2020 Subaru Ascent

The vehicle hesitates like it doesn’t want to get up to speed, despite pressing the gas pedal to accelerate. The RPM needle bounces. Dealership has not been able to “replicate the hesitation I feel when accelerating.” They originally tried to say I didn’t tell them the problem was happening when it had time to warm up, which is a lie, I have all the scheduling notes made by the employee who set the appointment up. Dealership said it passes diagnostic testing despite my serious concerns as the owner driving it daily. No lights are lit up on the dashboard which is another reason why the dealership is saying everything is fine. It’s already had a firmware update in July and the dealership is very dismissive of my concerns. I made multiple calls before appointment telling them it’s happening more frequently around 20-30 minutes of drive time and to make sure I have them the full picture well enough in advance for them to make adequate time to look at my vehicle

For the past month, the engine revs up higher than normal at slow and highway speeds. It had the feeling of the engine skipping gears and staying at to high of an RPM even with the accelerator being eased off. Initially it was brought to Subaru service dealer in November and they could not replicate the issue. On 12/13/23, it began to constantly go into very high RPMS, much more frequently then it had been, and the check engine light came on as well as a warning light for the automatic transmission oil temperature light. We brought it into the dealer and the evaluated and said the transmission is failing and said it is not safe to drive. We were given a loaner and they are in the process of submitting paperwork for a new transmission under their powertrain warranty.

CVT transmission skips in high gear and shudders randomly while driving down the road. Randy Marion in Hickory NC is where we purchased and replaced the rear transfer clutch and insists the problem has been corrected. It is not. Our regular mechanic and Moderna Subaru of Boone NC both agree the transmission is bad. It has been sitting at the dealership for 2 months while all parties argue over who is responsible for repair. (Original selling dealership, Subaru of America, 3rd party warranty) meanwhile I have no car but am expected to make payments. There are no warning lights or indicatator lamps to show an issue which is even more scary. I do not feel safe driving the vehicle without repair as the stutter and slipping between gears can cause hesitation that could cause an accident or worse. We did not test drive the vehicle at high gear and that was our mistake, but I drove it on a trip 2 days after purchasing and it had transmission issues the entire time. Dropped back off at dealership Monday morning and have been dealing with headaches since then.

CVT jerks the vehicle and stutters when at certain rpms, making long car rides very uncomfortable. Feels like whiplash every so often. Very dangerous when trying to speed up to pass another vehicle because the vehicle doesn't respond and accelerate as it should. The dealer said its normal because of the CVT technology. They said they tried to reproduce it, but were only gone 5 minutes. The highway is 5 minutes away from dealership, one-way. I explained it happens after about 20 minutes of continously driving at speeds over 50 mph. The vehicle had only been inspected once for this issue. The dealer refuses to look at it again because they, "already explained it to [me]". There are no warnings or indicators prior to it happening.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, there was a delay while shifting gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train). The recall repair was performed; however, the failure occurred several times. The vehicle was repaired several times. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 30,000.

My car had a CVT drivetrain recall which has been labeled as "repaired" because I brought it to the dealer, however, the issue still exists and my car has been to the dealer 5 times already concerning this recall. The symptoms of the CVT drive train that I am experiencing are: shuddering (dealership vocabulary) at approximately 20 mph (approximately 1500-2000 rpm). The issue has gotten worse because now I experience the occasional shuddering at 40 mph and about 60 mph. In addition, occasionally at about 20 mph after slowing down and then accelerating there is a heavy vibration from the engine (which was heard over the phone by someone). Some things that the dealership have done included updating the computer, reflashing, reprogramming it, etc. However, as I mentioned the issue still exists and has gotten worse. I also personally contacted corporate Subaru to let them know that the issue has not been resolved. I wanted to report this issue to you because they have labeled my car as "repaired" based on the fact that I brought it in for the recall, however, the issue was not fixed and it has gotten worse.

Between October of 2021 and February of 2022): Shuddering (like driving on rumble strips) and sluggish transmission (slow to respond acceleration and sometimes jumping when depressing the gas pedal) - reported this multiple times to dealership but was told they couldn’t replicate what I was feeling/experiencing. I also reported that the CVT would not adjust to the lower RPM (remained between 2000-3000) after ascending a hill. I was told in a dismissive manner that it was throttle control, which it was not. Brought vehicle back in June 2022 reporting the same issues. Determined it was the WRK-21 service bulletin. WRK-21 repair was done in July/August of 2022. I was without my car from June through August 30th. Transfer case was replaced. By March of 2023, the exact same symptoms returned and got worse on a much shorter timeline than the first time this happened. On 5/31/23 I brought the car back in. Approx 2.5 weeks later it was determined that it was the WRK-21 issue again. Today 6/30/23, I was told that a regional service technician from Subaru of America has determined that the transfer case needs to be replaced again. I opened a case at Subaru of America (case #[XXX]), requesting that a new transmission be installed into the vehicle, citing major safety concerns about repairing/replacing a repair. No warning lights ever went on at anytime in this reported timeline. Car is not in my possession so it would only be accessible at the dealership. It has been there since 5/31/23. Ultimately, I feel like driving the vehicle is dangerous. I’ve wondered if it’s just going to die while driving at times when it shudders. I have a young child and need a safe vehicle. I do not feel safe in this vehicle. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Driver front wheel was making a noise when turning or slowing down. In Sep 2022, the dealership said they repaired it, but had we not brought it to them, where the front wheel meets the axel would have caused us problems. The noise did not go away, and when we took the vehicle to dealers again, they found front strut mount and bearing failure, and had to replace these (the car is just 3 years old).

Transmission is lurching and surging when driving. Pressing gas pedal from a stop the belt continues to slip. Took it to Paul Moak Subaru they claimed to do the inspection told me they don’t do test drives for malfunction checks. They said they completed the inspection for transmission recall. The Ascent continues lurch and slip with grinding noise and loss of speed. I told them about the issues for over a year and they continue to give run around I was having trouble while it was still under warranty. I’ve contacted Subaru Customer Care they would only provide me recall information and told me the trans inspection is all they have to do.