We purchased our 2017 Subaru Forester around Labor Day, 2016. It has ~17k miles on it. It’s been a reasonably solid car, but in our second year of ownership, it’s shown some signs of being a lemon. Earlier this year, the air conditioning broke. During the first hot days of summer, it was just blowing warm air. Our local mechanic told us this is a common problem with some cars and that we should run our AC once a week during the winter to ensure it remains functional when summer arrives (?) Never had to do that with any of my other cars. Anyway, the dealer fixed it and the AC’s been fine ever since.
The second major problem we’ve experienced with the car has been more serious: the car will randomly not start. We’ve been stranded 3 times due to this problem. Here’s a rundown...
Thursday, 8/23/2018
Went to the grocery store for 30 minutes. Then drove to my kid’s school for pickup. Went inside for 5 minutes, came out, and the car would not start. All the lights on the dash lit up normally, but there was no sound or click as I turned the key. Tried again for several minutes before calling AAA. Waited an hour before giving up on AAA. Took a cab home.
Friday, 8/24/2018
Took a cab back to my kid’s school. I had a tow truck meet me there. Before the tow, I thought I’d give it one more try. Turned the key and the car strained, but did start. This is important because I noticed that about a week prior, it had done the same thing: extra “chugging” during a start, but then it was fine.
I drove the car immediately to the dealer, Cityside Subaru in Belmont, MA. They told me that they didn’t have any appointments until mid-September (?) I told them I didn’t want to drive it if it was going to stop on me randomly. They told me they don’t provide loaners until they can put the car up on a lift. (So basically, there is no motivation to get a car up on a lift for a quick checkup.) With no good options, I told them I’d leave the car with them and maybe they could squeeze it in over the next 24 hours.
Saturday, 8/25/2018
They were able to squeeze my car in and told me everything was fine. They could not find anything wrong with it but ran a software update just to be safe. I cabbed it to the dealer, picked up the car, drove towards home and stopped into a gas station. (The fuel had been near empty — about 40 miles remaining — when the problem surfaced.) After filling up, I got back in the car and tried to start the car. It wouldn’t start. I tried several times with no luck. I went inside to talk to the cashier and he offered to push the car over to the side of the gas station. We walked back to the car and I told him to wait one moment while I tried again. It wouldn’t start, so I tried random things like pushing the gas pedal, shaking the steering wheel…. I tried one more time and it chugged hard, then started. I immediately drove it back to my house (the dealer was closed by then).
At home, I called the dealer and left a voicemail with the owner stressing that there was something seriously wrong with this car if it was returned to me in this condition. He told me to bring the car back the next day and he’d personally see to it that it would be fixed properly. I was finally offered a loaner.
Sunday, 8/26/2018
The service department at the dealer is closed on Sunday, but the showroom is open. I thought I’d have to get it towed there, but as I walked outside my house, I had a thought: maybe this problem was related to the remote starter in our car. We had had it installed by a very reputable shop, Krank It Up in Medford, MA(recommended by our salesperson), shortly after purchasing our car. We only use our remote starter during winter, so it hadn’t been used for many months. I stood outside the car and hit the remote starter. The car chugged hard, but started. This was good news since I now didn’t need to call a tow truck. I drove the car immediately to the dealer and swapped it for the loaner waiting for me.
Friday, 9/14/2018
We did not hear back from the dealer for several weeks. I left a message reminding them about our car and got a call back stating that they were finally able to reproduce the starting problem after many tries. They were fairly sure it was due to the remote starter. I was surprised by that, but assumed they’d eliminated all other possible causes. The service rep asked if it’d be alright to disengage the remote starter. She said that if I picked up the car and drove it around for a few weeks with no problems, they would agree to install a new remote starter in the car. I agreed and drove back to the dealer. I was surprised when I got in my car because the remote starter was laying on the passenger’s side floor in a big pile of wires. I did not expect that when they said they were just going to “disengage” it. Anyway, didn’t want to argue, I just wanted my car back. I reviewed the plan with the service rep: drive the car around for a few weeks. If no problems, return the remote starter system back to Krank It Up, then bring it back to Cityside for a new remote starter.
Friday, 9/28/2018
The car had driven fine for a few weeks, so I was ready to take it to Krank It Up. The owner, John, was very understanding. He was a bit annoyed that Cityside had yanked the entire system out of the car, preventing him from diagnosing it, instead of just unplugging it. He was also annoyed (and suspicious) when he looked at the jumble of wires and saw that they had been cut roughly. He brought my car into his garage for a closer look. He didn’t like what he saw in how the remote starter system was removed: burnt insulation, bare wires, bad soldering jobs. He took photos as he was reviewing Cityside’s work:
He did not want to leave my car in bad shape. He said that the least he wanted to do was fix a few of the bad solders before returning the car back to me. He even gave me some of the wires he replaced to show me examples of Cityside’s soldering work:
The car drove fine on Friday, on Saturday, then…
Sunday, 9/30/2018
I drove to Home Depot and was in the store for 30 minutes. I left the store and got back in the car and the starting issue happened again! Of course the remote starter had been removed weeks ago. Yet again, this was short drive, a short stop, then a restart. This time around, the car had more fuel, about 1/3 of a tank. The weather was sunny and in the high 60s. (I’m sharing all of these details because … who knows what’s wrong with this possessed car.) This time, I was at least smart enough to take a video:
I tried to start the car several times. I was on hold with Subaru Roadside Assistance when I tried to start it again, about 20 minutes after this latest ordeal had begun, and … it started. There was no “hard chugging”. It just started normally.
I immediately drove it to the dealer. I now have my second loaner from them. The salesperson I left it with was suspicious about what Krank It Up did to my car since they were the last ones to touch it (…to fix Cityside’s soldering work). I suspect a lot of finger-pointing will ensue. But I just want a working car back, one that won’t strand our family randomly. We have 1 year left on our 3 year warranty and I am dreading driving this car.
To be continued…
Monday, 10/1/2018
I called Subaru Corporate to update them on the situation. Whoever I spoke with promised they’d stay on top of this case and give me an update by Friday, 10/5.
Tuesday, 10/2/2018
I heard back from Cityside that they had a lead on the problem and that they would be getting Subaru Corporate support involved to ensure that this is resolved properly. I also received an email from Grant N. at Subaru Corporate stating that he would be reaching out to the dealer for more information in order to stay on top of this.
Thursday, 10/4/2018
I received an email from Grant N. at Subaru Corporate stating again that they were still waiting on documentation from the dealer. Curiously, he asked me to let him know if I hear back about the current repair status. Who is in charge of the situation here?
Thursday, 10/11/2018
I sent another email to Subaru Corporate stating that I still hadn’t heard any update from Cityside. Grant N. responded that my case would be taken over by senior rep Sam B. and that she would reach out to me on Monday, 10/15.
Monday, 10/15/2018
Sam Brown emailed me just to confirm that she would be taking over my case and promised to give me an update by Thursday, 10/18.
Tuesday, 10/16/2018
I received a voicemail from Cityside stating that they are still trying to figure out what’s going on with the car, and that they are still in contact with Subaru Corporate support. This doesn’t sound reassuring at all.
Thursday, 10/18/2018
Thursday rolls around and no call from Sam B. from Subaru Corporate. Coincidentally, I do get a call from Cityside stating that they’ve fixed my car (they replaced the “shifter assembly”?) but that they’d keep the car over the weekend to make sure it’s completely fixed. It would be ready the afternoon of Monday, 10/22. I emailed Sam B. at Corporate telling her that my car is supposedly fixed, but asked why I never received any update directly from her.
Friday, 10/19/2018
Sam B. responded that she was out of the office on Thursday. She promised to contact the dealer to make sure all my concerns are addressed before I pick up the car.
Monday, 10/22/2018
I received a call from Cityside that my car is ready and has been road-tested. I told them that I wanted them to test it again. I did not hear back from Sam B. today.
Wednesday, 10/24/2018
Finally heard back from Sam B. at Subaru Corporate. She gave the green light to pick up the car and said we could reconnect in a few weeks to ensure that the car is working perfectly. Good enough for me at this point. I’m exhausted.
Thursday, 10/25/2018
Picked up the car at Cityside. Everything seems to be working properly. They traced the problem to the shifter. Said that it was malfunctioning and telling the car that it was in gear, preventing the car from starting. I’m kinda blown away that this needed to be fixed in a trial-and-error fashion. Shouldn’t the car’s computer be able to say, “Hey, my shifter’s not working.” Yeah, and we’re supposed to trust self-driving cars…
They did install a factory remote starter. The range seems to be as good as my old one, but it has this strange quirk: After the car has been remote-started, when you walk up to the car and open the door, it shuts off. You then have to restart the car. Supposedly its a “safety feature”, but it seems awfully wasteful. My old remote starter (logically) allowed you to get in the car to put your key in the ignition. It would only shut down if you pushed the brake pedal to shift gears. Anyway…
The two-week trial period begins now… fingers crossed…
Conclusion
Car’s been running fine for a few weeks now, so I think we’re in the clear. Guess replacing the shifter fixed it. There are three takeaways from our experience:
- The guys at Krank It Up in Medford, MA know what they’re doing. If you need an auto-starter, go see them.
- Cityside Subaru in Belmont, MA has major issues with scheduling appointments and properly diagnosing issues. But they did provide me with a loaner car for a couple months and fix their mistake with a new auto-starter. We’re good.
- Subaru Corporate will promise that they’ll stay on top of an issue, but there were a few misses following through with that. In the end, they did compensate me with a few car payments and a warranty extension, so I’m thankful for that.
Hopefully that’s the last of my Subaru woes. I traded in a 17-year-old Toyota for this car, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t regret that!
