2015 Subaru Forester: CVT failure

Filed Apr 1, 2026 · Transmission · WA

Vehicle: 2015 Subaru Forester Mileage at Failure: 85,000 miles Component: Powertrain – CVT Transmission My 2015 Subaru Forester is experiencing a premature safety‑related CVT transmission failure at approximately 85,000 miles. The vehicle developed a pronounced whining noise that increases with vehicle speed, consistent with internal CVT bearing or pulley failure. This is a known defect pattern in Subaru Forester CVTs and is not related to maintenance or wear. The noise is continually progressing and the risk of sudden catastrophic failure makes the vehicle unsafe to operate. An authorized Subaru dealer and the District Parts & Service Manager (DPSM) both confirmed that the CVT has failed and requires full replacement. This failure occurred well within Subaru’s extended CVT warranty mileage limit of 100,000 miles, and matches the defect pattern Subaru acknowledged when it extended CVT coverage nationwide for this model. However, Subaru is refusing to replace the CVT due to the 10 calendar year extension expiration. Subaru’s maintenance schedule for this vehicle does not require any CVT fluid replacement interval, so there is no missed maintenance that contributed to the failure. A failing CVT creates a safety hazard due to to the risk of sudden loss of power, hesitation, or inability to accelerate. I am filing this complaint so the federal safety agency is aware of this premature CVT failure and the associated safety concerns of SOA's refusal to replace the CVT under their extended warranty.

Filed Jan 24, 2026 · Lights, Transmission · TN

I bought a used 2015 subaru forester with 117,000 miles from an auto shop/used car dealer in March of 2024. In September of 2025, 11,000 miles of driving later, a bunch of lights came on my dash. Check engine, traction control, ABS, at oil temp, and incline assist. I took it to Autozone to get the codes read and the part it suggested was the transmission oil pressure sensor. I then took it to a trusted mechanic who said they weren’t able to get the lights to turn back on and told me to come back when the lights reappeared. In December of 2025, the lights came on and they were on long enough to take it back to the mechanic. The mechanic told me that it looked to be the transmission valve body and recommended a local transmission shop. I took it there and the mechanic told me there was a speed sensor that was failing and the transmission and valve body would need to be replaced. He said that they don’t sell the speed sensor anywhere and it is impossible to obtain. I got quoted 9,100 to fix my car (I originally paid around 8,500 for it). I was told it would not be worth my time or money to fix the transmission. The transmission guy told me that Subaru cvt transmissions are horrendous and to take this is a lesson to never buy a Subaru. I heeded to this advice and traded her in for $2000 towards a 2010 rav4. Additional info: It had a rebuilt title and had been in an accident before I got it. Lived its entire life between kentucky and tennessee. I replaced the engine oil and filter every 4,000-6,000 miles. Tire treads were very mismatched for the time I had it (almost two years) which I was told by a subaru dealership can damage the transmission. Back tires had significantly lower tread than front. I had front left lower control arm, rear spring coils, brake switch lamp, and one of the battery terminals replaced during the time I had it. My TPMS light was always on. My front right headlight went out frequently. My brake light assembly also broke and wasn’t worth fixing

Filed Aug 4, 2024 · TX

After replacing the valve body (part of cvt transmission). The car was released to me. Immediately upon leaving the dealership, the car kept jolting and shuddering, but no maintenance lights were lit on the dashboard. Upon returning it to the dealership, we were notified that the whole transmission would need to be replaced. Subaru is aware of the faulty transmission as they increased the cvt transmission warranty for approx 2010-2017 forester/outback/impreza/etc. cars to 10yr/ 100,000 miles. Upon further review, several other Subaru owners have expressed their transmissions needing to be replaced around 110,000-120,000 miles, most after just replacing the valve body. It appears Subaru knew the transmission was about to die, but they encouraged replacing just the valve body causing me to invest $2,200 knowing it would not fix the actual problem.

Filed Dec 7, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · OR

While driving 45mph on an icy road (approximately 25 degree(F) outside temp) the car suddenly lost power as if the CVT transmission was in neutral. However, it was still in drive. Pressing the accelerator only raised the RPMs but no power was sent to the wheels. There were cars behind me and my car was slowing down due to no power. I was fortunately able to pull off to the side of the road, stop, put in park. I put back into drive, power returned, and car drove normally for the remaining ~10miles of my trip. No warning lights from vehicle occurred during this event. This sudden loss of power could have been very dangerous especially given the road conditions. If drivers behind me were not following at a safe distance the sudden reduction in speed could have caused an accident due to the icy roads. I have not yet taken the car to be inspected, but will do so as soon as possible.

Filed Sep 28, 2022 · Airbags, Transmission · WA

With no one sitting in the passage seat the warning light will not turn off unless the seat belt is buckled The CVT transmission is making a high pitch whining sound The dealership informed me the transmission is going out. There is a manufacturer extended warranty for up to 100,000 miles that I have not received. My car started to make the sound at 110,210 miles Subaru was fully aware of the CVT problems and are not being held accountable for the repairs. I have been quoted I’ve $7000 from the dealership for a replacement The CVT is not repairable My car is now unsafe to drive. The CVT transmission can fail and not shift or not stop while braking

Filed May 13, 2022 · Transmission · CA

While attempting to make a left turn the car stalled and lost all power. The car had to be restarted and was able to drive back home. Took the car to dealership who stated it was a battery issue and a plugged air filter. NO check of the transmission was completed. This is the CVT transmission. The battery is 6 months old and the battery was tested multiple times by other locations and tested good. This stalling making a turn seems to be an ongoing issue with Subaru and the CVT transmission.

Filed Sep 9, 2021 · Transmission · CT

We were driving on the highway going 65 and then there were two quick shudders and jerks of the car. Seemed to lose power in those moments. Immediately after that, we could hear a faint whoosh sound when on the accelerator but the car did accelerate. That sound was not there before the shudders. Then about 30 seconds later the power gave out and the car started slowing down very quickly. Luckily we were in the right lane and could pull off to the shoulder quickly, though the shoulder was very narrow and dangerous. The car slowed down very quickly without applying that much brake. When we were stopped on the shoulder, I applied the accelerator, and the car was in Drive, and it didn’t go anywhere. Then we put it in park and the car rolled forward. So both the drive and park gears were not working. We turned the car off and then back on to try the gears again. Same issues happened again with drive and park. This was a very dangerous situation that occurred quickly on a highway. The issue described and what we experienced seems to be consistent with similar issues with other CVT transmissions. We hope the federal safety agency follows up with Subaru as we will be as well.

Filed Jan 10, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 76,000 miles · NY

Subaru 2015 forester 2.5l at CVT transmission no turbo engine revs to 4-6000 RPM transmission slams into gear car takes off accelerating without driver input. The driver must slam on brakes place the car in neutral to regain control. The car does this intermittently both at low and high-speed travel.. This car has been at dealer several times for diagnosis without success. This is dangerous in that the driver is at risk of loss of control due to high engine RPM and sudden acceleration with slamming transmission engagement requiring hard brakeing and placing the car in neutral to regain control . I believe this is long standing problem with this car and the origianal buyer traded in this vehicle because of this defect. I believe this is a problem with the electriclal engine control system that will only be diagnosised documented by 24/7 monitoring of engine functions. In order to catch the events as they occur no codes are being thrown or recorded. The dealers have refused to provide this service to diagnosis this intermittant problem.

Filed Jan 5, 2020 · Engine · 39,000 miles · AE

In september 2017, I was driving on the highway when my subaru forester lost power completely and without warning. I was barely able to get to the shoulder and have the vehicle towed. It restarted after only approximately 2 hours. Luckily this occurred in the middle of the night with little traffic, or I likely would have been involved in a catastrophic accident. I contacted subaru and learned I was eligible for an extended warranty due to possible CVT issues, but subaru refused to assist me when I explained that I was overseas with the vehicle on official u.s. Government assignment and that the local authorized subaru shop needed authorization from subaru to complete work on my u.s.-spec vehicle. I noted my alarm that several others had reported similar incidents, which could result in my, my children's or others deaths, but subaru still did not assist in finding a solution. I believe the seriousness of this fault, as well as the fact that other subaru owners are reporting the same problem up until this day (late 2019) should call for an actual recall of the vehicle, not only an extended warranty. I am a three-time subaru owner and am shocked by the lack of customer loyalty regarding this serious vehicle issue. I continue to be on u.s. Government assignment overseas so am unable to take the vehicle to a u.s. Subaru service center. Irrespective of that situation, the fact that I and the other owners who have reported this dangerous issue should result in vehicle recall before lives are lost.

Filed May 28, 2019 · Engine · 92,000 miles · HI

I have had my forester since nov 2014, and during the time of owning the vehicle I have had to add a quart of oil roughly every 2500-3000 miles in between services (5000 mile service interval) as the check engine oil level light illuminates. At two points that I have had the vehicle (roughly 50000 and 80000), I have had oil consumption tests run on the vehicle, both were returned as normal, and that the amount of oil consumed by the engine was within the parameters of the design. On 24 may 2019, I turned the vehicle in to a subaru dealership in hawaii for servicing (have used this location in the past), and they informed me that the oil is leaking into the coolant system inside the engine, and that the engine needs to be pulled and the upper oil pan seals and head gaskets need to be replaced. I fail to understand how this issue could go undiagnosed for the entirety that I have been having the vehicle serviced at subaru dealerships, through two oil consumption tests, and just now the issue was diagnosed. I also understand that the amount of oil missing from the pan might not have been "consumed" as the service technician made a point to state, but I would say a pretty good indicator of an issue with the oil system, is the system losing oil. Also, after a cursory search of internet forums, this issue seems to be a common trend among subaru foresters, and the symptoms were covered in a similar technical service bulletin (tsb no. 02-157-14r), which includes my year, make, and model, but differs in that it only covers the manual transmission cars, not vehicles equipped with the CVT.

Filed Feb 17, 2019 · Engine · 42,250 miles · MI

While driving at low speeds through a parking lot or slow moving traffic the car will stall. It's a 2015 forester turbo with a CVT transmission. If put in park, it will restart and go again. Stalling on the roads and in parking lots is unsafe. It doesn't throw any codes so there's nothing the dealer can do.

Filed Oct 1, 2018 · Transmission · 98,000 miles · MI

Car hesitates when starting to move. Have had near misses because of the delay in moving out for a turn onto another street. Car just sits there for 2 - 3 seconds. Not a long delay but critical in city driving. Problem is ongoing. Car has 98000 miles. It has a CVT transmission.