What 611 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Subaru Forester

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

NHTSA ODI 11435841

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.

NHTSA ODI 11432282

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.

NHTSA ODI 11430687

Key will not remove from ignition when put in park. Happens about 40-60% of the time and must shift several times in and out of park to get key out of ignition. This is a known faulty part with several models (see Subaru Service Bulletin 16-112-18R) yet Subaru has not issued a recall. Replacement of known faulty part is at customer's expense. Safety issue - unable to exit car upon parking.

NHTSA ODI 11429119

This 2015 Subaru accelerates without warning and without gas pedal input. The issue arose about a month ago (July 2021) and has persisted ever since. The vehicle will rev while in park and once put into drive will jolt aggressively and without warning. Additionally, the vehicle will enter low-power mode at random and decelerate to 15-20mph. This has caused multiple hazards when driving on highways/interstates where pulling over is difficult or impossible.

NHTSA ODI 11428178

The contact's wife owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while reversing into the driveway, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated he depressed the brake pedal all the way to the floorboard and he pulled up the parking brake to stop the vehicle from crashing into the wall. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 53,002.

NHTSA ODI 11427439

Merging onto a a 70mph highway and vehicle stopped accelerating around 45 mph. RMPs kept increasing, black smoke-type substance was coming out of the exhaust pipes when I tried to accelerate. No lights, warning noises, or any other indication of anything wrong with the car. Vehicle kept lurching and rev'ing but no acceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11417959

PULLING INTO PARKING SPOT, VEHICLE STARTED TO STALL, GAVE A LITTLE MORE GAS AND VEHICLE LAUNCHED FORWARD AND HIT CEMENT POLE. NO DAMAGE TO POLE CAR DAMAGE AROUND 8K.AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC ALSO

NHTSA ODI 11413243

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, CAUSING THE SPEED TO INCREASE TO APPROXIMATELY 62 MPH AFTER LEAVING FROM A STOP LIGHT. ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING, THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE DRIVER DOWNSHIFTED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE WHICH CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT YET DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER AUSTIN SUBARU LOCATED AT 8100 BURNET RD, AUSTIN, TX 78757 AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 134,000.

NHTSA ODI 11397488

I HAVE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION DURING MY OWNERSHIP OF MY 2015 SUBARU FORESTER XT WHILE I WAS STOPPED ON A CITY STREET. THERE IS ALSO A "LUNGING" FEELING WHENEVER YOU PRESS THE ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE AFTER PROCEEDING FROM A COMPLETE STOP.

NHTSA ODI 11396068

ENGINE USING TO MUCH OIL BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. TRANSMISSION WILL NOT SHIFT INTO FINAL GEAR UNTIL DRIVEN FOR 10-15 MILES

NHTSA ODI 11395689

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE SPEED SUDDENLY DECREASED INDEPENDENTLY TO APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH. DURING THE SUDDEN LOSE OF POWER, NO WARNING MESSAGES WERE DISPLAYED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED THE LOCAL DEALER SCHOMP SUBARU LOCATED AT 580 S HAVANA ST, AURORA, CO 80012 WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THERE WAS NO REPAIR PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11383050

ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, MY CAR HAS SHUTDOWN ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS AROUND 75-80 MPH. THEY ALL HAPPENED DURING ROAD TRIPS WHILE MY CAR WAS BETWEEN 1/8 AND 1/4 TANK. THE CAR HAS A NOTICEABLE DROP IN POWER, WHICH FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGES AND APPLYING MORE GAS DOESN'T HELP. THIS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS!!!! LUCKILY I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE ON ALL 3 LOCATIONS SO I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE CAR WILL NOT START, UNTIL MORE GAS IS PUT IN THE CAR. IT'S NOT OUT OF FUEL THOUGH BECAUSE I TRACKED HOW MUCH GAS IS IN THE CAR AND HOW MUCH I FILLED UP AFTER TOWING. THIS ONLY HAPPENS AFTER DRIVING FOR MULTIPLE HOURS. I CAN RUN THE CAR TO EMPTY IF I'M JUST DRIVING AROUND TOWN. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED FOR THIS ISSUE. I CAN SEE THERE HAVE BEEN TONS OF COMPLAINTS AROUND THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11382959

ROUGH IDLING, UNEVEN ACCELERATION WHEN STEPPED ON GAS, THE CAR WOULD ACCELERATE, SLOW DOWN, AND ACCELERATE AGAIN. UNEVEN DECELERATION WHEN LETTING GO OF GAS, THE CAR WOULD SLOW DOWN, SPEED UP, AND SLOW DOWN AGAIN. SEEM LIKE A SOFTWARE PROBLEM WITH COMPUTER.

NHTSA ODI 11364586

USING CRUISE CONTROL AT 77 MPH IN FAST LANE OF I95 NORTHBOUND FROM FL WHEN, APPROX 10 MILES SOUTH OF VA BORDER, I FELT A SNAP LIKE PULL IN VEHICLE - KIND OF LIKE A ROPE BREAKING WHEN PLAYING TUG OF WAR. THE RPMS INCREASED AND CAR RAPIDLY LOST SPEED AND WOULD NOT ACCURATE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OFF I95. I NOTICED ALL LIGHTS ON DASH WERE ON AND CAR WAS RUNNING. I TURNED IT OFF, APPROX 15 TO 30 SECONDS AFTER PULLING OFF HIGHWAY. AFTER I TURNED CAR OFF, IT WOULD NOT RESTART. I WAS TOWED (INNERSTATE TOWING) TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC DUE TO NO SUBARU DEALERSHIP. TOYOTA TECH LOOKED AT CAR AND CAR STARTED FINE. THE MECHANIC FELT THE TRANSMISSION OVER HEATED. I THEN LIMPED ALONG TO SUBARU DEALERSHIP IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA. I TRAVELED IN SLOW LANE ON I95, AT NO MORE THAN 70 MPH, WITH A FULL TANK OF GAS AND NO ISSUES. A SUBARU TECH DRAINED FLUID AND FOUND METAL. IT WAS DETERMINED THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACED. WHILE AT TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, I CONTACTED THE LOCATION WHERE I PURCHASED MY SUBARU FORESTER AND THAT TECH INDICATED IT WAS A FAULTY FUEL PUMP OR TRANSMISSION. WHEN CAR LOST SPEED, I HAD TWO FUEL BARS LEFT. I AM NOW GETTING THE PUMP TESTED AS WELL. FORTUNATELY, MY CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY DUE TO SUBARU'S EXTENSION BUT I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE. I COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN KILLED IN AN INSTANT. THIS IS MY 3RD SUBARU AND I HAVE HAD MORE PROBLEMS WITH THIS ONE THAN MY TWO PREVIOUS CARS COMBINED. FURTHER, I KEEP GOING UP IN MODELS AND PRICE POINT BUT THE QUALITY HAS DECLINED. I AM A LOYAL SUBARU CUSTOMER BUT I THINK THIS MODEL MAY BE MY LAST. BECAUSE NOTHING SEIZED UP AND NO LOUD BANG, JERKING, OR RATTLING; I AM BEGINNING TO SUSPECT IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP AND I COINCIDENTALLY THE BAD TRANSMISSION WAS DISCOVERED. NO BELTS WERE BROKEN AND THE SNAP LIKE NOISE IS UNKNOWN. I HAVE NO INVOICES YET AND POLICE WERE NOT CALLED. I AM DRIVING A LOANER CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11364373

I HAD TWO INSTANCES WHERE MY CAR STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY WHILE DOING 50-60 MILES AN HOUR. THE ENGINE RUNS FINE AND REVS GO UP WHEN I PUSH THE ACCELERATOR, HOWEVER THE CAR DOES NOT SPEED UP. BOTH THE TIMES I WAS ABLE TO MOVE THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY, NARROWLY AVOIDING ACCIDENTS. THE ENGINE DIED BOTH TIMES AND AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR AND DRIVE TO MY DESTINATION. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP TO GET IT CHECKED OUT. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THEY COULD NOT FIND WHAT THE ISSUE IS WITH THE CAR. ACCORDING TO THEM, THEY IDLED THE CAR FOR ABOUT AN HOUR TO WARM IT UP AND DROVE IT FOR AN HOUR. THEY REPEATED THIS ONE MORE TIME. HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND CANNOT FIX IT. APPARENTLY THEY PERFORMED A THROTTLE BODY SERVICE ON THE CAR AND CHARGED ME FOR IT. LOOKING AT THE MILEAGES ON THE INVOICE, THE CAR WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP AT 91223 MILES AND WENT OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP AT 91255 MILES. HOWEVER WHEN I PICKED UP THE CAR, THE MILEAGE ON IT WAS 91241 MILES. SO BASICALLY THEY DROVE THE CAR FOR A TOTAL OF 18 MILES IN 2 HOURS? I HAVE TWO ISSUES HERE. 1. I HAVE A CAR THAT HAS A POTENTIAL TO PUT THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY AND I AT RISK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. 2. THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMED THEY TRIED TO DIAGNOSE IT BUT EVIDENTLY HAVE NOT EVEN TRIED, IF YOU LOOK AT THE MILEAGE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW I CAN GET THIS ISSUE FIXED AND FEEL SAFE IN THE CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11360939

ON TWO OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING ROUGHLY 65 MPH THE ACCELERATION COMPLETELY GAVE OUT IN MY CAR, AS THOUGH THE CAR WENT INTO NEUTRAL. I COULD PRESS DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THE RPM'S WOULD SHOOT UP IN THE GAUGE CLUSTER, BUT THE CAR SIMPLY CONTINUED TO SLOW DOWN. I DRIFTED INTO THE SHOULDER, TURNED OFF THE CAR, WAITED A FEW MINUTES, AND TURNED THE IGNITION. BOTH TIMES, THE CAR RESUMED DRIVING NORMALLY. BOTH TIMES I BROUGHT THE CAR INTO A SUBARU DEALERSHIP, AND BOTH TIMES THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE SAYING THEY COULDN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM, AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO OTHER OWNERS OF SUBARU FORESTERS FROM THIS PERIOD (~2015), AND WE HAVE CONNECTED ONLINE TO TRY AND SOLVE THIS DANGEROUS DEFECT. A LINK TO OUR DISCUSSION IS HERE: HTTPS://WWW.SUBARUFORESTER.ORG/THREADS/2015-2016-LOSE-POWER-AS-IF-TRANSMISSION-GOES-INTO-NEUTRAL-MERGED-THREAD.627562/

NHTSA ODI 11342521

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65MPH THE CAR LOST ALL POWER. THE RPMS WENT UP LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL (CAR WAS STILL IN DRIVE). FUEL TANK WAS DOWN TO A LITTLE LESS THAN 1/4TH OF A TANK BUT STILL HAD 100 MILES UNTIL EMPTY. ADAPTIVE CRUISE WAS ENGAGED AT THE TIME (AUTOMATED CRUISE APPLIED ACCELERATOR THAT ROSE THE RPMS TO 4500). THIS WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A 4 HOUR ROAD TRIP ON A FLAT STRAIGHT ROAD. CAR EXHIBITED NO WARNING OR LIGHTS UNTIL COMPLETE POWER WAS LOST. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. ALL LIGHTS CAME ON IN THE DASH AFTER I WAS STOPPED. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND I WAS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY START IT AGAIN. SHORTLY AFTER I FILLED UP THE TANK AND THE CAR DROVE FINE FOR THE NEXT HOUR UNTIL I WAS HOME. THIS WAS A SCARY INCIDENT THAT COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. I NOTICED THAT THIS CAR HAS ABOUT A DOZEN OTHER REPORTS THAT ARE MUCH LIKE THIS IN THE PAST YEAR.

NHTSA ODI 11342445

MY VEHICLE LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING TODAY ON THE INTERSTATE. I HAD CRUISE CONTROL SET AND THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING UP A HILL. IT WAS LIKE MY CAR SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY GET TO THE SHOULDER AND INITIALLY MY CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. I DID GET IT TO RESTART AFTER A COUPLE OF TRIES AND DROVE IT HOME. I SEE A RECALL FOR A SIMILAR ISSUE: 19V-856, BUT MY CAR IS NOT INCLUDED. I HAVE REPLACED THE PCV ALREADY AND THIS IS THE SECOND TIME MY CAR HAS DONE THIS TOWARD THE END OF A LONG ROAD TRIP (1000+ MILES).

NHTSA ODI 11337685

GOING 70 MILES AN HOUR ON INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON, WHEN THE GAS LIGHT CAME ON THE CAR LOST POWER LIKE IT SWITCHED TO NEUTRAL. WE MADE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. THIS HAPPENED TWICE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11327700

THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE SURGES SOMETIMES AND MISFIRES WHEN IT COLD STARTS. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE RETAILER, THEY DID NOT FOUND ANY ISSUE. ONLY THE DIFFERENTIAL OIL WAS CHANGED. THEY TOLD ME TO RETURN IF THE PROBLEM OCCURS AGAIN. AGAIN IT CAME BACK AND INTERMITTENT. I AM SURE RETAILER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM AGAIN. IT IS SUDDEN LOSS OF POWERS FOR COUPLE SECONDS AND IT A HAZARD ON THE ROAD. HOPE THERE ARE RECALLS ON THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11325095

HEAD GASKETS LEAKING, ALSO THE CARS HESITATES AND JERKS WHEN DRIVING

NHTSA ODI 11320178

WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD APPROX 65 AND THE EYE SIGHT DISABLED, ABS DISABLED, TRACTION CONTROL AND HILL ASSIST STOPPED, CRUISE CONTROL STOPPED AT TRANSMISSION OIL STARTED FLASHING AND THEN CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALL CAME ON WE WERE DRIVING DOWN HWY 61 IN AZ. POWER TO THE VEHICLE SLOWED AND WE COULD NOT GO FASTER THAN 40MPH. THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH WAS ON RECALL AND REPLACED 10/2019 AND THE 3XACR SAME THING HAPPENED EXCEPT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DIDNT COME ON.

NHTSA ODI 11318167

NOTICED A CLICKING SOUND WHEN TURNING RIGHT. TOOK IT TO SUBARU AND THEY REPLACED THE RIGHT FRONT AXLE IN DECEMBER 2018. ALMOST A YEAR LATER, I NOTICED A CLICKING SOUND WHEN TURNING LEFT. TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT MECHANIC AND THEY REPLACED THE LEFT FRONT AXLE. THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING LEAKING FROM MY CAR. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT AXLES TYPICALLY LAST THE LIFETIME OF YOUR VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 11301917

TWO TIMES, WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 65 MPH, MY CAR LOST THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. IT WAS AS THOUGH THE CAR SLIPPED INTO NEUTRAL. I PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE RPM'S WOULD INCREASE, BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T ACCELERATE. IT SIMPLY SLOWED DOWN. BOTH TIMES THE HIGHWAY WAS EMPTY ENOUGH THAT I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT INTO THE SHOULDER. ONCE I PULLED OVER, I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES. WHEN I TURNED IT BACK ON, THE CAR STARTED AND ACCELERATION WORKED AS NORMAL. BOTH TIMES I BROUGHT IT TO A LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP, AND AFTER RUNNING SOME TESTS SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY ISSUES, AND COULDN'T HELP ME ANY FURTHER. I'VE FOUND OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED VERY SIMILAR PROBLEMS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE NO ONE HAS FOUND A SOLUTION.

NHTSA ODI 11299582