Automatic Transmission Problems of Subaru Forester - part 1

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while shafting the vehicle into the drive, the vehicle accelerated at high speed without any warning and drove into the wall of her garage causing front damage the vehicle. The contact stated she had trouble turning off the engine. No one was injured. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 8,000.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while pulling into a parking space, the vehicle accelerated without any waring, causing the vehicle to drive over a curb. The contact had to desperately push on the brake pedal several times and the vehicle was able to come to a completely stop. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 1,430.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at a low rate of speed through a parking garage, the vehicle independent accelerated without warning. The vehicle initially crashed into a parked vehicle which caused a chain reaction with two other vehicles. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The police arrived at the scene and a police report was filed. The contact sought medical attention for a laceration to head and a stiff neck. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Driver was backing up vehicle, when it accelerated rapidly, causing loss of control and traffic crash where a pedestrian was backed over, pinned and killed. Drive had no explanation of why this happened. Passenger in vehicle claims there had to have been mechanical defect.

See all problems of the 2009 Subaru Forester 🔎.

2005 Subaru Forester automatic transmission the car lurches upon starting out especially in the morning. You press on the accelerator--car does not move, then suddenly lurches as the transmission slams into gear, so there is little control on the part of the driver--you do not know when the car will move and/or how. . When take foot off accelerator car lurches forward again--with no driver control. The car slams into gear without warning. This has been happening now regularly for the past 2 months. Brought the car into the dealer on Jan 14--they said they found the problem, "reprogrammed" it and said all was fine. It wasn't--brought the car back yesterday--they kept it overnight and they said everything is ok--it is not. Car is still out of control. I have been reading similar stories on edmunds. Com Subaru forum for this year and even older model Subaru Foresters. Subaru denies there is an issue--I called them this afternoon and wrote to them a few weeks back, too. Thanks.

See all problems of the 2005 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Car engine races sometimes when slowing down .

The contact owns a 2000 Subaru Forester. While driving 55 to 65 mph the engine began to over heat. A local mechanic stated that the head gasket cracked. The engine was replaced; however, the transmission has also failed. The contact is aware of the safety risk. The current mileage was 170,000 and the failure mileage was 169,000.

See all problems of the 2000 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Vehicle: 2009 Subaru Forester limited, on 6/20/09 I experienced an incident of unintended acceleration. Cruise control was on. Before our exit I canceled the cruise control but left it "on". On the ramp, I let the car slow. At about 40 mph I moved the shift lever into sport mode, downshifted to 3rd gear, then 2nd, then braked to a stop. The car was stopped, in gear, idling. My foot was on the brake. Without warning, the engine raced and the car jolted forward about a foot; it would have continued but I increased pressure on the brake and stopped the car. The engine, with the car stopped and in gear, ran up over 2000 rpm. I immediately shifted into regular drive mode and then into neutral. Once in neutral, the engine briefly raced higher but then dropped to idle at about 700 rpm. I switched the cruise control off. Please note: to stop the car I did not move my foot; it was already on the brake, and I merely pressed harder. This is not a case of pedal confusion. The floor mats are in place. This is not a case of a floor mat interfering with the accelerator. At the time of the incident, we were not moving. I was not on the phone. I was not looking over my shoulder. I was not otherwise distracted. I was sitting still, waiting for the light to change, with my focus on the traffic stopped in front of me. In my view, this represents a dangerous defect in the vehicle, and needs to be corrected immediately. Please advise regarding your proposed resolution. I have advised Subaru via their website today but have not heard back. I am happy to be contacted for further details if needed.

The contact owns a 1999 Subaru Forester. While coasting, the vehicle began to accelerate on its own. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 48,700. Updated 05/06/08 the consumer stated dreyer & reinbold checked engine, transmission mounts speed control and found no problem. 05/06/08.

See all problems of the 1999 Subaru Forester 🔎.

If I place my 2000 Subaru forrester into drive it will not move, it will sit there for several minutes until suddenly it jerks forward into gear. Place into reverse it works well, moves in reverse. Visit several reputable car repair forums online you will literally see hundreds of customers with these same problems posting from 2004-present.

Bought my 2001 Forester used with approximately 64,000 miles on it. After owning it for about 6 months noticed hesitancy when trying to pull out. Slowly started getting worse. Car would sit for about 10 to 15 seconds after being put into drive before engaging and if foot is not on brake, has a harsh engagement (whiplash type thing where it throws you forward). So, after much research and finding out that there are probably 1000s of other Forester owners with the exact same problem, I contacted Subaru of America who of course told me to take it to my local dealer and if they found anything wrong, Subaru might give me some goodwill assistance. Well as they found that the transmission filter was not a Subaru brand and nor was the fluid, they wanted to change it and then run a diagnostic test, saying that maybe that other filter caused the problem. I tried explaining that the reason we changed it was because of the problem, not what caused the problem. We changed it to see if that would help and of course it didn't. Then, of course, Subaru would not do anything as I did not want to have to pay for them to change the filter and fluid only to charge me for that and then tell me that there was nothing wrong with it. I pointed out all the other complaints about the exact same problems, but they insist it is not a defect, when apparently there is a major problem with these transmissions.

See all problems of the 2001 Subaru Forester 🔎.

When parking vehicle in garage, engine revved and car drove forward causing damage to car and garage even though car had been placed into park.

See all problems of the 2002 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Purchased used "as is" 02/01/2007 from dealer that listed 2001 Forester at $9800. 00, then when I went to buy they reduced cost to $5200. 00 just to move their used vehicles off lot. They did not disclose any problems and said Forester went thorough vehicle inspection and vehicle was in excellent condition mechanically. (1) failure of emission system ie,oxygen sensors (2) front and rear locations. Second day after purchase. (2) failure of left front cv joints (2) and axle. Third day after purchase. (3) automatic transmission would only go into reverse and not any drive or forward gears while coming home from work on "5th" day of ownership and this being the "third" time to have Forester towed to service center. I contacted the multi-franchised (including Subaru) for help and information. They responded the Forester was sold as is and didn't care even if the vehicle fell in half once it leaves their lot. My next step is I contacted Subaru America of my vehicle and dealer problems by email. I received returns from them with vauge at best reasons but no recall or TSB information. They gave me a case number and waiting for a personal reply via postal mail or telephone call. In total I have been towed 3 times, two different service centers and certified. Mechanics. Paid $300. For front axle, $429. 00 for emmisison repairs, $150 for a transmission flush,filters (2 one internal one external spin-on) and Subaru transmission. Conditoner. Finally after all that I still have the transmission problem and rarely use it because I am affraid to drive it with my two babies I have, I use my fathers car. Can someone help me please.

2000 Subaru Forester with a slipping transmission. When in drive, I depress the gas pedal and go nowhere. Just hear a shrieking. Its been coming on for a month now and now has gotten so bad I dare not drive it. It is in the shop now and will be between 1500-2500 to fix. Their estimate is that there is a loss of pressure somewhere. They also have another 2000 Forester in the shop with a similar problem, similar miles etc. Unacceptable on a car with less than 80k miles. And very scary when you are on a slope and go to go and find yourself rolling backwards. Why is there no recall on this problem? there seems to be reports all over the internet with the exact same problem!!.

When traveling 60 mph the car suddenly looses acceleration, like it is slipping into neutral. At first, I could remove my foot from the gas, allow the car to coast and slow, and then re-apply gas, and it would accelerate again. Now when it occurs, I have to stop, normally on the side of a rural highway, put it in park, then back to drive for it to work properly. I am afraid this is going to leave me stranded somewhere out in the 'sticks. ' the car has less than 25k miles, and has had its scheduled maintenance. Any info?.

When I shift into drive (any of the drive gears), the car hesitates to engage (move forward) for anywhere between 2-3 seconds and up to 1 minute. This does not happen when shifted into reverse. The wait time is random so I never know how long it will take. The other day, I had to reverse to get out of a parking spot and then the car wouldn't engage into drive for another 45 seconds and I almost got rear ended by a car coming up behind me. This is a safety issue! I've read about hundreds of other complaints by other Subaru Forester (1999 - 2001) owners on-line. This leads me to believe that it is a manufacturer's defect. I spoke with both the dealer and Subaru representative and they won't cover the cost of a new transmission because I am out of warranty. I think this is unacceptable and am looking into the legal implications further.

If I place my 2000 Subaru forrester into drive it will not move, it will sit there for several minutes until suddenly it jerks forward into gear. Place into reverse it works well, moves in reverse. Place into drive, lightly press the accelerator pedal, it will jump forward into gear! place into drive wait for it to move: if I am on an incline it will roll backwards or forwards depending on the slope, otherwise I can sit there for a few minutes before it will jerk forward. Subaru states that they are not aware of this issue; later they state they are aware of the issue and state to replace the transmissions. However, visit several reputable car repair forums online you will literally see hundreds of customers with these same problems posting from 2004-present. All customers have Subaru forrester's or outback's. All claim this hazard! some customers state a temporary fix: replace transmission fluid and for a few weeks/months these problems will disappear. All members of the forums state that they within weeks/months had to replace the transmission, many just gave up on their cars by trading them in. I find this highly unacceptable! who else will then purchase these safety hazards? google Subaru, transmission or Subaru jerking forward into gear my automobile has been very well taken care of! the 5 year warranty just expired and my auto has less than 65,000 miles on it. I have been very diligent in doing all the maintenance and services according to the manufacturers manual as well. I see that 5 other individuals have complained of the same problems on your site. Please, please investigate into these issues. It's a hazard to have a car be placed into drive and then not move forward until you press the accelerator or it moves forward after 2 - 30 minutes of wait time! please review the posts on several forums to see that many other individuals are experiencing this problem with the Subaru cars. It's very unfortunate. Otherwise these cars are wonderful!.

This problem initially occurred only once a month or so, but has since deteriorated to occurring multiple times per day. When approaching a stoplight, or braking harder than usual, the vehicle will slip into neutral. The shifter does not move, it is still in drive, however, without warning, the car will suddenly stop responding to the accelerator (except the engine still revs). The only remedy is to rev the engine to high revs, over and over, until the transmission "catches", at which point the vehicle lurches forward, often violently, even with the brake depressed. This most often happens at stoplights/signs, however it will occur on the highway in traffic when brakes are applied hard. This seems to be quite potentially dangerous if it were to happen when it was necessary to move the vehicle out of the way of something oncoming and would not be able to. A dealer looked at it and flushed the transmission and added new fluid, which solved the problem for about 2 months, after which it has continued to get worse. The transmission is not low on fluid, and the fluid looks fine. I have heard this complaint from numerous other 1999 Forester owners via various internet forums.

The 2000 Subaru Forester, when shifted to "d", "3", "2, or "1" will not go forward. It will always go when in reverse! we have been told by several dealers that the transmission must be replaced (at the time the car had 70k miles and was 5+ years old - just out of warranty). This problem appears to be well known to Subaru dealers. To mitigate this problem, I must tap the accelerator, and wait and wait 1 second to 30 seconds before the transmission will engage. A year ago, the transmission was drained, flushed and the filter replaced, that helped a little. The service writer said the transmission was out of warranty a should be replaced, he also said the warranty specified that before 40k miles the transmission should be drained, flushed, and the filter replaced. After reading the 2000 warranty and maintenance booklet (msa5m0001w, issued June 1999), page 42 (2000 my federal specification vehicles) and page 43 (notes) I found out that he was in error. Item 10 automatic transmission fluid is an "inspection (I)" item only at 30k, 60k, 90k, and 120k miles. Page 43 "notes 4 and 9" are specific, repeat specific, to the automatic transmission fluid (item 10). Note 4 describes "severe driving conditions", but only two of them "appear (not specific to item 10)" to pertain to automatic transmission fluid, "c. Driving in dusty conditions" and "g. Towing a trailer" - I and most other owners do neither. And as for note 9, the notes stop at 8, - 9 is missing -, the California schedule of inspection and maintenance services and notes (pages 44 and 45) also have note 9 missing! internet citations attribute this hesitation problem to a software problem (this year was among the first years to have electronic transmission control - they mention) a pervasive and continuing problem that Subaru is attempting to avoid. The April 2005 consumer reports (page 92 reliability scores) also documents the higher incidence of transmission problems with the 1999 and 2000 Forester.

Dt: the consumer stated the vehicle would only go into reverse.

The vehicle generated excessive static shock. The accelerator became stuck. There were times when the vehicle would go no more than 15- 20 mph.

See all problems of the 2004 Subaru Forester 🔎.

When accelerating, the vehicle hesitated before it moved. The dealership was notified. Please provide more information.

Multiple times I have stepped on the brake and the car lurches forward.

Car hesitates then lurches forward after pressing the gas pedal. Vehicle then hestiates as if losing power. Had the same probelem in August of 2003 and dealer reset the vehicle's computer and said no problem. Dealer tried to have me pay for a fuel injector cleaning service this time. Car has 29,000 miles. I spoke a another customer at the dealership who was having the same problem and noticed the numerous complaints on the web site. Shouldn't this matter be looked at for a possible recall?.

After a snow storm I noticed my 2001 Subaru Forester would not drive on slippery surfaces. I pushed the accelerator, the wheels spun and not much else happened. I took it to the dealership on 12/19/03 and they looked at me like I was nuts to complain that a car didn't drive properly on packed snow and ice. The original thought was that it must be poor tires (bought new all seasons on 10/02) or that I needed to purchase snow tires (for an awd?). After pushing the issue, the service manager brought it back into the garage, put it on the lift and had someone gun the engine. The front wheels spun fast (as they should) and the back wheels went very slowly. They scratched their heads and called Subaru of America for some help on the issue. Turns out the valve that supplies fluid to the rear wheels malfunctioned/burnt out/no longer worked. There was absolutely no warning that this had happened. The dealership said no such light to indicate a malfunction in the awd system has ever existed. The service department crossed their fingers that the only repair I would need was the valve ($460 parts and labor) and warned me that if this had been happening for a while I could be in for some more serious repairs. I was allowed to take the car home because I could do no further damage to the car (was told it shut down). Brought it in 12/31/03 for a replacement of the valve and they discovered there was extensive damage and the clutch was completely burnt. The cost is now ($1500). This problem would have been significantly cheaper to fix if there had been a warning that there was a problem. A valve for the awd system should never malfunction. The dealership said they had never seen it happen before. The car is not old enough (3 years 60k miles) to have a problem like this!.

On the green traffic signal I accelerated and the car surged into the vehicle in front of me. I jammed my foot on the brake and threw the shift into park when the car stopped, then with my foot on the brake and shift in park, the car surged in reverse hitting the car behind me. I previously experienced surging twice before this. My 2002 Subaru forrester was recalled for the parking rod replacedment in April 2003.

While vehicle was in neutral it shut down, then vehicle rolled backwards.

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Car "hesitates" occasionally, 1-2 second delay after you press the gas pedal until the car responds. Also, the car shifts inappropriately. Mostly this occurs on hills. You will attempt to accelerate, and the car downshifts; or you attempt to pass someone on highway and car will hesitate, then begin to accelerate, then will suddenly downshift. I have had car to dealer, first I was told there was no problem. Then, they realized there was a problem, and had the computer reset. This seemed to improve handling for only about a week. The car is now hesitating and downshifting on a regular basis.

Transmission hesitates from a dead stop. You depress the accelerator and nothing happens for 2 seconds or so, then the car lurches forward.

1999 Subaru Forester s. At 40,000 new transmission. At 45,000 speed odometer sticking needs to be replaced. Now at 96,000 miles leaking head gasket needs to be replaced. All major problems requiring major money to be replaced.

The consumer received recall 02v282000. The vehicle has been taken to the dealer for 4 different repair appointments. On 3 different instances the service technician was not available once consumer arrived for appointment. One 1 occasion, consumer came in for Saturday appointment and was told recall remedy could not been performed on Saturday. Now, consumer will not be able to bring vehicle back for another 3 months.

Have a 1999 Forester l w/auto tramsmission. I can drive in reverse all day with no problem. Going forward is hit and miss. Sometimes I can sit for 15 to 30 minutes before the forward gears engage. Once forward engages, I have no problem until I turn off the ignition. Servicing the trans is a temporary fix for a few thousand miles and then the problem slowly returns. I really like my car, but I'm sure the trans will eventually cease working all together. Evidently other are having same problem according to chat rooms.

Consumer was parking on an upgrade. Consumer stated that they put vehicle in park attempted to exit when vehicle began to roll backwards. Consumer applied brakes, pedal went to the floor. Which resulted in vehicle crossing a residential street and stopping in someones yard. Consumer feels this was very dangerous, someone could have been hit. Please provide any further information.

See all problems of the 1998 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Automatic transmission gears lock in park position on an intermittent basis. Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further details.

While driving in bumper high snow for 5 miles vehicle would not shift from 3 rd to 4 th gear. Consumer had to force it into 4 th gear. Dealer determined snow had accumulated around transmission and caused the problem.