2015 Subaru Forester: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Feb 14, 2022 · FL · crash · fire

Vehicle was in a front end collision, vehicle was able to safely pull over to the shoulder and be shut down. Impact did not result in airbag deployment and damage to vehicle appeared to be moderate. Within minutes of the accident while waiting for police to arrive on the scene, smoke became visible followed by vehicle becoming engulfed in flames leading to a complete vehicle fire and total loss of vehicle.

Filed Feb 10, 2022 · Electrical · MN

I hand washed my 2015 Subaru Forester using a garden hose with no pressure nozzle on the hose. While drying it I noticed a very strong burning smell. I then noticed smoke coming from the drivers side door mirror. It smoked for 30 to 40 seconds. Afterward my key fob door locking/unlocking functions do not work. Also the dome lights and clock do not work, as well as the TPMS. When I lock the car with a key, it only locks the drivers door. If I lock the car manually with the inside push button and close the door all doors are locked, but when I unlock it with the key the "Panic Horn" starts beeping. The car has not been repaired yet and is available for inspection. There were no warning lights or messages prior to the smoking mirror. This happened inside a washbay and I was definitely concerned about a major fire, luckily this did not happen. I googled this incident and there are other instances of this exact same incident occurring, as well as a recall of 630,000 Subaru vehicles in prior years, but not the 2015 model. My vehicle has never sustained any damage of any kind. No accidents, no fender benders, no weather related damage what so ever. This Forester, although being a 2015 model year, is in showroom condition with only 15,850 miles.

Filed Mar 30, 2020 · Electrical · 55,000 miles · CA

Went outside because I smelled smoke and saw smoke pouring out of my passenger side mirror. Doused with hose, now car won't lock. Car in driveway. No photo because important to put out any fire.

Filed Mar 8, 2020 · Engine · 65,000 miles · CA

Smell of burning oil from the engine. Dealer says head gasket needs to be replaced at a cost of $5500.

Filed Dec 26, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 53,800 miles · WI · fire

I bought the car and less than a month later the engine light came on. I took it into the dealership that I bought it from and they told me to take it to the subaru dealership if the engine light came back on. It never came back on. Four days later I was driving and the gas pedal quit working. I looked down to see if any lights were on and they weren't. I pulled over to the side of the highway to turn the car off. Before I could turn the car off I saw flames coming out of the front passenger side of the hood near the lights. Then all of the warming lights came on. I quickly turned off the vehicle. Before I could get out of the vehicle the whole front end of the vehicle was in flames.

Filed Aug 16, 2017 · Body, Engine · 18,500 miles · PA · fire

Car passed state inspection on 8/3/2017 with 18500 miles. One week later, car was taken on short errand and burst into flames with driver inside upon being placed in park. Fire department and police assessed the situation.

Filed Dec 19, 2016 · Body, Engine · 24,500 miles · CA · fire · 1 injury

My 2015 subaru forester xt was taken to an authorized subaru dealership numerous visits to the for an issue in which the cars engine lights and warnings would display, violently shake, shudder and lose power while at highway speed. Am authorized subaru mechanic was able to replicate the issue, they did an ECM computer update...unfortunately, the problems did not go away after the update. I re-visited the dealership explaining that the problems persisted, at which point they decided to try to replicate the problem. After a week, the subaru dealer sent me home in the car, saying they could not replicate the problem. Less then 4 days layer, while on my morning commute to work, the same problems which had plagued the car started to occur, however this time, I heard a loud pop/bang and smoke filled the cabin of the car. Very shortly after smoke entered the cabin, I witnessed flames coming out from under the hood and above the windsdhied. I exited the freeway lanes as quickly as possible, and within 10 seconds the car was engulfed in flames. I have paperwork from the dealership with my expressed concerns, and the suabaru mechanic's acknowledgement of the issue.

Filed Feb 25, 2016 · Transmission · 11,350 miles · CA

We were driving approximately 65-70 MPH on the highway on saturday february 20, 2016. The car suddenly began to shake and jerk and we smelled burning rubber. We pulled onto the berm as soon as we could and waited for the tow truck. We knew it was a transmission problem because it was the second transmission placed in the car. We had the car back from the repair shop less than 3 weeks after the transmission and torque converter were completely replaced from the manufacturer's. Subaru has notified us that a new transmission and torque converter plus 4 new tires are being placed in the car now currently back at the dealer in the repair shop. The tires were ruined by the burning tread as they locked up when the transmission stopped working. This will be the third transmission in the car since it was at the manufacturer. This is no longer just a warranty issue it is now a severe safety issue. The car's tires were completely locked when it was being taken off the tow truck. It had to be jacked up and slid off the back of the flat bed ramp.