2008 Subaru Forester problems

“The contact owns a 2008 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at approximately 5 MPH, the transmission control valve detached. No warning light was illuminated. The contact did research and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V464000 (Suspension) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic to get a diagnosis however, the diagnosis was pending. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.”

“MY ENGINE STARTED FAILING. THE COMPRESSION STARTED RAPIDLY DECLINING THESE LAST FEW WEEKS. MY ENGINE WAS SLUGGISH AND JERKY. I PREVIOUSLY HAD THE CAR SERVICED WITH A NEW ALTERNATOR AND HAD MY EMISSIONS TESTING DONE FOR MY REGISTRATION. THE NEXT DAY THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TO ALERT FOR THE PROBLEM. I BROUGHT IT BACK IN AND AFTER SOME TESTING WAS TOLD IT WAS THE COMPRESSION TO THE ENGINE THAT WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. IT IS IN THE SHOP NOW. AFTER FURTHER TESTING DECOMPRESSION WAS EVEN WORSE THAN PREVIOUSLY DIAGNOSED AT OTHER MECHANIC AND THE ENGINE WAS DECLARED TO BE FAILING. I AM HAVING TO GET A COMPLETE ENGINE REMAKE. $8,000.”

“The airbag on driver’s side deployed (malfunctioned)without incident while parked in my garage. It is currently at local Subaru dealer. Mechanics cannot determine what caused the malfunction. An engineer from Corporate Subaru inspected. Another team of engineers from Corporate is going to conduct a more thorough investigation once more photos of interior and exterior are provided by retailer. It is, of course, available for inspection. Fortunately, I was not driving the vehicle at the time of deployment. No one was in the car at the time of deployment. Vehicle was parked in my garage and deployed overnight. The dealer has confirmed deployment, but as stated above, has not been able to determine cause of deployment. Dealer’s mechanics and a Corporate engineer are only ones to my knowledge that have inspected the vehicle. As there was no accident, police and insurance representatives were not notified. No warning lights, messages or symptoms that I’m aware of. I, as stated, was not in the car at the time of deployment. Did not discover the deployment until the following morning when I went to garage to move the vehicle. I was shocked when I saw the airbag draped…”

“I OWN A 2008 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5X, VIN. [XXX], WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW AT BROWN'S SUBARU, 960 HILTON HEIGHTS ROAD, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. ALL FACTORY RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES WERE METICULOUSLY UPHELD. VEHICLE MALFUNCTIONS EXPERIENCED DURING ACCIDENT: 1. RAPID RPM SURGE WITHOUT OPERATOR ACTIVATION FROM IDLE TO APPROXIMATELY 5,000+ RPMS 2. RAPID UNCONTROLLABLE VEHICLE ACCELERATION, PLOWING THE VEHICLE THROUGH MULTIPLE LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURES 3. FAILURE OF DEPLOYMENT OF DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAGS AFTER MULTIPLE HEAVY IMPACTS, LAST OF WHICH AN EXTREMELY HARD IMPACT WHICH COMPLETELY STOPPED AND DISABLED VEHICLE, RESULTING IN INJURIES TO THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER. ACCIDENT DESCRIPTION: I HAD A MAJOR MALFUNCTION OF MY SUBARU FORESTER, WHICH RESULTED IN A VERY SEVERE AND POTENTIALLY LETHAL CAR ACCIDENT. IN THE PROCESS OF PULLING SLOWLY INTO A HANDICAPPED PARKING SPACE, WITH ONE FOOT APPLIED TO THE BRAKE ALMOST TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE'S RPMS SURGED AHEAD RACING OUT OF CONTROL. AT THAT TIME, I APPLIED BOTH FEET TO THE BRAKES. THE CAR RAPIDLY ACCELERATED INTO A BUSINESS, THROWING US BACK IN OUR SEATS AND COMPLETELY DEMOLISHING MULTIPLE EXTERIOR LOAD…”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO HAVE THE VEHICLE INSPECTED, IT WOULD NOT PASS THE SMOG TEST DUE TO A SECONDARY AIR INJECTION PUMP BEING STUCK OPEN. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE SECONDARY AIR PUMP CAUGHT FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER AND THE KEY WAS REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FIRE BURNED OUT ON ITS OWN. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MANUFACTURER'S SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000. ..UPDATED 01/04/17 *BF ...UPDATED 01/23/17 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED THE RECALL, BUT THE FAILURE WAS IDENTICAL. UPDATED 12/5/2017*JS UPDATED 7/11/18*JB *TR”

“I was getting on the highway in Minnesota doing 55-60 mph when the car started violently shaking and I lost steering with cars whizzing by me at 65-70+ mph. I was finally able to get the car just off the road and called for roadside assist. Once the car was left at my house I examined the right front wheel which was cockeyed to discover the lower control arm steel body had disintegrated (see photos). Looking online I discovered there had been a recall on these arms 9 years ago. I sent a message to Subaru Customer Care and received no reply. I sent a tweet on twitter to Subaru of America and received no reply. I finally called their 800 number and was told the recall had been completed on this vehicle in 2012 by putting some "rust-proofing" on the arms. They did not go through the effort to replace with the upgraded replacement part. SOA said they would not cover any repair or replacement of the lower control arms. There have to be 10s of thousands of these vehicles on the roads with arms rotting from the inside out because SOA did the recall on the cheap. The bushings and balljoint was still intact and no clunking or judder prior to the catastrophic failure. Is…”