general problems of the 2017 Subaru Forester

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and several safety features failed to function as intended. In addition, the contact stated that the check engine warning light had been illuminated intermittently for over a month prior to a diagnostic test. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where dtc code: p0420 was retrieved, and the vehicle was diagnosed with catalytic converter failure. The contact was informed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired. The contact researched warranty extension: 09-84-22; however, the contact was informed that the repair was not covered under any warranty programs. In addition, the contact stated that the case manager provided false information and stated that the warranty extension document did not exist. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Need new engine keeps burning oil.

On July 31,2023, approximately 8pm, I was driving my 2017 Subaru slowly as I made the 90degree turn into my driveway. Midway up the driveway, the car suddenly —on its own—spontaneously accelerated , burst through the half open garage door, across the garage, and crashed through the garage wall into my family room—bulldozing through two sheets of plywood and large pieces of firewood in the garage, and then destroying heavy antique furniture in the family room before coming to rest. The jagged remains of the wall prevented opening either the passenger or the driver’s side door. My adult son, gregory, was my passenger in the front seat. He climbed to the back, but the hatch has no handle on the inside, so we were trapped in the car. I called 911. Police and fire departments arrived. Miraculously, we were not hurt, but had anyone been in the family room at the time, they would have been seriously injured or killed. I made an insurance claim with allstate insurance company the next morning. They determined that the car is "repairable" but will not pay for it to be examined and repaired at a Subaru dealership or Subaru certified body shop . They tell me I have to use at shop in their "preferred network" and pay the extra cost that a Subaru facility would charge. A non-Subaru affiliated mechanic theorized that it was a computer problem that caused the malfunction. Doing a "google" search, I find that hundreds of drivers have had this sudden, unexpected acceleration problem,(Subaru Forester years 20120-2018) but that Subaru dealerships are unable to discover the cause. There have also been two "class action" lawsuitsi I called groove Subaru dealership,(5300 s. Broadway, englewood, CO, 80113, and the service department man that I spoke with seemed not at all concerned about the spontaneous acceleration issue, and casually recommended a body shop. The unknown cause needs to be found before someone is killed !!! please help.

Forester in known for chronic exhaust leak into cabin through ac vents. Reported this to dealership and they "could not find the problem. " cabin of vehicle smells heavily of exhaust. Driver gets headache from smell/gas while driving. Internet forums show this is a common unaddressed issue by dealerships. Car is a 2017 and should not be leaking exhaust into the cabin.

While driving on the highway at 65 mph another vehicle cut me off causing me to apply my brakes. Car came down to about 20 mph. Then I attempted to accelerate and the car would not accelerate. I pulled off on the shoulder to check. Everything seemed okay. There was no error codes on the dashboard. I pulled back on the highway and the car accelerated fine. I went in to talk to Subaru service in jersey city. He said maybe the computer needed to reset itself. Doesnt sound right to me. Something wrong if a defect exist where the computer needs time to reset itself in an emergency braking esp if you have to accelerate on the highwway.

Cam carrier leak-unreliable car-detected and confirmed by Subaru dealership-no warning lights-appears to be an issue for many Subaru vehicles.

I have a 2017 Subaru Forester touring. It has stalled on acceleration twice. Once on a divided highway attempting to increase speed going up slight incline around 60mph. It stalled and shut off. It also stalled but didn't completely shut off going through an intersection at 45mph today.

Exhaust fumes noticed in the passenger cabin of the vehicle. Pzev equipped. I have heard of others experiencing the same issue. This was noted some time ago, however parts were not available at the time and Subaru n. A. Had not responded to my written correspondance until I finally phoned them. Very concerned about potential for carbon monoxide. I understandf Ford explorer and vw had similar issues. The attached estimate was recently obtained from the dealership but service rep claimed this was the recommended service at time of discovery.

The catalytic converter had substantial rust and was beyond repair (I. E. , welding). The vehicle was only 6 years old and did not have any issues with rust identified during the 2021 annual inspection (as required by our state). This year, the vehicle failed inspection due to the amount of damage from rust. Our mechanic advised the rust was most likely caused by the plastic covers surrounding the catalytic converter not allowing enough air to circulate to keep the area dry / prevent rust from forming.

Noticed sputtering in my car. Took it to dealership. I was told I needed condenser and compressor. When googled, there was a recall for condenser for Subaru Forester 2017 model. The dealership told me that it’s only VIN# specific for that reason not covered under recall. That was a shock. Same model and year but they would only cover certain VIN #? for the same known issue? why? it should cover all VIN # for the safety of the consumer. I am writing to report the issues encountered so far with this vehicle. 1. Batteries were leaking prematurely, I got it replaced 4 months ago 2. Need condenser and compressor replaced at less than 60,000 miles for a newly car purchased car from dealership. Please look in to this issue if reported by more consumers for safety reason and also to hold the company accountable for faulty parts. Thank you.

After driving the vehicle I will arrive at my destination. I will stop, continue pressing the vehicle break while moving the shifter from drive to park. Then, I turn the key to the off position in an attempt to remove my key from the ignition. About 40-50% of the time, the key can not be removed. In order remove the key I will have to do one of the following: option 1. Let my foot of of the break, pause, then press my foot hard on the break peddle, move to shifter from park to drive, while continuing to press my foot down hard on the break peddle, move the shifter back from drive to the park position. Often I will have to repeat this process several times to remove the key form the ignition or attempt option 2. . Option 2. When option 1 above does not work, with the vehicle turned off and I park, I will release my foot from the break, pause, press down on the break, start the ignition, place my vehicle in drive or reverse (depending how I am parked) and drive the vehicle 2-3 feet, stop and repeat step 1 above. Again, I many have to try this procedure several times. Option 3. After 5-10 minutes and several attempts, I will give up, turn the vehicle off, place it in park, and leave the car unlocked with keys in the ignition. I'm not sure why this has not been addressed prior as I have found several articles from 2008 to 2020 on the same issue, specifically on Subaru's.

On may 20, 2022, I was attempting to back into a parking space when my car lunged forward and crashed into two parked cars. I suffered a cracked sternum. No one else was hurt but I was just a few feet from the ground-level windows of a motel. Much body damage to my car (in excess of $13,000) and the other two cars. Police report was filed. Insurance claim filed. No reproduction of problem sought from manufacturer or dealer. No warning signals from car. Assumption made of driver at fault accident. However, please refer to detroit free press article printed 4/22/https://freep-mi. Newsmemory. Com/?publink=0dd2ac172_134ab3a.

My Subaru Forester started smelling and rattling loud. My mechanic told me it could be the muffler. I took it to the muffler shop and it was the catalytic converter. I had to pay $800 to fix it but my friend who had the same exact car had it replaced at Subaru for free. My car is under 8 years old and 100,000 miles. I read that it should be covered by Subaru. I called them and they never replied and wanted to charge $299 just for a diagnostic check. There should have been a recall notice on the Subaru Forester 2017. It's catalytic converter is faulty. I had to smell the fumes and so did my grandson.

The exhaust pipe assembly for our 2017 non-turbo Subaru Forester has failed. Two other similar complaints for this model and year vehicle have been submitted to NHTSA (id#’s 11429564 and 11395158). Exhaust fumes spread within the vehicle cabin and presents a significant safety and health issue for occupants. A similar problem has been reported for turbo charge vehicles for which Subaru issued a voluntary emissions recall on March 27, 2020. No such recall for non-turbo vehicles has been issued by Subaru. The vehicle will be inspected by the local dealer. I request NHTSA investigate this issue and request Subaru expand its voluntary emissions recall to non-turbo vehicles.

I was pulling into a parellel parking space, braking to slow to a stop when my car surged froward inspite of increased and continued braking and hit the car in front of me. The collision is what stopped the car. My Subaru Forester is very damaged (bumper, lights, and frame rail) and the car in front also had extensive damage. My safety and the safety of the neigbhorhood cars, pedestrians and homes was at risk given my car was unstoppable despite braking. I couldn't understand what happened so I did an internet search for acceleration while braking and many articles came up reguarding several Subaru models (including mine) of "sudden unintended acceleration" issues. What was described was exactly what I experienced. There are several class action lawsuits in the works as Subaru has not taken any responsibility. No dashboard warning lights came on before or after the crash. I took the car to the Subaru dealer I purshased it from. At first they said there would be a 250. Dollar diagnostic fee. When I picked it up they said there was an ecm (engine control module) update and they performed it on my car. The update was designed "to address problems" like those I described. The clerk would not elaborate, was very vague and would say nothing beyond that except he didn't know if the update would fix the problem-that we would just have to wait and see. I explained that if it happened again it could have catastrophic consequences, he had nothing to say. He waived the service fee. I got the impression Subaru didn't want to say much because they would be responsible. By waiving the fee they hoped I would just go away. I am left with: a severely damaged car, as is my neighbor's, an accident that looks to be my fault-when in fact it is Subaru's fault, a large deductable to pay, a point on my lisence and increased insurance rates, and a car I have no faith in. This should not be on my driving record. Subaru should be found responsible.

My 2017 Subaru Forester has 52,000 miles driven. Recently the ignition key will not turn to start the engine. The transmission was in park and all the doors were fully closed. After 15 minutes trying several times to no avail it did finally turn to the right and the engine started. Also, previously a few times, randomly, the key would not turn all the way to to the left to turn the engine off. Again, the car was in park and I kept my foot on the brake while trying. Each time this happened I had to move the transmission from part to drive and back to park again, (while keeping my foot on the brake) and the key finally turned all the way to turn the engine off. I am now bringing the car to a Subaru dealer service shop (in annapolis, maryland) to try to have them repair this problem once and for all. Thank you, [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I started noticing exhaust fumes in the cabin while idling at a stop. I did some research and found that several Foresters have had an issue with their exhaust manifold bellows cracking on a flexi pipe. So I started looking for a leak. I took the plastic underbody engine cover off and took off the heat shield and located the crack on the flexi pipe. The flexi pipe have been replaced at approximately 60k miles. It lasted for approximately a year or another 30k miles and I had to replace it again. My vehicle currently has 160k and the same issue comes back. It is very frustrating because I feel very lightheaded when driving this vehicle and replacement of this part is very expensive. $1800 for the full manifold.

With engine running and shift lever in park (cvt transmission) driver is unable to turn the engine off or remove the ignition key from the steering wheel. This occurs sporadically/unpredictably such that driver has no forewarning and cannot take proactive steps to avoid the problem, resulting in instances where driver is forced to leave the car running in situations that present safety concerns. (examples: in a garage or enclosed area; when temporarily exiting vehicle necessitating leaving the doors unlocked; etc. ). The problem is widespread in Subaru vehicles and consistent with problems exhibited/described in Subaru technical service bulletin (TSB) #16-112-18r for which no recall has to date been issued for corrective action by Subaru. Driver was told by Subaru of America that a diagnostics test is needed by a Subaru dealer to verify existence of the problem (which as stated occurs unpredictably) at driver's expense (locally approximately $140), with repair coverage of defective/poorly-designed shift or electrical components not being covered by Subaru beyond the standard warranty period for the affected vehicle. Estimated cost of repair for defects as listed in the TSB (per on-line sources). . . $400-$650 depending on dealer and geographical location.

Tl- the contact owns a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space their vehicle stated that the vehicle surged forward when the brakes were pressed causing the vehicle to jump the cement bumper and the bushes in front of the vehicle. The vehicle was still revving when the contact turned off the vehicle once it was placed in park. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not towed. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (crews Subaru of charleston 8261 rivers Ave, north charleston, SC 29406; (843) 820-4200) who were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 46,050. Gl.

Periodically unable to remove key from the ignition. Has been happening more frequently over the past 2 months. Key is "locked" in ignition, unable to completely "turn off" key switch and therefore unable to remove the key. Only resolution has been to turn the vehicle back on and shift the gears and reattempt to turn car off and remove key. This is also, likely, affecting being able to use the remote start for my vehicle.

My fianc� and I bought this car and we were told it was not an accident, after we purchased it we found out that it had been in 2 accidents and during driving 1 night it bucked real hard and would now accelerate and it scared both of us. So the next day I took it to center Subaru in torrington connecticut to get it inspected, during the trip to the dealer it had bucked three more times violently. I told them about it and they could not find any codes in the system, I spoke with the mechanic later and he said if it doesn't throw trouble codes it has serious issues in the computer. I explained that it was in a two accidents and he goes I would explain a lot, his off the books recommendation to me was get rid of the vehicle and find something else. I told him I bought it from a better way wholesale autos in naugatuck connecticut and he said to contact you. I want this car flagged so when we turn it back in someone else does not come across it the same way we did, I know the dealership will put this are back out for sale and not tell anyone.

Smell of gasoline at startup. The car has only 30000 miles on it and seems to be a widely reported problem/issue with Subarus of all makes/models. This was not in cold weather. This is a major safety issue!.

After attempting to turn off the car and remove the key from the ignition, the key will not remove. After some manhandling of the shifter and turning the car on and off, eventually, I am able to get the key out of the ignition. This is occurring 80% of the time now. The vehicle has about 37,000 miles and is less than 4 years old.

My car stole in the middle off highway on a very busy traffic time,, I can hear the engine but the car did not move, finally it moved very slowly and stop again, I almost got hit many times since vehicles were speeding over 65miles and no one will allow me to move to the shoulder, finally after 10 minutes the car engine accelerated and I was able to drive away, very scary situaci�n.

Screen blacked out everything went off, no lights, no radio, no dash board vision. This happened 3 times before I took it to the dealer. I was told it was an electrical issues and electrical cables were replaced, however, just this week my vehicle, while waiting at a light, turned completely off. It was so scary, good thing there was no one else behind me. A few minutes later I was able to turn the car on and continue my journey. Now, I do not feel safe when I use my vehicle.

On 9/29/18, 1:35 pm while in the process of parking the vehicle and initiating a turn to the right the car suddenly accelerated from idle to full throttle unintentionally and launched itself towards a 12' x 20' wood framed outbuilding on our property which has an attached deck. Before the vehicle could be shut off it had jumped up onto the deck and smashed into and partially penetrated the front of the outbuilding. Forward progress was halted when the rear portion of the car had become high centered on the edge of the deck. Presently the car is still on the deck and partially in the building. The right rear wheel is I" off the ground. The left rear wheel dug itself 3" down into the gravel. - no one was injured during this accident. The car was occupied by only the driver. - the airbag did not deploy even though the car experienced two (2) significant impact events. 1st when it hit a temporary wood step and the edge of the deck (18" above grade) and 2nd when it struck the building. Most of the bumper was torn off the car when it hit the deck and is now pinned under the car. The impact shifted the building approx. 3/8" on it's post & pier foundation. - this report was written & submitted on 10/1/18. - a wrecker is scheduled to extricate the car from the outbuilding on 10/2/18. - the driveway and parking area where this occurred is crushed rock/gravel. - the distance from where the car instantly accelerated to the edge of the deck was approximately 22 feet. The face of the outbuilding is 8 feet from the edge of the deck. The distance covered by the car during this accident was approx. 30 plus feet. - during this event an attempt was made to control/stop the car with extreme application of the foot brake and handbrake and ultimately the stop button. - it was a dry, sunny, early fall day in the west side of the cascade mountains in washington state.

Our defective, now discontinued model, new 2017 Subaru Forester xt touring has broken down while accelerating on the highway twice due to a faulty piston thus leading to our engine being replaced. The first time the car was moving east on I-70 in colorado and luckily my husband was able to veer in the median of an exit ramp. The second time we were traveling east on I-70 again and luckily were able to pull off on the side of the freeway. This all began at 22,352 miles and to-date the "market value" of repairs has accumulated to $16,100. 00. This same engine issue has happened two years in a row, yet a Subaru representative [verbally, not written] mentioned to us that it is cheaper for Subaru to fix vehicle by vehicle that comes in instead of issuing a nation-wide recall on our model. We were told our Forester xt [Mini SUV] has the same engine that is in an impreza [four door sedan] which is not safe and is not right to the consumer.

After any driving in hot weather, smell of coolant in right side of engine compartment.

I have a total of electrical power lost for 7 times. 2 times while driving I experience all electrical lost while driving on the highway. I was able to pull over to the side and was able to jump started the car with a jumper battery 5 minutes later. Other 5 times it happened when I try to start the car and I did not get any electrical power at all. I took the car to the dealer twice and they change/fix the car ground the first time that I lost electrical power. Then they change the battery after 5 electrical power failures. I am about to bring it in for the 7th time for them to look at it. I am totally lost confident and no longer feel comfortable or feel safe driving my two boys on this car.

Extreme hesitation from standing stop going straight ahead and turning. At 5 separate instances the car came to a complete rolling stop with no acceleration. After 5 to 7 seconds the car finally accelerated . When turning with plenty of room, for them, oncoming cars blared their horns, missing me by a few feet. Someone is shurely headed for a hospital or funeral home on this problem. Both NHTSA and Subaru have been warned numerous times with no result for recall,repair or replacement. Dealers are saying they can't find a problem. This problem has been ongoing for years now. Maybe everyone's first stop should be at your state attorney generals office if we don't get results from either of you soon.

I was merging on I-95 at 4pm and it was raining, I was accelerating into the traffic pattern in the right lane when suddenly the accelerator would not respond, the car panel went black,no lights or info showed. I coasted off to the side of the road,the car was in drive,ignition on. The emergency light wouldn't go on, nor the bluetooth or sos call line. I shut the car down and into park and waited a couple of minutes and restarted the engine without a problem. If I had been in the middle lane or no where to pull off it would have been catastrophic . I took it to the Subaru dealer the next day and they couldn't find a problem. Told me it was probably a glitch, you can't afford to have a glitch at 70 mph. I no longer feel safe in this car, especially when I have my grandkids in the car.

There is a problem with the engine and the fuel feed. The engine will buck, much like a backfire and fail to accelerate. This problem has been on-going since we purchased the vehicle. The date of the event is an approximation but it has been on-going since we purchased the car.

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Forester. While driving various speeds, the vehicle lost power without warning. The vehicle was able to restart itself after a few minutes. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to profile Subaru (1323 nh-16, conway, nh 03818 (603) 447-3845), but the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,500.