general problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester

The lower right control arm bushings failed on the vehicle and the transmission is leaking. The vehicle has been owned by only two individuals, and was purchased by me in 2021 as a certified pre-owned vehicle from a local dealer. In three years we have put about 12,000 miles total on the vehicle (average of 4000 miles each year for three years), and the vehicle is solely driven locally on surface streets. This appears to be a known issue as noted by Subaru owners expressing frustration in public forum about premature failure of the control arm bushings.

With no warning. My 2018 Subaru forrester had its transmission lock up on me in the pouring rain while I was traveling 60 miles an hour. I purchased the car new in 2018, had it regularly serviced and it only has 4700 miles on it. If I was not buckled in, I would have gone through the windshield. The car spun around, jumped the divider and moved into oncoming traffic. Luckily, the other cars were able to avoid me. My local Subaru dealership said they can take a look at my car in 40 days. Until then, the car is dead and still locked up.

On October 3, 2023, I purchased a used 2018 Subaru Forester (VIN: [xxx] ) from hengxin auto group, 210 39th st, brooklyn, NY 11232, for about $19,500 including tax and fees. The dealer stated the mileage was 65,800 and printed that number on the contract. However, both the official NY dmv title record and the carfax report showed 86,588 miles at the time of sale. This clear discrepancy proves the dealership intentionally rolled back or misrepresented the odometer reading. Later, the title was branded “mileage unknown. ” after purchase, many severe issues appeared: chassis instability, transmission jerking, loud engine noise, high oil consumption, a/c malfunction, battery failure (replaced at my own cost), and worn tires that left me stranded. The dealer had advertised the vehicle as “excellent condition, only minor scratches,” which was completely false. I repeatedly contacted the dealer, but they only made partial chassis repairs and ignored all other problems. I paid significant repair expenses and eventually had to trade in the car on April 29, 2024, at romano Toyota for $12,530. 24, while still owing $13,705. 58, resulting in a direct loss of about $9,283. 78, not including additional repair and transportation costs. On October 2, 2025, I sent a formal demand letter to hengxin auto group requesting compensation for odometer fraud and vehicle misrepresentation. The letter was received on October 9, but no response or resolution has been offered. The dealer’s conduct involves clear odometer fraud and nondisclosure of safety-related defects. I respectfully request NHTSA to investigate this case and take appropriate action to prevent similar consumer deception and safety risks. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Twice in the last 4 months, after turning into a parking place and accelerating gently to pull forward into the space, the car surged forward much more than it should have given my light acceleration. The first time this happened I slammed into a split rail fence which broke, damaging the vehicle. The fence parts went over a restraining wall and damaged a house. I was able to stop the car but it came very close to going over the 6 foot restraining wall, which might very well have killed me. It happened again today in a different location but similar circumstance and no damage was done because I was able to stop before it hit the house. The car surged on its own. I had the damage to the car fixed, but the problem has not been confirmed by a service center. The damage was inspected by my insurance company and repaired by an auto body shop. My insurance rates will be increased because of the incident. There were no warning lights, messages or other symptoms prior to the episodes.

Rear wheel bearings are needing to be replaced at 65,000 miles, car is less than 5 years old. No specific incident is connected to this premature failure.

I recently purchased a used Subaru Forester with about 92k miles. About two weeks after purchase, I took it to a Subaru dealership and a multi point inspection revealed a cracked catalytic converter. The tech stated that this was discovered by visual inspection. This failure causes a safety issue by leaking exhaust vapors into the cabin. This failure occurred with no warning lamps or messages/codes.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated she was parking in a parking space when the vehicle accelerated at a very high speed without any warning causing the driver to crash into a building. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the contact shifted the vehicle into reversed and the vehicle accelerated backward at very high-speed once again causing the contact to hit another building. The contact was the only person that was injured. The contact was uncertain if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 4,000.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving into a parking space at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, which caused a collision. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle crashed into a traffic signpost, a boulder, and then a tree, which stopped the vehicle. No injury was sustained and no medical treatment was received. No air bags were deployed. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed that the computer system did not show a failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The vehicle was not deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Prior to the collision, the vehicle had inadvertently accelerated on several occasions. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

The cvt transmission is begining to fail, the car has come near stalling several times and has a very rough/lurching shift while accelerating onto highways and merging. Subaru dealership says it does not qualify for a warranty replacement even though Subaru extended the warranty specifically for this problem.

Follow up-to complaint #11420905 submitted 6/14/2021. The car was taken back to the dealership due to stall, hesitation, slowness, and erratic uncontrolled acceleration. Safety was the main issue. The dealer confirmed the concern and replaced the transmission with a remanufactured one. The problems still remain with the exception of the stalling. We believe this situation requires further thorough investigation and possible recall or new transmission installation.

The 2018 forrester xt was taken to Subaru dealer (gwinnett) for a routine 42,000-mile service. There were no issues with the car. Shortly after picking up and driving approximately 30 miles the car stalled twice at traffic lights. The engine was restarted but started to exhibit sluggish and erratic acceleration, especially from 0-45 mph. The car was taken back to gwinnett Subaru the next day. They did some data retrieval and found a mass airflow event, cleaned the air filter, test drove the car, and released it to us. The next few days, the same problems were experienced but the car did not stall. At one point, at a traffic light, the car would simply not accelerate even with full pedal pressure which was gradually increased. When it finally did, it was uncontrolled and erratic. Highway driving once speed was reached seemed normal, but any acceleration from a slower speed was problematic. On Monday 6-14-2021 the car was taken back to the dealer due to serious concerns about safety and the possibility of the loss of power when critically needed or when on the highway. The dealer promised to investigate the problem further. That evening, we were informed that it was their assessment that the car would need a brand new cvt transmission. The car has approximately 41,100 miles and we were told that it would be covered by the 5 years/60,000 miles powertrain warranty. Expected to take 7-10 days for repair.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru foster. The contact stated while parking her vehicle she shifted into park, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a building. The contact mentioned no warning light was illuminated and no strange sound happened before the crash. The vehicle failed to deploy the air bags. The contact sustained whiplash and neck pain but no medical attention was required. Emergency officials were contacted and a police report was filed. The vehicle 's front bumper and headlight was damaged and the building door was broken. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. Failure mileage was approximately 65,000. The VIN was not available.

A few incidents have happened since the latter half of 2020: while at a stop light that turned green, my car stopped moving for a few seconds despite pressing on the gas pedal and the rpm went up to 6/ loudly revved. I was almost rear ended at this light. The car has also had this lack of movement issue on the freeway while in traffic. My car jerks several times on slight inclines especially after surpassing 40 mph. Often times, I cannot accelerate past 40 mph regardless if the drive is on a flat surface or an incline. The rpm will increase, but the gear feels like it will get stuck and the car makes a loud noise. This is the most noticeable going from 40 mph to 50-55 mph. These incidents are on city streets. However, power often gets lost going on to freeways for the same reason. I cannot surpass 40 mph when entering a freeway and was almost sideswiped on the driver's side by an impatient person entering too early where the on-ramp merges with the freeway because of this. While on a freeway, the car will continue to accelerate despite attempting to slow it down by pressing on the brake or coming to a complete stop. This has also happened on city streets and poses a safety issue. The acceleration when this happens is much faster than when I try to manually accelerate the car myself in other contexts, like mentioned above. I believe it is the cvt as this seems to be a common problem with cars of my make, model, and year.

Tl-the contact leased a 2018 a Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 25 mph up a hill the brake pedal was applied but failed to respond and vehicle rolled backwards and crashed into a tree. The door failed to open. There were no reported injuries, police report filed,or air bag deployment. The vehicle was taken to Subaru sherman oaks 5747 van nuys blvd, van nuys, CA 91401 (818) 670-7450 where the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted however no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 35,000. Ap.

When on an incline, and or entering a highway while accelerating the car will go into the hill decent mode. Every light on the dash will light up! I am forced to pull over because the engine is now screaming!!! I then need to turn the car off and on two times in order to be able to drive it. Now half the lights are still on. But the car is running normally. It will take to more times turning off the engine before all the lights go off. The dealer claimed I was driving two footed. Left foot on brake and right on gas. Not true I do not drive like that. You can verify this behavior with starlink which I had the first year. Stamford Subaru has had the car a week now and I have heard nothing! the second issue is the front end. When going over a bump or turning into a driveway there is a loud clunk. To me it sounds like ball joints. Stamford Subaru has told me it is the all wheel drive system lifting one wheel off the ground, that's bull. I'm doing five miles an hour. Both issues have been going on for over a year. I do not feel safe in my Subaru. Stamford Subaru has given me an impresa as a loner and I am loving it. I have put six hundred miles on it and no problems. Please get in their butts to fix or replace my Forester!!! thank you in advance. . . Ps, the computer code said incorrect gear ratio for the transmission problem. In addition this has happened five times in a year and four months. Very scary!!!.

Tl- the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at different speeds, the vehicle stopped and sometimes lost power. The vehicle restarted after it was shut off. There was no warning. The vehicle was taken to the Subaru sherman oaks dealer (888-690-1521, located at 5747 van nuys blvd, van nuys, CA 91401) where the technician test drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that someone would follow up with the dealer. The contact was not called back. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not provided. Fe.

Occasionally when I slowly accelerate from a stop, as when I pull into a driving lane from a parking lot a stop sign, the car will move a few feet and then stop. The engine will still be turning approx. 2000 rpm but the car will not move . When I apply the accelerator the rpm does not change and the car still will not move. After anywhere from 3-5 seconds the car will accelerate normally. Otherwise the car performs normally and there is no hesitation at higher speeds. As a result, I am sitting helpless in a traffic land with cars bearing down on me. S far we have not been hit. I have been unable to replicate this problem and it may occur a few times in one day or nit for several days. I took it to my local Subaru dealer and they were unable to duplicate the problem on a test drive. However, a service writer with the same model did describe a similar experience. The service dept. Ran diagnostic tests and said that everything is normal. Subaru customer service said that unless they can duplicate the problem there is nothing they can do. When I googled this problem I found several similar complaints involving several Subaru models and also that Subaru is aware of the problem but apparently has not found a solution.

On August 23, 2018, I purchased a brand new Subaru Forester (VIN # (xx)) from southern states automotive in raleigh, nc. On October 30, 2018, I received a notice from Subaru of America stating that Subaru of America is implementing a warranty extension of 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first) for my vehicle's continuously variable transmission (cvt). On October 31, 2018, at 5:13 pm, I spoke to eric in Subaru's customer service division. I asked eric how long Subaru had known about problems with their cvts. He stated "two weeks. " I stated to eric that I bought a Subaru because of its reliability. I asked eric to offer me a lifetime warranty on my cvt. Eric stated there was no way he or anyone in his department could do that. At 7:09 pm on October 31, 2018, I spoke to virgil - a Subaru customer service supervisor. I asked virgil to provide me with a lifetime warranty on my cvt. Virgil offered me a $500 service voucher with an expiration date of November 2019. I asked virgil how much it would cost to replace my cvt. He stated "six or seven thousand dollars. " he stated there was no one else capable of reviewing my concerns. On November 13, 2018, I spoke to donnie (x) and derrick (x) in the sales department at southern states Subaru. Both informed me that they were unable to provide me a lifetime warranty for my cvt. I have paid Subaru $11,200 toward the cost of my brand new 2018 Forester. I specifically purchased it because of Subaru's reputation for reliability. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I have ac problems, refrigerant leak, actuator problems, bad compressor. I have serious cvt surging and suspension problems that make vehicle unsafe to drive. The car literally begins to hop like you are stomping the gas and breaks back and forth and can easily make you lose control. It sometimes does nothing when pressing accelerator for way too long making it dangerous pulling into traffic. Windows roll down without pressing button and won't roll back up unless you roll them all the way down first and usually it just rolls right back down again. Aweful trying to drive while fighting with windows that won't stay up. Suspension is so destroyed from the surging and hopping that it cannot be aligned. The vehicle destroys tires rapidly and unevenly. Gas mpg is terrible, especially if you run ac. Steering assist is dangerous and will sometimes jerk wheel away for no reason causing you to scrape curbs and nearly hit a pole once. . Breaking assist is also dangerous as it will slam breaks for no reason. Lane departure beeps a lot for no reason. Wipers are garbage. Windshield glass is too soft and all dust scratches it making visibility poor the trunk often will not open no matter if you push button on key, inside car or on trunk. The door seals fell off, cheap clips fall off that are supposed to hold important things in place, glove box shock broke. I'm sure there are other issues too. Suspension is a big issue however, completely shot from surging. Far too expensive to get whole new suspension. Dealership ignored all complaints and purged all records of visits so I couldn't file lemon law. Subaru is very dishonest. So many things need recall that it is a lemon pure and simple.

I have trouble making turns for it hesitates before it will kick in,yesterday I was almost hit by a police car going on a call, lights/siren on . I just made a turn and it hesitated icouldn't get out of his way. This is an ongoing problem with this car.

The car will periodically stall for a second or two on occassions when starting out and then accelerate with a jolt. When in traffic this is unacceptable. I understand this may be common with cvt transmissions. If that is the case I question why they are allowed on the road. I wll not purchase another Subaru or any other car with a cvt.

Tl-the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph in stop and go traffic the vehicle was jerking and decreased in speed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer johnson Subaru of cary 5010 old raleigh rd. , cary, nc 27511 (833) 287-8912 where they were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. VIN: not available. Ap.

Tl- the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at speeds over 40 mph the vehicle would violently shake and vibrate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer suburban Subaru(1821 maplawn dr. Troy, mi. ) who diagnosed that the failure was caused by a build up of dirt and debris in the wheels and the wheel wells of the vehicle. The contact was adviced to power wash the wheels and wheel wells to prevent the failure from occurring. In addition the engine was idling with the while the vehicle was on a slight incline when suddenly the engine began to rev high and the vehicle erroneously drove forward. The failure occurred as the driver was getting back into the vehicle and the accelerator pedal had not been pressed. Also several occasions while on a slight incline with the engine idling the vehicle would suddenly roll backwards once the brake pedal was released. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who indicated there were no problems found with the vehicle. The manufacturer was informed of the failures but no assistance was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 2500. Jft.