2017 Subaru Forester: jerking or lurching

Filed Nov 2, 2026 · CA

Rapid acceleration from a stop. When the accelerator is pressed down even slightly the car lurches forward at a very fast rate. It can travel several feet before I am able to stop it by braking. This is a dangerous condition. In several instances I have almost crashed into a car ahead of me in accelerating after a stop light has turned green. This issue was noted shortly after I purchased the car (purchased new) and shortly contacted the dealership. They said it was inherit to the car and could not be fixed. They test drove the car and said everything is ok. In the last 2 months It has only gotten worst. Yesterday I did a search for this issue and discovered that this issue is quite frequent among 2017 Subaru Forester owners including law suits. Is there anything that I can do to fix this problem since this is an issue tied to Subaru and of my making. Date of issues is the first date noted. This issue has continued on almost a daily basis since the car was purchased.

Filed Nov 29, 2023 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · CA · crash

The incident happened at my workplace parking garage. As I slowly turned left to park in parking spot at work, I heard the engine rev and my car unexpectedly lurched forward very quickly. I stepped hard on the brake but it did not seem effective at stopping the car. I recently replaced my brakes in late August, 2023. As far as I know, before today my car was in proper working order. My vehicle is equipped with EyeSight Driver Assist Technology and I don't believe that the warning collision activated even as the car plowed towards the wall. The car hit the concrete parking block/wheel stop and then the heavy wire barrier at front the parking spot. The wire barrier sits between the front of the parking spot and parking structure wall (I would guess about a 12 inch gap between wires and wall). The wire barrier probably prevented the car from hitting the wall and causing greater property damage or injury to myself. So far, damage looks cosmetic. The front bumper is scratched (some paint taken off) and scuffed from the wire barrier and the bottom half of my license plate frame broke off. I am feeling rattled and I'm unsure if I have injuries. I intend to contact my dealership and car mechanic for suggestions on next steps and will likely ask them to inspect my car.

Filed Aug 30, 2020 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · NY

After 20k miles, transmission hesitates more and more. Be careful and try to avoid situations where you have to accelerate quickly. The car does not move or accelerate when you hit the gas pedal quickly. Cvt slips, especially from reverse to drive. At slow speeds, it jerks the car trying to find the right gear. The problem began under 10k miles, and I took it to a local dealership, they told me that is how the car drives and told me it is normal. This is not my first forester, but definitely the worst. I called subaru america, and they said there is no known problem whit their transmission. I almost got killed in a highway stop and go situation, where I had to accelerate after a slowdown, and the car decided not to. If you own one, be careful.

Filed Sep 29, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 19,935 miles · CA

I was driving my forrester 2019, notice that it would slowly move once I stopped at a stop sign. But then it would jerk into a faster pace. Yesterday as I was driving, I stop at a bank atm. When I went back to the vehicle I put my key in the ignition and nothing happened. Not a sound. So tried it several more times with the same results. I had to call for roadside service. They came and gave me a jump. The vehicle started with no problem. I did as the service person told me to let the vehicle run for at least 30 minutes so the cells can build up in the battery, so I did as I was told. As I would turn the corners on the streets-the steering became very difficult, (in both directions). Especially after turning at a stop sign, so as I were driving I notice the dash board would keep blinking. I took a photo of the gages on the dashboard. The eyesight light stayed, but the others kept blinking off and on. I drove the vehicle home and tried to parallel park in front of my house but the wheels would not allow me to do so. So I parked the car across the street where their were a lot more space and I parked there. I set there for another 30 minute before turning off the engine. Once I turned the engine off and tried to start the engine again it fell to turn over. No sound or anything just like earlier. In 2018 they replace my battery, because I was having to call for roadside service up to 3-4 times a week because the battery would die out on me. All this took place in a period of 3-4 months. Now this battery is approximately 10-12 months old. When I took it in for the new battery, I was told the battery was to small for the car. So now I am stuck at home without a vehicle until the subaru shop opens on monday and hopefully they can fix the problem. I've never had a 2 year old vehicle that's given me this many problems.

Filed Jun 22, 2018 · 12,000 miles · MO

We have a 2017 forester subaru 2.5i with 12,548 miles. The SUV will randomly jerk, jump and has stalled in hwy & city traffic twice. Other times it will hesitate and seem to shift out of gear for 30 or more seconds. It seems to occur within a couple of miles after driving. Mostly after making a turn. Also we can feel hesitations, transmission shifting when driving at speeds of 40 to 65 miles. This has been a minor problem the last four months until the SUV stopped twice in traffic. Until it stopped in traffic online research "problems with 2017 subaru" (please check this out) indicates this is a cvs transmission problem. Numerous complaints verify that it is most likely a transmission glitch . I took the SUV to the dealer's service dept. Their tests did not indicate the problem. We drive our grandchildren to numerous activities. We will not do so as we do not want to risk their safety, having the car stop while driving in traffic could result in a serious accident. We no longer feel safe driving the car until this issue can be found. Please look into this as it may put others in harms way.

Filed Mar 10, 2017 · Driver assistance, Engine · NC

Forester - 500 miles - consistent and continuing problems: car lurches forward on its own in first gear. - in motion engine not only has excessive (can last 5 seconds or more) "rev-hangs" shifting up from any gear but actually increases by 700-900 rpms. This has caused difficulty in slowing down (reducing speed with downshift). When using brake to reduce speed when this occurs, the engine will begin to race, increasing up to 1500 or more rpms, difficult to control vehicle. - in motion 4th gear - stick shift vibrates excessively - so much so it is visible to the eye and seems like it will have to wear out from the friction, - in motion (intermittent) when vehicle dynamics control engages on upward incline a very loud (multiple) banging occurs at the rea car lurches . - turning, in motion. Engine noise is extremely loud compared to other 2017 foresters I have driven.can sound like it is ready to throw a rod in the near future - in motion and stationary subaru states all is normal. Service manage at dealer states loud engine is definitely not normal for the 2017 model and he experience the excessive rev-hang but doesn't know what to do these things because subaru says this is normal are normal.