Automatic Transmission Control Module problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester

This 2020 Subaru Forester has experienced repeated failures involving the auto start/stop system. When stopped in traffic, the system shuts the engine off as designed, but on multiple occasions the engine has failed to restart normally when the driver needed to proceed. This has left the vehicle unable to move in active traffic and created a serious risk of collision. The failures have occurred in highly dangerous situations, including a busy [xxx], a major [xxx] intersection, and most recently while entering a freeway. In these incidents, surrounding drivers had to brake hard to avoid striking the disabled vehicle. The occupants reasonably feared a serious collision, and the events were potentially life-threatening. The battery was replaced, but the auto start/stop no-restart condition later occurred again, so battery replacement did not resolve the problem. Subaru issued technical service bulletin 16-147-24 on xxx for 2019-2021 Foresters. The bulletin addresses tcm reprogramming related to engine behavior during auto start/stop restart and instructs technicians to reprogram the tcm when the described symptom is reported. However, the bulletin’s warranty section provides reimbursement under the basic new car limited warranty. For a 2020 vehicle, the original 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty would ordinarily have expired before this 2024 bulletin was issued. The vehicle is now being evaluated by an authorized Subaru dealer. The condition is intermittent and dangerous because the driver cannot know whether the engine will restart when movement is required. The vehicle is available for inspection. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).