2014 Subaru Forester

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE DETECTED FROM THE VEHICLE. UPON INSPECTING THE VEHICLE, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE WAS LEANING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BRILLIANCE SUBARU (1500 N RANDALL RD, ELGIN, IL 60123, (224) 281-4300) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE COIL SPRING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE DRIVER'S SIDE COIL SPRING FRACTURED AFTER THE PASSENGER SIDE COIL SPRING WAS REPAIRED. THE DRIVER'S SIDE COIL SPRING WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 48,000. *BF CONSUMER STATES THAT WHEN FAILURE FIRST OCCURRED THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL AUTO SHOP. IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE REAR COIL SPRINGS BE REPLACED. CONSUMER CONTACTED MANUFACTURER AND THEY AGREED TO PAY FOR THE PASSENGER REAR COIL SPRING REPAIR, BUT NOT THE DRIVER SIDE. ON 9/15/2019 DRIVER SIDE REAR COIL SPRING FAILED WHILE CAR WAS PARKED. MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BUT REFUSED TO ASSIST BECAUSE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. *DL

VEHICLE WAS PARKED WHEN THE DRIVER'S SIDE TAILGATE STRUT/SUPPORT FAILED JUST AS AUTOMATED CARGO DOOR WAS CLOSING AS OWNER WAS REMOVING AN ITEM FROM THE CARGO AREA. THERE WAS A LOUD BANG AS THE CARGO DOOR THAT IT WAS SUPPORTING SUDDENLY FELL DOWN. USER GOT A GLANCING BLOW ON THE TOP OF THE HEAD. NO MEDICAL INTERVENTION REQUIRED, BUT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE IF PERSON WAS MORE IN THE WAY OF THE FALLING CARGO DOOR. PASSENGER SIDE SRUT SUPPORT WAS STILL INTACT, BUT AS DRIVER'S SIDE BROKE DOOR COULD NOT BE FULLY SUPPORTED. TAILGATE STRUT SWUNG OUT AS IT WAS STILL PARTIALLY ATTACHED AS BOLTS ON ONE END DID NOT BECOME LOOSE, BUT PREVENTED DOOR FROM CLOSING ALL THE WAY, AS STRUT WAS HANGING (STUCK) OUT OF CARGO DOOR ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THIS ALSO CAUSED DOOR OPEN LIGHT AND VEHICLE INTERIOR LIGHTS TO STAY ON. INSPECTION OF THE FAILED SHOWA BRAND STRUT NUMBER 13I062C REVEALED CORROSION ON THE BLACK TUBE AS WELL AS ON THE END OF THE STRUT THAT BROKE OFF ON IT'S TOP END FROM THE VEHICLE. FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED CORROSION ON THE PASSENGERS SIDE STRUT THAT WAS STILL IN PLACE. DEALER SAID IT WAS NOT SAFE TO LEAVE REMAINING STRUT ON CAR, AS IT WOULD LIKELY FAIL AS WELL. ULTIMATELY DEALER ORDERED THE NEW PARTS AND INSTALLED THEM. SUBARU OF AMERICA REIMBURSED OWNER FOR REPAIRS AND DEALER HAD OWNER SIGN WAIVER RELEASING SUBARU OF AMERICA FROM ANY PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS AS A RESULT OF THE STRUT FAILURE. VEHICLE IS LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD AND WELL-MAINTAINED.

FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AIR BAG SENSOR, FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR, FRONT PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG COMPUTER, RED AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT, YELLOW PASSENGER AIRBAG "ON/OFF" LIGHT, SEAT BELT WARNING AND CHIME. AIR BAG DISABLED WARNING INTERMITTENTLY COMES ON WHEN PASSENGER SEAT IS OCCUPIED, SEAT BELT FASTENED, CAR OUT OF GEAR, STATIONARY. SOMETIMES STOPPING ENGINE, KEY OFF AND REMOVED, THEN ENGINE RESTARTED WILL RESET THIS WARNING. OTHER TIMES DURING NORMAL DRIVING, PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPIED, SEAT BELT LATCHED, AIR BAG WARNING (RED) LIGHT WILL OCCURS AND YELLOW PASS AIRBAG ACTIVE LIGHT WILL INDICATE PASSENGER AIR BAG INACTIVE. WHEN FRONT PASS SEAT EMPTY OR WITH WEIGHT AS LIGHT AS 2 POUNDS ON THE SEAT, SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT AND CHIME COMES ON WHEN SPEED EXCEEDS 5 MPH. SOMETIMES THIS ALARM CAN BE RESET BY SHARPLY STRIKING SEAT, SOMETIMES NOT, AND TRIP MUST BE COMPLETED WITH THE SEAT BELT BUCKLED. IN THIS CASE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT USUALLY SHOWS INACTIVE. THE SEAT BELT ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS, GETTING MORE FREQUENT. THE AIRBAG ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING DURING THE LAST TWO MONTHS, STARTING JUST AFTER THE STOP LIGHT SWITCH RECALL MAINTENANCE WAS PERFORMED AT SUBARU DEALER IN LAS VEGAS, NV.

2014 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO BATTERY BEING DRAINED ABS FAULT LIGHT BEING ILLUMINATED. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED MULTIPLE FAILURES BEGAN AFTER HAVING SAFETY RECALL WUE-90 PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE'S BATTERY REPEATEDLY WOULD DRAIN DUE TO THE TAIL LIGHT BEING ILLUMINATED WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE. THE HILL CONTROL WARNING LIGHT, ABS WARNING LIGHT, AND THE ANTI SKID WARNING LIGHTS ALL ILLUMINATED. OCCASIONALLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. *JS

VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. WHILE PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, THE LEFT REAR COIL SPRING BROKE LEAVING SEVERAL PIECES LYING UNDER THE CAR AND LEAVING THE LEFT REAR END SAGGING SO THAT THE WHEEL WELL BARELY CLEARS THE TIRE. THERE WAS SOME VERY MILD SURFACE RUST ONLY. APPEARS TO BE POOR QUALITY METAL THAT SIMPLY FATIGUED AND BROKE. VEHICLE HAS NEVER TOWED A TRAILER, CARRIED HEAVY LOADS, DRIVEN OVER ROUGH TERRAIN, ETC. HAS ONLY ABOUT 77K MILES ON IT. QUICK SEARCH ON GOOGLE SHOWS THAT THIS IS VERY COMMON FAILURE ON 2014 AND 2015 SUBARU FORESTERS. DEFINITE SAFETY HAZARD. IF HAD OCCURRED AT HIGHWAY SPEED COULD HAVE HAD DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES. I'VE INCLUDED A PICTURE OF THE PIECES OF THE SPRING THAT WERE LAYING IN MY DRIVEWAY UNDER THE PARKED CAR, AS WELL AS A HORIZONTAL PICK OF THE LEFT AND RIGHT WHEEL DEMONSTRATING THE DIFFERENCE IN CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE TIRE AND WHEEL-WELL.

JANUARY 2019. THE ISSUE STARTED AS CEL CAME ON. ROUGH IDLE, SURGE OF POWER AND THEN CAM TIMING BECAME ISSUE. WAS AT A STOP SIGN IDLING WHEN SURGE OCCURRED LURCHING VEHICLE FORWARD. TOOK TO DEALER WAITED WEEKS FOR A TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE TO GIVE ADVICE TO DEALERSHIP. TOOK TO OTHER DEALER TO CONFIRM. THEY REPLACED TIMING CHAIN., CAM PHASERS AND OTHER REQUIRED. DIDNT SOLVE ISSUE. NEXT STEP WAS INTERNAL OIL FILTERS THAT SUPPLY AVSC TIMING. NO FIX. REPLACED ECM AS FINAL STEP IN SUBARU MATRIX. RAN FOR 3 WEEKS AND SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. AGAIN CEL, ROUGH IDLE, CAM ISSUES. SUBARU POINTS TO DEALER. DEALER POINTS TO SUBARU. AND I HAVE A INOPERABLE VEHICLE. I REPLACED ALL REQUIRED PARTS AND HAVE ONGOING ISSUE. SOA HAS BEEN INVOLVED BUT NOT RESOLUTION. IT HAS BEEN 8 MONTHS OF DISAPPOINTMENT. GREAT CAR BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH TO CONTINUE TO DEAL WITH. THE XT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO HAVE ISSUES, RECALL ON POSSIBLE CYCLINDER CRACKING AND ISSUES RELATING TO ENGINE PERFORMANCE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE THE CONTACT'S WIFE WAS DRIVING 25-30 MPH AND MAKING TURNS, THE VEHICLE SWAYED AND WAS DIFFICULT TO KEEP STRAIGHT. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BUDD BAER SUBARU (71 MURTLAND AVE, WASHINGTON, PA 15301, (724) 914-6670) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REAR COIL SPRINGS WERE FRACTURED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

WE HAVE HAD TWO ONGOING ISSUES WITH OUR 2014 SUBARU FORESTER. WE PURCHASED OUR CAR WHEN IT WAS TWO YEARS OLD HAVE HAD OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUES AND A HARD TIME GETTING OUR KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION AFTER DRIVING. ON OUR LAST TRIP TO FLORIDA FROM NY AND BACK WE HAD TO PURCHASE AND USE TWO QUARTS OF OIL. WE HAD A OIL CHANGE JUST BEFORE WE LEFT. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE WE PURCHASED THE CAR. IN 2019 I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO PULL OVER TO CHECK AND ADD OIL TO A CAR. THE DEALER SAYS THIS IS NORMAL FOR THE CAR. WE HAD AT LEAST THREE CONSUMPTION TESTS DONE AND THEY CAME BACK NEGATIVE. I'M CURRENTLY AFRAID TO TAKE MY CAR ANYWHERE SINCE THE KEY AND IGNITION ARE UNPREDICTABLE. I NEVER KNOW IF I WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE KEY OUT. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH OUR SUBARU. IT IS OUR SECOND SUBARU. WE HAD NO ISSUES WITH OUR LAST CAR.