2015 Subaru Impreza Powertrain & Transmission Problems

My transmission completely locked up on me while driving at interstate speeds. I was traveling at 65 MPH with the car in regular driving mode, on cruise control and the transmission completely locked up on me. The front tires locked briefly, causing me to go into a small skid, which I was able to correct, and then the engine revved high and I had no power. This lockup and skid caused a rapid deceleration of the vehicle and had there been lots of traffic around me it would have caused a major accident on the interstate, possibly causing fatalities. My transmission completely locked up once I went through the nearest intersection to get to a side road. This left me stranded in the middle of a major highway intersection with no ability to physically push my vehicle out of the way. The vehicle behind me just about rear-ended me. This has been a major issue with these transmissions and a major safety issue. These transmissions should be put on a recall since this is a major safety issue. The extended warranty that Subaru has put out only waits for a problem to occur, this does not save lives but only puts them in danger. They should be FORCED to do a recall. No warning lights illuminated on the dash prior to the transmission locking up. The vehicle has been inspected by a certified mechanic and has diagnosed that it is an issue with the transmission itself and no other component on the vehicle. This issue of the CVT transmission is well documented.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, AN ABNORMAL GRINDING SOUND WAS PRESENT COMING FROM THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT WHEEL WELL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER FAULKNER SUBARU BETHLEHEM LOCATED AT 330 STOKE PARK RD, BETHLEHEM, PA 18017, TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE WHEEL BEARING WAS AND TRANSMISSION WERE DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE WHEEL BEARING WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 129,000.

Smoke and oil burning smell entering cabin through vents. I have two young children. I’m concerned of toxic fumes. Coming from oil leaking onto exhaust manifold and at only 52,000 miles on odometer!

WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL ON THE INTERSTATE, THE ACCELERATOR SUDDENLY WAS UNRESPONSIVE, ALMOST AS IF THE CAR WERE IN NEUTRAL. ONCE PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE CAR IT DROVE NORMALLY. TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE AND THE DEALER COULD NOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM

THE KEY GETS STUCK IN THE IGNITION BECAUSE THE SHIFT GUIDE PLATE ASSEMBLY IS FAULTY. IT DOESN'T NOT RECOGNIZE THE CAR IS IN PARK AND OTHER RANGES DO TO THE PLATE BEING BAD. WHEN SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE THE CAR DOESN'T ALWAYS SWITCH INTO GEAR BECAUSE THE PLATE DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE CHANGED GEARS AND LEAVES YOU GOING IN REVERSE WHEN YOU HAVE THE GEAR SELECTOR IN THE DRIVE POSITION AND VICE VERSA. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW BUT HAS BECOME MORE FREQUENT.

KEY WILL NOT COME OUT OF THE IGNITION WHEN I GO TO TURN THE CAR OFF. THIS IS A REGULAR OCCURRENCE, REQUIRING ME TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON, SHIFT TO DRIVE AND THEN BACK TO PARK BEFORE TRYING TO TURN THE CAR OFF AGAIN. THIS HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START WHILE DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL AND PUSHING THE START BUTTON. THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO START. ALSO, WHILE DRIVING, THE CHECK ENGINE AND OTHER UNKNOWN WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BILL KOLB JR. SUBARU (LOCATED AT 252 NY-303, ORANGEBURG, NY 10962, (845) 359-7777) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE BATTERY, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER AND WAS NOT REPAIRED. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, IT ROLLED BACKWARDS INDEPENDENTLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 71,000.

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 60 MILES AN HOUR, IN THE SECOND FROM THE LEFT LANE ON A BUSY, FOUR-LANE FREEWAY ASCENDING A SLIGHT HILL, MY CAR SHUDDERED VIOLENTLY AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. WE WERE ALMOST REAR-ENDED SEVERAL TIMES; CARS WERE SWERVING AROUND US; IT WAS TERRIFYING AND QUITE DANGEROUS. WE WAITED CLOSE TO 10 MINUTES FOR THE CHP TO STOP TRAFFIC. SUBARU HAS IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM AS THE CVT TRANSMISSION AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF REPLACING IT UNDER THE WARRANTY. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND I THINK A RECALL IS MORE APPROPRIATE THAN AN EXTENDED WARRANTY.

WHEN I STOP MY CAR AND PUT IT INTO PARK, I CANNOT TURN THE KEY ALL THE WAY TO THE LOCK POSITION, AND THEREFORE CANNOT REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. THE CAR IS NOT BELIEVING THAT IT IS ACTUALLY IN PARK. I HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR, DRIVE A LITTLE BIT, AND TRY AGAIN. THIS IS HAPPENING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY AND IS BOTH A SAFETY AND SECURITY ISSUE IF THE KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED. I DO NOT KNOW THE FIRST DATE IT HAPPENED.

A CVT DEFECT IS CAUSING ERRATIC, UNCONTROLLABLE, AND VIOLENT CHANGES IN ENGINE RPM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: RAPID VIOLENT OSCILLATIONS IN RPM, NON-SHIFTING, SUSTAINED HOLDING OF RPM NEAR ENGINE RED-LINE, ABRUPT DECREASES OF RPM AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF POWER DESPITE THE ACCELERATOR IS STILL BEING APPLIED. THESE DEFECTS HAVE OCCURRED UNDER AN ARRAY OF DRIVING CONDITIONS, SPEEDS, THROTTLE POSITIONS, ROAD GRADIENTS, AMBIENT TEMPERATURES, ALTITUDES, AND ENGINE TEMPERATURES. SUBARU WAS PROVIDED WITH VIDEOS OF THE DASHBOARD GAUGES TAKEN DURING MALFUNCTIONS, AND THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THEM TO HAVE THE ISSUES ASSESSED AT LEAST 3 TIMES. SUBARU COMPLETED TCM "RE-FLASHING", ECM UPDATES, AND SOFTWARE UPDATES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS WITH NO EFFECT. CVT MALFUNCTIONS HAVE GRADUALLY INCREASED IN SEVERITY AND FREQUENCY OVER THE PAST 20,000 MILES. THE REPEATED, SUDDEN, AND VIOLENT MALFUNCTIONS OF THE CVT HAVE PUT THE OCCUPANTS AT RISK OF COLLISION ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS AND IN ONE INSTANCE AN ABRUPT DOWNSHIFT CAUSED A MINOR NECK INJURY TO A DISABLED PASSENGER.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU IMPREZA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AUTOBARN SUBARU OF COUNTRYSIDE IN COUNTRYSIDE, ILLINOIS. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION'S WIRING HARNESS MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE FULLY DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,520. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, AN UNKNOWN WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED INDICATING THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT IN SIXTH GEAR. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CLUTCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, AFTER TWO WEEKS THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE THE DIAGNOSED THE CLUTCH AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,600.