NHTSA Complaint #11619782 — 2018 SUBARU FORESTER

The initial incident happened when I was accelerating uphill. When I pressed the gas pedal to accelerate, the car began jerking and sputtering. I released the gas pedal and let the car coast, as I was heading toward a stop sign. After I stopped and then accelerated the second time, the engine seemed to smooth out. Nothing further happened until about 1 week later. The second incident, I was 35 minutes into an hour-long drive. I was going around 45-55mph when the same issue happened suddenly: I pressed the gas pedal and the car started shaking and sputtering. If I released the gas pedal, the car was fine. All check engine lights came on and were flashing. I lowered my speed into the 30s, and the issue continued to happen, regardless of what speed I was driving at. If I was accelerating, the car was shaking a lot. At stop signs, the lights would turn off, but pop on as soon as I began driving again. I was able to make it to my destination and when I parked the car, it was shaking a lot while idling. It felt like the engine was about to die or shut off. It was late so I turned the vehicle off and left it parked for the night. The next morning, when I started the car, it was continuing to shake/sputter during idle and I drove it briefly to see how it ran. It continued to shake when pressing the gas pedal, however, the check engine lights were not on. Since I had to drive back home, I decided to take it slow and began the two-hour drive back. The engine again seemed like it wanted to die as I let the car warm up, but it did not shut off. Initially when driving, the car continued to have the same problem - shaking whenever I pressed the gas pedal, no matter the speed. The check engine panel lights did not come on, however, and after driving for about 20 minutes, the issue cleared up. I've only driven it as needed since then and it is currently running ok, but, given the numerous fuel pump recalls I'm concerned there is a defect with this model.