2019 Subaru Forester: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Mar 13, 2026 · MO · crash

Dear National Transportation Safety Board, I would like to bring a situation that happened to me while driving my 2019 Subaru Forester last Saturday March 7th, 2026 at 10:40am. I was coming back to my house from an errand. While waiting for my garage door to go all the way up, my car suddenly accelerated forcefully and lunged through the garage and into my home through the wall. There was a chest freezer that was against the wall in the garage which was against the back wall. This freezer was also taken through the wall and into my laundry room. The freezer was crushed. The front of the car and tires were up through the wall and in the home. There was a water spigot also in the garage that came into my home that broke and dispersed water. The furnace was crushed, water heater damaged, washer and dryer damaged, a water cooler damaged along with crushed metal bifold doors that were ripped off HVAC closet. And other things in garage totally crushed. Thankfully, no-one was killed. I was barely able to get out of car as when it suddenly accelerated, and clipped the bottom of garage door that wasn’t finished being up, then it went towards the left and corner of garage instead of of how I would normally pull in and park which would have been straight and middle of garage. The car went so fast and would not stop until it had hit the items in house that would make it not be able to go any further. This vehicle definitely had something faulty with it that caused this car to suddenly take off and crash. And the air bags did not go off. Surprised with such a forceful impact. My car had 62,039 miles on it and was well maintained. I bought brand new at Dellenbach Subaru in Fort Collins, CO in December 2018. Please contact me at [XXX] nk you so much in advance, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 24, 2024 · Acceleration, Airbags · 34,000 miles · GA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 80 MPH unintendedly. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle spun several times, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hit several power generator boxes while spinning. The vehicle then turned around and drove across the street unintendedly, and the front end of the vehicle crashed into a pine tree. The contact stated that the forward collision avoidance failed to engage. The air bags failed to deploy. The neighbors assisted the contact out of the vehicle. The contact stated that she was shocked and was assisted in a chair. The contact that she later felt pain all over the body and was taken to the hospital, where she was informed that she had sustained a broken sternum, bruises, and pain all over the body. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a tow lot, where it was totaled. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field engineer who retrieved the EDR from the vehicle. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the information retrieved from the EDR indicated that there was no vehicle malfunction and that the air bags had not deployed because the impact was not significant. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

Filed Jan 22, 2022 · Driver assistance · FL · crash

I was on a sharp incline at idle behind a line of cars, waiting for the light to turn green and my Subaru Forrester surged forward, out of my control, and hit the back of the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. I questioned the Subaru service center regarding it and they did not have a means to report the incident to Subaru for investigation, but offered to do a service check on the transmission of the car. Coincidentally (or of uncertain significance), I had been waiting on a back ordered part from Subaru for a malfunctioning thermal control valve that caused a check engine light to be continually displayed on my dash, disabling some of the safety features of the vehicle. They assured me that the malfunctioning part would have nothing to do with any surging problems and that it was safe to drive the car until the part could be replaced.

Filed Nov 16, 2021 · Acceleration, Transmission · 21,000 miles · CO

The contact's wife owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that as his wife attempted to park her vehicle into a parking spot, the vehicle independently accelerated while her foot was on the brake pedal without warning. The contact's wife steered the vehicle to avoid hitting other vehicles as the acceleration continued; she was eventually able to stop the vehicle. Prior to the failure, the contact stated that while his wife was driving at 35 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning with her foot was on the accelerator pedal. His wife had to repeatedly depress the brake pedal before the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

Filed Sep 28, 2021 · MA

on two occasions, when staring from a stop and starting to turn left, the car accelerated on its own. at least once the car's override brake system became active as i was slamming the brake.

Filed Jun 18, 2021 · NH

We bought our Subaru Forester after researching the cars with the best safety features. The car feels unsafe because of 2 problems: Engine hesitation and sudden acceleration. We have barely avoided an incident on two occasions in a parking lot. We were braking for a car heading toward us when our car lurched ahead coming close to hitting an approaching car. Another time we were braking for a stop sign and the car accelerated into moving traffic. We have not reported it to our dealer hoping it was a fluke. We are going to bring it to the dealer because it's obvious that there is something dangerously wrong with our car. I can't report dates - it happens each time we drive with no warning - no lights. Suddenly the engine hesitates acting like it has run out of gas or it lurches ahead, accelerating on its own.

Filed Feb 18, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 12,247 miles · DE

Unintended acceleration when slowly pulling into aparking spot. Car ran over and dislodged a parking curb. The car ended up resting against a fence. A tow truck had to pull the car backwards to get the car over the curb. The dealer had the car inspected by a third party who found nothing wrong with the car. Damage was estimated to be $1000

Filed Dec 16, 2020 · Acceleration · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2019 subaru forester. The contact stated while driving 18 MPH with the traction control engaged, going around a bend up-hill, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact applied the brakes however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was able to regain control of vehicle. The vehicle was taken to bowser subaru (1001 clairton blvd, pleasant hills, pa 15236, (412) 469-2100) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was working as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed May 7, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 50 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2019 subaru forester. The contact stated that the windshield cracked and was replaced three times in a six-month period. The contact was concerned that the design of the hood and the thickness of the glass in the windshield was a contributing factor to the failures. Additionally, there was an abnormal sound in the transmission whenever the gear shifter was shifted into reverse. The contact also stated that the backup camera failed to operate intermittently. The contact also stated that when the stop/start function was reactivated on several occasions the vehicle idled roughly and lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to moore chrysler jeep fiat (8600 w bell rd, peoria, az 85382, 800‑757‑0140) however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50.

Filed Feb 25, 2020 · Acceleration · 12,000 miles · WA

Base model subaru forester 2019, driver experienced unintended acceleration when starting to drive following a green light in an interception. Driver had to use an evasive maneuver (veer to the left) to avoid hitting a vehicle in the front of it. The vehicle continued to accelerate without driver engaging the gas paddle. Vehicle continued to unintentionally accelerate, and driver had to use the break paddle to control the speed. The unintended acceleration lasted for about 20 seconds. After breaking to a zero speed at a red light the unintended acceleration returned for about two minutes especially following breaking. Unintended/sudden acceleration started after 5 minutes of driving at 7:15am, outside temp of 36f, HVAC on, while driving a flat road. Total trip time: about 15 minutes. About six months prior to this unintended acceleration event, the same driver experienced the same situation with that same vehicle. The driver brought the vehicle to the dealership the same day and reported to subaru about the unintended acceleration. The service team at the dealership informed the vehicle owner that the problem could not be replicated and thus there is no problem with the vehicle. There should be a log entry in subaru database about this service visit.

Filed Feb 22, 2020 · Acceleration, Body · 12,000 miles · NY · crash

I was parking at a busy ski center, car in drive as I was slowly pulling into an open space, car in first row of vehicles facing a small road. The road connects the parking lot with the ski shop . 5 MPH would be normal speed on this road, where pedestrian skiers walk from the lot to the ski shop. Before I could stop to turn off the car, the engine started revving crazily, the car lurched forward and accelerated on its own. Brakes would not respond. I was able to steer onto the road, car accelerating faster and faster, no brakes, no control. There was a small car driving slowly some distance ahead, and I was gaining on it fast, a split second away from crushing it, so I deliberately swerved into a snowbank, hit some trees, and that finally stopped my car. I was unhurt. Extensive front end damage and passenger door damage front and back, and roof rack damage. Police came to the scene, car was towed by flatbed back to the dealer. Insurance paid for the repairs. Manufacturer will examine the vehicle thoroughly, will remove the "black box" to find what was the cause of unintended acceleration and loss of brakes. This examination may take 4-6 weeks. So fortunate that no one was injured or killed. I cannot estimate what speed the car reached on its own.