2014 Subaru Forester

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PARK, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND IT CRASHED INTO A TREE. THE CONTACT DID NOT SPECIFY IF THERE WERE ANY INJURIES OR IF A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER TO HAVE THE BODY WORK REPAIRED. THE DEALER HAD NOT DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

WHILE DRIVING MY CAR ON THE HIGHWAY, (APPROXIMATE 65 MPH) I GOT A MESSAGE ON THE CONSOLE THAT INDICATED THAT SRS SYSTEM HAD SHUT DOWN AND THE RED AIR BAG LIGHT WENT ON. I DROVE IT HOME AND THEN TURNED THE CAR OFF. WHEN I RESTARTED IT, THE RED AIR BAG LIGHT WENT AWAY. THE NEXT DAY WHILE I WAS RIDING ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, THE RED AIRBAG LIGHT WENT OFF AND A NOTE ON THE CONSOLE SAID THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG WAS NOT OPERATIONAL. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE SUBARU DEALER WHO COULD NOT RECREATE THE ISSUE AND TURNED THE CAR BACK TO US. *TR

WE HAD THE OIL CHANGED AND CAR INSPECTED AT THE VISTA AUTOMOTIVE GROUP SUBARU OF SILVERTHONE, COLORADO ON DECEMBER 29, 2014. EVERYTHING ABOUT THE CAR WAS REPORTED TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION. UPON DEPARTING FOR CALIFORNIA ON JANUARY 2, WE WERE ON INTERSTATE 70 WHEN THE CAR BEGAN TO YAW (PULL TO LEFT AND THEN PULL TO RIGHT) IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. THERE WAS SOME RESIDUAL SNOW IN THE CENTER OF AND ON THE SIDES OF THE LANE BUT THE PAVEMENT UNDER THE TIRES WAS DRY. AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR OF THIS PHENOMENON, AND AFTER THE PAVEMENT WAS COMPLETELY CLEAR, THE YAWING CEASED. WE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MCCRAE SUBARU IN EUREKA, CALIFORNIA UPON OUR RETURN AND WERE TOLD THE FOLLOWING DAY THAT THE SPEED DIFFERENCE IN THE DRIVETRAIN WAS APPARENTLY CAUSED BY THE REAR TIRES HAVING LESS TREAD THAN THE FRONT TIRES. AFTER CONTACTING SUBARU NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, WE WERE TOLD THE REAR TIRE WEAR RESULTED FROM THE FAILURE TO ROTATE THE TIRES. SUBARU REFERRED US TO YOKOHAMA TIRES FOR REPLACEMENTS. WE PURCHASED TWO NEW YOKOHAMA TIRES AND WHEN MOUNTED BY TP TIRES IN ARCATA, CALIFORNIA, WERE ADVISED THAT THE REAR WHEELS WERE OUT OF ALIGNMENT. WE THEN HAD THE CAR ALIGNED BY SIMPLY PERFORMANCE AUTOMOTIVE OF ARCATA, CA AND THEY CONFIRMED THE REAR TWO WHEELS WERE OUT OF ALIGNMENT, CAUSING THE TIRES TO WEAR UNEVENLY. WE STILL ARE CONCERNED THAT THE YAWING COULD BE THE RESULT OF THE CAR'S COMPUTER SYSTEM, BUT HAVE NO CONFIDENCE THAT SUBARU WILL DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM HONESTLY, AS THEY CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN IT'S A TIRE ROTATION ISSUE. *TR

ATTEMPTED TO START THE CAR ON A COLD MORNING. BATTERY HAD GOOD CHARGE, BUT CAR WOULD NOT IMMEDIATELY START AS NORMAL. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS I PLACED A BATTERY BOOSTER INLINE WITH THE BATTERY, AGAIN AFTER SEVERAL MORE ATTEMPTS NOTHING BUT A FEW SPURTS.. THIS HAPPENED OVER A 20 MINUTE PERIOD. AT NO POINT WAS THERE NOT ENOUGH CRANKING VOLTAGE OR AMPERAGE. WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE COLD -10, BUT MIND YOU NO COLDER THEN THE 2013 WINTER IN WHICH MANY MANY MORNINGS AND DAYS WHEN THE POLAR VORTEX WAS UPON US DID THE CAR EVER FAIL TO START. THIS IS A 2014 TURBO XT MODEL, IN GENERAL TURBOS ARE HARD STARTERS, AS I RECENTLY OWNED A 2009 ACURA RDX TURBO, BUT AGAIN NEVER HAD STARTING ISSUES WITH THAT CAR. I SPOKE TO MY DEALER , BUT HE OFFERED LITTLE HELP, ALSO CALLED AND CONTACTED SUBARU OF AMERICA, WHO TRIED TO WRITE OF OFF AS A BAD BATTERY, BUT AS I MENTIONED PLENTY OF CRANK, TO DTC'S ERROR, NOTHING , JUST HARD TO START.. THIS CAR HAS A PROVEN HISTORY OF STARTING IN COLDER WEATHER. THE CAR HAS EXPERIENCED ROUGH IDLES ON AN OFF, BUT I BELIEVE THERE IS A TSB FOR THIS. WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THE CAR UNDER THE CONDITIONS SHOULD HAVE STARTED FIRST FEW CRANKS, NOT OVER A DOZEN ATTEMPTS IN A 20 MINUTE PERIOD. *TR

WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF HAVING THE CAR, I NOTED THAT IT DID NOT MOVE FORWARD SMOOTHLY FROM A DEAD STOP BUT SURGED AHEAD. I HAD NOT DEPRESSED THE GAS PEDAL VERY FAR. THERE AFTER I AM VERY CAREFUL TO DEPRESS THE GAS PEDAL VERY CAREFULLY UNTIL THE ENGINE RESPONDS SMOOTHLY TO A NORMAL SPEED. I NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN IN ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE OWNED AND I NOTED AFTER READING THE COMPLAINTS OF OTHER OWNERS THAT OTHERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE NOT REPORTED IT TO THE DEALER BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A BIG ISSUE BUT NOW I WONDER IF THIS COULD EVENTUALLY BECOME A DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS THE CAR GETS OLDER. I ALSO NOTED A COMPLAINT BY ANOTHER PERSON, ABOUT THE LINES ON THE CLIMATE CONTROL KNOB THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO SEE WHICH SHE SOLVED BY MARKING THEM WITH WHITE NAIL POLISH. PERHAPS SUBARU DESIGNERS WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS AND HAVE THOSE LINES PAINTED A COLOR THAT IS EASIER TO SEE THEN THE YELLOW THEY ARE USING . ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON THE DASH BOARD SOMETHING THAT TELLS ONE WHAT POSITION THE LIGHTS ARE IN, RUNNING? NIGHT TIME? OR HIGH BEAM? AS THE LEVER IS SHIELDED BY THE STEERING WHEEL. *TR

THE EYESIGHT, ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL AND PRE-COLLISION BRAKING SYSTEMS DO NOT RECOGNIZE STOPPED VEHICLES - HARD BRAKING IS REQUIRED TO STOP VEHICLE IN TIME. WHEN SYSTEMS DO FUNCTION THEY DO NOT GRADUALLY SLOW VEHICLE AND COME TO A STOP, BUT DO SO SUDDENLY AND DANGEROUSLY, CAUSING ME TO BRAKE HARD TO COME TO A STOP AT A SAFE DISTANCE BEHIND STOPPED VEHICLE. SAME SYSTEMS ARE ALSO DANGEROUSLY AFFECTED BY BRIGHT SUNLIGHT AND FAIL TO FUNCTION WITHOUT WARNING. DEALER SAID THEY CHECKED SYSTEMS OUT AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG. GAVE ME PRINT-OUT FROM OPERATING MANUAL STATING IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DRIVER TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE SAFELY AT ALL TIMES AND THAT THE EYESIGHT SYSTEM IS NEVER A SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTIVE DRIVER INVOLVEMENT AND MAY NOT OPERATE OPTIMALLY UNDER ALL DRIVING CONDITIONS!!!!!!! SUBARU CORPORATE CUSTOMER RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE SAID THERE WAS NO SOFTWARE UPGRADE/FIX AVAILABLE FOR THE FORESTER MODEL. CERTAIN SUBARU 2015 MODELS ARE ADVERTISED TO HAVE AN UPGRADED EYESIGHT SYSTEM THAT RECOGNIZES LIGHTED TAILLIGHTS, AMONG OTHER IMPROVEMENTS. I WAS TOLD THE 2015 SYSTEM WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE 2014 FORESTER. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. A RESPONSE TO MY COMPLAINT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

I STARTED THE CAR AND THE STEERING FELT LIKE IT WAS INCREMENTAL WHEN YOU ROTATED THE WHEEL. IT WAS COLDER THAN NORMAL OUT BUT NOT THAT COLD. THE TEMP WAS PROBABLY IN THE 40'SF. THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM SINCE THEN. I HAVE HAD IT AT THE SUBARU 4 TIMES AT TWO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS AND THE LAST THING THEY TOLD ME WAS CALL SUBARU. I BELIEVE IT IS THE CONTROL MODULE FOR STEERING. *TR

IN OCTOBER OF 2013, I PURCHASED BY WAY OF LEASE, A BRAND NEW 2014 SUBARU FORESTER. RIGHT AFTER PURCHASING A 2014 SUBARU FORESTER I BEGAN TO HAVE ISSUES WITH THE OIL CONSUMPTION IN MY VEHICLE. IN EXAMPLE, BEFORE MY FIRST OIL CHANGE OF 3,000 MILES, I HAD TO HAVE MY CAR ASSESSED BY THE OIL TECHNICIANS AS THE OIL LIGHT KEPT COMING ON. THE OIL TECHNICIANS WOULD ?TOP? OFF MY FLUIDS AND ALONG I WENT. SADLY, AFTER HAVING MY 3,000 MILE OIL CHANGE, I CONTINUED TO HAVE ISSUES WITH OIL CONSUMPTION. I THINK I PAID A VISIT TO THE OIL TECHNICIANS AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 6 WEEKS OR SO; SO MUCH SO THAT THE OIL TECHNICIANS WERE TIRED OF SEEING MY VEHICLE. I PRACTICALLY DEVELOPED A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OIL TECHNICIANS. IF THEY DID NOT KNOW ME BY NAME, THEY WERE AT LEAST FAMILIAR WITH MY VEHICLE. TO MAKE A LONG STORY LONGER, THIS MONTH (SEPTEMBER) OR BETTER STATED LESS THAN A YEAR OF HAVING A 2014 IN MY POSSESSION, WHILE STILL BEING IN THE YEAR 2014 WITH 3 MONTHS LEFT TO GO IN THIS YEAR, I HAD SOME MAJOR WORK DONE TO MY VEHICLE. UP TO AND INCLUDING A REPLACEMENT OF THE ENGINE. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED INVOICE TO SEE ALL THE ITEMS THAT WERE REPLACED. NOW YOU ARE PROBLEM ASKING WELL HOW MANY MILES ARE ON THE CAR? THERE ARE ONLY 7,600 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. IN OTHER WORDS I PUT MAYBE 760 MILES ON MY VEHICLE PER MONTH IN LESS THAN A YEAR.OPPORTUNITY: CLEARLY, I WAS SOLD A HIGH PRICED LEMON; A DUD. IN ORDER TO IMPROVE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, IT IS IN MY OPINION THAT SUBARU SHOULD PROVIDE ME WITH A 2014 SUBARU FORESTER THAT IS NOT DEFECTIVE OR ONE THAT DOES NOT HAVE DESIGN FLAWS. NO VEHICLE WITH LESS THAN 8,000 MILES AND LESS THAN A YEAR OLD SHOULD REQUIRE AN ENGINE REPLACEMENT. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT AFTER THE WORK WAS DONE NOW THE CAR HAS A VIBRATION AND FEELS AS IF IT IS GOING TO SHUT OFF. *TR

I WAS MAKING A ROUTINE VISIT TO MY MOTHER AT HER APARTMENT. TURNED LEFT INTO THE COMPLEX THEN TURNED RIGHT AND WENT UP A SMALL HILL. AT THE TOP OF THE HILL AT NO MORE THAN 5-10 MPH I TURNED FAIRLY SHARPLY TO THE RIGHT TO ENTER THE PARKING SPACE. AT THAT POINT THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND SURGED FORWARD. THE VEHICLE HIT A TREE APPROXIMATELY 15-20 FEET AWAY. THE FORCE OF THE CRASH CAUSED THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY AND THE FRONT END RECEIVED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE RESULTING IN THE TOTAL LOSS OF THE VEHICLE. I'VE BEEN DRIVING FOR OVER 30 YEARS WITH NO ACCIDENTS AND CONSIDER MYSELF AN EXCELLENT DRIVER. OF COURSE I QUESTIONED WHETHER OR NOT I COULD HAVE HIT THE GAS BY MISTAKE, BUT THIS VISIT IS SO ROUTINE AND HAVE MADE THIS SAME TURN INTO THE PARKING SPACE SO MANY TIMES, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS THE CASE. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE VEHICLE COULD HAVE SURGED FORWARD AND HIT THE TREE WITH THAT MUCH FORCE IN SUCH A SHORT DISTANCE. LUCKILY THERE WERE NO OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED AS I WAS ALONE IN THE VEHICLE. I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER HOW MUCH WORSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN. I DID REPORT THE INCIDENT TO THE SUBARU DEALER AND WILL BE MAKING A REPORT TO THE MANUFACTURER SUBARU OF AMERICA. *TR