2002 subaru forester hesitates and lurches dangerously as if fuel is not getting to the engine. When pulling on to a street or highway, the vehicle won't pick up speed and creates a safely hazard and potential rear end accidents.
2002 Subaru Forester: hesitation when accelerating
8 of the 88 complaints about the 2002 Subaru Forester describe hesitation when accelerating.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 15 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Hesitation when accelerating by model year
What owners say
Car hesitates then lurches forward after pressing the gas pedal. Vehicle then hestiates as if losing power. Had the same probelem in august of 2003 and dealer reset the vehicle's computer and said no problem. Dealer tried to have me pay for a fuel injector cleaning service this time. Car has 29,000 miles. I spoke a another customer at the dealership who was having the same problem and noticed the numerous complaints on the web site. Shouldn't this matter be looked at for a possible recall?
Transmission hesitates from a dead stop. You depress the accelerator and nothing happens for 2 seconds or so, then the car lurches forward.
Car "hesitates" occasionally, 1-2 second delay after you press the gas pedal until the car responds. Also, the car shifts inappropriately. Mostly this occurs on hills. You will attempt to accelerate, and the car downshifts; or you attempt to pass someone on highway and car will hesitate, then begin to accelerate, then will suddenly downshift. I have had car to dealer, first I was told there was no problem. Then, they realized there was a problem, and had the computer reset. This seemed to improve handling for only about a week. The car is now hesitating and downshifting on a regular basis.
When the consumer depresses the fuel pedal the vehicle hesitates and sometimes stall, the dealer has been notified of the problem several time but no remedy has been found. Nlm
Consumer stated the engine started hesitating during acceleration from a complete stop, hesitation occurs one second to a few seconds after acceleration and can lat approximately three seconds. Since the problems have been happening with the hesitation, the transmission now shifts with a slight thump to a loud bang, during acceleration the automatic transmission misses a shift and goes into neutral causing the engine to instantly over speed to 2,000 RPM's the transmission searches for different gears while gently accelerating, on 2 occasions the dealer has reprogrammed the computer modifications which has made the problems less intense, but still exists. *jb
From a stand still vehicle will hesitate or once getting started will lunge forward. Dealership looked over vehicle, and contacted subaru which told dealership that vehicle met all requirements, and returned vehicle to consumer with no modifications. Please describe details.
Myself, as well as many others, have a problem with our subaru vehicle hesitating upon pressing the accelerator, for as much as 2-3 seconds, followed by sudden acceleration. This happens in drive as well as reverse. Subaru acknowledges the problem (really depends on who you talk to at any dealership) but says that it is normal and there is no fix. When and if a reply is sent, I will forward a copy of the letters sent to subaru. Thank you for your time.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This is an update announcement regarding the TechShare & NorthStar Integration
- This Service Information Bulletin announces the availability of ThreeBond 1216J (SOA868V9640) designed for...
- This announcement provides information on the remanufactured CVT transmission program.
- This bulletin announces the service manual correction regarding clutch master cylinder reservoir service...
- Subaru Service Technical Support Newsletter special edition.
- This annoucement provides parts personnel information about remanufactured transmissions that will no...
- This Service Information bulletin announces a design change to the clutch release bearing used on the...
- Repair procedure for high-pitched sound from extension housing area using latest generation production...
Related recalls
Power train: automatic transmission
- What is wrong
- Certain sport utility and passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions were produced with an improperly manufactured transmission parking rod. When the transmission selector lever is placed in the "p" (park) position, the transmission park mechanism, that is intended to hold your vehicle, may not engage.
- Risk
- The vehicle could then move/roll without prior warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the automatic transmission parking rod assembly. Owner notification january 8, 2003. An interim owner notification will be sent during november 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact subaru at 1‑800‑782‑2783.
Recall number 02V282000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2002 Subaru Forester hesitation
Is hesitation when accelerating a common problem on the 2002 Subaru Forester?
8 of 88 owner complaints about the 2002 Subaru Forester (9%) mention hesitation when accelerating. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2002 Subaru Forester?
There is 1 recall and 15 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2002 Subaru Forester
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