warning light was illuminated and no strange sound happened before the crash. The vehicle failed to deploy the air bags. The contact sustained whiplash and neck pain but no medical attention was required. Emergency officials were contacted and a police report was filed. The vehicle 's front bumper and headlight was damaged and the building door was broken. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. Failure mileage was approximately 65,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and sometimes lost power. The vehicle restarted after it was shut off. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Subaru sherman oaks (888-690-1521, located at 5747 van nuys blvd, van nuys, ca 91401) where the technician test drove the vehicle, but was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that someone would follow up with the dealer. The contact was not called back. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not provided.
When on an incline, and or entering a highway while accelerating the car will go into the hill decent mode. Every light on the dash will light up! I am forced to pull over because the engine is now screaming!!! I then need to turn the car off and on two times in order to be able to drive it. Now half the lights are still on. But the car is running normally. It will take to more times turning off the engine before all the lights go off. The dealer claimed I was driving two footed. Left foot on brake and right on gas. Not true I do not drive like that. You can verify this behavior with starlink which I had the first year. Stamford Subaru has had the car a week now and I have heard nothing! the second issue is the front end. When going over a bump or turning into a driveway there is a loud clunk. To me it sounds like ball joints. Stamford Subaru has told me it is the all wheel drive system lifting one wheel off the ground, that's bull. I'm doing five miles an hour. Both issues have been going on for over a year. I do not feel safe in my Subaru. Stamford Subaru has given me an impresa as a loner and I am loving it. I have put six hundred miles on it and no problems. Please get in their butts to fix or replace my Forester!!! thank you in advance... ps, the computer code said incorrect gear ratio for the transmission problem. In addition this has happened five times in a year and four months. Very scary!!!
On August 23, 2018, I purchased a brand new Subaru Forester (VIN # (xx)) from southern states automotive in raleigh, nc. On October 30, 2018, I received a notice from Subaru of America stating that Subaru of America is implementing a warranty extension of 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first) for my vehicle's continuously variable transmission (cvt). On October 31, 2018, at 5:13 pm, I spoke to eric in Subaru's customer service division. I asked eric how long Subaru had known about problems with their cvts. He stated "two weeks." I stated to eric that I bought a Subaru because of its reliability. I asked eric to offer me a lifetime warranty on my cvt. Eric stated there was no way he or anyone in his department could do that. At 7:09 pm on October 31, 2018, I spoke to virgil - a Subaru customer service supervisor. I asked virgil to provide me with a lifetime warranty on my cvt. Virgil offered me a $500 service voucher with an expiration date of November 2019. I asked virgil how much it would cost to replace my cvt. He stated "six or seven thousand dollars." He stated there was no one else capable of reviewing my concerns. On November 13, 2018, I spoke to donnie (X) and derrick (X) in the sales department at southern states Subaru. Both informed me that they were unable to provide me a lifetime warranty for my cvt. I have paid Subaru $11,200 toward the cost of my brand new 2018 Forester. I specifically purchased it because of Subaru's reputation for reliability. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Occasionally when I slowly accelerate from a stop, as when I pull into a driving lane from a parking lot a stop sign, the car will move a few feet and then stop. The engine will still be turning approx. 2000 RPM but the car will not move. When I apply the accelerator the RPM does not change and the car still will not move. After anywhere from 3-5 seconds the car will accelerate normally. Otherwise the car performs normally and there is no hesitation at higher speeds. As a result, I am sitting helpless in a traffic land with cars bearing down on me. S far we have not been hit. I have been unable to replicate this problem and it may occur a few times in one day or nit for several days. I took it to my local Subaru dealer and they were unable to duplicate the problem on a test drive. However, a service writer with the same model did describe a similar experience. The service dept. Ran diagnostic tests and said that everything is normal. Subaru customer service said that unless they can duplicate the problem there is nothing they can do. When I googled this problem I found several similar complaints involving several Subaru models and also that Subaru is aware of the problem but apparently has not found a solution.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. While driving 20 mph in stop and go traffic, the vehicle jerked and decelerated. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to johnson Subaru of cary (5010 old raleigh rd, cary, nc 27511, (833) 287-8912) to be diagnosed, but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. While driving over 40 mph, the vehicle shook violently and vibrated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (Suburban Subaru, 1821 maplelawn dr, troy, mi) where it was diagnosed that the failure was caused by a build up of dirt and debris in the wheels and wheel wells. The contact was advised to power wash the wheels and wheel wells to prevent the failure from recurring. In addition, the engine idled while the vehicle was on a slight incline. Suddenly, the engine began to rev high and the vehicle erroneously drove forward. The failure occurred as the driver was getting back into the vehicle and the accelerator pedal had not been depressed. On several occasions, while on a slight incline with the engine idling, the vehicle would suddenly roll backwards once the brake pedal was released. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who found no failures with the vehicle. The manufacturer was informed of the failures and did not assist. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 2,500. Consumer stated violent vibration and shaking at 45mph or greater especially in winter months with snow and mud build up. Automatic brakes slam frequently when in reverse. While at a stop sign, when car is in drive on an incline engine starts revving. Vehicle went backwards while foot was on the brake. Updated 11/19/18
I have trouble making turns for it hesitates before it will kick in, yesterday I was almost hit by a police car going on a call, lights/siren on. I just made a turn and it hesitated icouldn't get out of his way. This is an ongoing problem with this car.
The car will periodically stall for a second or two on occassions when starting out and then accelerate with a jolt. When in traffic this is unacceptable. I understand this may be common with cvt transmissions. If that is the case I question why they are allowed on the road. I wll not purchase another Subaru or any other car with a cvt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Williamstown, MA, USA