2015 Subaru Forester Driver assistance Problems

On 3 different occasions the car randomly accelerated at a high speed without stepping on the gas pedal. The first time was in a parking lot. The second time was on a busy road while traveling at 35 mph. The car accelerated to about 60 mph, fortunately once applying the brakes the vehicle slowed down to gain control. The third time it happened was recently on [XXX] while slowly backing down [XXX]. The car accelerated backwards at a very high speed narrowly missing a fence in the neighbors yard. These incidents have happened with large time frame gaps in between the occurrences. After the third incident I took the car to a dealer Planet Subaru in Hanover MA. After keeping the car for a few days, the dealer called and said that they could not find anything wrong with the car and there was nothing that they could do for me. This issue is obviously very serious, if the car surges forward randomly while someone is crossing in a crosswalk it could be potentially fatal. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11715389

Incident

Jan 31, 2026

The Vehicle Dynamics Control safety system malfunctioned and forced me to drive straight on a curved banked overpass into the concrete barrier

NHTSA ID

11638240

Incident

Jan 21, 2025

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 1 MPH into a parking space, the contact attempted to shift the transmission into park (P) while depressing the brake pedal when the vehicle inadvertently lunged forward and crashed into a building. No warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The impact caused soreness in her chest and stomach. The contact received medical attention on the scene from Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard. The vehicle was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ID

11547939

Incident

Oct 2, 2023

Mileage

50,000 mi

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 65–70 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11538825

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

Mileage

100,000 mi

Unknown origin. Airbag issues started in September October 2022. 2015 Subaru Forester. Vehicle with Heated Seats similar to open recall. Warning notice display as to Airbag dysfunction. Airbag determined to not function by Dealer. But informed not within the specific airbag recall affecting other same era (2015) Foresters now under recall altho symptomatically the same issues as other Vehicles subject to recall. Quoted up to $2000 to fix the Vehicle. Subsequently, the driver side warning assistance sensors have stopped working on the Vehicle. Because the VIN # does not fit within the recall matching system, Subaru could not replace the airbag without payment. Even after offering some payment accommodation on the part, Subaru wanted $1000 or so to repair and could not give a final estimate in advance. This Vehicle has less than 40,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11515986

Incident

Sep 24, 2022

I was parking the car it suddenly accelerated jumped the curb and was heading towards the building entrance dore. I could not stop it. To avoid entering the building I turned the vehicle tight and it collided against the wall. The air bags inflated.

NHTSA ID

11515233

Incident

Apr 3, 2023

We were driving at 75 mph in the left lane when our car suddenly dropped in speed to 40 mph as though the transmission had dropped into neutral. There were no warning lights or any indication about what was happening. We were in heavy traffic, with trucks and car hitting their brakes. This could have caused a very serious accident. We managed to move our car to the right shoulder. The car's transmission re-engaged and we picked up our speed. This happened 3 times in the space of a few hundred miles while we were on a road trip. I called Subaru. They had no idea what it was. We went to the nearest Subaru dealer and they ran a diagnostic test, even including a 12 mile test drive with the computer hooked up. Nothing showed up. They told us to continue our trip. Then it happened 2 more times! The last time, again, in the left lane, on cruise. The engine rpm clocked up at 7500 rpm before I was able to get the car off the road. The engine died and we had to be towed to a shop. Again, no warning dash lights. This is a serious flaw and very dangerous.

NHTSA ID

11510749

Incident

Mar 7, 2023

I was backing out of a parking spot, and there was a telephone poll behind me in my path. I needed to pull forward to navigate around this poll. After backing up some, I put the car into drive to pull slightly forward, and the car lurched aggressively, so much so that I got out to see if it'd caught on something. It did not -- there was absolutely nothing there. So I got back in and tried to continue forward, and the accelerator went full force. I floored the brake pedal, but the car behaved as though I was flooring the accelerator. The car drove itself over a cement block, through a staircase and into the brick wall of an abandoned building, continuing to accelerate for a few seconds while against the wall. Air bags did not deploy. I walked away without physical injury, thank goodness. There were no warning lights, symptoms of or dashboard indicators of a problem before or during the issue. Upon investigation online, we see that there is a pending class action for this exact issue. The vehicle has been inspected by our insurance carrier and been deemed a total loss. Insurance has asked that we turn the title over to them in order to receive our payout, and I believe they plan to destroy the car.

NHTSA ID

11507009

Incident

Jan 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while at a carwash moving forward, the vehicle accelerated up to approximately 35 MPH and crashed into the rear of a Ford Explorer. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver sustained injuries to his chest due to striking the steering wheel. Medical attention was provided. The contact was able to drive away from the crash site. A police report was filed. There was no air bag deployment. The vehicle was taken to a Collision Center. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ID

11503188

Incident

Dec 18, 2022

Mileage

70,000 mi

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated upon pulling into a parking space, the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and crashed into the side of the apartment building of her friend. The contact stated that the crash damaged the apartment of her friend located on the first floor. There was no warning light illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

NHTSA ID

11491903

Incident

Oct 29, 2022

Mileage

82,000 mi

Suddenly lost acceleration and engine stopped - without any dashboard signal of low gas or engine issue. Car was able to start after couple of minutes. At the time of losing acceleration and stopping gas indicator was showing two bars - and car was not running with low fuel indicator. My whole family was in the car and stopping in the middle lane of a busy national highway of 65 miles speed limit on a Saturday late in night was very scary!

NHTSA ID

11486260

Incident

Sep 24, 2022

I was driving with cruise control going around 70 when the car started slowing down suddenly. Not wanting to slow down even more, I turned off the cruise control by hand using the cancel button on the steering wheel (rather than tap the brake) but when I then hit the accelerator, the engine felt like it was in neutral, revving past 6000 rpm on the tachometer. At that point, I realized I had no control over the drive train so I pulled off the road onto the center median of the highway, just as the engine died - fortunately, there wasn’t anyone following close behind. We had been driving for about 1.5 hours with the AC blasting and the gas tank at that point was low, with less than 1/8 remaining. All this happened without any dashboard warning lights turning on. This was the very last leg of a ten-day, 2,000 mile road trip. I tried restarting the engine but only got clicking. Since I thought we’d be struck a while and it was so hot, I turned the key to the accessory position and was able to roll down the windows. We sat there for a couple of minutes wondering what to do. It took another minute to find my AAA card. Before calling for roadside assistance, I tried starting the engine again and this time it turned over. We did not have any further problems in the remaining 100 miles of our trip (though I was very anxious about it happening again). I took the car in to a Subaru service center this morning (36 hours later). They did a multi-point inspection and road test but did not find any issues and were not able to replicate the problem.

NHTSA ID

11477675

Incident

Aug 2, 2022

I have had several instances while driving on the highway when my forester revs to a very high RPM, the vehicle speeds up suddenly, and then shuts off completely. The only fix is to put the vehicle in neutral, move to the shoulder, and restart the vehicle. This has happened approximately 4 times during my 1 year of ownership and it is completely random when it occurs.

NHTSA ID

11477539

Incident

Apr 11, 2022

It has happened 3 times. I was approaching a traffic light about 200 yards away, and it was changing to yellow. I was in the left lane of a 3-lane small highway, there was a left turn lane, then my lane and the right lane. Someone started standing on their brakes in front of me, I looked into my rear-view and saw that someone was approaching me quickly, so I looked to my right and saw that I could accelerate and avoid getting rear-ended by pulling forward and in front of a car coming up in the right lane. This evasive maneuver is one that I've done many times to avoid being rear-ended. I've been rear-ended twice. Both times it took a while to recover from, and I was much younger then. So, I'd rather try to avoid a collision than have to be in pain for several years. My stupid pre-collision breaking hammered on my brakes so hard I was shocked my air-bag wasn't activated. It grab me so hard that I ended up with bruising on my shoulder from the seat belt. Also, I couldn't get it to go or move very much at all. It was almost like the brakes wouldn't let me override the braking system. I even wrote to Subaru only to be told, sorry, that's too bad or something similar. I was shattered that my fairly new car (the first time was in 2016 and the second time was in 2017) was trying to hurt me. Then it happened to my husband right after he bought his new Subaru Outback, so, needless to say, we are still Subie fans, but not always super happy with them, especially the electronics systems and how they work, or sometimes don't work.

NHTSA ID

11473269

Incident

Jul 10, 2022

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to immediately depress the brake pedal to abruptly stop the vehicle. After the failure, the vehicle operated as normal. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

NHTSA ID

11465161

Incident

May 17, 2022

Mileage

72,000 mi

Sudden accelerations.

NHTSA ID

11456739

Incident

Nov 17, 2021

July 31, 2021I noted an approximately 6-inch unprovoked crack originating at the outer edge in the windshield on the passenger side. The beginning of September I went to Subaru City, Milwaukee, WI and pictures were taken by the assistant manager, Eric and sent to Subaru. I returned November 23rd after no follow up to find out "more pictures were needed" per the assistant manager. Again, no follow up so I returned January 19th, and had yet more pictures taken by another employee, [XXX] because they couldn't locate them. I received a call back the next day to confirm submission. After no response to about 10 phone calls to the assistant service manager again, I returned March 7th and was told by another employee, [XXX], there was a new database and couldn't find the pictures. Then was called back and told not under warranty despite requesting repair due to industry defect in the windshields with eyesight. The crack has extended to about 12" from the driver's side edge. I'm concerned about the integrity of the windshield should there be an impact and the eyesight isn't reliable with this crack. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11455624

Incident

Jul 31, 2021

I was driving into the sunlight, and was slowing down due to utility pole work ahead. The car stalled, and engine shut off. The dash light indicated the eyesight was disabled. I was able to restart, but the incident was very concerning.

NHTSA ID

11454586

Incident

Feb 28, 2022

I have a crack running across the bottom of my windshield. I took the car to SafeLite for replacement. They do a pre-service check of the EyeSsight camera system which provides forward collision avoidance and lane departure warning. The scan revealed History Code P00FF and a Current Code B280AA8. The SafeLite technician advised they could not replace the windshield until the codes were removed. Then they could replace the windshield and calibrate the EyeSight system. They also stated I had to go to a dealer code removal. I contacted Brunswick Subaru (dealer where I purchased the vehicle) and they stated they could only calibrate after the windshield was replaced. Another dealer (Ganley Subaru) stated the same thing. PROBLEM - the windshield cannot be replaced with the codes and the dealer cannot remove the codes (by recalibration) until the windshield is replaced. I am left with driving the car with a broken windshield. PLEASE HELP

NHTSA ID

11451323

Incident

Feb 9, 2022

On Wednesday November 10 I was arriving at Chase Bank 4229 Woodruff Ave Lakewood Ca. I was turning right into a parking stall heading due east, parking between a pickup truck to the right and a passenger car to the left. I was braking with my right foot only traveling 5 miles per hour and suddenly the car accelerated over a parking stop and into the bank building. It was so sudden I couldn't react and pull up the parking brake. The collision caused major front end damage to my 2015 Subaru Forrester XT. It also caused damage to the Chase Bank building. I was lucky to be a couple of parking spaces south of the ready teller , as there was a male white customer at the outside teller and he would of been killed or at least very severely injured. My wife selected this car new in 2015 because of the safety of it.

NHTSA ID

11440210

Incident

Nov 10, 2021

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, pulling into a parking space, and while attempting to park the vehicle on the street, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact had to depress the brake pedal several times before the brakes were engaged. The failure occurred on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not replicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and was later sold to St. Cloud Subaru (141 Park Ave S, St. Cloud, MN 56301). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately under 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11439324

Incident

Dec 31, 2019

Mileage

60,000 mi

This 2015 Subaru accelerates without warning and without gas pedal input. The issue arose about a month ago (July 2021) and has persisted ever since. The vehicle will rev while in park and once put into drive will jolt aggressively and without warning. Additionally, the vehicle will enter low-power mode at random and decelerate to 15-20mph. This has caused multiple hazards when driving on highways/interstates where pulling over is difficult or impossible.

NHTSA ID

11428178

Incident

Aug 7, 2021

The 2015 Subaru Forester accelerated unexpectedly while slowly turning into a a Walgreens parking lot. The acceleration could not be stopped by stepping on the brake, and the car crashed into the brick building. The vehicle is at Phil's Auto Body Shop in Rosemount, MN. The estimate on the car is complete, and waiting on State Farm insurance to approve. The police were at the scene of the accident. Walgreens has video of the accident from their security cameras.

NHTSA ID

11418574

Incident

May 21, 2021

AUTO ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY AFTER LEAVING CAR WASH BAY. AUTO SPED THROUGH PARKING LOT INTO STREET AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER AUTO TRAVELING ON A ROAD.

NHTSA ID

11415816

Incident

May 8, 2021

Mileage

60,000 mi

SUDDENLY IT STARTED TO ACCURATE AND THE OTHER WAS ALL IN BORD CONTROL SYSTEM DEFAULT ARE LIGHTING UP

NHTSA ID

11407997

Incident

Apr 7, 2021

Mileage

107,008 mi