2011 Subaru Legacy: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 8, 2023 · Suspension · IL

This 2011 Subaru Legacy would pull severely to the right when braking, nearly jerking the steering wheel out of the drivers hand. The car was taken to a private auto repair shop where it was found the motor cradle (part #50527AJ00B) was completed rusted out so the A-arm to the wheel was unstable. In trying to locate a new part, online and from local dealers, it was found the part was on backorder. We were number 142 in line to receive the part. There is obviously a severe and dangerous problem with this issue as a car would veer into the other lane or offroad when braking. Subaru corporate office was contacted and I was told I would have to take the vehicle to the Subaru dealer. This would require a tow so I decided to have the private auto repair shop fix it as it was also undriveable. This complaint is to bring attention to this as a safety issue. My grandchildren were transported in this vehicle and were at risk of serious injury or death because of this problem. I feel Subaru should notify other owners of this problem on this make and model to avoid risk of serious injury or death. I have a video of the car and tire that shows what was happening before I took it to the auto repair shop. I was unable to upload the video file but would like to get it sent for your review. I can be emailed at [email protected]. My phone number is (309) 696-8849. Daniel Brune

Filed Aug 23, 2022 · Transmission · OH

Sometimes as I'm coming to a stop, such as at a red light or a stop sign, just before I stop, the car lurches and then stalls. This is an automatic transmission car, but the best way I can think of to describe what is happening is it is acting as if it is a manual transmission, and when you come to a stop and don't press in the clutch. If this happens at an inopportune time, it could cause an accident. Possibly you're slowing down as you turn through an intersection and it lurches and stalls. You would then be stopped in the middle of the intersection. There are no warning lamps or messages before this happens.

Filed Sep 14, 2016 · Transmission · 250 miles · TX

Jerky CVT operation since day 1. In slow speed traffic (~20mph) the car had a bucking feeling when gently applying the accelerator pedal. This has been a constant throughout my ownership. Just before this catastrophic failure, the vehicle would suddenly jerk between 20-30mph and rpms would drop by 1,500 under normal acceleration as if an improper up-shift had occurred (though I did not cause this to happen, and the CVT has no "gears"). This would happen on any street, any time of day, any grade of incline/decline, turning or straight. Gillman subaru north's shop foreman had no idea what to say after experiencing the problem firsthand on a test drive. I worked at the dealer when I purchased the vehicle new, and was constantly dismissed by both the dealer, gillman subaru north, and by subaru of america, being told it was just a quirk and to enjoy my new car. Now, after a transmission fluid change that was strongly recommended by gillman subaru north, the transmission valve body has failed and the dealer wants $1772 to repair. Subaru of america was informed of everything, and refused to consider any other customers' experiences, as they evaluate on a case by case basis only. They refused to goodwill anything whatsoever.

Filed Sep 3, 2014 · Acceleration · 51,000 miles · MN · crash

I've owned my 2011 subaru legacy since may of 2011 with no incidents related to speed control. Late august 2014, I was pulling into my driveway of the home we've lived in for 13 years, and midway through the turn I heard a revving noise. My foot was off both the accelerator and brake and the car unexpected lurched forward at a high speed, crashing into our chain link fence and tree before bouncing back into the driveway. As the car started to accelerate, I depressed the brake to the floor, but nothing happened. I was alone in the car and the airbag(s) did not deploy. I was probably going 25mph when I hit the tree. The metal fence post was flattened and the tree had a significant chunk of bark removed. There were no skid marks or other on our driveway of concrete. I had an oil change at the dealer the tuesday before the incident (8 days prior). I'm not ruling out that something could have been mistakenly tweaked or tampered with during this visit. To test the speed control issue, I have contacted the dealer to see if any troubleshooting/ diagnostics test can be ran. Apparently it's highly unlikely the scenario that caused it (if not driver error, which I'm aware of as a possibility) can be recreated and/or solved. I believe I've ruled out driver error because if I had mistakenly pressed the accelerator and not the brake, I would have switched over to the brake in time to stop the impact from being so drastic at such a high speed.

Filed Jul 17, 2013 · Transmission · 32,410 miles · PA

When parked on a steep down slope, I attempted to back up in order that I could leave an outdoor concert where I had parked off road.. The transmission would not engage in reverse even after several attempts from park, neutral or reverse and kept drifting forward. I tried to engage reverse with the foot brake and emergency brake on and it still would not engage. The transmission stayed in drive and would only go forward no matter what I did. The car moved 1 foot forward when it was in park, emergency brake was on and the car was turned off. When it did that, it left the distance between my car and the lexus in front of me only around 6 inches. I had no other option but to wait for the driver of the other car to arrive and drive away before I could leave. It was late at night and I was parked in a field in a county park, in another incident, I was stopped at a red light on an uphill. When the light turned green, I attempted to go forward but the car drifted backwards and nearly crashed into the car behind me. I had my foot on the brake when the light was red, but took it off the brake to accelerate the gas. The car rolled backward and nearly hit the car behind me. The transmission finally engaged after revving the engine strong and bucked forward. This car has the CVT transmission and other symptoms of the transmission problem are lurching, bucking from a rolling stop and rough idling. The local subaru dealer inspected my car and said the transmission was operating normally and that the hill assist button would solve the problem. We do not believe the dealer's story based upon the hundreds of posts of subaru transmission problems and are pursuing a replacement transmission. This is definitely a safety issue as drifting backwards or forwards without any control of the car will just result in a crash sooner or later. I no longer feel safe driving this car!

Filed Aug 15, 2012 · Steering, Suspension · 18,200 miles · NJ

At highway speeds going around turns steering is very loose, car to wonder and not maintain track causing you to jerk the wheel to currect..