Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Subaru Forester - part 1

Unintentional acceleration - 2 times within 4 days of each incident. 9/17/25 while stopped to pull into a parking lot my 2021 Subaru Forester accelerated as I was stopped. I had to slam on the brakes, take a deep breath and was shocked at the pull and speed the car wanted to go. 9/20/25 pulled into a parking spot, not moving and the car again pulled and accelerated. Again I slammed on the brakes to stop from crashing into other vehicles or whatever was in the vicinity the car wanted to go. There were no warning messages, no symptoms prior to these 2 incidents. The car only has about 24,000 miles on it and all maintenance has been done on time and at the dealership. No outside mechanics have ever worked on the car. I called aaa to tow me as I was not safe to drive the car and had it towed to the suburu dealer where I purchased the car. This is an extremely dangerous situation. The floor mats were not near the gas pedal or the brake pedal and it was absolutely 100% not my error in foot pedal placement. I will not drive the car any longer until the dealer calls to tell me what is wrong or what they have found to be the problem. There is a civil lawsuit against Subaru for this situation but when mentioning it to the dealer they acted like they knew nothing about it. This is not something that should be ignored. I was lucky the 2 times it happened and I hope to god it never happens again!.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Vehicle self-accelerated abruptly while parked and crashed into another vehicle causing damage to both vehicles.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact stated that while pulling into a parking spot with the brake pedal pressed, the vehicle displayed unintended acceleration, crashing into the wall of the building in front of the parking space. The air bags did not deploy. The contact immediately placed the vehicle in reverse, with the brake pedal still pressed, and the vehicle accelerated at approximately 20 mph in reverse on its own. The vehicle suddenly came to a stop before crashing into a nearby tree. The contact immediately turned the vehicle off and exited the vehicle. The contact received no injuries, and no medical attention was needed. The police came and filed a police report. The vehicle was towed to an auto body shop. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

I commute with my car and recently it started to speed up all by itself. I removed my floor covers thinking the gas pedal might be stuck on it but that wasnt the problem. While accelerating from a stopped position, it revs up and accelerates rapidly all by itself. Tapping the break pedal to deactivate accidendal cruise control doesnt work. I have to slam the break just to stop it from accelerating on its own. This is the fourth time it's happened. I have my personal mechanic change the oil every 3k miles and follows the factory recommendations on all other manufacturers recommendations. Very scary to drive because it happens at random.

Several months ago, the automatic front collision activated on the freeway doing about 65mph. There was nothing in front of us, but there was a car behind us that almost rear ended us. I thought this was a one-off thing but reading this site I am not the only one. Also, with in the last 2 weeks the eye site has turned off. This I see is also a known problem.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Forester 🔎.

I pulled into a parking space and as I slowed to a stop my car surged forward. I put my foot on the brake and the car continued to surge for a few seconds before the brakes engaged. I almost hit a fence and had to circle my car on a grassy lawn until the brakes egaged and I was able to park the car.

See attached document for complaint.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owned a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that his wife attempted to turn into a parking lot while her foot depressed on the brake pedal, the vehicle jolted into acceleration, ultimately crashing into two parked vehicles at 5 mph. The front passenger side of the contact's vehicle crashed into the front of two vehicles. No property damage was reported. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not towed. The steering responsive headlight warning light was illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. No injuries were reported. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,500.

The contact's friend owned a 2007 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while reversing in the driveway, the vehicle suddenly violently accelerated and crashed into the retaining wall and unit across the street. The vehicle was then shifted into drive from reverse when the vehicle violently accelerated a second time where it was able to come to a stop in the driveway. The accelerator pedal had not been depressed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact sustained injuries to the back neck and had several cuts, but medical attention was not provided. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire or air bag deployment. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

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The vehicle dynamics control safety system malfunctioned and forced me to drive straight on a curved banked overpass into the concrete barrier.

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[xxx], driving home, dark at [xxx] in airway heights wa. About 10 mins to home, lights in dashboard suddenly lit (brake, check engine, battery icon, water temp icon, 2 yellow colored pictures that had the word “off”, park, abs, exclamation point next to a circle that had a symbol in circle like a Mercedes Benz, and another symbol colored yellow). I kept driving with very little power in the car and it was hard turning the wheels to left or right turns. I was so scared thinking I would be stranded in the middle of the street! made it to my carport and drove it in. Turned off car; attempted to restart but didn’t, and during the times I started the car, it would make a stuttering noise. The lights that lit up remained, wouldn’t turn off until attempt to start again when the lights all turned off. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

What component or system failed or malfunctioned. A control system (I am guessing a computer or software problem occurred. The car had a sudden unexpected acceleration. On [xxx] my 2024 Subaru Forester sport while completing parking in a parking spot had a sudden unintended acceleration event. My foot was not on the acceleration. The automobile travelled at least 27 feet before I was able to stop the vehicle. The car skidded when I depressed the brakes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the car accelerated over curbs and a planter and onto a wide sidewalk with a bus stop. The car hit the bus stop structure and a sign. If there had been a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the pedestrian might have been killed. If the car had travelled another 10 feet, I would have been crossing a busy boulevard. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? the car was taken to dalton Subaru dealership in national city, California. Dalton Subaru did an initial test of systems with their computer. Subaru of America investigated. The Subaru of America corporation stated the accident was due to driver's error and that my foot was not on the accelerator. This statement is not true! I am 100% sure that my foot was not on the accelerator when the car had a sudden unintended acceleration. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. The Subaru of America corporation has inspected the car. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? there were no warning signs. The sudden unintended acceleration event happened only once. It occurred on [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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When the car accelerates to around 70 mph, the right front side starts to shake and vibrate, giving the impression of driving on a bumpy road. The issue becomes noticeably worse when changing lanes to the right. Both wheel alignment and tire balancing have been checked and found to be fine. After researching online, many Subaru owners have reported similar issues caused by problems with the lower control arm or wheel bearing, leading to shaking at high speeds. However, when contacting Subaru of America about this, they declined responsibility, citing an expired warranty.

Acceleration issues, this is the 3rd time it has happened since we've owned our Forester in 2018. Yesterday morning my wife was pulling out of our driveway and while she put it in reverse and started to release the brakes to naturally roll back, it hard accelerated and shot us out into the road until she fully pressed the brakes in. I was already aware of this issue, so I looked over as this was happening and saw her foot was on the brake pedal the entire time. The car was fully warmed up, on an inclined driveway nose pointed in, the acceleration has also happened going forward and on a flat surface as well in a parking spot just after putting in in reverse. My wife is the main driver of the car, and before it happens, she can normally catch the problem because the rpms are higher than normal before shifting into gears and she will wait a minute until the rpms have settled back down. I believe in 2020 we had the shifting looked at and they stated the time it takes to go into each gear was a little bit longer than normal but found no issues. Big safety issue due to others and us for not having control of it when that happens.

Subaru of America is aware of the problem which impacts several models and model years, see Subaru service bulletin 16-132-20r. Transmission slippage and bounce feel during acceleration. Can be strong enough at times to visually see occupants moving with momentum/bounce at times. Could contribute to vehicle not maintaining/reducing/responding to speed control systems, failure of transmission components, stranding occupants, and other similar hazards that come with the mechanical failure of a transmission. Has caused slowing of acceleration which impacted surrounding traffic on a few occasions. Vehicle is scheduled to be inspected by manufacture dealership on morning of 08/27/24.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester 🔎.

I was driving the car, towards the end of about a 40-minute drive the car, I can best describe, lost its mind. Without any prior signs of symptoms, in about the span of 5-10 seconds, the check engine light came on, then eyesight warning came on, then traction system error appeared and I lost all power. It started braking on its own and completely acting on its own. I could still steer, but I had no other control over the vehicle! thankfully I was in a 25 mph zone, with no other vehicles or pedestrians anywhere near me. I was able to steer the piece of junk into a vacant loading dock and at least get it off the street. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if the car did this on the interstate that I had exited from not five minutes prior to this incident. The car was rendered undriveable. I had it towed to the dealership. I don't know what is wrong with it yet as the dealer is closed on Sunday. This was an extremely dangerous situation! if the car lost its mind a mere five minutes earlier than it did, I could have been killed! I am still shaking from this incident.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and the rpms were significantly high. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact shifted to park(p) and turned off the vehicle, and the vehicle decelerated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed. Additionally, the contact stated while his wife was reversing, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and hit a chained gate. The contact's wife depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle went into the woods, hit several small trees, and then the vehicle crashed into a big tree and bounced 30 ft. Away from the tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact's wife sustained a sore neck, but did not seek medical assistance. A police report was filed. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was towed to an auto collision repair shop, awaiting for a damage estimate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and then stalled. The driver was able to pull over safely. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who determined that the failure was due to the thermal control valve and produced dtc codes: p2682 and p26a. The mechanic replaced the cooling gasket and coolant control valve and added coolant. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and assisted with the repair. The approximate failure mileage was 52,395.

Check engine, forward collision warning, flashing "s"drive, no eyesight, automatic emergency braking warning lights, all came on at once and staying on. Possible thermo control valve issue - needs a recall!.

I bought a new 2016 Subaru Forester in March of 2016 from Subaru of dayton. I have been hearing reports of unexpected acceleration. I have had two cases of this problem. Both times I was turning right. The first time I was pulling into a parking spot in a shopping center. As I turned right the car surged and I almost hit a light pole. Luckily when I jammed on the brakes, it stopped in time. The second time I was slowly pulling out of a parking lot. As I turned right the car lurched and quickly caused the car to hit the curb very hard. This was 8/5/2021and I took my car to dayton tire sales to see if there was any damage that needed to be fixed. They just checked the tire and said that there was no major damage to the tire. I have a copy of the invoice (could not attach) from that incident but never went to the dealer thinking it was just some fluke. Now I am concerned and feel that Subaru needs to address this problem before more people get hurt. Now that I have heard these other complaints I am very concerned about this problem. Has Subaru looked into this problem? is there something that I should be doing? is there a fix? is it safe to drive my Forester?.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while in a parking lot the contact was depressing the brake pedal and attempting to switch gears the vehicle accelerated inadvertently jumped a curb and slammed in to a tree. The contact was able to put the vehicle in reverse however while the contact had their foot on the brake the vehicle accelerated backwards on its own. The contact was treated by a local urgent care for whiplash. No one else was involved in the accident. The police were dispatched to the scene however no report was filed. The contact had the vehicle towed to a mechanic but they were unable to assist them resulting the vehicle to be towed to the vehicle was not diagnosed dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 4500.

Eyesight pre-collision braking feature and pre-collision throttle management feature malfunctioned and caused the 2020 Forester to accelerate unexpectedly and lurch forward while I was manually braking and slowing to come to a complete stop behind two other vehicles stopped at a steady red light. See class action lawsuit weston, et al. V. Subaru of America, inc. , et al. In us district court case no. [xxx] which alleges that the vehicle contains certain defects that caused sudden and unintended acceleration without driver input; acceleration while manually braking; and that these defects created a safety risk, because they severely affected the driver's ability to control the car's speed, acceleration, and deceleration, and increase the risk of a collision, which did in fact occur. The defective car was completely totaled and towed to a salvage yard by the police and the insurance company. Defect malfunction caused a collision which resulted in property damage and personal injury to three vehicles and three people. I mentioned the defect to my insurance company at the time of the accident. I do not know if they chose to follow up and inspect the vehicle. The problem occurred twice before ( not resulting in property damage or injury) and I took it to my Subaru dealer both times and they claim that they could not find anything wrong, but oddly did not note that they checked for the problem which I brought to their attention on the written summary/invoice for my service visit. See the class action lawsuit- this is apparently the typical dealer non-response to the problem. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The thermo control valve on vehicle failed on 2020 Subaru Forester which is causing vehicle to loose acceleration, multiple errors codes displaying on the vehicle instrument dash panel and no heat in the vehicle (see attached photo for reference). The failure of this device could cause a vehicle fire depending on what position/ and or state the thermo valve failed in. There needs to be a manufacturer recall on this particular part as there is numerous amounts of complaints and issues. Subaru needs to make it right with the customer. We need to drive safe vehicles on the road.

While driving temperature light, check engine light, all adas lights came on as inoperable (cameras, warning, abs, bsd/rcta), no heat (including defrost) available to defrost or for cabin. Appointment 3/13 replaced thermo control valve assembly , coolant bypass valve, intake gaskets, fuel line, coolant, total charges $2070. Luckily had extended warranty I bought, that I had to make a claim on. Dangerous to drive (no camera based safety features available, no defrost for the snowy weather, no emergency braking or other collision safety features on, this affected the entire 'eyesight' system). The engine also had no thermo control regulation during this time, affecting not just then, but possible future performance and early aging due to disregulation.

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 80 mph unintendedly. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle spun several times, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hit several power generator boxes while spinning. The vehicle then turned around and drove across the street unintendedly, and the front end of the vehicle crashed into a pine tree. The contact stated that the forward collision avoidance failed to engage. The air bags failed to deploy. The neighbors assisted the contact out of the vehicle. The contact stated that she was shocked and was assisted in a chair. The contact that she later felt pain all over the body and was taken to the hospital, where she was informed that she had sustained a broken sternum, bruises and pain all over the body. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a tow lot, where it was totaled. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field engineer who retrieved the edr from the vehicle. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the information retrieved from the edr indicated that there was no vehicle malfunction, and that the air bags had not deployed because the impact was not significant. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

The 2021 Subaru Forester had been functioning normally with no warning lights. About 25 minutes into the drive I had come to a stop light on an upward incline. When the light turned green I moved from the brake to the gas as usual. However the auto-start function on the car failed, causing the engine to stall. A loud clunking sound was heard and the dashboard lit up with multiple lights, although I do no recall which ones were illumined. I attempted to press the gas again and the car did not respond. During this short time my foot was pressing on the gas the car rolled backwards and collided with the vehicle behind me. I continued attempting to press the gas pedal and still no acceleration was made. After parking and restarting the car it has resumed normal function. I have not yet visited the dealership so this issue has not yet been reproduced, nor has the offending system been inspected. I'm summary, the automatic engine start failed at a critical location, putting myself and others in serious danger and ultimately caused a crash.

The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that after driving into a parking space in a parking lot with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle jolted and veered to the right. The passenger's side of the vehicle hit the driver's side of another occupied vehicle. The other vehicle was scratched and there was no injury sustained. The contact stated she then reversed out of the parking space, and the vehicle made an abnormal growling sound. The vehicle then accelerated unintendedly while reversing. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal continuously but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact then shifted into drive (d), and the vehicle accelerated increasingly. The contact swerved and hit another unoccupied vehicle; however, the vehicle continued to accelerate unintendedly. The contact stated that she then attempted to drive into a tree to stop the vehicle, but a high curb caused the contact to miss the tree, and the vehicle crashed into an unoccupied vehicle that was parked behind the tree. The vehicle then stopped. The unoccupied vehicle then hit another vehicle, which caused a train of reaction that involved 6 unoccupied vehicles. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that an unknown rear tire blew out, and the vehicle was severely damaged. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The insurance company then towed the vehicle to another lot, where it was totaled. There was no police report filed. The contact sustained pain on the right si joint and on the right leg. The contact stated that the incident might have intensified her pre-existing neck injury. The contact also sustained mental and emotional trauma. The contact received medical assistance and was undergoing physical therapy. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Forester 🔎.

When I pulled into a parking spot in a parking lot, the car seemed to go faster than I intended. I swiped a car next to me, which to me as it was not a tight space. I immediately, turned off the engine and dealt with the passenger of the other vehicle, exchanging information. After sometime, I got back in my car to move it to another location. As soon as the motor was running in reverse, in began to accelerate making a loud roaring noise. I stepped on the brakes, meanwhile going in reverse at an accelerating speed, trying to keep away from cars parked on either side. I also pulled up the emergency brake. At the end of the row, I felt I could move forward without hitting many cars and hoping that in doing so, it would now slow down. It did not. At that point, I thought the only way to stop it, was going to be hitting something. (I did not want to go out of the parking lot into traffic). I aimed for a small tree, not realizing that there was a high curb surrounding it. The car hit the curb and flew over it, missing the tree, blowing out a rear tire, and hitting another parked car. That car slid into another car causing a chain reaction with still another car. There were 6 cars that were damaged in all. My insurance company is involved, but I do have a cap on how much liability I can pay.

The incident happened at my workplace parking garage. As I slowly turned left to park in parking spot at work, I heard the engine rev and my car unexpectedly lurched forward very quickly. I stepped hard on the brake but it did not seem effective at stopping the car. I recently replaced my brakes in late August, 2023. As far as I know, before today my car was in proper working order. My vehicle is equipped with eyesight driver assist technology and I don't believe that the warning collision activated even as the car plowed towards the wall. The car hit the concrete parking block/wheel stop and then the heavy wire barrier at front the parking spot. The wire barrier sits between the front of the parking spot and parking structure wall (I would guess about a 12 inch gap between wires and wall). The wire barrier probably prevented the car from hitting the wall and causing greater property damage or injury to myself. So far, damage looks cosmetic. The front bumper is scratched (some paint taken off) and scuffed from the wire barrier and the bottom half of my license plate frame broke off. I am feeling rattled and I'm unsure if I have injuries. I intend to contact my dealership and car mechanic for suggestions on next steps and will likely ask them to inspect my car.

On 11/18/2023, as soon as I started the vehicle, put it in reverse and let off the brake to back down the driveway, the car made a loud unfamiliar noise (like bzzzzzt) and suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated on its own. Nothing worked, brakes, automatic gear shift, gas pedal, and steering were all disengaged. It was terrifying to me and I was worried about anyone or anything behind me. At the street corner the car turned somehow (I was trying to steer, but the vehicle was jostling wildly and the steering, brakes didn't work at all), ran over a high curb, knocked over a street sign, and took out the neighbor’s sprinkler system, and then came to a stop, dead!.

While driving, most of the dash errors lights lit up- alerting me that the eyesight warning, rab ( reverse auto braking) and other safety functions were disabled. The check engine light was on and a flashing s next to it. Cold engine light was illuminated as well. Dealer diagnosed with a faulty thermal control valve, which somehow disabled all safety features. This is a common failure of Subarus and a recall is needed.

I was on cruise control, and it randomly decided to go 81 mph instead of 50 mph I set it to, it did not respond when I tried to turn off the cruise control, and I ended up crashing into a semi, I survived but my [xxx] daughter died. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Unintentional acceleration. After making right turn, vehicle accelerated for approx 1/2 mile until crashing into wall. Several attempts at braking and trying to shift into neutral did nothing.

This 2016 Subaru Forester pcv valve does not regulate the combustion system properly, this allows oil to enter this chamber. It causes loss of power and acceleration when driving. Hazardous driving conditions can cause accidents. Crankcase ventilation issues engine oil system issues.

I slowly pulled into a parking space at a grocery store. I took my foot off the accelerator, and the car jerked forward, traveling maybe 2-3 feet. I quickly put my foot on the brake and was able to stop the car. I took the car to the dealer, and the service consultant told me that she thought that a memo had just come in addressing the kind of incident I had. She also told me that another customer's car had accelerated into a bush and that the owner was so rattled that she traded her car in for another car. However, the service repairman said that he ran a lot of codes and was unable to find anything wrong. He told me that Subarus have never had unintended acceleration problems. Now I have a loaner car from Subaru, and my car is at the dealership awaiting a visit from a higher-up Subaru person who is over the local technicians. Last year, I brought the car in for several issues, one of which was an unintended acceleration while parking at another grocery store. Last year I was told that the instrument that looks for problems ran lots of codes and could find no record of the incident.