There are 5 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2005 Subaru Forester in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly. There was no warning light illuminated. An unknown dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 183,000.
2005 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE SHUDDERS IN FRONT WHEN EXECUTING SHARP TURNS EITHER LEFT, RIGHT, DRIVING FORWARD, REVERSE AND AT VERY LOW SPEEDS.. *SMD AN INSPECTION REVEALED THE ALL-WHEEL VALVE MECHANISM HOUSED INSIDE THE TRANSMISSION CASE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB
2005 SUBARU FORESTER AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION THE CAR LURCHES UPON STARTING OUT ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING. YOU PRESS ON THE ACCELERATOR--CAR DOES NOT MOVE, THEN SUDDENLY LURCHES AS THE TRANSMISSION SLAMS INTO GEAR, SO THERE IS LITTLE CONTROL ON THE PART OF THE DRIVER--YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN THE CAR WILL MOVE AND/OR HOW.. WHEN TAKE FOOT OFF ACCELERATOR CAR LURCHES FORWARD AGAIN--WITH NO DRIVER CONTROL. THE CAR SLAMS INTO GEAR WITHOUT WARNING. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING NOW REGULARLY FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS. BROUGHT THE CAR INTO THE DEALER ON JAN 14--THEY SAID THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM, "REPROGRAMMED" IT AND SAID ALL WAS FINE. IT WASN'T--BROUGHT THE CAR BACK YESTERDAY--THEY KEPT IT OVERNIGHT AND THEY SAID EVERYTHING IS OK--IT IS NOT. CAR IS STILL OUT OF CONTROL. I HAVE BEEN READING SIMILAR STORIES ON EDMUNDS. COM SUBARU FORUM FOR THIS YEAR AND EVEN OLDER MODEL SUBARU FORESTERS. SUBARU DENIES THERE IS AN ISSUE--I CALLED THEM THIS AFTERNOON AND WROTE TO THEM A FEW WEEKS BACK, TOO. THANKS. *TR
A FEW TIMES A YEAR, MY 2005 SUBARU FORESTER WITH STICK SHIFT WILL NOT START AFTER PARKING. HOWEVER, AFTER SHIFTING THE GEARS A FEW TIMES, IT WILL START. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THE SENSOR SENSED INCORRECTLY THAT THE CAR WAS IN GEAR OTHER THAN NEUTRAL AND HENCE IT WOULD NOT START DESPITE THE GEAR WAS IN PHYSICALLY IN NEUTRAL AND THE CLUTCH WAS FULLY DEPRESSED. AFTER SHIFTING THE GEARS A FEW TIMES, THE ELECTRONIC MIGHT HAVE CORRECTED ITSELF. I AM CONCERNED IF OTHER ELECTRONICS PROBLEMS MAY HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING, AS WHAT HAPPENED TO TOYOTA. TOO BAD THAT THERE MAY NOT ENOUGH DATA WITH STICK SHIFT. *TR
ON MARCH 20, 2006, THE SYMMETRICAL ALL WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM OF MY 2005 SUBARU FORRESTER XT FAILED, THE VEHICLE FISHTAILED AND DRIFTED, RESULTING IN A ROLLOVER, AND SEVERE BODILY INJURY. THE VEHICLE WAS SO FLIMSY, IT WAS DISGUSTING. EVERY DOOR AND WINDOW OPENING COLLAPSED, GLASS FLEW EVERYWHERE. THE CEILING COLLAPSED ON THE PASSENGERS' HEADS. THIS IS A DEATH CAR. *NM
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.