2019 Subaru Forester

The contact's wife owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that as his wife attempted to park her vehicle into a parking spot, the vehicle independently accelerated while her foot was on the brake pedal without warning. The contact's wife steered the vehicle to avoid hitting other vehicles as the acceleration continued; she was eventually able to stop the vehicle. Prior to the failure, the contact stated that while his wife was driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning with her foot was on the accelerator pedal. His wife had to repeatedly depress the brake pedal before the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer 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 21,000.

The car was parked for a week while visiting. (It has recently had its 30,000 mi.service) When I got in and started it, all the dashboard lights lit up including check engine. I tried reaching a Subaru near where I was visiting. No luck so I called my Subaru in VT. I was told I was safe to go as long as the Check Engine wasn't blinking. It wasn't so I drove home (I did note the steering wheel felt "tight".) When I went into the dealership upon my return, they did their computer diagnostic test. It was explained it could be as simple as not tightening the gas cap. The computer turned up something in the wheel. At first, he wanted to give me an appointment a week and a half out, but then found a car he could loan me that following Monday. I wanted to know why they needed it several days. He said it was to figure out the issue. When I asked if it was safe to drive, he said it was but there was a possibility of being on the highway and losing control/not being able to stop, but that was rare. I asked about the change in steering, as though the power steering was lost, and he explained they don't have that kind of system. I drove home slowly and went no where except Sunday when I drove a couple of miles to a farm stand close by. Upon returning into the driveway, I put it in reverse to park. It accelerated and when I tried braking, it wouldn't respond. It was a though everything was locked. The car jolted. Sped. Jolted. The side airbags deployed. My arm was banged up from the airbags but nothing broken. I did not mistake the accelerator for the brake. The floor mat did not get stuck under the accelerator (I've Weather Tech Mats.) When the car got towed, it started. The tow driver said it should not have done that with the side airbags deployed. (It won't let me type in the box How Fast Were You Going. It should have been 2mph. The car accelerated and lack of braking and control contributed to the crash.

WHEN DRIVING IN THE HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE STARTS TO JERK VERY STRONG AND HIGHWAY SPEED IS LOST MAKING IT DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND POTENTIALLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE FOR THIS VEHICLE MODEL AND SUBARU IS NOT FIXING THE ISSUE. THE JERKING IS SO VIOLENT THAT IT COULD BECOME A SAFETY HAZARD FOR DRIVERS AND ANYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD. THE JERKING HAPPENS ON A DAILY BASIS AND SOMETIMES IT IS MORE STRONG.

WHEN DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED THE CAR LOST ALL POWER WITHOUT ANY WARNING LIGHTS .HAD TO PULL OVER AND LET CAR SIT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES THEN RESTARTED CAR. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE BUT IT HAD VERY LOW POWER. CAR CONTINUES TO HAVE LOW POWER AND HESITATED TO ACCELERATE. CAR HAD 38,467 MILES AT THIS TIME. CAR FREQUENTLY HAS A KICKBACK FEEL WHEN ACCELERATING. WHEN PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL IT HAS A DELAY RESPONSE TO MOVE. BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 2 TIMES FOR THIS PROBLEM. THERE IS ALSO A NOISE COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR AXEL OF CAR SINCE CAR WAS PURCHASED. DEALER CONTINUES TO SAY IT'S A TIRE NOISE AND THEY DO NOT SEEM TO BELIEVE THE OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED AND WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES IN A SIX-MONTH PERIOD. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT THE DESIGN OF THE HOOD AND THE THICKNESS OF THE GLASS IN THE WINDSHIELD WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE FAILURES. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL SOUND IN THE TRANSMISSION WHENEVER THE GEAR SHIFTER WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE BACKUP CAMERA FAILED TO OPERATE INTERMITTENTLY. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHEN THE STOP/START FUNCTION WAS REACTIVATED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE IDLED ROUGHLY AND LUNGED FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO MOORE CHRYSLER JEEP FIAT (8600 W BELL RD, PEORIA, AZ 85382, 800-757-0140) HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50.

WHILE DRIVING AROUND 30MPH THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES HESITATE AND THEN LURCH IF THE GAS PEDAL IS VERY LIGHTLY PRESSED. SOMETIMES IT WILL DO IT AT HIGHER SPEEDS AS WELL, AROUND 50MPH BUT NOT TYPICALLY AT FREEWAY SPEED. HAPPENS ON MOUNTAIN ROADS AND CITY STREETS. MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN KEEPING SPEED WITH A CAR AHEAD. WHEN PRESSING HARDER ON THE GAS PEDAL IT IS USUALLY NOT NOTICEABLE. WHEN DRIVING IN 'SPORT' MODE OR WITH MANUAL PADDLE SHIFTERS SET AT 4TH GEAR OR LOWER IT DOES NOT HAPPEN. THIS IS A CVT SPORT MODEL. DROVE A LOANER OF THE SAME YEAR AND TRIM, WHICH SHOWED SIMILAR BEHAVIOR, ALTHOUGH LESS COMMON. SUBARU CLAIMS IT IS NORMAL BEHAVIOR.

VEHICLE QUICKLY DEVELOPED A "SURGE, SPUTTERING, JERK" TYPE ACTION WHEN COASTING OR MAINTAINING SPEEDS ABOVE 35MPH. ALSO WHEN BRAKING, THERE IS GOOD AND PREDICTABLE SPEED REDUCTION UNTIL ABOUT 10MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSIONS SEEMS TO UNLOCK AND THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD SINCE THERE IS SUDDENLY NOT ENOUGH BRAKE PRESSURE BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION HAS SHIFTED FOR SOME REASON. DEALER HAS BEEN ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE BUT HAS NO KNOWN FIX. BRAND NEW CAR 1 MONTH OLD AND IT RUNS LIKE A BRAND NEW CAR SHOULD, UNTIL YOU GET TO MAINTAINING CRUISING SPEEDS. VERY DISAPPOINTING TO HAVE THIS ONE ISSUE WITH SOMETHING THAT IS OTHERWISE A FANTASTIC CAR.