Tl* the contact owned a 2012 subaru forester. While driving approximately 69 MPH with the cruise control activated, flames were seen coming from underneath the driver side of the hood. The cruise control independently disengaged and the vehicle lost all power. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road. The fire department was contacted and extinguished the fire. A police report and a fire report were filed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to the contact's residence. The contact mentioned an unknown recall regarding the relay system as a possible cause of the failure, which only included turbo booster engine vehicles. However, the contact's non-turbo booster engine vehicle was not included in the recall. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
2012 Subaru Forester: adaptive cruise control problems
8 of the 107 complaints about the 2012 Subaru Forester describe adaptive cruise control problems.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- typical mileage
- 8,650
- recalls
- 0
Adaptive cruise control problems by model year
What owners say
Vehicle transmission shifted into neutral while in cruise control on the highway. The vehicle had to be powered off and back on before the transmission would reengage. Dtc was p2138. This is the fourth incidence over a 14 month period. After power cycle reset, the issue doesn't recur for one to three months. In two instances, the vehicle was in cruise control but not in the other two.
I want to also submit a statement about the problems I have had with my brakes,I also noticed others have had the same problems,as soon as I got the car I noticed the brakes were very soft.I took the car in,I was told they were fine.a couple weeks later I was in line at starbucks and the brakes went right to the floor,I pulled the emergency up narrowly missing the person in front of me.I called the dealer again,before I got the car back in again at dunkin donuts it did the same thing.it had also started making a horrible smell and had no power.and a few other minor things.I took it in they said the brakes were fine,I argued they were not.the smell was supposedly some kind of fluid leaking on the muffler.took it home brakes still kept doing the same thing,called back went back in the car was low on oil and the brakes were still doing the non existent thing,plus it still smelled bad and I had a list for them,they gave it an oil change,and said this time the brakes were fine but may need pads in 6,000 miles or so now the smell is normal thou,plus I told them it was not getting good gas mileage and hitching,they said unless the engine light comes on they cant do anything.well now lastly the rear seat belt works only occasionally,my brake light is on all the time and they only stop about half the time my tires are all worn out,at less than 10,000 miles which they say is normal (ok) and it stalls doesn't like to start,and is under recall it still smells bad,the cruise control only works when it feels like it,it uses oil,eats gas,and stalls doesn't like to start,and the brakes act like the anti lock feature is constant even when it shouldn't be?now after an accident and my air bags don't deploy I think it seems like a real trend here and I reported my accident to subaru of america they don't seem to care.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru forester. The contact stated that whenever the check engine warning light illuminated, the cruise control would independently disable without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the vehicle was working according to standards. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 8,650 and the current mileage was 11,626. Updated 10/17/13
After sharp acceleration the check engine light came on and stayed on. No other issues noted. Two months later with 7500 miles on the odometer, the same thing occurred but this time the cruise control light and the vehicle stabilization light came on as well. Cruise control did not work and I assume the stabilization didn't either.
When in heavy traffic and it was necessary to accelerate at a high RPM, the traction control light and check engine light come on and start flashing and the cruise control light also flashed. This is the 3rd time this has happened. First time all the lights went out, second time it happened my cruise control was disabled and the other lights continued to be on and flash and I had to take it the dealership to be "reset". Dealership told me it was a "computer" problem and subaru has not fixed it. Yesterday it happened again. Was able to let off accleration quick enough to keep it from locking out my cruise and causing all the lights to flash continually.
My forester has had the issue of misfiring on three occasions. It has been to the dealership for the first two, now they tell me I need to wait until they create a computer update, that my car has a "glitch in the computer". My cruise control becomes disabled, while driving and the check engine light flashes, along with vehicle dynamics control waring light also blinks. The dealership tells me the car will run properly, not to worry. The owner's manual states that the ABS is poroblably malfunctioning. The first time this happened, they dealership said I may have had watery gas. It has now happened under the same conditions: going up grade and needing to accelerate. In a four month period, I have had this same unresolved issue, three times. Also the seat belts are on recall. When I called tohave the seat belt replaced, I was told they were on back order and would contact me.
While driving on a main route check engine light kicked on and proceeded to flash while the stability/traction control light came on disabling the traction control. This lasted approximately 10-15 seconds, all lights kicked off and seemed okay. A couple of days later the same thing happened only now the cruise control light was on and flashing, check engine was solid and stability/traction control light was on. At that time all the lights stay on until the codes are cleared, until that is done, stability/traction control and cruise control do not work.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2012 Subaru Forester adaptive cruise
Is adaptive cruise control problems a common problem on the 2012 Subaru Forester?
8 of 107 owner complaints about the 2012 Subaru Forester (7%) mention adaptive cruise control problems. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Subaru Forester?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 2012 Subaru Forester
Oil consumption 13Check engine light 10Sudden acceleration 8Engine failure 7Knocking 7No deployment 6Stalling 5
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