2015 Subaru Forester

THIS IS A FOLLOW-UP ON 12/05/15 (NHSTSA ID 10808561) - PROBLEM ON CHECK ENGINE OIL AROUND 1,500 MILES BEFORE THE NEXT SCHEDULED OIL CHANGE. REPORTED TO SUBARU AND DID AN OIL CONSUMPTION STUDY, BASICALLY BRINGING THE CAR TO A SUBARU DEALER AT 1,200 MILES AFTER AN OIL CHANGE. ASKED THE TECHNICIAN AT DEALER WHAT THEY DID. I WAS TOLD THEY JUST LOOKED AT THE OIL DIP STICK LEVEL - HOW VERY SCIENTIFIC. SO, HE SAID EVERYTHING WAS OK AND THAT WAS IT. SINCE THEN, I HAVE BEEN PUTTING A QUART OF OIL AROUND 1,300 MILES BEFORE MY NEXT OIL CHANGE. MILEAGE OF MY CAR IS NOW OVER 58,000 MILES. I AM CONCERNED THAT AT 60,000 MILES, THE WARRANTY WILL BE OVER AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR REPAIRS AS THIS PROBLEM CONTINUES. SUBARU STILL CLAIMS THAT THIS IS NORMAL. PREVIOUS CARS I OWNED NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM. WHY IS SUBARU NOT HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT?

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IS I WILL BE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD (DOES NOT MATTER HOW FAST I AM GOING) AND ALL OF A SUDDEN ALL THE LIGHTS COME ON AND I LOSE ACCELERATION AND CONTROL OF VEHICLE. EACH TIME IT HAS BEEN TOWED TO SUBARU THEY CANNOT RECREATE THE PROBLEM SO IT CANNOT BE FIXED. THIS LAST TIME I WAS ON A VERY BUSY ROAD GOING ABOUT 55 MPH AND ALL OF A SUDDEN AGAIN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ETC CAME ON AND I LOST ACCELERATION AND POWER. I QUICKLY CHECKED MY REARVIEW MIRROR TO MAKE SURE NO ONE WAS TOO CLOSE BEHIND ME. IT WAS VERY SCARY AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST AND ABRUPTLY TURN INTO AN ENTERPRISE RENTAL. I WAS LUCKY I WAS NOT HIT FROM BEHIND OR HAVE MY KIDS IN CAR. THIS LAST TIME TOO WHEN THE TOW TRUCK ARRIVED THE CAR WOULD NOT TURN ON. I AM NOW COMPLETELY UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING A CAR THAT CONSISTENTLY HAS HAD THE SAME ISSUE THAT NO ONE CAN FIX.

STRONG COOLANT SMELL SINCE BOUGHT CAR NEW, OCCURS IN UPPER RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER DOOR AREA AFTER ENGINE HAS BEEN RUNNING AND OCCURS RIGHT AFTER WHEN ENGINE IS TURNED OFF AND DOOR IS OPENED; DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO RESOLVE - INDEPENDENT MECHANIC IS THINKING IT IS TRANSMISSION TRANSFER CASE. PASSENGERS AND DRIVER EXPOSED TO COOLANT SMELL ON A CONTINUAL BASIS.

WHILE FINALIZING PARKING WITHIN A PARKING LOT SPACE AT VERY LOW SPEED (LAST 2 FEET) WITH FOOT ON BRAKE, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REVVED AND THE CAR ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING AND STRUCK THE PARKED CAR ON THE OPPOSITE PARKING SPACE. BOTH CARS SUSTAINED MODERATE FRONT-END DAMAGE. THE OTHER CAR WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN AWAY BUT OURS HAD FRONT FENDER PARTS PUSHED INTO THE FRONT DRIVERS TIRE AND HAD TO BE TOWED AWAY TO THE REPAIR SHOP. NOT SURE OF THE COST TO REPAIR THE OTHER (PARKED) CAR BUT OURS RAN APPROXIMATELY $5000 DUE TO FRONT FRAME DAMAGE. NO AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, NO ONE WAS INJURED. POLICE OFFICER WHO RESPONDED SAID LOW SPEED IMPACTS DO NOT NORMALLY SET OFF THE AIR BAGS. REPAIR SHOP SAID THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO TELL ON THE CAR COMPUTER WHAT THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS DUE TO. CONTACTED OUR INSURANCE AGENT WHO RECOMMENDED WE REPORT THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION TO SUBARU AND NHTSA. SUBARU DEALER DENIED ANY SUCH ACCELERATIONS AND SAID THERE WAS NO RECOURSE. FOUND SEVERAL INSTANCES VERY SIMILAR TO OUR ON NHTSA SITE FOR SUBARU FORESTERS IN 2014 AND 2015 MODEL YEARS AND DECIDED TO MAKE A REPORT. ODOMETER READING AT TIME OF ACCIDENT: 5,814.

THE CURRENT MILEAGE OF MY CAR IS 45,751. I FAITHFULLY FOLLOW ALL MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, PARTICULARLY, OIL CHANGES. ON TWO OCCASIONS NOW, MY OIL LIGHT HAS COME ON, THE LAST ONE 2,000 MILES BEFORE THE NEXT OIL CHANGE. WHEN I QUESTIONED THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP SERVICE GUY ABOUT THIS, HE SAID, WELL, I NEED TO HAVE OIL CHANGES AT 5,000K INSTEAD OF THE RECOMMENDED 6000K. HE SAID 6000K IS FOR IDEAL DRIVING CONDITION - TEMPERATURE SHOULD NOT BELOW 30 DEGREES, NO STOPPING HERE AND THERE, NO IDLING, ETC. SYNTHETIC OIL IS EXPENSIVE ENOUGH AND I CERTAINLY DO NOT NEED TO BE PAYING SOMEONE TO TOP IT OFF EVERY TIME. AND I DO NOT WANT TO BE CAUGHT WITH THIS PROBLEM WHILE I'M TRAVELLING. I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW AND AT THIS MILEAGE, I SHOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. FYI, THE MILEAGE OF THIS CAR IS MOSTLY HIGHWAY MILES. FROM READING ONLINE, I LEARNED THAT OTHER FORESTER OWNERS ARE HAVING PROBLEM WITH OIL BURNING AS WELL. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND SUBARU NEEDS TO REMEDY THIS. WOULD APPRECIATE ANY ASSISTANCE TO THIS PROBLEM. THANK YOU.

AROUND 14000, ENGINE OIL LIGHT WAS ON. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO SUBARU DEALER. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID IT WAS BECAUSE APPOX. ONE QUART OIL LEFT. HE SAID HE WILL DO THE ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION TEST FOR ME. THE TECHNICIAN FILLED THE ENGINE OIL IN NORMAL LEVEL. AFTER APPOX. 1000 MILES, I BROUGHT BACK TO DEALER FO MEASURING ENGINE OIL LEVEL.THEY FOUND ONE QUART OIL BURNOUT. THE ADVISOR SAID IT WAS NORMAL OIL CONSUMPTION UNDER THE RULE. OK, I DROVE AROUND ANOTHER 1500 MILES. THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT WAS ON AGAIN. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK FOR ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION TEST AND CHECK THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT. GOT THE SAME ANSWER FROM THE ADVISOR." NORMAL OIL CONSUMPTION" I ASKED THE ADVISOR THAT MY CAR FILLS 4 QUARTS OIL FOR EACH OIL CHANGE, AND SUBARU RECOMMEND 6000 MILES TO CHANGE OIL. BUT MY CAR WILL BURN OUT THE WHOLE 4 QUARTS OF ENGINE OILS. THE ANSWER IS "YES". I NEED TO KEEP CHECKING THE ENGINE OIL BEFORE NEXT OIL CHANGE AND NEED TO KEEP ADDING THE CHANGE OILS BEFORE EACH OIL CHANGE. IT IS BECAUSE THE OIL CONSUMPTION MET THE RULE. MY CAR WAS 2015 MODEL AND 17000 MILES NOW, AND I ONLY DROVE 14 MONTHS. I ASKED THE ADVISOR WHAT KIND OF THE RULE, THEN HE SAID IT WAS HARD TO EXPLAIN. ??? IS IT TRUE??? IF THE RULE IS TRUE, HOW COME I CAN'T SEE ANY INFO IN OWNER MANUAL. NOW, I AM WORRY ABOUT THE SITUATION WILL GET MORE WORST AFTER THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED.

I'M HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MY 2015 FORESTER 2.5I CVT THAT HAS NEARLY CAUSED ACCIDENTS, BUT WHEN I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE TODAY I WAS DISMISSED WITHOUT BEING HELPED. MY CAR HAS ABOUT 24,700 MILES ON IT, SO IT'S THOROUGHLY BROKEN IN AND I'M USED TO THE WAY THE CVT WORKS. IN THE PAST MONTH OR SO, I'VE NOTICED BUCKING, SHUDDERING, AND POWER LOSS DURING INITIAL ACCELERATION FROM A STOP. SOMETIMES THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BUMPING, BUT OTHER TIMES IT'S A NEAR TOTAL LOSS OF POWER FOR SEVERAL SECONDS, LONG ENOUGH TO BE VERY DANGEROUS WHILE ACCELERATING OR ESPECIALLY WHILE TURNING. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE, THE ADVISOR THERE STARTED TO TELL ME THAT THE BEHAVIOR IS NORMAL EVEN BEFORE ANYONE HAD STARTED TO LOOK AT THE CAR. AFTER A TECH TOOK IT FOR A TEST DRIVE, THE ADVISOR TOLD ME THAT MY CONCERNS "DESCRIBE A PERFECT CVT" AND HE DOESN'T SEE A PROBLEM, AND THAT IT'S EXPECTED BEHAVIOR TO HAVE DANGEROUS POWER LOSS LIKE THIS. I WAS TOLD THAT MY PROBLEM IS NOT A PROBLEM AND SENT AWAY. POWER LOSS LIKE THIS DURING ACCELERATION IS CLEARLY A PROBLEM, DESPITE THE CLAIMS OF THE SUBARU EMPLOYEES, AND I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR. SUBARU REFUSES TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SUGGESTED THAT I AVOID ACCELERATING OR TURNING ANY TIME POWER LOSS WOULD BE A DANGER OR ISSUE - THIS IS CLEARLY NOT AN ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE BURNED EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE ENGINE BURNED A QUARTER OF OIL EVERY 2,500 TO 3,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 24,000.

I WAS DRIVING VEHICLE AT NORMAL RATE OF SPEED ON CITY STREET WHEN SUDDENLY THERE WAS A SENSATION/SOUND OF GRAVEL AND THEN I COULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE. THE CAR DIED AND I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE LIGHTS AND SENSORS WERE ALL FUNCTIONING, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START. HAD OIL CHANGE DONE AT 6000 MILES WITH SYNTHETIC OIL AS RECOMMENDED. DEALER SAYS ENGINE IS BLOWN. HAD NO WARNING PRIOR TO THIS HAPPENING -- JUST STOPPED WORKING. UNACCEPTABLE FOR BRAND NEW CAR. *TR