Two problems related to clutch pedal/linkage have been reported for the 2017 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2017 Subaru Forester based on all problems reported for the 2017 Forester.
Vehicle often shudders violently at low speeds coming to a stop - stalling itself once. When merging onto freeway or overtaking on the highway the vehicle occasionally makes loud clicking noise and automatic transmission acts as if it is disengaged (like a fully depressed clutch pedal in a manual, and engine still revs). Took to Subaru dealer multiple times and received the "we can't replicate it so there is no problem" feedback - dealer also claims there are no error codes. Contacted Subaru of America (soa) directly and was instructed by soa to trust dealer's diagnosis. Online forums and independent mechanics believe my issue is a bad torque converter or some issue with the automatic cvt transmission - a similar issue consumer groups have accused Subaru for on previous generations of my vehicle. . Read more...
On vehicles equipped with 6-speed manual transmission: when shifting gears, engine speed increases to 4000-4500 rpm while clutch is depressed, despite having foot entirely off the accelerator pedal. Rpm remains elevated for 5 to 10 seconds before slowly returning to normal idle. On other occasions, engine speed will increase to approximately 2500 rpm while sitting with the clutch depressed and foot off accelerator (for example, while waiting for a traffic light). Does not seem to be a "runaway" condition: the engine speed never approaches redline, but increases smoothly to the "target" rpm, stays constant for awhile, then smoothly returns to idle. Note: other 2017 Forester owners have reported similar behavior. Subaru is investigating, but at present is saying, "it's not a bug, it's a feature. " after 50 years of driving scores of vehicles with manual transmissions, I disagree.