2015 Subaru Forester
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 614 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 26 Forester model years with reports.
Of the 2015 reports, 53 involved a crash and 7 involved a fire. 34 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationOct 3, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may loosen.
If the connection loosens, the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the ODS sensor mat harness, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUM-98.
Campaign 19V701000 on NHTSA.gov
Exterior lighting, brake lights, switchFeb 28, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.
Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, increasing the risk of crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.
Campaign 19V149000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, gasoline, turbo/superchargerMar 21, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, and Forester 2.0XT vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 20, 2015. The turbocharger air intake duct may crack and possibly result in an engine stall.
An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the turbocharger air intake duct, and replace it as necessary, free of charge, depending on the lot number found on the duct. The recall began April 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTA-62.
Campaign 16V162000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: vehicle speed control
70 reports, newest first. Show all
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Feb 3, 2026
On 3 different occasions the car randomly accelerated at a high speed without stepping on the gas pedal. The first time was in a parking lot. The second time was on a busy road while traveling at 35 mph. The car accelerated to about 60 mph, fortunately once applying the brakes the vehicle slowed down to gain control. The third time it happened was recently on [XXX] while slowly backing down [XXX]. The car accelerated backwards at a very high speed narrowly missing a fence in the neighbors yard. These incidents have happened with large time frame gaps in between the occurrences. After the third incident I took the car to a dealer Planet Subaru in Hanover MA. After keeping the car for a few days, the dealer called and said that they could not find anything wrong with the car and there was nothing that they could do for me. This issue is obviously very serious, if the car surges forward randomly while someone is crossing in a crosswalk it could be potentially fatal. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Steering, Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 24, 2025, crash
The Vehicle Dynamics Control safety system malfunctioned and forced me to drive straight on a curved banked overpass into the concrete barrier
Vehicle speed control, Oct 3, 2023, crash
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 1 MPH into a parking space, the contact attempted to shift the transmission into park (P) while depressing the brake pedal when the vehicle inadvertently lunged forward and crashed into a building. No warning light was illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The impact caused soreness in her chest and stomach. The contact received medical attention on the scene from Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the tow yard. The vehicle was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Vehicle speed control, Aug 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 65–70 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Air bags, Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Apr 3, 2023, crash
I was parking the car it suddenly accelerated jumped the curb and was heading towards the building entrance dore. I could not stop it. To avoid entering the building I turned the vehicle tight and it collided against the wall. The air bags inflated.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Mar 8, 2023
We were driving at 75 mph in the left lane when our car suddenly dropped in speed to 40 mph as though the transmission had dropped into neutral. There were no warning lights or any indication about what was happening. We were in heavy traffic, with trucks and car hitting their brakes. This could have caused a very serious accident. We managed to move our car to the right shoulder. The car's transmission re-engaged and we picked up our speed. This happened 3 times in the space of a few hundred miles while we were on a road trip. I called Subaru. They had no idea what it was. We went to the nearest Subaru dealer and they ran a diagnostic test, even including a 12 mile test drive with the computer hooked up. Nothing showed up. They told us to continue our trip. Then it happened 2 more times! The last time, again, in the left lane, on cruise. The engine rpm clocked up at 7500 rpm before I was able to get the car off the road. The engine died and we had to be towed to a shop. Again, no warning dash lights. This is a serious flaw and very dangerous.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, Feb 13, 2023, crash
I was backing out of a parking spot, and there was a telephone poll behind me in my path. I needed to pull forward to navigate around this poll. After backing up some, I put the car into drive to pull slightly forward, and the car lurched aggressively, so much so that I got out to see if it'd caught on something. It did not -- there was absolutely nothing there. So I got back in and tried to continue forward, and the accelerator went full force. I floored the brake pedal, but the car behaved as though I was flooring the accelerator. The car drove itself over a cement block, through a staircase and into the brick wall of an abandoned building, continuing to accelerate for a few seconds while against the wall. Air bags did not deploy. I walked away without physical injury, thank goodness. There were no warning lights, symptoms of or dashboard indicators of a problem before or during the issue. Upon investigation online, we see that there is a pending class action for this exact issue. The vehicle has been inspected by our insurance carrier and been deemed a total loss. Insurance has asked that we turn the title over to them in order to receive our payout, and I believe they plan to destroy the car.
Vehicle speed control, Jan 23, 2023, crash
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while at a carwash moving forward, the vehicle accelerated up to approximately 35 MPH and crashed into the rear of a Ford Explorer. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver sustained injuries to his chest due to striking the steering wheel. Medical attention was provided. The contact was able to drive away from the crash site. A police report was filed. There was no air bag deployment. The vehicle was taken to a Collision Center. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Vehicle speed control, Nov 2, 2022, crash
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated upon pulling into a parking space, the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and crashed into the side of the apartment building of her friend. The contact stated that the crash damaged the apartment of her friend located on the first floor. There was no warning light illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Sep 25, 2022
Suddenly lost acceleration and engine stopped - without any dashboard signal of low gas or engine issue. Car was able to start after couple of minutes. At the time of losing acceleration and stopping gas indicator was showing two bars - and car was not running with low fuel indicator. My whole family was in the car and stopping in the middle lane of a busy national highway of 65 miles speed limit on a Saturday late in night was very scary!
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 4, 2022
I was driving with cruise control going around 70 when the car started slowing down suddenly. Not wanting to slow down even more, I turned off the cruise control by hand using the cancel button on the steering wheel (rather than tap the brake) but when I then hit the accelerator, the engine felt like it was in neutral, revving past 6000 rpm on the tachometer. At that point, I realized I had no control over the drive train so I pulled off the road onto the center median of the highway, just as the engine died - fortunately, there wasn’t anyone following close behind. We had been driving for about 1.5 hours with the AC blasting and the gas tank at that point was low, with less than 1/8 remaining. All this happened without any dashboard warning lights turning on. This was the very last leg of a ten-day, 2,000 mile road trip. I tried restarting the engine but only got clicking. Since I thought we’d be struck a while and it was so hot, I turned the key to the accessory position and was able to roll down the windows. We sat there for a couple of minutes wondering what to do. It took another minute to find my AAA card. Before calling for roadside assistance, I tried starting the engine again and this time it turned over. We did not have any further problems in the remaining 100 miles of our trip (though I was very anxious about it happening again). I took the car in to a Subaru service center this morning (36 hours later). They did a multi-point inspection and road test but did not find any issues and were not able to replicate the problem.
Vehicle speed control, Aug 4, 2022
I have had several instances while driving on the highway when my forester revs to a very high RPM, the vehicle speeds up suddenly, and then shuts off completely. The only fix is to put the vehicle in neutral, move to the shoulder, and restart the vehicle. This has happened approximately 4 times during my 1 year of ownership and it is completely random when it occurs.
Vehicle speed control, May 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to immediately depress the brake pedal to abruptly stop the vehicle. After the failure, the vehicle operated as normal. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 15, 2022
Sudden accelerations.
Vehicle speed control, Nov 4, 2021
The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, pulling into a parking space, and while attempting to park the vehicle on the street, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact had to depress the brake pedal several times before the brakes were engaged. The failure occurred on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not replicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and was later sold to St. Cloud Subaru (141 Park Ave S, St. Cloud, MN 56301). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately under 60,000.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Aug 7, 2021
This 2015 Subaru accelerates without warning and without gas pedal input. The issue arose about a month ago (July 2021) and has persisted ever since. The vehicle will rev while in park and once put into drive will jolt aggressively and without warning. Additionally, the vehicle will enter low-power mode at random and decelerate to 15-20mph. This has caused multiple hazards when driving on highways/interstates where pulling over is difficult or impossible.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, May 26, 2021, crash
The 2015 Subaru Forester accelerated unexpectedly while slowly turning into a a Walgreens parking lot. The acceleration could not be stopped by stepping on the brake, and the car crashed into the brick building. The vehicle is at Phil's Auto Body Shop in Rosemount, MN. The estimate on the car is complete, and waiting on State Farm insurance to approve. The police were at the scene of the accident. Walgreens has video of the accident from their security cameras.
Vehicle speed control, May 10, 2021, crash
AUTO ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY AFTER LEAVING CAR WASH BAY. AUTO SPED THROUGH PARKING LOT INTO STREET AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER AUTO TRAVELING ON A ROAD.
Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 14, 2021
SUDDENLY IT STARTED TO ACCURATE AND THE OTHER WAS ALL IN BORD CONTROL SYSTEM DEFAULT ARE LIGHTING UP
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Engine, Feb 23, 2021
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, CAUSING THE SPEED TO INCREASE TO APPROXIMATELY 62 MPH AFTER LEAVING FROM A STOP LIGHT. ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING, THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE DRIVER DOWNSHIFTED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE WHICH CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT YET DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER AUSTIN SUBARU LOCATED AT 8100 BURNET RD, AUSTIN, TX 78757 AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 134,000.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Feb 13, 2021
I HAVE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION DURING MY OWNERSHIP OF MY 2015 SUBARU FORESTER XT WHILE I WAS STOPPED ON A CITY STREET. THERE IS ALSO A "LUNGING" FEELING WHENEVER YOU PRESS THE ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE AFTER PROCEEDING FROM A COMPLETE STOP.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Dec 10, 2020
ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, MY CAR HAS SHUTDOWN ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS AROUND 75-80 MPH. THEY ALL HAPPENED DURING ROAD TRIPS WHILE MY CAR WAS BETWEEN 1/8 AND 1/4 TANK. THE CAR HAS A NOTICEABLE DROP IN POWER, WHICH FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION DISENGAGES AND APPLYING MORE GAS DOESN'T HELP. THIS IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS!!!! LUCKILY I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE ON ALL 3 LOCATIONS SO I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE CAR WILL NOT START, UNTIL MORE GAS IS PUT IN THE CAR. IT'S NOT OUT OF FUEL THOUGH BECAUSE I TRACKED HOW MUCH GAS IS IN THE CAR AND HOW MUCH I FILLED UP AFTER TOWING. THIS ONLY HAPPENS AFTER DRIVING FOR MULTIPLE HOURS. I CAN RUN THE CAR TO EMPTY IF I'M JUST DRIVING AROUND TOWN. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED FOR THIS ISSUE. I CAN SEE THERE HAVE BEEN TONS OF COMPLAINTS AROUND THIS ISSUE.
Vehicle speed control, Electronic stability control (ESC), Nov 1, 2020
EYESIGHT SYSTEM FAILS REGULARLY OR DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. THIS IMPACTS ALL PROXIMITY WARNINGS, AUTOMATIC SPEED CONTROL AND WHEEL SLIP CONTROL.
Vehicle speed control, Sep 18, 2020
CAR IN MOTION. HAPPENS ON A STOP, PARKING THE VEHICLE IN PROGRESS, DRIVING SLOW. WHEN PUSHING GAS PEDAL SLOWLY FROM START POINT; VEHACLE SPEED UP SO MUCH THAT I HAVE TO PRESS BRAKES PEDAL TO HOLD THE SPEED DOWN. HAPPENS ONCE EVERY OTHER TIME.
Power train, Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 30, 2020
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65MPH THE CAR LOST ALL POWER. THE RPMS WENT UP LIKE IT WAS IN NEUTRAL (CAR WAS STILL IN DRIVE). FUEL TANK WAS DOWN TO A LITTLE LESS THAN 1/4TH OF A TANK BUT STILL HAD 100 MILES UNTIL EMPTY. ADAPTIVE CRUISE WAS ENGAGED AT THE TIME (AUTOMATED CRUISE APPLIED ACCELERATOR THAT ROSE THE RPMS TO 4500). THIS WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A 4 HOUR ROAD TRIP ON A FLAT STRAIGHT ROAD. CAR EXHIBITED NO WARNING OR LIGHTS UNTIL COMPLETE POWER WAS LOST. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. ALL LIGHTS CAME ON IN THE DASH AFTER I WAS STOPPED. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND I WAS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY START IT AGAIN. SHORTLY AFTER I FILLED UP THE TANK AND THE CAR DROVE FINE FOR THE NEXT HOUR UNTIL I WAS HOME. THIS WAS A SCARY INCIDENT THAT COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. I NOTICED THAT THIS CAR HAS ABOUT A DOZEN OTHER REPORTS THAT ARE MUCH LIKE THIS IN THE PAST YEAR.