2018 Subaru Crosstrek Transmission Problems

Your vehicle has started bucking or jerking intermittently while driving, creating an unsafe driving experience. Your dealer suggested changing the transmission fluid and filter but wasn't confident this would solve the problem and wanted to charge $665 for it. You've researched this issue and found other 2018 Crosstrek owners reporting similar transmission problems, and you're concerned it could be a more serious transmission issue or ignition problem that could cause loss of control. The fix may involve a full transmission inspection, fluid and filter replacement, or ignition system diagnostics.

Your 2018 Crosstrek's transfer case failed, causing a loud clunking noise while driving at low speeds. Your mechanic found metal shavings inside the damaged transfer case during replacement, which suggests internal wear that could lead to complete transmission failure. The dealership indicated this problem is more common in CVT models but rare in manual transmissions like yours. Fixing this issue will require transfer case replacement and inspection of the transmission for additional damage.

While I was doing parallel parking, the car on its own went into involuntary, sudden, uncontrolled acceleration & hit a tree & bushes resulting into considerable body damage. Then I called Subaru national customer relations representative & I was told to go to the local Subaru dealer where I had purchased the car about four and a half years ago. The mechanic there told me that he had never heard such incident & he said that since there is no engine light on, there is nothing to scan. And he thought the car was okay. So, I am driving it very cautiously. But, I am concerned. We thought the newer such cars are safer with the high-tech computers on board but I countered this safety problem that I had never come across before.

under light throttle, car jerks at approximately 25 mph.

Purchased used in August 2019 - Premium 6MT. Issue has been present since purchase. There is hesitation with acceleration, not only with extremely slow acceleration, but jerking and surging at times. Dangerous when trying to pull out into traffic and driving in general. Appears to be an issue mostly between 2k-3k and then seems to rev properly after 3k, but have noticed jerking up around 4k and over. Had taken to dealer several times before issue was reproducible, then told to be issue with buildup of carbon in fuel lines. Had fuel lines blown, problem lessened, but did not resolve - this was roughly a year ago, problem has continued and worsened. Changed air filter with no change in problem. Multiple other owners on Subaru forums have this same issue, as well as have posted on this website. Subaru needs to recognize this as an issue and resolve. No dashboard lights appear, no sensor issues have been reported. There is also a "knock" or "bloop" sound that comes from the passenger rear of the car, near the gas tank input, when pulling forward from reversing. Not sure if that is part of issue, perhaps too much air is getting into system? It's a very annoying issue; if I had known, I would have kept my Jetta.

WHEN CROSSING ACROSS TRAFFIC TO GET IN THE LANE FROM RIGHT OR LEFT TURNS. THERE IS SLOW AND SLUGGISH AS IT WANTS TO STALL OR STAY OUT IN CROSS TRAFFIC TO CAUSE A COLLISION!! IT HAS HAPPENED SINCE I PURCHASED IT FROM A NON SUBARU DEALER BEGINNING OF 2021.THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THIS SLUGGISH ACCELERATION PROBLEM CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE GEAR WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE, THE VEHICLE WOULD MOVE FORWARD. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 6,500. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

VEHICLE WAS CLIMBING A RESIDENTIAL STREET WITH A GRADUAL INCLINE IN SNOW APPROXIMATELY 3 INCHES OF FRESH POWDER WITH NO ICE UNDERNEATH. VEHICLE HAD ONLY 3,150 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND THE TIRES WERE STOCK ALL SEASON YOKOHAMA WITH A GOOD MUD/TREAD RATING. THE VEHICLE WAS CLIMBING THE HILL VERY WELL UNTIL AT THE CREST A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND AWD LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE TIRES FAILED TO CLEAN THE SNOW PROPERLY AND I SLID BACK INTO A GUARDRAIL FOR APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET AND THERE WAS COSMETIC DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE AS WELL AS THE RIGHT WHEEL WAS BENT. DEALERSHIP WHERE I TRADED THE VEHICLE INTO HAD 2 OTHER CUSTOMERS TRADE THEIR 2018 CROSSTREKS DUE TO POOR AWD SYSTEM AND VERY DANGEROUS ALL SEASON TIRES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WAS REAR ENDED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THERE WAS NO BODY DAMAGE TO THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO IRVINE SUBARU (23663 ROCKFIELD BLVD, LAKE FOREST, CA 92630, (949) 837-3500) WHERE IT WAS REPAIRED PER TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: 10144878 (EQUIPMENT, POWER TRAIN, ENGINE); HOWEVER, THE REMEDY FAILED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT BACK TO THE DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TWICE SINCE PURCHASED IN JUNE 2018 DUE TO JERKY, BUCKING AND HESITANT ACCELERATION AND SHIFTING. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, HESITANCY HAS ALMOST RESULTED IN BEING HIT WHILE PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC AND FROM PARKING SPACE IN LOT. THIS CAN OCCUR IN FWD DRIVE AND REVERSE. VIBRATION AND SHAKING OCCURS AT ABOUT 1700RMP AND LESS OCCASIONALLY 1100RPM.

THE CVT TRANSMISSION IN THIS CAR IS JERKY, WILL OFTEN ACT AS IF APPLYING THE BRAKES WITH STOPPING, WILL HAVE TROUBLE SHIFTING DURING STOP AND GO TRAFFIC, RESULTING IN JERKING OF THE CAR. WILL OCCASIONALLY VIBRATE AS IF TRAVELING OVER ROUGH PAVEMENT. THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION WHEN THIS HAPPENS. CAN BE IN URBAN OR HIGHWAY TRAFFIC.

THIS CAR IS A LEMON!! I ORDERED MY 2018 CROSSTREK JUNE 2017, TOOK DELIVERY AUG. 7TH. CAR RAN GREAT, LOVED IT! NOV. 2017, 5600 MILES ON IT, IT STARTS INTERMITTENTLY BUCKING/SHUDDERING UNDER ACCELERATION. TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALER, THEY HAD IT 3 DAY, COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. SOME TIME PASSES, AND WE'RE INTO WINTER, THIS IS MY ONLY VEHICLE, AND I CAN'T GO WITHOUT IT ESPECIALLY WITH THE SNOW. CAR STILL ACTS UP FOR MONTHS, PROGRESSIVELY GETTING WORSE AND MORE FREQUENT. APRIL 2018 TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER, THEY HAVE IT 13 DAYS, CAN'T FIND AN ISSUE. I PICK THE CAR UP ON A FRIDAY, THE SERVICE MANAGER AND A MASTER TECH RIDE WITH ME SO I CAN DUPLICATE THE CONDITION, THEY EXPERIENCE IT LIKE I DESCRIBED. THAT MONDAY, I RETURN IT TO THE DEALER. SUBARU TECH CASE #63 DAYS LATER, AND COUNTLESS CALLS TO SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEY TELL ME THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO FOR ME ON IT! SO, NOW I'VE RESOLVED TO DIAGNOSE MY OWN "BRAND NEW CAR". I SPENT 3 DAYS WITH MY PERSONAL SCAN TOOL HOOKED UP, AND I FIND THE REASON FOR THE BUCKING/ SHUDDER. I'VE CONSULTED THE DEALER, THEY ARE DISCUSSING WITH SUBARU TECH ON WHY I SEE WHAT I'M SEEING ON THE LIVE DATA. SO, TO SUM UP 80+ DAYS AT THE DEALER, THEY CAN'T FIND ANYTHING, I HAVE IT 3 DAYS, AND I FIND THE REASON FOR THE SYMPTOM! NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WON'T BUY ANOTHER SUBARU, AND THIS ONE WILL BE GOING BYE BYE! I DON'T BLAME THE DEALER, THEY CAN ONLY DO WHAT SUBARU ALLOWS. THIS IS SUBARU CORPORATE'S FAULT, AND THEY DON'T WANT TO COME TO THE TABLE ON MAKING IT RIGHT WITH THE CUSTOMER.

AFTER BEING PURCHASED ON APRIL 4TH, 2018, WITH 125 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, I RAN THE VEHICLE ROUGHLY 2000 MILES, AT WHICH TIME MY VEHICLE BEGAN HAVING MAJOR ISSUES. THE FIRST OCCASION, I WAS DRIVING IN BUMPER TO BUMPER STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON I25 IN DOWNTOWN DENVER, I STOPPED THE VEHICLE WITH TRAFFIC, AND AT THAT TIME THE CAR HAD A "COMPUTER MALFUNCTION" AS I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER, ESSENTIALLY KILLING MY CAR, LEAVING ME STUCK IN THE CENTER LANE OF A 5 LANE HIGHWAY. THE SECOND OCCASION WAS THE SAME MALFUNCTION, I STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD ON A CITY STREET , AND THE CAR DID THE SAME THING, HAD A "COMPUTER MALFUNCTION" AND I HAD TO BE TOWED TO A DEALER FOR SERVICE, THE ENTIRE ECM WAS REPLACED. THE THIRD BREAK DOWN WAS THE EXACT SAME MALFUNCTION AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME I WAS GOING 40 MILES PER HOUR. EXITING FROM HIGHWAY 34 IN GREELEY, CO. THE DASH LIGHTS ALL LIT UP AND MY VEHICLE SLOWED ITSELF TO A STOP AND I WAS FORCED TO PULL OVER.