I took the car in for inspection, the mechanic told me that both rear coil springs were broken. Both rear strut assemblies had to be replaced. According to this link, this issue was the subject of a recall in japan last year: https://www.torquenews.com/1084/another-huge-recall-subaru-forester-and-crosstrek-coming I cannot find a direct link to the japanese transportation ministry recall, but this appears to be somewhat common, and is unusual for a 5 year old vehicle. I have attached the invoice for the repairs, I did not get photos of the damaged parts, but the mechanic might be able to elaborate if he were contacted.*dt*jb
2015 Subaru Forester suspension complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 66, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Right rear coil spring broke on my 2015 subaru forster. Was not aware when it happened. Took car to a garage on 5/2/2020 to rotate the tires, and the mechanic immediately discovered it. Spring was loose and could be moved freely up and down by mechanic's hand. Right rear of car was sagging, almost down on the rear tire. Saw many many similar complaints on internet on both rear springs for 2014 and 2015 foresters like my 2015 forester. Heard that subaru in japan already issued a recall for this safety issue. And that a recall in america may be forthcoming. Meanwhile, we forester owners are at risk while driving with faulty springs. Most others said it looked like the coil rusted from the inside out. Also that the replacement spring had 8 coils instead of the oem 6 coil springs, and some kind of tape or plastic coating the bottom coils. Everyone recommended getting springs, and possibly the enclosed struts, on both sides be replaced since struts may have suffered damaged while driving with faulty springs. Please help remedy this current safety problem, and require subaru to issue a formal recall in america. Thank you.
Rear driver side spring coil piece fell off in garage while car was stationary. Didnt know what it was. Didn't notice piece in garage until until spouse was at work. Vehicle made it 3.7 miles to spouses work and back.
The rear spring broke. It appears the plastic coating on the spring became brittle and allowed the salt spray from the winter roads into the spring which rusted and broke. This care has only 63k miles on the odometer. I noticed a noise when driving so inspected and found the spring broke.
Rear left coil broke on subaru forrester. 2015 forrester should not seemingly have this issue. The broken coil was rusted through. I never noticed any the damage was noticed while my car was on a lift at goodyear getting a tire plugged.
The rear driver side suspension failed.
November of 2019 left rear coil spring was replaced not sure when this one happened. January 11, 2020 back out of my driveway started going forward and the right coil spring broke. Only 29000 miles on car
Less than two days after having routine service maintenance done at a subaru dealership, I was driving my 2015 subaru forester with just over 46,000 miles on it on a city street when I heard a thump and noticed something didn't feel right in the back of the vehicle. I was driving on flat pavement and did not hit anything that would have caused damage to the vehicle. Upon inspection I could see the left rear of the car was almost resting on the tire. I had the car towed to the subaru dealership where they determined the left rear coil spring had broken. Subaru of america did pay a portion to replace the broken spring and the one on the other side. It seems odd that a coil spring on a vehicle with less than 50,000 miles on it would so suddenly fail and it would seem this would be a very dangerous thing to have happen if you were driving on a highway at higher speeds.
At about 78,000 miles the driver's side rear coil spring broke. This requires a replacement of both the coil spring and strut on the driver's side of the car. Additionally it was recommended to replace the passenger's side as it may fail too. This failure may pose a safety issue if the failure occurred while driving on the freeway. Fortunately, this issue was identified in a parking lot
At 38k excessive vibration and noise at highway speeds was noticed. Dealer replaced both of the front lower control arm bushings. At 42k the front right wheel bearing went bad and was replaced. Probably caused by the bad control arm bushings. At 44k the control arm bushings were bad again. This caused a severe loss of control of the car in slick conditions. This time the dealer replaced both of the control arm assemblies. This is a real problem with this vehicle. Time for a recall.
Rear strut spring failed without warning. I have retained the failed spring and its counterpart. Looks like a metal fracture. Vehicle was not subject to any acute trauma (e.g. Pothole), has never been in an accident, and has never been used for towing, hauling, or off-roading. Vehicle has 62k miles.
Mechanic noticed a small piece of the left rear suspension spring had rusted through and broken off while the car was up on a lift. Unclear exactly when the spring had broken.
In may of 2018, with 59000 miles on my subaru, the right rear coil spring broke. It was replaced, free of charge, by subaru. At the time, I stated that it must be a defect and the left spring should be changed but it was stated that it was inspected and was fine. This week, december 2019 with 79,000 miles, the car was not handling well. When I took it in to service (a different dealership), I was told the left spring was cracked. Again, they fixed it for free but I was told that a search of the subaru's system did not turn up any issues reported with the springs. This had to be a lie because a quick internet search that I just did shows numerous problems of cracked and broken springs int he 2014 and 2015 foresters. It's time to issue a recall.
Vehicle is garaged, no towing, no heavy loads and no accidents. Vehicle was parked in garage and heard a bang. Next day after moving vehicle, noticed driver's side bumper was much lower than right and found one of the coil springs broken and on the garage floor. It was very lucky I was not driving it at the time as it probably would have caused an accident.
Own a 2015 subaru forester 2.0 xt touring. Have driven 48,200 miles. Have driven on regular highways/roads with zero off-roading. Began hearing a creaking noise when I used to brake and come to a stop. Took the car to the dealer and found the bushing on the front were cracked. Was told it will take $800 to fix this at the dealership. Checked with a google search on the issue - found plenty of other posting on this issue. This seems a very common issue with the subaru forester 2.0 xt models on a poorly designed suspension and the crash risk increases especially while driivng at high speeds. We use this car now for mainly our outdoor trips and now iam scared to drive this car with our daughter in it at high speeds on the freeway. Request to open an investigation into this since there are multiple reports on the bushings going bad on the 2015 subaru forester.
We noticed that the right rear of the forester was 4-5 inches lower than the left. On inspection of the suspension, I noticed that the right rear coil spring was broken. This was confirmed by the subaru dealer. The break looked rusty (it is coated with black plastic material) but not completely degraded. This vehicle has 43,838 miles on it, is in perfect shape, and has never been off road or in an accident. Nothing that we did justifies a broken coil spring, especially on an SUV like a subaru. The best I can think of is that the spring might have broken a week earlier when we were riding though a neighborhood with speed bumps, but we were going less than 25 MPH. Certainly not something that you would expect to break a coil spring. When I searched on-line, I found hundreds of similar complaints for 2014 and 2015 foresters. There is clearly a fault in the spring material or design parameters. I believe this is a potential safety hazard since with a broken spring the vehicle felt unstable when turning and the rear swayed somewhat at 50 MPH and above. I believe it requires a recall. The subaru dealer replaced the broken spring and the rear strut for $500.
Like many others - rear coil spring has broken at 60,000 miles. This is a huge safety issue as it may cause severed brake like with immediate loss of braking or tire blowout. Subaru has an updated spring and of course, will recommend replacing both springs and alignment at our expense. Dealer is taking pictures and will advocate for us but
While the vehicle was stationary and parked for a period of 1 week both rear coil springs broke. My mechanic said the rusted from the inside out and the vehicle can not be driven till repairs are made due to safety issue. The vehicle only has 39,000 miles on it.
While pulling out of garage heard a clang of metal falling on concrete. Stopped and found a 4 inch section of metal coil spring. It appeared rusted from inside out where it broke. Came from left rear shock absorber spring bottom. We are original owners car has 98,145 miles. No heavy loads or hauling. No accidents thus far.
Left rear coil spring just broke while in my driveway, no off road driving. Car now tilts and I fear it is going to ruin the tire. I am unable to find any parts store that carries the part - it appears that a large number of owners are having the same problem with the coil springs.
I brought my 2015 subaru forrester into sheehy subaru for a va safety inspection and other work. I was advised that my right, rear coil had a crack in it. When I saw it, it was obvious that about one half coil turn on the bottom was totally detached (photo). Sheehy provided an initial estimate of $1,900 to replace both of the back coils/struts and that it would take 3-4 days. I did some internet searching and was surprised to find how many other people have had the same problem over the last year-some pics were identical to mine. There have been so many coils that have broken, that there is a shortage of coils nationwide. Based on what I saw on-line, I pointed out to the sheehy service person that this seems to be a common problem and I asked if subaru would cover the cost. He asked and heard back within an hour that subaru would pay for the right broken coil as a good will gesture, but I'd have to pay for the other one, estimated at $920. Since sheehy advised me that my car was 'not safe to drive' (see p. 3 of att. Receipt) because of the broken coil, I authorized sheehy's to make the repair and was given a loaner. 5 days later, I hadn't heard anything so I called and was advised that there is a problem getting replacement coils. In the end, it took 2 and weeks for sheehy to obtain the coils and repair my vehicle on july 15, 2019. While I'm not an expert, given how common this defect occurs, it's fairly clear to me to that there is either a manufacturing defect in a large number of coils, or the coil has a design defect. I'm not sure which it is but it should be dealt with on a broader basis. The new coil does have a slightly different design with a protective sleeve on the bottom few turns of the coil, which may indicate a design defect. Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been a recall, given how common this problem is and the safety risk that it presents.
The passenger side rear suspension coil broke while on a trip. It didn't break while driving but in the evening I heard a loud pop thinking something hit the car from above. However, the next day the car wheel well and tire were almost touching. My mechanic said I should replace both and the driver side suspension coil broke in his hands while he was taking it off. My car had 23,000 miles on it when it broke and is garage kept. I had to drive the car home over 700 miles on a broken coil since there is still a shortage on the part. Now my tire needs replaced because of the wear from the drive home and I have had to replace two rear suspension coils.
Rear coil spring - left side. Broke at low speed entereing garage. No rust/corrosion on exterior of break.
Rear coil spring failure. Took car into dealership for pa state safety inspection. Was told (and personally verified) that right rear coil spring was broken. The car had 21,428 miles at that time.
'springs' I had the unfortunate experience of having a broken spring that just snapped while driving on a regular straight road. The first dealer I brought the car to tried to blame me and charge me a ridiculous amount to fix. I contacted subaru of america and after a few back and forth emails and calls another dealer fixed the one that was broken. The most disturbing thing is the were rusted from the inside and coating was fully intact. I had posted on cargurus to see if anyone else was having this experience . And I have continued to receive hundreds of responses with the same problem. Subaru needs to make this a recall before someone gets hurt. These can brake at higher speed driving and puncture a tire which can make a driver lose control.
My car started to look low in the driver side rear. It has only 26,000 miles on it, is not rusted and has never been in an accident, pothole or off road driving. The suspension coil or spring broke right off. I don't know when it happened. Since I didn't hear it I can't guess. Checking online this has happened to lots of 2014 and 2015 forester owners. Subaru said it was ok to drive to the shop, but when I got there and insisted on an estimate first, they told me if I drove it, the remaining coil could puncture my tire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru forester. While the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the contact's son noticed that the vehicle was leaning. When the contact look underneath the vehicle, he noticed that both rear springs were detached. The vehicle was towed to ganley subaru of bedford (123 broadway ave, bedford, oh 44146, (440) 439-3444) where it was diagnosed that both springs and struts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and agreed to pay half of the repair cost. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.
Rear coil spring broke causing spring to slowing work its way down to control arm and car to sag. This happened with the vehicle sitting in the driveway, but it isn't something that could be noticed, until the vehicle is out on the road. I didn't notice the problem until the coil started working its way down the strut, causing the car to handle drastically different, and figured out the issue after driving 30 miles, returning home, seeing the car bottomed out on one corner, and finding the broken piece of coil in my driveway, where the car was parked before I drove the car for the day. This is extremely dangerous, and could cause the car to lose control. After a little research online and speaking with the dealer service department, this seems like a defect and a common problem of 2014 and 2015 subaru foresters. My vehicle only has 41,000 miles on it, and others had the problem around similar mileage. I have not had the car off road, towed with it, nor overloaded it. From the image I uploaded of the broken part of the spring and other photos I have seen from other with the same issue, it looks like these springs are prone to cracking, rusting a little, then snapping. I have seen many similar complaints, and this is obviously a manufacture defect that is a major safety issue. Subaru should have a safety recall on this before many more of these problem start to arise, causing injury or death.
While driving my car on a clear, warm day, my daughter drove over a speed bump and the rear springs both broke leaving the car undriveable. At first, I was angry with her, thinking that she had hit the speed bump too hard, but upon doing research on the problem, I discovered dozens of similar complaints in regard to the same situation. Talking with a service person at the dealership where I purchased the vehicle (kenny ross subaru), he stated that he was aware of the problem with the 2014-2015 forresters, but there was no official recall and quoted a price of $925.00 for the repair. I feel that with a problem that is not unique to only me and with this many other occurrences, subaru should step up and issue a recall and reimburse owners who have already had the repair made.
Had just got done registering my 2015 forester with 69k miles. Had replaced my tires since they were needed to be done for inspection and as I was reversing out of the shop it felt like I had popped my tire. Got out and saw the whole rear driverside spring shot down through the strut. Luckily it all happened in the parking lot, not with me driving down to my mechanic get get my inspection done. Also had both my children in the car with me so I was pretty upset with this happening. Brought the car to my dealership (prime subaru of manchester) where I had purchased the vehicle and told them what had happened. To my surprise not only did the driverside snapped, but also the other rear too. Was estimated to be $550 for the repair. From what I saw both springs snapped due to rust. Purchased this vehicle so I didnt have to deal with problems like this being that I am a young father of 2 and cannot really afford nor should have to repair stuff like this. With a vehicle being only 5 years I do not find this acceptable. Subaru of america really need to take action towards this before someone gets seriously injured.
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