Nine problems related to electrical system have been reported for the 2010 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2010 Subaru Forester based on all problems reported for the 2010 Forester.
On 5/24/2023 while driving with a front passenger, the passenger seat belt warning light, chime and airbag warning came on for no reason. Stopped the car at a red traffic light and turned ignition off and then on to hopefully clear the warning. There was no power to any system. The ignition switch did not work and I could not get the transmission out of park to push the car off the road. Could not activated anything on the dash including the hazard warning. Being in a single lane road, traffic was traveling around us on both sides. We could have been rear ended. I opened the driver's door and all power to the dash came back. It took 4 attempts to start before the engine started. All settings and radio had to be reprogrammed. Stopped at the dealer and they ask if this was the first occurence. (it was) they said if it happened again to bring the car in. The car has been normal since.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that as she attempted to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated forward at a high rate of speed without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped on its own before hitting another vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home but had not driven the vehicle since the failure. The contact called the manufacturer and they informed her to tow the vehicle to a dealer for an inspection. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it remained in their possession and was not yet diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
When car is idling multiple lights come on- check engine light, traction control , cruise control (blink) , awd and at oil temp lights.
At highway speed above 60 mph suddenly several dash warning lights illuminate. Traction control, cruise, transmission overheat, check engine all became illuminated. No affects to the operation of the vehicle. Disconnect the battery overnight resolves the problem for a day or two. Situation repeats on dry or wet roadways for no apparent reason. Online google-yahoo chat rooms has hundreds of similar issues discussed with no fixes from dealer or corporate Subaru. Its a bit unnerving when at highway speed all or most of the warning lights illuminate. Any assistance is most appreciated.
The door lock mechanism locks itself immediately after I unlock the door. I can't get my drivers side door to stay unlocked in order to close the door. Having to hold the door tight while driving is obviously not safe. I have looked online and found quite a few posts from people with the same issue.
On quite a few occasions the ignition has locked up. The last time was yesterday. Each time it gets harder to get it to unloc.
After work, I got in my car and started it up. Check engine light came on, followed by traction control and tire pressure lights. This was odd because these lights had never been on before. I started to drive home--it was too late to bring the car to have it checked out. I live a minute and a half from work. The cruise control light then came on and flickered in no particular pattern. Then, about 45 seconds into my 90 second drive, the temperature gauge light came on. The weather was about 50 degrees and rainy. When I got home the engine fan was spinning really fast. I popped the hood. No smoke or anything visibly wrong. At roughly 2:10am there was no way I could bring it to get the issues looked into. So I left the hood open to let some heat out and when the fan slowed and then stopped, I closed the hood and went inside. About 10-15 minutes later, during which time the car had been stationary and the engine had been shut off, I heard a pop sound. It was a strange noise and I got up to check it out. It was a massive engine fire. It toasted the engine and melted a good portion of the front end. The fire dept shattered the windows and peeled the hood back. The car is totaled. The fire was just feet away from my house on one side, and the neighbor on the other side. Had I been asleep the fire could have spread to my house or my neighbor's, potentially killing people. It was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. There is a video on youtube with something similar (search Subaru engine fire). The car is a 2010 Forester xt, completely stock. It has been very well maintained and has about 85,000 miles on it. My mother originally owned it. She bought it brand new from the Subaru dealership and I bought it from her.
The engine started knocking. Took to the dealer. Turns out I may have forgotten to change the oil for approx 14,00 miles. . . However. . . . No warning light ever came on to remind me. No oil light, no engine light. . . Nothing. Now I am facing a possible big expense in repair. . . Waiting to hear from the shop as I type this. These warning systems are in place to avoid this situation. Had it worked properly, I would have been reminded to get the oil changed.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. Also the traction control, cruise control and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The dealer made nine attempts to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The current mileage was 27,433 and the failure mileage was 26,277. Kmj.
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