2012 SUBARU FORESTER Complaints

I purchased my Subaru Forester new in 2012. After a few thousand miles it was brought to my attention by the service tech that there was a "small" oil leak coming from the engine. They said it was not significant. No one mentioned that SB 02-131-12R had been issued addressing these leaks because they were so prominent with the engine in my Forester. At a little over 60,000 miles all of a sudden the dealer was "concerned" about fixing it now that I would have to foot the bill. The repair was made but failed shortly thereafter. The engine started showing PO170, PO171 codes. I took the vehicle to Subaru of Loveland and was told that the camshaft carrier that was supposed to be repaired at Subaru of Pueblo was leaking oil on the O2 sensor causing the lean condition. I was told that if it was not repaired that the catalytic converter would overheat and valve damage to the engine would occur. Loveland said that the repair would cost $3,300.00 and that I probably would need a new short block shortly because of the damages caused by the leak. This is an emission problem as the engine will not meet standards. The engine in the Subaru Forester was a new design in 2011 and has suffered excessive oil consumption and camshaft carrier leaks until 2018 when the engine was replace with a new design. A search of the https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2012-cam-carrier-oil-leak.261490/ (Subaru Forum) will show many, many Subaru owner complaints on this issue. The overheating of the catalytic converter is a definite fire hazard.

My car suffered a catastrophic oil event without an indicator light or any other warning requiring a new engine. The car has 119k miles (purchased from a Subaru dealer with 114k less than a year ago). We had no leaks in our garage or driveway from the car. My daughter was driving the car to school, and the smoke filled the car. The car was not driveable and was towed to an auto repair shop.

My car suffered a catastrophic oil event without an indicator light or any other warning that is nesitating a new engine. The car had less than 70,000 miles on it. I had informed some ticking noise from the engine in previous maintenance events. I was driving on the interstate, and my engine seized and locked-up, and I had to slowly pullover on an interstate highway.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at a low rate of speed through a parking garage, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle initially crashed into a parked vehicle which caused a chain reaction with two other parked vehicles. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The police arrived at the scene and a police report was filed. The contact sought medical attention for a laceration to the head and a stiff neck. The vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard 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 83,000.

1st noticed a couple of years ago sounded like valve tapping engine noise. Took to auto shop and they stated car had virtually no oil in it. Never mentioned oil consumption issue. In March of 2020, took car into Subaru dealer for inspection and oil change. Yesterday, while driving home, noticed same noise as before. Auto shop found article about excessive oil consumption. Article stated owners were notified and advised of actions that could be taken. Mechanic stated it was a known issue, but no official recall had ever been issued. I never received any notification. Subaru offered to extend warranty period, but I may now be outside of that. Have appt at dealer tomorrow for other service work (including oil change). Car has 75k miles and is 2012. Was down over 3 quarts of oil at around 7,000 miles. No oil warning indicator ever illuminated. Was told by dealer when I called last night that they would perform "Oil Consumption Test" recommended by manufacture, "if your engine VIN meets the requirements". If the engine runs dry, good potential to seize on the spot and cause accident and injury.

KEEPS SMELLING LIKE GAS, AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, CRUISE LIGHT BLINKS, AND TRACKTION CONTROL LIGHTIS BLINKING. SAYS CODE PROBLEM WITH THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER.

2012 SUBARU DASH LIGHT ALL COME ON AND THEN THE CAR STARTS TO STALL OUT. DEALER CAN NOT FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. THE HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY. THEY RESET THE COMPUTER AND IT RUNS FOR A COUPLE HOURS OR DAY AND THEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN. THIS WILL HAPPEN IN THE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND IS VERY DANGEROUS.

SUBARU HAS BEEN AWARE OF AN OIL CONSUMPTION DEFECT WITH THE PISTON RINGS IN THIS MODEL CAR AND NEVER NOTIFIED OWNERS THAT IT WAS PRESENT. THE RESULT CAN BE OIL PRESSURE LOSS, RAPID OVERHEATING, AND MOTOR SEIZING. THE MOTOR HAS BEEN REPLACED FOR SOME CUSTOMERS FOR THE OIL CONSUMPTION DAMAGES, BUT NOT FOR MANY OTHERS. THE PARTS WERE DEFECTIVE AT MANUFACTURE AND A RECALL SHOULD BE INSTITUTED.

MY FRONT WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED A SPONTANEOUS CRACK. IN APRIL 2020, THE CAR WAS PARKED OUTSIDE OVERNIGHT, AND IN THE MORNING, THERE WAS A 20-INCH LONG HORIZONTAL CRACK ON THE BOTTOM PORTION OF THE WINDSHIELD. THERE WAS NO IMPACT MARK TO INDICATE A ROCK HIT THE WINDSHIELD.

AT 102K MILES, ENGINE DEVELOPED LOUD TAPPING SOUND. VEHICLE HAS ALWAYS USED A QUART OF OIL APPROXIMATELY EVERY 1000 MILES SINCE NEW. THIS PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE OIL RELATED DUE TO ENGINE DESIGN/PART DEFECT. PROBLEM APPEARED AFTER 4 HOUR DRIVE AT HIGHWAY SPEED (70-75MPH). MECHANIC CHECKING FOR VALVE OR ROCKER DAMAGE.