general problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester

24 problems related to vehicle speed control have been reported for the 2018 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2018 Subaru Forester based on all problems reported for the 2018 Forester.

1 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 08/28/2023

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.

2 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/27/2023

While reversing out from a drive way and turning to get into the lane the cars velocity massively increased from no throttle coasting to approximately 20 mph. Panic braking and enough space due to it being a cul-DE-sac saved us, but we were launched forward in our seats and slammed back during breaking. We were very fortunate not to have anyone or anything behind us as we nearly went over a curb and into a lawn. A very scary experience that has cast doubt onto this vehicles driving suitability.

3 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/21/2023

I was the first car stopped at a red light of an intersection coming off the freeway, in far right lane. When the light turned green, as I released my foot off the brake and not even stepping on the gas the rpm surged with full force accelerating without my foot on the gas. I stepped on the brake but it would not engage - it locked. The steering wheel locked and only had minimal movement, as much movement as you would get in a parked position. There was no way to stop the car. Given the lane position and obstructions ahead (freeway on ramp), the car ran over a median and scraped along side the curb and on top to damage the front passenger wheel enough for it to pop. Only when the wheel broke did the car’s brake re-engage and I was able to put it into park. The vehicle has not yet been inspected and is available in my driveway for inspection. There was no warning or indicators leading up to this. In fact, the vehicle had just been inspected for an oil change at the dealership three weeks prior. This accident would have caused a fatality, mine, if not many others if there had been cars ahead of me or cars had been in the intersection or if the wheel did not break in time before merging with the freeway traffic. I am fearful to drive this car again. There were absolutely no indicators leading up to this or right before it happened. The car simply took over and there was no control of it.

4 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/08/2022

I took our 2018 Subaru Forester through a car wash. The usual washing procedure went just fine with me in the car idling in neutral as it went through. When it came to the end of the wash cycle, I coasted out and then shifted into drive. Instantly the car surged forward at an alarming speed and I could not stop it. The car crossed a busy street. I fortunately did not collide with cars. The car continued into a field next to a Ford dealer’s lot at a high speed and I was unable to stop it. I managed to swerve right to avoid crashing into the cars parked on the Ford lot. This sent the car back toward the road. Fortunately I hit a lone fire hydrant along the road, shearing the hydrant completely off. The hydrant was dragged along under the front left tire until it hit the curb stopping the car. The air bag did not deploy and I was not injured. This all occurred in a matter of seconds.

5 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/17/2022

Unknown system that failed but vehicle equiped with eyesight and all of Subaru safety features. Air bag did not deploy. Pulling into curbed parking space at city park. Speed <10 mph while in parking lot. Applied brake while pulling in space to park and car accelerated jumping the curb. The car was out of control and luckily heading into the woods. Tried to apply brake again but car kept accelerating. Car went approximately 10-12 feet and crashed into a tree. I suffered only stiffness and sore muscles from the seatbelt. An accident report was filed with local police department. No warning lamps, messages or other messages appeared prior to the incident.

6 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 09/06/2021

Sudden unexplained acceleration incident. Car accelerated without input from driver and rear-ended a parked vehicle in front of the vehicle eyesight system did not engage to warn or prevent impact with rear end of car in front. The vehicle was travelling at low speed and suddenly accelerated. This is dangerous because it does not provide enough time to prevent from hitting an object in front of the vehicle like a car or person. The problem has not been reproduced by by the manufacturer who sent a technician who inspected the vehicle and could not find any saved info in the event data recorder or saved diagnostics codes. Complaints were filed with the dealership before the incident that the eyesight system did not appear to be functioning correctly. The first time this has happened was 6/02/2021 in the afternoon on a clear day on a clear pathway without any obstructions. The second time this happened was 9/06/2021. The second incident the vehicle accelerated while travelling at lo speed with the eyesight system briefly warning tone beeping. The brakes were applied quickly and the carr seemed almost to stall. The engine made a noise as the stalling conditions ended and the car went back to normal. Subaru filed a service request previously. Sr# 1-70302162357.

7 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/23/2021

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.

8 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/07/2021

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.

9 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/02/2021

Sudden unexplained acceleration incident. Car accelerated without input from driver and rear-ended a parked vehicle in front of the vehicle eyesight system did not engage to warn or prevent impact with rear end of car in front. The vehicle was travelling at low speed and suddenly accelerated. This is dangerous because it does not provide enough time to prevent from hitting an object in front of the vehicle like a car or person. The problem has not been reproduced by by the manufacturer who sent a technician who inspected the vehicle and could not find any saved info in the event data recorder or saved diagnostics codes. Complaints were filed with the dealership before the incident that the eyesight system did not appear to be functioning correctly. The first time this has happened was 6/02/2021 in the afternoon on a clear day on a clear pathway without any obstructions. The second time this happened was 9/06/2021. The second incident the vehicle accelerated while travelling at low speed with the eyesight system briefly warning tone beeping. The brakes were applied quickly and the car seemed almost to stall. The engine made a noise as the stalling conditions ended and the car went back to normal. Subaru filed a service report sr# 1-70302162357. State farm opened a claim 3620r756c.

10 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 03/01/2021

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 8 mph, the vehicle accelerated without warning which resulted in the vehicle crashing into a parked vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer (Subaru white plains 258 e main st, elmsford, NY 10523, (844) 338-8731) where it's awaiting diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,000.

11 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/25/2021

I turned into a parking space covering the brake and came to a stop. I went to shift into park and when the gearshift lever started to move the car accelerated uncommanded and ran into the building.

12 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/22/2021

Upon entering a parking space, with break peddle engaged, the vehicle lunged forward at extreme speed hitting a protective barrier. After a rest period, the vehicle was put in reverse and with break peddle engaged lurched backward at the same excessive speed hitting another object. After a long period with engine turned off, the operator was able to drive the car slowly. The vehicle is to be examined to determine the problem.

13 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/01/2020

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.

14 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 10/06/2020

As it stands in p (park) it has a really high idle even in neutral as if it wants to go. Then in drive it will lurch really fast. Or I have my foot on the break and it starts to rev high then after 3-5sec of seeing rev cycle in the 2000-3000s it calms down. I almost rear-ended a car yesterday. If you slightly pull off the brake the car will want to jolt forward. When it revs high and I take my foot off the brake it jolts forward then slows as if it recognizes I never had my foot on the accelerator. In all of these times I never had my foot on the gas pedal. I don't have pictures because obviously it's scary and I'd rather focus on the driving then my car acting strange. But I realised that when this was happening more and more frequently my brakes completely wore out. I went from a 7/10 to a 1/10 in between a 3000 mile service! it all became more apparent after the 30,000 mile mark.

15 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/09/2020

I had my foot on the break (riding the break and was slowing down to take a left turn onto a residential road, and as I left off the break to start turning because I was now going slow enough, the car accelerated for a second. Rpm randomly shot up and the car jumped forward. It happened quickly and subsided just as quickly.

16 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/18/2020

Tl-the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 5 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle independently accelerated. The vehicle was taken to mark miller Subaru south towne service located at 10920 state st, sandy, ut 84070, (888) 791-4530, to be diagnosed which was still pending. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted nor informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 26,457. Ah.

17 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/12/2019

While parking in a lot: when pulling into a space, hit brake pedal and car accelerated resulting in minor damage to my car and others cars. I believe the car malfunctioned resulting in this accident.

18 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 06/05/2019

I was in stop and go traffic. I don't remember if I was taking foot off brake, or gas pedal. This happen within seconds. Car started to accelerate, I slammed on brakes still moving, I pulled emergency brake, still moving, I hit back end of pick-up truck. By then I had put car in park and turned off ignition.

19 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/04/2019

2018 Forester with 1100 miles first episode (February 2 ,2019)approaching a red light at low speed (10 to 15 m/h) at intersection with heavy traffic ; car suddenly accelerated , had to brake forcefully to prevent advancing into traffic second episode (februarunuy 4,2019); in parking garage at no more than 10m/h) sudden and unintended accelaration ; I was able to forcefully brake ,car stopped just inches from concrete wall � . No damage to driver , car or other people or property. Car towed to muller Subaru ,highland park IL I notified Subaru headquarters. Second episode (February 4,2019.

20 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 11/15/2018

Tl the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated before suddenly launching forward. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer (fc kurbeck Subaru, 200 w. Decatur Ave, pleasantville, NJ) were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 4.

21 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 05/25/2018

I was driving on I-95 in fairfield CT and started to accelerate to merge with traffic when my car started to race. I immediately tried to brake, I needed to press very hard on the brake peddle for the car to stop accelerating. As soon as I took my foot off the brake, the car accelerated again at a very high speed. When I was braking, I could not control the brake speed, it seemed like the car was shutting off so I removed my foot from the brake. This happened four more times until I was able to get over to an off ramp and shut the car down. The car smelled like something burning. I had the car towed to Subaru dealer.

22 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 02/12/2018

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.

23 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 01/16/2018

When attempting to accelerate to make a left-hand turn the car stopped - the engine would not get above idle, even when the accelerator was pressed to the floor. The car stopped in oncoming traffic. It did accelerate after completely removing pressure from the pedal and pushing it partially down again it began to pick up speed.

24 Vehicle Speed Control problem

Failure Date: 12/01/2017

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.


Other Vehicle Speed Control related problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester


Safety Ratings of Forester Cars
Fuel Economy of Forester Vehicles
Forester Service Bulletins
Forester Safety Recalls
Forester Defect Investigations