2015 SUBARU FORESTER — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

On 3 different occasions the car randomly accelerated at a high speed without stepping on the gas pedal. The first time was in a parking lot. The second time was on a busy road while traveling at 35 mph. The car accelerated to about 60 mph, fortunately once applying the brakes the vehicle slowed down to gain control. The third time it happened was recently on [XXX] while slowly backing down [XXX]. The car accelerated backwards at a very high speed narrowly missing a fence in the neighbors yard. These incidents have happened with large time frame gaps in between the occurrences. After the third incident I took the car to a dealer Planet Subaru in Hanover MA. After keeping the car for a few days, the dealer called and said that they could not find anything wrong with the car and there was nothing that they could do for me. This issue is obviously very serious, if the car surges forward randomly while someone is crossing in a crosswalk it could be potentially fatal. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On 3 different occasions the car randomly accelerated at a high speed without stepping on the gas pedal. The first time was in a parking lot. The second time was on a busy road while traveling at 35 mph. The car accelerated to about 60 mph, fortunately once applying the brakes the vehicle slowed down to gain control. The third time it happened was recently on [XXX] while slowly backing down [XXX]. The car accelerated backwards at a very high speed narrowly missing a fence in the neighbors yard. These incidents have happened with large time frame gaps in between the occurrences. After the third incident I took the car to a dealer Planet Subaru in Hanover MA. After keeping the car for a few days, the dealer called and said that they could not find anything wrong with the car and there was nothing that they could do for me. This issue is obviously very serious, if the car surges forward randomly while someone is crossing in a crosswalk it could be potentially fatal. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I bought a used 2015 subaru forester with 117,000 miles from an auto shop/used car dealer in March of 2024. In September of 2025, 11,000 miles of driving later, a bunch of lights came on my dash. Check engine, traction control, ABS, at oil temp, and incline assist. I took it to Autozone to get the codes read and the part it suggested was the transmission oil pressure sensor. I then took it to a trusted mechanic who said they weren’t able to get the lights to turn back on and told me to come back when the lights reappeared. In December of 2025, the lights came on and they were on long enough to take it back to the mechanic. The mechanic told me that it looked to be the transmission valve body and recommended a local transmission shop. I took it there and the mechanic told me there was a speed sensor that was failing and the transmission and valve body would need to be replaced. He said that they don’t sell the speed sensor anywhere and it is impossible to obtain. I got quoted 9,100 to fix my car (I originally paid around 8,500 for it). I was told it would not be worth my time or money to fix the transmission. The transmission guy told me that Subaru cvt transmissions are horrendous and to take this is a lesson to never buy a Subaru. I heeded to this advice and traded her in for $2000 towards a 2010 rav4. Additional info: It had a rebuilt title and had been in an accident before I got it. Lived its entire life between kentucky and tennessee. I replaced the engine oil and filter every 4,000-6,000 miles. Tire treads were very mismatched for the time I had it (almost two years) which I was told by a subaru dealership can damage the transmission. Back tires had significantly lower tread than front. I had front left lower control arm, rear spring coils, brake switch lamp, and one of the battery terminals replaced during the time I had it. My TPMS light was always on. My front right headlight went out frequently. My brake light assembly also broke and wasn’t worth fixing

I bought a used 2015 subaru forester with 117,000 miles from an auto shop/used car dealer in March of 2024. In September of 2025, 11,000 miles of driving later, a bunch of lights came on my dash. Check engine, traction control, ABS, at oil temp, and incline assist. I took it to Autozone to get the codes read and the part it suggested was the transmission oil pressure sensor. I then took it to a trusted mechanic who said they weren’t able to get the lights to turn back on and told me to come back when the lights reappeared. In December of 2025, the lights came on and they were on long enough to take it back to the mechanic. The mechanic told me that it looked to be the transmission valve body and recommended a local transmission shop. I took it there and the mechanic told me there was a speed sensor that was failing and the transmission and valve body would need to be replaced. He said that they don’t sell the speed sensor anywhere and it is impossible to obtain. I got quoted 9,100 to fix my car (I originally paid around 8,500 for it). I was told it would not be worth my time or money to fix the transmission. The transmission guy told me that Subaru cvt transmissions are horrendous and to take this is a lesson to never buy a Subaru. I heeded to this advice and traded her in for $2000 towards a 2010 rav4. Additional info: It had a rebuilt title and had been in an accident before I got it. Lived its entire life between kentucky and tennessee. I replaced the engine oil and filter every 4,000-6,000 miles. Tire treads were very mismatched for the time I had it (almost two years) which I was told by a subaru dealership can damage the transmission. Back tires had significantly lower tread than front. I had front left lower control arm, rear spring coils, brake switch lamp, and one of the battery terminals replaced during the time I had it. My TPMS light was always on. My front right headlight went out frequently. My brake light assembly also broke and wasn’t worth fixing

REPORT OF FAILED RECALL REMEDY (RECALL 19V-149 / WUE-90) My 2015 Subaru Forester experienced a total recurrence of the defect addressed in 2019. The vehicle became trapped in 'Park' intermittently on several occasions before remaining immobilized. During one incident, the manual shift-lock override failed to function. While the brake lights functioned during these incidents, the failure to shift is a documented symptom of a failing brake light switch. I had the switch replaced by a technician who initially suggested a full shifter assembly replacement. However, replacing ONLY the brake light switch immediately and permanently resolved the issue. This confirms the recall-related part was the point of failure. Subaru of America was notified but declined to acknowledge this as a failure of the safety remedy. I am also reporting intermittent 'ghost' activations of the right turn signal stalk.