2015 Subaru Forester: wrong fuel gauge reading

Filed Mar 25, 2026 · Engine · VA

This has now happened twice to my daughter, both times on the highway. One time the car shut down completely and the 2nd time the car just started slowing while pressing the gas and coasted to a stop. Luckily she was able to avoid other cars and get to the shoulder. The car restarted both times...1st time after about an hour wait and 2nd time within minutes. Both incidents happened when the gas gauge was at 2 bars. I am terrified of this thing right now. No warning signs at all prior to the incident. I took it to the dealer after the first incident but they could not figure out what the problem was as they were not able to recreate the issue. This is an extremely unsafe issue and I am not sure what I should do next.

Filed Nov 29, 2024 · Fuel system · CA

This is the fourth time we have had the same problem. We were on a long drive (more than 1 hour on the road) on the freeway going 65-70mph. The fuel gauge showed 2 or 3 bars left and the estimated mileage left was 40-70 miles left when the car lost forward power, the lights still worked and electrical systems were functional but it was as though there was not gas left. We had to call a tow truck to bring us gas. As soon as they put a couple gallons in the tank the car started and continued without issue to the nearest gas station. This was extremely dangerous as we had our children in the car and had a loss of power on the freeway and had to sit on the side of the freeway in a dangerous area waiting for gas to be delivered. We took it to our mechanic who could not detect any problems with the sensors, or other systems, there were no codes generated and no warning before it lost power, the low fuel light hadn't even gone on.

Filed May 24, 2021 · Fuel system · NY

Fuel gauge sending unit not functioning causing car to over report remaining gas mileage. Car runs out of gas though gas gauge still reports roughly 20% tank capacity remaining and ~60 miles or range left. This has happened to me multiple times,racing me stranded on highways at least 6 times.

Filed Mar 14, 2021 · 135,000 miles · OR

After 4hrs of driving with 2 pit stops in between, I was in 3 lane traffic and down to 1 bar on fuel gauge stating I had 50mi left of driving remaining in tank.. Low fuel light hadn't even turned on yet, only to find that the car had lost power and reduced speed and wouldn't accelerate when I used has pedal. However the interior lights and power windows still worked. I was able to pull off to the side of road and shut the car off. I looked under the hood and found nothing to be out of sorts. No dash lights went off either such as battery or check engine. I started the car back up in 5mins and fueled my car up. Also, during the trip my fuel mileage was consistently going down which the lowest reading days 17mpg when normally 30mpg. This happened the day after taking my vehicle in for new tires at a corporate tire company. 2 weeks later car having troubles starting. Battery and alternator checked out good, so suspected fuel pump. Car dealership states fuel filter inside the pump and even if there was a way to test the pressure it may not be accurate because it could be intermittent failure and doesn't recommend me replacing it. They wanted me to wait until it happens again before looking into it any further. They checked for dtc codes and found none. Also suggested I just upgrade to a newer vehicle and I stated that at 138,000 the car should still be repairable and driveability otherwise what's the point of purchasing to own the vehicle. Obviously the situation was dangerous and could lead to a slew of problems such as standing, accident or even death.

Filed Mar 2, 2021 · Electrical, Fuel system · VA

Fuel gauge malfunctioning, it takes couple minutes before it goes up after full tank. Sometimes it's hard to crank after you turn the key. Vehicle was stationary sometimes it feels like it's going to stall scary. Also left side driver window malfunctioning, the auto down not working and when your press up the window goes up 2 inches at a time takes awhile to go up.

Filed Oct 3, 2019 · Fuel system · 50,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. While driving approximately 70-75 MPH, the fuel gauge indicator displayed approximately 50 miles to empty and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to harvey subaru (located at 3351 benton rd, bossier city, la 71111, (888) 232-4109) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred once. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Jul 19, 2019 · Electrical, Fuel system · 84,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. The contact stated that the vehicle ran out of fuel on the highway with seventy miles still remaining on the fuel gauge. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to williams subaru of sayre (222 spring st, sayre, pa 18840, (570) 888-9691) for diagnostic testing. An appointment was scheduled with the dealer for next week. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 84,000.

Filed Apr 27, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 85,000 miles · NJ

On 2 separate occasions was driving my 2015 subaru forester (touring edition) at highway speed, 70 MPH, the car lost power and started decelerating. Luckily both times I was able to get over to the shoulder. The car re-started after awhile. The first time the low fuel light was on but I had over 50 miles left according to fuel sensor. The second time, a month or so later, no low fuel light was on. There were 2 bars left on the fuel gauge. Again car totally decelerated and then a few minutes later was able to be driven. Subaru dealership claims they have not heard of this problem but someone did call them about it the day before I called. I am scheduling an appointment where they say they will do a diagnostic on it. I am seeing multiple complaints on this exact car on carcomplaints.com this is an extremely dangerous problem and subaru should not be waiting for fatalities to happen before recalling these cars.

Filed Mar 10, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 40,000 miles · OR

Twice in the last four months vehicle has run out of gas while traveling on a level highway despite gas gauge indicating that there was 70 miles still to travel and the gas gauge reading one bar. Low fuel warning indicator did not display.

Filed May 24, 2018 · Electrical · 47,000 miles · IL

This vehicle has shut down mid-driving on the expressway 4 times. The battery, fuel sensors, fuel pump, and 'cluster' have been replaced. I received the vehicle back from subaru service on a wednesday afternoon, and on thursday morning as I was pulling out of my garage the fuel gauge was again displaying blank even though there was more than a half tank of gas in the car. I turned the car off and back on and then every warning light on the instrument panel lighted up. There have been 5 repair attempts on this vehicle and it has not corrected the issues. This vehicle is defective and dangerous.

Filed May 21, 2018 · Electrical · 45,000 miles · IL

This vehicle has already shut off while driving on the expressway 4 times. The last time they said it was a bad fuel pump and replaced. I turned the car on in the parking lot after a grocery store trip (with my baby in the backseat) and the vehicle said it could not establish the remaining fuel level and the gauge was blank. Turned vehicle off and back on and fuel gauge reappeared, but while driving down city street, all indicator lights on the instrument panel lit up. I drove directly to dealership. They say that the cluster (odometer, speedometer, tachometer) needs to be replaced. Still waiting for part to come in and for vehicle to be returned to me. I am not confident this will fix my vehicle since they said they were 99% sure of the fix the last two times. This vehicle is faulty and is endangering my family. It is by sheer luck that we haven't gotten into an accident and injured so far.

Filed Dec 20, 2017 · Electrical, Engine · 44,400 miles · GA

The car lost all power in the middle of interstate 95 heading south approx 17 miles north of the ga fl state line. The fuel indicator showed 30 miles until I had to refuel. This was on 12/3/2017. I was at speed(75 MPH) and managed to go through traffic and go to shoulder. There was no power and the engine had quit. I waited a couple of minutes and the car restarted. I drove to the second exit and refueled. A few days later on 12/06/2017 on the way back to atlanta on I-95 south of savannah and the fuel gage reading 30 miles until I had to refuel, the very same thing happened. Except, this time it would not restart. I called aaa and continued to try to restart. After 45 minutes, the car restarted. I drove approx 10 miles and refueled. I have had no incident since but, I have not driven the car with low fuel. This could have had a very different result if I had not been able to get through the traffic on a busy interstate. Both me and my wife could be dead. I believe there is a flaw in the low fuel warning software and something shuts the power. I have driven this car with lower fuel levels. The instrument panel shows miles to you have to refuel, I.e., 50 miles, 40 miles, 30 miles, 20 miles then ------. You have access to data on these cars, I don't. Please have some advise me what is your thinking on this matter.