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.
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.
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.
While driving in the highway at 75 mph with cruise control on the car suddenly went to 5000 RPM and at the same time started to brake all the lights in the dashboard came on I pulled over and the car's engine shut down. I tried to started about 5 06 times the car wouldn't star and after that the car was completely dead. I had it tow to a shop. The next morning it started like nothing the mechanic at the shop said it was the battery.after changing the battery I took it to the gas station after putting gas it wouldn't start again after several tries it started.at this point I don't think the battery was the issue but I am glad I got home. This happened in starkville ms 200 miles from where I live.
I drove into garage at about 1 M.P.H. and put the car in park. After idling for about 3 seconds the engine accelerated to 2,800 R.P.M. and stayed there, I couldn't get it to slow down. I pressed on the accelerator many times, it wouldn't slow down or speed up. It just stayed at the same speed. Pressing the brake pedal didn't do anything. I got it stopped by turning off the ignition. When this happened the check engine light came on. I got code P2138. I am replacing the accelerator pedal position sensor as I am afraid to drive it.the car is exactly 5 years old, I bought it new. It has 16,552 miles on it now. I was very lucky it was in park when it did this. I hope the new part fixes it.after 4 restarts the check engine light went out. I took it for a short drive, and the engine kept wanting to run fast. Two days later it seems ok, it slows down now.
We were driving in the freeway at 65mph, we had been driving about an hour, on the freeway with some traffic but mostly moving normally. Suddenly with no warning nor engine lights, the car reved but didn't respond to the gas pedal. As though it had run out of gas. The low fuel light had gone on already, it turns on around 70 miles to empty, but we still had 50 miles to empty. We pulled over and called roadside assistance to deliver gas since that's all we could figure had happened. After about 30 minutes waiting we decided to try it and just see if it would start and it did! we drove to the next exit and got gas with no further problems, and continued on home after. This was very scary and left my family sitting stranded on the side of the freeway. No engine lights, no codes, nothing obvious to fix. Now I'm nervous to drive with my kids in the car in case it happens again.
- Fair Oaks, CA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
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.
On 2 separate occasions was driving my 2015 Subaru Forester (touring edition) at highway speed, 70 mph, the car lost power and started decelerating. Luckily both times I was able to get over to the shoulder. The car re-started after awhile. The first time the low fuel light was on but I had over 50 miles left according to fuel sensor. The second time, a month or so later, no low fuel light was on. There were 2 bars left on the fuel gauge. Again car totally decelerated and then a few minutes later was able to be driven. Subaru dealership claims they have not heard of this problem but someone did call them about it the day before I called. I am scheduling an appointment where they say they will do a diagnostic on it. I am seeing multiple complaints on this exact car on carcomplaints.com this is an extremely dangerous problem and Subaru should not be waiting for fatalities to happen before recalling these cars.
When stopped in traffic car hesitates, stalls and stumbles to accelerate for a few seconds. Unable to shift from 1st to 2nd smoothly (stuck in 1st gear?). was rear ended when unable to accelerate at light. Dealer did software update that did not fix problem, still ongoing
In heavy traffic my speed control failed. The engine rpms went down by themselves while I was driving on freeway. The gas pedal completely unresponsive.
When using light acceleration such as in a parking lot or at a red light or stop sign to start going the vehicle bucks forward it will literally make you jerk back in the seat. Also while pulling onto a street it jerks forward but has hesitation which isnt to safe if you ask me when trying to get out on the road if cars are coming...
When highway driving multiple warning lights are illuminated on dash, traction control, eyesight, cruise control off, hill assist. The eyesight systems are disabled shutting off cruise control. When this happens the rear brakes light are not working. When the car is the shut off then restarted and the brake is depressed the car will not come out of park after starting. This happens when it is reset after the car sits off overnight. The last time I could not get it out of the park I went behind the brake pedal and move the brake switch and pressed the connection on top in. This reset the system and I was able to get the car out of park and all the warning light on the dash disappeared. The stoplight switch/brake switch part #83311fj001 is defective. On 3/1/19 Subaru announced a recall not sure if it's this part/issues but I am hoping it is.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. While driving 2 mph, the vehicle spontaneously accelerated and crashed into an electrical box. There were no warning indicators illuminated. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to gresham Subaru (1925 E powell blvd, gresham, or 97080, 866-584-3109), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that an independent specialist would inspect the vehicle. The manufacturer provided case number: 1-39999345391. The failure mileage was 80,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. When the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact mentioned that the brake pedal was forcefully depressed in order to stop the vehicle. In addition, the contact's vehicle crashed into another vehicle and jumped the curb. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000.
Driver parking vehicle into parking space (<5 miles/ hr) - brake applied, preparing to shift into park. Vehicle abruptly accelerated, unable to stop motion using brake. Vehicle hit curb and proceeded over embankment, with vehicle striking lower level parking pavement approximately 15 feet below at 90 degree angle and landing inverted (top on parking pavement). Vehicle severely damaged, driver with non-life threatening injuries - wearing seat belt. Airbag deployed when contacting lower-level parking pavement. Driver had previously experienced uneven acceleration and reported engine-related issues to dealership approximately 60 days (June 9, 2018) prior to incident. Vehicle was evaluated with no definitive cause identified; low oil identified and oil replenished. Vehicle served routinely by dealership and maintenance schedule followed since purchase.
ABS lights come on, eyesight warning lights come on, cannot shift out of park.. car was stationary. These warning lights have been coming on frequently when in motion, but now it wont shift out of park.
2015 Subaru Forester made a right turn into parking space between 2 cars in a parking garage. Going uphill into the space when vehicle surged at great speed in a 10 ft distance hitting the wall at great speed, causing extensive front end damage, deploying airbags, and dislodging the front dashboard. The 2 cars on either side were not hit. The driver sustained lacerations to legs. The vehicle was repaired at lou fusz Subaru. The second event happed on 7/6/16 (25463 miles) in the same parking garage, near the same parking space. While turning into the parking space, the vehicle surged forward striking the wall at great speed. Though the front end was again damaged, the airbags did not deploy. The driver checked the NHTSA website. There were a dozen similar reports for 2015 the Subaru Forester while parking. Aneighbor with a 2015 Subaru legacy had three instances of unexpected accelerations. No cause was identified but repairs were made to the car at webster groves Subaru. It appears to have resolved the problem. The Subaru Forester was repaired at an independent body shop and then checked at webster groves Subaru. After speaking with the service manager of the dealership that sold the car to the driver (lou fusz), the Subaru corporation sent an independent mechanic (from Bosch eea) to evaluate the car. The driver was told in an email that the report was proprietary information and no details of the evaluation were made available. The email only reported the lack of any problems found that could explain the unexpected surging while parking. The driver spoke with the service manager at webster groves Subaru. She was unable to help since no one had reproduced the problem. As far as Subaru was concerned, the car was normal and offered no further help. The car has not been driven since the second repairs were completed.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. While pulling into a parking space at a very low rate of speed, the engine began to rev. The vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a brick wall. After the collision, the engine continued to rev very high while the brake pedal was being depressed. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle sustained severe damage; however, the air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported and no police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an undisclosed location. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The failure mileage was 39,000.
While pulling into a parking space at low speed (<5mph) the engine surged suddenly and the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. Required immense pressure on brake to eventually override engine after impact with other vehicle.
While pulling in to park in the lot at a low speed- 5 mph or less- I took my foot off the gas to apply the brake and the vehicle accelerated and hit the side of the building. The (tin) building was dented and my car was scratched on the bumper- below the grill and also the Subaru emblem was cracked.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Indianapolis, IN, USA