2016 Subaru Forester: engine stalls while driving

Filed Nov 30, 2024 · Engine · CA

While driving my 2016 Subaru Forester about 70mph on [XXX] , the engine suddenly stalled and I was stranded on the freeway. The fuel tank was about 3/4 full and no warning light flashed in the dashboard prior to the incident. I tried to move my vehicle to the right lane but was unable because of the vehicle's loss of power. I almost collided by a speeding truck behind me. I shut off the engine, was unable to restart. After 3 minutes later, I was able to restart and everything worked again. I suspected the cause was due to a bad fuel pump, took the vehicle to my local Subaru dealer for inspection. The technician could not find anything malfunction or repeat my problem. I just learned there was a recent lawsuit settlement of bad fuel pumps on 2017-2020 Subaru Foresters that could cause engines to stall. It sounded similar to the problem that I had just experienced, except my Forester is a 2016 model not covered by the settlement. I believe the 2016 Forester fuel pump was manufactured by the same company as in the 2017-2020 models. It probably has the same defects. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 9, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · MI

As I said earlier: car stopped dead in the middle of I-94, going 70 mph. No reason--had 1/4 tank of gasoline, alternator working, etc. Come to find out that you all recalled 2018 Subaru Foresters for this EXACT same problem--cars stalling while driving. That was for a faulty fuel pump. Discussion boards by owners are FULL of the same exact problem from 2014-2019. You should issue a recall there too, IMHO, since obviously the 2018 are the tip of the iceberg!

Filed Oct 11, 2023 · Electrical · 19,000 miles · NE

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that she was able to safely drive the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the battery was replaced for the third time, and the dealer informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced three times in less than two years. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Aug 20, 2022 · Engine · CA

Since 2018 we starting noticing random power loss and every time we took vehicle to dealership for maintenance, they could never find an issue. The loss of power began at random as well went up hills. It felt as if there was something blocking the engine from preforming as intended. Maybe poor air flow or turbo lag. We would let go of accelerator because it felt as if the car was going to stall. This power lag or loss would last 5-10 minutes. Then more issues appeared during 2018-2022. The issues were always at random. Issues we witnessed were: loss of power (poor air flow/ bad compression), car seemed to want to stall at stops, weird metal clacking (which we were able to record), bopping car at stops (as a manual car would before stalling). A code was never available for dealership to know the problem at hand. Over the past years we continued to take in the vehicle for the issues we experienced. The dealership never found the root of the problem. The problem continued until 2022 and now the car is inoperable. 400 miles out of warranty and Subaru does not want to fix this issue that had been happening since 2018. I have been waiting for Subaru of America to contact me since 7/22/22. I could never get an answer from case worker. Subaru wants us to pay out of pocket roughly 4500 and then maybe they cover the rest.

Filed May 15, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · IL

While driving on highway using cruise control at 70 mph my car suddenly stalled …. I was able to get to apron of road , but my steering locked and I had no brakes.. I could put car into neutral but had to “jam” it into park , trying to get it to stop rolling . It would not restart . I had it towed to an auto repair center as there was no Subaru dealer in the area. Because I had kept trying to restart it , my battery was dead . They recharged my battery and the car then started . I took it to a Subaru dealer where I was told they could find nothing wrong …. Except I needed a new battery . This was NOT the reason that my car suddeney lost power ! It had happen once before while on the highway but I was able to restart it at that time . This could have caused a serious accident and I worry that it will happen again. I warning was indicated prior to episode . I have receipts from auto repair shop (In Lincoln, Illinois) and Subaru dealer ( in Columbia Missouri)

Filed Oct 23, 2021 · Electrical · OR

There was a short in the wiring harness, causing the car to loose power and stall.

Filed Jul 14, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · FL

Car turns itself off soon after starting when you try and put it into gear. Even after a tune up the car just stalls out when starting or low idle while sitting at light

Filed Mar 24, 2021 · Fuel system · 35,000 miles · PA

On two separate occasions, our car stalled while I was driving on a major highway at 60 - 70 MPH. (2016 subaru forester) the first incident was on friday, june 21, 2019 on pa route 283. The second incident occurred on wednesday, march 17th, 2021. In both cases the car engine died without warning at speeds of between 60 - 70 MPH. Needless to say, this was a life threatening situation. My fuel gauge indicated that I needed gas in the first incident but I estimated that the car had a little more than a gallon remaining. In the second incident, the car had about a quarter of a tank of gas. I contacted sabaru after the first incident but I'm not aware of any action that was taken. I also contacted them after the second incident but have not yet heard back yet. Bsed on my research, other owners of subaru foresters have had a similar experience. I'm surprised quite frankly that no deaths have been reported.

Filed Dec 14, 2020 · Engine · 55,000 miles · CA

Vehicle stalled in intersection. Car has a rough idle, this is the second time it has stalled. Dealership has looked at the car but not resolved the issue.

Filed Dec 2, 2020 · Engine · 15,888 miles · FL

2016 subaru forester 2.5 premium while driving there on the highway at approximately 70mph with 80 miles left per the vehicle the car 'stalled' acting like it went to neutral and provided no response to the accelerator being pushed. *bf consumer stated happened twice more while driving approx 70 MPH and had to pull over, vehicle started shutting down. Car restarted approx 30 minutes later. Vehicle was taken to the dealer, consumer was told there were no issues.

Filed Oct 5, 2020 · Engine, Fuel system · 42,000 miles · OH

My 2016 subaru forester has twice experienced a sudden engine stall while cruising at approx. 70 MPH when the fuel was low. In both cases the low fuel warning light was not on and the vehicle showed fuel in the tank with fuel range of 70-100 miles. In both cases once the car was stopped it started again and ran normally until and after refueling. This has happened only at high speed which makes the condition especially dangerous in traffic. After the first incident (@ 42,000 mi.) I took the vehicle to a subaru dealer who checked the vehicle and found no explanation. Of course the dealer was not able to duplicate the exact circumstance of the power failure. The vehicle is currently under examination from the second incident which occurred yesterday (@ 50,000 mi.). I do not know if this is a fuel pump problem but I have seen other posts that suggest that may be the cause.

Filed Aug 7, 2020 · Fuel system, Transmission · 66,000 miles · NC

Vehicle was traveling on highway around 70 MPH. Lost power to wheels/vehicle stalled with no warning. Engine revved to high RPM's when I hit gas, as I coasted into the grassy median. I turned off engine, waited for a few minutes. Tried to start again, starter would crank, but engine would not start. Towed vehicle to dealer they were able to start car next day. No error codes in computer. Have noticed this issue on the subaru message boards, dealership unable to diagnose issue now. Very serious problem, could have been a fatal accident on highway.