Problems · by component
2015 Subaru Forester fuel/propulsion system problems
56 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2015 Subaru Forester cite fuel/propulsion system, 9% of all 616 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
56
9% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
5
Reported by owners
What owners say about the fuel/propulsion system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I started to have problems with my Forester, and reading upon what could be the issue, I ran across recall 16V162000, on which describes exactly what my car simptoms are. I went into different sites, and my car does not show to be part of the recall. Can you help me with the reason on why my car is not part by the recall, when in fact is the same car, same engine, and having the same problem. Thank you so much for your time.”
“UNKNOWN. Often when I attempt to accelerate after stopping at a stop sign, the car hesitates, sometimes lunges ahead and then sometimes practically dying before accelerating normally. There have been times when It simply feels like a fuel pump problem and I know that Toyotas with this same Denso fuel pump have had documented problems similar to mine. [XXX]”
“This is the fourth time we have had the same problem. We were on a long drive (more than 1 hour on the road) on the freeway going 65-70mph. The fuel gauge showed 2 or 3 bars left and the estimated mileage left was 40-70 miles left when the car lost forward power, the lights still worked and electrical systems were functional but it was as though there was not gas left. We had to call a tow truck to bring us gas. As soon as they put a couple gallons in the tank the car started and continued without issue to the nearest gas station. This was extremely dangerous as we had our children in the car and had a loss of power on the freeway and had to sit on the side of the freeway in a dangerous area waiting for gas to be delivered. We took it to our mechanic who could not detect any problems with the sensors, or other systems, there were no codes generated and no warning before it lost power, the low fuel light hadn't even gone on.”
“On six occasions since 2020, our Subaru Forester has lost engine power at highway speeds after being driven for 2 hours on an interstate. On each occasion, we had to pull to the shoulder of the road with no engine power and restart the car. On the last three occasions it has taken 15 minutes to restart. Losing engine power at highway speed could have endangered our family or nearby drivers. We have taken the car to multiple dealers who have not been able to reproduce the failure, but after the latest incident in August 2023 our local dealers now recommends replacement of the fuel pump.”
“I was on the MA Pike in the middle of three lanes going 70mph and all my red lights came on, the engine revved high RPM, then seemed to be getting no gas and next stalled out. The trip computer said I had had 60 miles of gas left until empty, and I still had a bar of gas left showing on the odometer. There were no warnings lights or messages prior to the failure. It was an extremely unsafe situation, as I had to pull into the “slow” uphill truck lane, lane one of three lanes. There was no shoulder to get on. Trucks were whizzing by me at 70mph. AAA was not able to assist me, as I was in an unsafe location. They called the MA State Troopers who showed up immediately, and frankly probably saved my life, while risking their lives. They ordered gas, as they indicated they had seen this problem before. Two gallons of gas and the car started right up even though it still had gas in the tank. The problem has not been reproduced by a dealer, but it has been written about my many other 2015 Forester owners. Others have reported the same exact problem, sometimes resulting in accidents. How has Subaru gotten away without a recall on this extremely dangerous problem. They…”
“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!”
Showing 6 of 56 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.