2019 Subaru Forester: jerking or lurching

Filed May 25, 2023 · Engine · CA

I was driving my 2019 Subaru Forester on 5/16 and it was operating normally that morning with no visible warning lights. I got back into the car later and it started fine. While getting onto a local highway, accelerating to highway speeds, multiple warning lights including the check engine light turned on. I was subsequently unable to accelerate and needed to coast to a stop on the closest off ramp, fortunately avoiding an accident. After turning the vehicle off and back on again the check engine light was still illuminated and the car would only make short lurching movements. I needed to have the car towed to a local Subaru dealership (Maita Subaru in Sacramento, CA) and they diagnosed it as a problem with the engine's thermo control valve. This was replaced under warranty and the vehicle is now working normally. The dealership told me this is a known issue with 2019 Foresters and that they've repaired other vehicles under similar circumstances. Multiple other owners have detailed similar experiences on an online forum as well. There does not appear to be a recall but this is a serious safety issue.

Filed Sep 30, 2021 · Brakes, Steering · 23,000 miles · OR

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal needed to be depressed to the floorboard to stop the vehicle. Additionally, the steering wheel would jerk out of the contact's hand while at a stoplight. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that it was normal. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact traded the vehicle in for another vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

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 Dec 28, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 9,000 miles · CO

Saturday, dec 26, around 2:30-3pm I was leaving estes park colorado, driving down a windy mountain road. At this time I was applying my brakes around the corners and , constant on/off from the brake pedal. During one of these braking moments on a corner my car accelerated instead, as I'm applying the brake, for 1-2 seconds. It's like a lurch forward instead of a brake. Then it corrected itself and did not do this again. I also experienced this phenomenon when driving in the snow in 2019. It occurred 3-4 times when I was driving in the snow applying the brake frequently. The car would unexpectedly lurch forward while my foot is on the brake. Each time I've experienced this I was driving with eco mode on, pressing the brake frequently for a duration of time. It's as if the car gets confused or is trying to switch gears. This is my first awd vehicle.

Filed Dec 6, 2020 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 16,000 miles · OH · crash

Driving down a side street I pulled into a parking space behind another vehicle I hit the brakes and instead lurched into the car in front of me. I pushed the vehicle in front of me about 8 feet and finally came to a stop. During this time I repeatedly pressed the brake pedal and had no response. After having the car repaired at the collision center they brought the vehicle to subaru. Subaru ran a diagnostic test and said that there was nothing wrong with the car. After I received the vehicle from the collision center the passenger side airbag detector would not go off for my wife who weighs under 100 pounds.'to clarify the sensor indicated that the air bag was off.' I sat in the passenger seat and the light went off. Total damage to my car was about $8200 and I'm not certain of the damages to the other vehicle.

Filed Sep 20, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · CA

When driving in the highway the vehicle starts to jerk very strong and highway speed is lost making it dangerous to drive and potentially causing an accident. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer and they will do nothing about it. It is a known issue for this vehicle model and subaru is not fixing the issue. The jerking is so violent that it could become a safety hazard for drivers and anyone else on the road. The jerking happens on a daily basis and sometimes it is more strong.

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.

Filed Sep 4, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 6,500 miles · CA

While driving around 30mph the car will sometimes hesitate and then lurch if the gas pedal is very lightly pressed. Sometimes it will do it at higher speeds as well, around 50mph but not typically at freeway speed. Happens on mountain roads and city streets. Most noticeable when keeping speed with a car ahead. When pressing harder on the gas pedal it is usually not noticeable. When driving in 'sport' mode or with manual paddle shifters set at 4th gear or lower it does not happen. This is a CVT sport model. Drove a loaner of the same year and trim, which showed similar behavior, although less common. Subaru claims it is normal behavior.

Filed Aug 14, 2019 · Acceleration · 60 miles · CA

The vehicle accelerates/lurches forward every time when coasting or slowly braking from around 30mph to a stop. There is a normal predictable reduction in speed until the car reaches 15 to 16 MPH, at which point it accelerates/lurches forward. It feels as if the transmission was suddenly shifting and creating more power. The severity of the acceleration while fluctuates wildly. In one instance while slowing approaching a stop light the car severely accelerated forcing me to have to slam on the brakes to compensate and prevent the vehicle from crashing into the car in front of us waiting at the stop light. The car came to a stop approximately 20 feet in front of where we would have stopped under normal conditions. The vehicle had less than 100 miles on it when the most severe of these instances occurred. On another note the car has trouble coasting. It decelerates abnormally fast when you take your foot off the gas.

Filed Jul 22, 2019 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 3,000 miles · MA

Vehicle quickly developed a "surge, sputtering, jerk" type action when coasting or maintaining speeds above 35mph. Also when braking, there is good and predictable speed reduction until about 10mph when the transmissions seems to unlock and the car lunges forward since there is suddenly not enough brake pressure because the transmission has shifted for some reason. Dealer has been able to replicate the issue but has no known fix. Brand new car 1 month old and it runs like a brand new car should, until you get to maintaining cruising speeds. Very disappointing to have this one issue with something that is otherwise a fantastic car.