2014 Subaru Forester

On Friday, 12-3-21 I was in an accident in my local Costco parking lot while backing out of my spot. While backing out of the spot slowly with the wheel turned, my 2014 Subaru Forester had a sudden and extreme acceleration in reverse doing a reverse u-turn into a parked car causing considerable damage to the rear end of both cars. I am certain that I did not to press the gas pedal as this is a busy parking lot and I always back out very slowly just covering the brake. There is some kind of mechanical issue with my car that caused this malfunction. I was evaluated by paramedics and taken to the local emergency room with a significant bump on the back right side of my head. My car is currently available for inspection. I am in the process of reporting this to Subaru of America to see if they can inspect/evaluate the car.

Went through automated car wash. Proceeded to lane for towel drying. Car suddenly unintentionally accelerated. Hit rear passenger side of parked car and also collided with the fence that ultimately stopped my forward motion. The car passed across two side walks and one side street during this event. No pedestrians or cross traffic was present or this would have been catastrophic. There were no previous warning signs of this event. My insurance company was notified and inspected the vehicle. A formal complaint was filed with Subaru of America and we are still waiting for them to inspect the vehicle. They have authorized repair of the vehicle prior to them seeing it.

Car revved too much and was not moving. Was able to pull over on the shoulder from the fast lane due to the momentum of the car. Avoided a fatal injury for sure. Apart from this, 1. Car sometimes speeds up way more than it should. 2. Subaru changed the short block due to excessive oil consumption but intermittently it still is out of oil way too soon.

FAILURE OF THE CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION (CVT) IS A KNOWN AND DANGEROUS DEFECT FOR CERTAIN MODELS OF SUBARUS. SUBARU OF AMERICA ISSUED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY IN 2018 WHICH PARTIALLY ADDRESSED CVT PROBLEMS, BUT FELL SHORT OF A RECALL, WHICH IS WHAT CUSTOMERS DESERVE AND ARE OWED. ADDITIONALLY, THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY ONLY RECOGNIZED PROBLEMS WITH SPECIFIC CVT COMPONENTS, BUT OMITTED OTHER CVT COMPONENTS THAT ARE KNOWN TO FAIL. IN DECEMBER 2020, THE CVT ON MY 2014 SUBARU FORESTER FAILED IN MOTION AND THE VEHICLE BECAME UNDRIVABLE. THE DEALERSHIP (CASEY SUBARU OF NEWPORT NEWS VA) MADE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS, WHICH SUBARU DEEMED NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, AT THE COST OF $1931.36. THE RECEIPT IS ATTACHED. SUBARU OF AMERICA HAS DEMONSTRATED NEGLIGENCE ON THIS DEFECT, AND DISREGARD FOR ITS CUSTOMER'S SAFETY AND SATISFACTION. I AM ASKING NHTSA TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM ON BEHALF OF ALL AFFECTED SUBARU OWNERS BY ISSUING AN IMMEDIATE RECALL.

A FEW WEEKS AGO THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO HAVE DIFFICULTIES SHIFTING/ACCELERATING FROM A STOP IT WOULD FEEL LIKE IT WAS SLIPPING AND NOT RESPONDING TO THE ACCELERATOR . IT HAS BEEN EVALUATED AS A TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT A COST OF $10,000. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW AND PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY THAT WOULD COVER THE POWER TRAIN UP TO 100,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE HAS HAD ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE PERFORMED AND ALL OF IT AT THE SAME DEALER SERVICE CENTER WITH DOCUMENTATION. THIS INCLUDES A 90,000 MILE SERVICE WHERE THE TRANSMISSION WAS INCLUDED IN THE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE CHECK AND INDICATED AS NO ISSUES. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY BEEN USED FOR NORMAL DRIVING. NO HAULING OR TOWING AND NO HEAVY CARGO. THE TRANSMISSION SHOULD NOT FAIL ONLY 12,000 MILES OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY THAT I PURCHASED AND HAVING BEEN SERVICED APPROPRIATELY AND INSPECTED WITHIN 20,000 OF THE CURRENT ISSUE. SUBARU OF AMERICA IS NOT COVERING THE REPLACEMENT UNDER WARRANTY FOR WHAT APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE THAT REQUIRED THEM TO EXTEND THIS SAME 100,000 WARRANTY COVERAGE TO ALL VEHICLES FROM THIS MODEL YEAR UNDER WHAT I UNDERSTAND TO BE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT. THE LOSS OF ACCELERATION AND SLIPPING IN THE SHIFTING WHEN POWERING AWAY FROM A STOP IS DANGEROUS IF THE VEHICLE STALLS OR SUDDENLY SLOWS DUE TO LOSS OF POWER AND THIS IS DUE TO A KNOWN CVT ISSUE. SUBARU SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL THE VEHICLES THEY PRODUCED WITH THIS DEFECT AND NOT BE ABLE TO HIDE BEHIND A A LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT THAT ALLOWED THEM TO LEAVE VEHICLES LIKE MINE ON THE ROAD AS TICKING TIME BOMBS ALL BECAUSE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE ISSUE DIDN'T SHOW UP BEFORE 2018 OR A ONLY 12,000 MILES OUTSIDE OF THEIR OWN WARRANTY THAT THEY SOLD.

STOPPED FOR RED LIGHT, WHEN I TRIED TO ACCELERATION HEARD A LOUD THUMP AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. ABS, TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. I THOUGHT I LOST MY TRANSMISSION. HAD TO BE PUSHED OFF BUSY HIGHWAY AND THEN CALLED TRIPLE A TO HAVE CAR TOWED. WAS ON ROUTE 113. AFTER RESEARCHING INTERNET FOUND THAT SUBARU EXTENDED WARRANTY. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY UNDER EXCELLENT CONDITIONS, THE ENGINE 'REVVED' AND THEN STALLED. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF ONTO THE SHOULDER AND PUT THE CAR IN "PARK" AND TURN OFF THE ENGINE. BEFORE I DID SO, THE INSRUMENT PANEL INDICATORS WERE (ALMOST?) ALL LIT. I TRIED TO RESTART = UNSUCCESSFUL. AFTER WAITING ABOUT 5 MINUTES, I TRIED AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO PROCEED NORMALLY. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS OCCURED; PREVIOUS EPISODE ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO (UNREPORTED) UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS. THE ONLY "COMMON" ELEMENT I CAN SURMISE IS THAT THE GAS LEVEL WAS < 1/4 TANK IN BOTH INSTANCES. I WAS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE GAS AS THE GAUGE AND "MILES TO EMPTY" WERE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO GET ME HOME. I DID REFUEL WITHIN TEN MILES OF THE TEMPORARY BREAKDOWN AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.

AT/ABOUT 1230 CENTRAL TIME ON 31 OCT 2019, MY WIFE [XXX] EXPERIENCED AN UNCOMMANDED ACCELERATION EVENT IN OUR 2014 SUBARU FORESTER AND NARROWLY ESCAPED BEING KILLED. CONTEXT: MY WIFE WAS TAKING THE CAR THROUGH AN AUTOMATED CARWASH AT THE CASEYS GAS STATION AT 9911 S. 71ST ST IN PAPILLION NE. WHEN SHE REACHED THE END OF THE CONVEYOR BELT AND WHEN SIGNALLED BY THE ATTENDANT TO MOVE FORWARD, SHE STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AND ATTEMPTED TO MOVE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FROM N (NEUTRAL) TO D (DRIVE). SHE ENCOUNTERED RESISTANCE MOVING THE GEAR LEVER BUT WAS ABLE TO MOVE IT TO D. UPON DOING SO, THE CAR ABRUPTLY ACCELERATED AND LURCHED FORWARD DESPITE HER FOOT REMAINING ON THE BRAKE. THE CAR RAPIDLY ACCELERATED AND TORE THROUGH THE CLOSED GARAGE DOOR AT THE END OF THE CARWASH AND CONTINUED OUTSIDE, ACROSS AN ACCESS ROAD AND UP A SMALL HILL, BEFORE LOSING POWER AND ROLLING BACKWARDS DOWN THE HILL TO STOP IN THE ACCESS ROAD. NO OTHER VEHICLES OR PERSONS WERE INVOLVED OR INJURED. MY WIFE WAS UNINJURED OTHER THAN BEING SPRAYED BY GLASS FRAGMENTS FROM THE WINDSHIELD AS IT WAS PUNCTURED BY THE GARAGE DOOR AS THE CAR TORE THROUGH IT. OUR INSURANCE COMPANY (USAA) DECLARED THE CAR A TOTAL LOSS. NEITHER MY WIFE NOR I HAD EVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS INCIDENT BEFORE; WE BOTH HAVE EXCELLENT DRIVING RECORDS. WEATHER AT THE TIME OF THIS INCIDENT WAS CLEAR, DRY AND SUNNY. THE CAR TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE WAS IN EXCELLENT MECHANICAL CONDITION. THE PAPILLION NE POLICE DEPT RESPONDED AND FILED A REPORT, AND WE FILED A DRIVERS MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT REPORT. BOTH ARE ON FILE WITH THE PAPILLION NE POLICE DEPT. THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL WITNESSES TO THIS INCIDENT PER THE POLICE REPORT. *LN*JB INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

VALVE BODY SOLENOID INSIDE THE CVT TRANSMISSION FAILED AND FULLY LOCKED UP. SUBARU STATES THAT THEIR CVT TRANSMISSION NEVER NEEDS TO BE SERVICED BUT COVERS THE CVT TO 100,000 MILES. SHORTY AFTER A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES, THE VALVE BODY SOLENOID FAILED AND SUBARU OF AMERICA DENIED COVERAGE. HAD A THIRD PARTY MECHANIC REPLACE THE CVT AND UPON INSPECTION, THE CVT FLUID IN THE OLD CVT TRANSMISSION WAS DARK, DIRTY AND THICK. CHUNKY OR GOOEY WHAT DESCRIBE IT. SUBARU STATES THE CVT TRANSMISSION NEVER NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED, YET NO MOTOR OIL OR TRANSMISSION OIL CAN GO ON FOREVER.