2015 Subaru Forester Transmission Problems

Your 2015 Subaru Forester's transmission is making a loud whining noise that gets worse as you drive, which indicates internal bearing or pulley failure inside the CVT transmission. At 85,000 miles, your transmission has failed prematurely and could suddenly lose power or stop accelerating, creating a safety hazard. While Subaru extended the CVT warranty to 100,000 miles for this known defect, the company is refusing to cover the repair because the 10-year calendar extension has expired. Fixing this will require a complete CVT transmission replacement.

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, in a residential parking lot, the contact stated while he was parking, the vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into a nearby tree. The contact stated before crashing into the nearby tree the vehicle also hit a nearby pole.

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.

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.

While driving 45mph on an icy road (approximately 25 degree(F) outside temp) the car suddenly lost power as if the CVT transmission was in neutral. However, it was still in drive. Pressing the accelerator only raised the RPMs but no power was sent to the wheels.

My transmission is having issues after being repaired by dealer. It is stalling when I try to accelerate leaving me at risk of being rear ended.

Car continues to have ongoing lack of response with acceleration. Car was at dealer for 3 weeks for inspection after I was nearly rear ended due to lack of response in acceleration at a stop light, as well as shifting gears. No lights came on to indicate issue, thus the car was returned to me with no repairs.

The contact's wife owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while reversing into the driveway, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated he depressed the brake pedal all the way to the floorboard and he pulled up the parking brake to stop the vehicle from crashing into the wall.

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle experienced an unintended acceleration, causing the speed to increase to approximately 62 MPH after leaving from a stop light. On another occasion while driving, the failure recurred and the driver downshifted to slow the vehicle which caused damage to the transmission.

I have experienced unintended acceleration during my ownership of my 2015 subaru forester xt while I was stopped on a city street. There is also a "lunging" feeling whenever you press the acceleration of the vehicle after proceeding from a complete stop.

I had two instances where my car stalled on the highway while doing 50-60 miles an hour. The engine runs fine and revs go up when I push the accelerator, however the car does not speed up. Both the times I was able to move the car to the side of the highway, narrowly avoiding accidents.

This is an intermittent problem. The vehicle surges sometimes and misfires when it cold starts. I took the car to the retailer, they did not found any issue.

Subaru 2015 forester 2.5l at CVT transmission no turbo engine revs to 4-6000 RPM transmission slams into gear car takes off accelerating without driver input. The driver must slam on brakes place the car in neutral to regain control. The car does this intermittently both at low and high-speed travel..

While driving my wife noticed a loss of power to the car on her way to work and luckily didn't get rear ended but after a bit the car drove normally. About two weeks later driving on the highway the car started to rattle at normal highway speeds but only while car veered left and not on normal city speeds.

When stopped in traffic car hesitates, stalls and stumbles to accelerate for a few seconds. Unable to shift from 1st to 2nd smoothly (stuck in 1st gear?). Was rear ended when unable to accelerate at light.

November 28, 2017 ' a subaru transmission warranty extension has been issued for 2010-2015 legacy and outback, 2012-2015 impreza, 2013-2015 crosstrek, 2014-2015 crosstrek hybrid, 2014-2015 forester and 2015 wrx vehicles, all equipped with continuously variable transmissions (cvts) due to consumer complaints. I bought my car used in september 2017.

When shifting into drive form reverse or park the CVT transmission can take approx. 3 seconds to engage and for the car to start moving. This is an extremely long time when you are backing into a space or backing from a driveway onto a busy road.

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. While parking the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal at 5 MPH, the vehicle surged and lurched forward. As a result, a crash occurred with several other vehicles.

Driving with eyesight enabled at 75mph in heavy traffic on loop 202 freeway at approximately 2:30pm local time. Weather was sunny and dry, approximately 97 degrees. Nearly resulting in a crash.

Vehicle surges when trying to lightly accelerate in hot weather. Rpms begin to drop, car bucks back and forth until more throttle is given, then car lurches forward. There seem to be tsbs out to alleviate the issue, but they feel like a bandaid repair and just mask it.

Our 2015 forester turbo has 15,00 miles on it. We have had it to the dealer 4 times now asking them to find out why it is loosing power in times of need. The dealers from 2 different locations have said they were unable to duplicate the issue.

My vehicle is bucking/jerking under light to medium acceleration loads between about 10 MPH to 30 MPH. The issue occurs intermittently, but it will occur several times during a single trip to work 25 miles away. I have taken it to the dealer, but the technician was not able to replicate the issue in the parking lot.

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that while in park, the vehicle rolled away. As a result, the vehicle crashed into trees and the air bags failed to deploy.

Both Rear Wheel bearings failed and required replacement at 65,000 miles. Apparently this is a common issue as a TSB was issued and a new backer plate was installed as water is getting into the bearings (design issue)

April 2022 my car started to make noises when accelarating. I took it to several mechanics who could not diagnose the problem. 30, 2022 I took it to another mechanic who thought it might be the brakes and replaced them.

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact stated that his wife smelled like the brakes were burning.

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.

While attempting to make a left turn the car stalled and lost all power. The car had to be restarted and was able to drive back home. Took the car to dealership who stated it was a battery issue and a plugged air filter.

Premature wheel bearing failure, subaru already has a service buletin (#05-70-19 announced on sept 30, 2019) recomending installing revised brake backing plates due to factory installed non-flat backing plates which distort the rear wheel bearings/hubs causing premature wheel bearing failure.

The car regularly lurches or feels as it will stall. This occurs when trying to go from stops to starts both in a slow and faster manner. Has occurred while trying to turn left with oncoming traffic and I was concerned I may get hit.

Pulling into parking spot, vehicle started to stall, gave a little more gas and vehicle launched forward and hit cement pole. No damage to pole car damage around 8k.air bags did not deploy. This has happened when pulling out into traffic also

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the speed suddenly decreased independently to approximately 20 MPH. During the sudden lose of power, no warning messages were displayed.

Using cruise control at 77 MPH in fast lane of i95 northbound from fl when, approx 10 miles south of va border, I felt a snap like pull in vehicle - kind of like a rope breaking when playing tug of war. The rpms increased and car rapidly lost speed and would not accurate. Fortunately, I was able to safely pull off i95.

My vehicle lost power while driving today on the interstate. I had cruise control set and the car was accelerating up a hill. It was like my car shifted into neutral.

Going 70 miles an hour on interstate with cruise control on, when the gas light came on the car lost power like it switched to neutral. We made it to the side of the road and the engine shut off. This happened twice.

While driving on highway at 70mph, the vehicle suddenly lost power. The engine revved but no response, like it was in neutral. The engine did not completely shut off, and I was able to get over to the shoulder.

Car stalled while driving, with no lights lit up on the dashboard. Happened twice, once at 5 MPH and again at 25 MPH. The two times it happened were about three minutes apart this morning.

Car has jerky acceleration with hesitation, momentary power loss when accelerating from stop or at low speed.

Car hesitates when starting to move. Have had near misses because of the delay in moving out for a turn onto another street. Car just sits there for 2 - 3 seconds.

Vehicle in motion from a stop on city streets is experiencing hesitation, slippage, faulty acceleration from 0-25 MPH. Afraid of making a left turn across traffic and a possible stall. Problem is exaggerated on any grade of incline.

My vehicle has been exhibiting a low RPM when vehicle comes to a complete stop(ie red light or stop sign) and the vehicle shudders and almost stalls, and once actually stalling. The vehicle has been to the dealership several times for service for this issues.

I leased this vehicle on june 2015. Back on 8/26/2017 while driving on freeway and going 70 mile and hour, car suddenly died in the middle of freeway. I almost got killed by a truck that was behind my vehicle.

While starting to drive forward ( normal speed ) from a stop -went about fifty feet. I heard a clunk. Than the SUV rolled to a stop.

I bought a used 2015 subaru forester with 117,000 miles from an auto shop/used car dealer in March of 2024. In September of 2025, 11,000 miles of driving later, a bunch of lights came on my dash. Check engine, traction control, ABS, at oil temp, and incline assist. I took it to Autozone to get the codes read and the part it suggested was the transmission oil pressure sensor. I then took it to a trusted mechanic who said they weren’t able to get the lights to turn back on and told me to come back when the lights reappeared. In December of 2025, the lights came on and they were on long enough to take it back to the mechanic. The mechanic told me that it looked to be the transmission valve body and recommended a local transmission shop. I took it there and the mechanic told me there was a speed sensor that was failing and the transmission and valve body would need to be replaced. He said that they don’t sell the speed sensor anywhere and it is impossible to obtain. I got quoted 9,100 to fix my car (I originally paid around 8,500 for it). I was told it would not be worth my time or money to fix the transmission. The transmission guy told me that Subaru cvt transmissions are horrendous and to take this is a lesson to never buy a Subaru. I heeded to this advice and traded her in for $2000 towards a 2010 rav4. Additional info: It had a rebuilt title and had been in an accident before I got it. Lived its entire life between kentucky and tennessee. I replaced the engine oil and filter every 4,000-6,000 miles. Tire treads were very mismatched for the time I had it (almost two years) which I was told by a subaru dealership can damage the transmission. Back tires had significantly lower tread than front. I had front left lower control arm, rear spring coils, brake switch lamp, and one of the battery terminals replaced during the time I had it. My TPMS light was always on. My front right headlight went out frequently. My brake light assembly also broke and wasn’t worth fixing

REPORT OF FAILED RECALL REMEDY (RECALL 19V-149 / WUE-90) My 2015 Subaru Forester experienced a total recurrence of the defect addressed in 2019. The vehicle became trapped in 'Park' intermittently on several occasions before remaining immobilized. During one incident, the manual shift-lock override failed to function. While the brake lights functioned during these incidents, the failure to shift is a documented symptom of a failing brake light switch. I had the switch replaced by a technician who initially suggested a full shifter assembly replacement. However, replacing ONLY the brake light switch immediately and permanently resolved the issue. This confirms the recall-related part was the point of failure. Subaru of America was notified but declined to acknowledge this as a failure of the safety remedy. I am also reporting intermittent 'ghost' activations of the right turn signal stalk.

Sounds like the differential in the transmission is making a horrendous noise

The Vehicle was sold to me by a local dealership not SUBARU Manufacturer themselves with the conditions marked above and more, the wheels when purchased as I turned any corners it would sound like the underside of the vehicle would explode even when driving straight it was just less frequent and caused the ABS system to activate and would pull one way or another.

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle accelerated at high speed and stability, the traction control, the check engine, and the cruise control warning light illuminated, and the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally.

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at high speeds, the vehicle made abnormal grinding sounds. Additionally, the vehicle was vibrating while turning the steering wheel.

With no one sitting in the passage seat the warning light will not turn off unless the seat belt is buckled The CVT transmission is making a high pitch whining sound The dealership informed me the transmission is going out. There is a manufacturer extended warranty for up to 100,000 miles that I have not received.

Hill start assist system failure. Apply power, but the car would not go very far before the brakes were automatically applied. Pull out into traffic and the car would not go.

We were driving on the highway going 65 and then there were two quick shudders and jerks of the car. Seemed to lose power in those moments. Immediately after that, we could hear a faint whoosh sound when on the accelerator but the car did accelerate.

My 2015 Subaru Forester developed a high pitch noise emanating from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle currently has less than 50,000 miles on the odometer and I am the original owner. I discovered that Subaru has issued a TSB regarding the issue (NUMBER: 05-70-19).

Merging onto a a 70mph highway and vehicle stopped accelerating around 45 MPH. RMPs kept increasing, black smoke-type substance was coming out of the exhaust pipes when I tried to accelerate. No lights, warning noises, or any other indication of anything wrong with the car.

On two occasions while driving roughly 65 MPH the acceleration completely gave out in my car, as though the car went into neutral. I could press down on the accelerator and the RPM's would shoot up in the gauge cluster, but the car simply continued to slow down. I drifted into the shoulder, turned off the car, waited a few minutes, and turned the ignition.

Head gaskets leaking, also the cars hesitates and jerks when driving

We were driving down the road approx 65 and the eye sight disabled, ABS disabled, traction control and hill assist stopped, cruise control stopped at transmission oil started flashing and then check engine light all came on we were driving down hwy 61 in az. Power to the vehicle slowed and we could not go faster than 40mph.

Noticed a clicking sound when turning right. Took it to subaru and they replaced the right front axle in december 2018. Almost a year later, I noticed a clicking sound when turning left.

Two times, while driving on the highway at about 65 MPH, my car lost the ability to accelerate. It was as though the car slipped into neutral. I pushed the accelerator pedal and the RPM's would increase, but the car wouldn't accelerate.

On july 28, we were driving at ~70 MPH on a freeway when the car lost momentum. The engine and electrical system seemed to still be operating, but the accelerator had not effect and we had to coast and brake to a stop next to the meridian. Due to dense, high speed traffic, we could not safely cross two-lanes of traffic to reach the shoulder.

Takara recall wue-90 safety issue with grand forks nd subaru has unreasonable two week wait time to replace brake lamp switch failure and rendering consumer at unreasonable safety risk or unusable car. Car locks in park or ABS lights and hill start electrical malfunctions during driving unpredictably.

My car dash lights, hill assist and engine light, remote not functioning. Thought it was the brake switch recall. The code read a secondary pressure code.

When using light acceleration such as in a parking lot or at a red light or stop sign to start going the vehicle bucks forward it will literally make you jerk back in the seat. Also while pulling onto a street it jerks forward but has hesitation which isnt to safe if you ask me when trying to get out on the road if cars are coming...

About 2 weeks ago my car did some bucking and shuddering and the transmission light came on when taking off from a stopped position so I took it into the dealership and they said it needed new transmission that's gonna cost $9000 my vehicle does have a 150000 miles on it but it's never been off road and all the miles on it have been highway miles driving on the interstate not city stop and go

Sudden onset of rubbing noise from left front wheel, worse when turning to right, varied directly with speed. Inspection by subaru confirmed bad wheel bearing.

I bought the car a month ago around march 10,2018 from glanzmann subaru. After 2 weeks of driving, the car was shaking and had trouble accelerating intermittently when at stop signs or at low speeds. After words I noticed when the car is around 80 MPH, sometimes the rpms go up but there is no torque.

After I slow down to turn a corner this car occasionally pauses, or will not resume moving for a few seconds when I step on the gas. This has caused cars behind me to almost rear end me numerous times. It sometimes happens twice in one day then won't happen again for several weeks.

Engine hesitates on acceleration, especially from a dead stop, leaving me stuck in the oncoming lane for several seconds. This is a recurring problem and is very dangerous! It?s virtually impossible to accelerate without feeling hesitation and surging.

Engine hesitates on acceleration, especially when making left turns from a dead stop, leaving me stuck in the oncoming lane for several seconds. This is a recurring problem and is very dangerous! Service manager says it's due to applying brake and gas at the same time while waiting for oncoming cars to clear, but it happens even when I'm careful not to do that.

TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED 5-22-17 UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY. ASSURED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN WORKING ORDER WE DROVE UP TO MAMMOTH LAKES CA THAT FRIDAY (5-26-17). 2 HOURS INTO THE DRIVE, JUST INSIDE THE MOJAVE DESERT, WE EXPERIENCED A ABRUPT STALLING/LUNGING SENSATION. LETTING OFF THE GAS FOR A MOMENT, I THEN GAVE THE CAR A BIT MORE GAS AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME SENSATION AGAIN. I PULLED OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND SMELT A CHEMICAL/OVERHEATING SMELL. SHUT THE CAR OFF, POPPED THE HOOD AND NO SMOKE. I THEN TURNED THE VEHICLE BACK ON AND NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR ANY OTHER LIGHT WAS ON. I THEN PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE AND PROCEEDED. THE RPM'S WENT TO ABOUT 4K BUT THE CAR WAS NOT EXHILARATING. I DROVE THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD FOR ABOUT 1/4 MILE INTO A GAS STATION. AT 11PM I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO PAY $600 TO HAVE IT TOWED BACK TO LADIN SUBARU OF THOUSAND OAKS. I AM CURRENTLY AWAITING YET ANOTHER DIAGNOSIS. NOT SURE I FEEL CONFIDENT IN THE VEHICLE ESPECIALLY IF IT PUTS ME AT RISK OF BEING REAR ENDED ON A HIGHWAY. NOT TO MENTION THE ISSUE OCCURRED JUST 4 DAYS AFTER IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY FIXED! SUBARU COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN THE HOLE FOR $16K AS THE CAR IS STILL UNDER ITS EXTENDED WARRANTY. NOT SURE I EVEN FEEL CONFIDENT THEY CAN RESOLVE THE ISSUE.

WHILE DRIVING AT 65MPH THE LEFT WHEEL BOUNCES AND MY ENGINE RPM INCREASE, THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES AS WELL AS THE FRONT END. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING A ROAD WHICH CURVES TO THE RIGHT. IT MAKES THE CAR DIFFICULT TO CONTROL. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CV JOINT ON THE LEFT FRONT IT MAKES GRINDING OR PULSING SOUND. THIS ONLY HAPPENS AT HIGHWAY SPEED. I RECENTLY HAD A FRONT END ALIGNMENT AND THE CAR DOES STOP STRAIGHT WITH NO PROBLEM AT ANY SPEED. I FEEL AS IF THE WHOLE FRONT LEFT IS GOING TO COME OFF AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. While the vehicle was stopped with the brake pedal depressed and the gear shift in the drive position, the vehicle independently lunged forward without warning. On another occasion, while the vehicle was in the park position, it continued to rev.

Vehicle was purchased new on october 31, 2014 at a maryland dealer. The following are dates, miles and the issues that have arised since taking ownership. All issues related to vehicle have occurred while driving.

We were driving approximately 65-70 MPH on the highway on saturday february 20, 2016. The car suddenly began to shake and jerk and we smelled burning rubber. We pulled onto the berm as soon as we could and waited for the tow truck.

From a full stop, a/c on, I began to accelerate at a green light. Car stopped acceleration at aprox. 2 miles per hour and coasted thru large intersection before accelerating again.

I have a 2015 forester premium with winter package, I bought it new with 10 miles on it. When starting out from a dead stop. I step on the gas and there is a delayed throttle response ( like a hesitation or a slow shift on the automatic transmission ) either from the computer module or transmission.

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. After stopping at a stop sign, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle did not accelerate. The failure recurred numerous times.

My clutch fork was nearly broken in two.(pics available). I asked the mechanic to save the old parts. My 6MT was never modified; the vehicle was neither raced, taken off-road nor used for towing.

Transmission faiure at 112,000 miles

Key will not remove from ignition when put in park. Happens about 40-60% of the time and must shift several times in and out of park to get key out of ignition. This is a known faulty part with several models (see Subaru Service Bulletin 16-112-18R) yet Subaru has not issued a recall.

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.

Engine using to much oil between oil changes. Transmission will not shift into final gear until driven for 10-15 miles

On 3 separate occasions, my car has shutdown on the highway at speeds around 75-80 MPH. They all happened during road trips while my car was between 1/8 and 1/4 tank. The car has a noticeable drop in power, which feels like the transmission disengages and applying more gas doesn't help.

Rough idling, uneven acceleration when stepped on gas, the car would accelerate, slow down, and accelerate again. Uneven deceleration when letting go of gas, the car would slow down, speed up, and slow down again. Seem like a software problem with computer.

While driving on the highway at 65mph the car lost all power. The rpms went up like it was in neutral (car was still in drive). Fuel tank was down to a little less than 1/4th of a tank but still had 100 miles until empty.

Vehicle won't start unless gearshift lever is moved forward while already in the park position - with just hand pressure on the handle.

When driving at speed and constant acceleration the car will jerk and the rpms appear to bounce up and down. Last weekend when merging onto the highway the car did not accelerate normally. The rpms spiked, but there was limited acceleration/response.

The vehicles stutters when accelerating. The issue will go for a few days to a few weeks then disappear and return a few weeks later. Have tried changing to sport and sport + modes and also using the paddle shifters and none of them had any change in the stuttering.

Car was in park. Left running to come back & get something in house. When went back to car, opened door & vehicle started rolling backwards.