Took me three trips to the dealership over many months for them to finally admit there was a cvt problem. The car would jerk/lurch while accelerating, and made a clunking noise. They agreed to repair outside of warranty which was appreciated after acknowledging this issue happened with other CVTs. They repaired (2 days without car) but apparently didn't put it back together correctly which created same plus other CVT issues and resulted in me needing to go back and leave car (3 days). They acknowledged they screwed up initial repair and fixed for free. This is the second of four significant issues (also major shaking at idle issue, AC failure, front end lower control arm issues) I have had with this car in under 60k miles. Very disappointed in what I thought would be a reliable car.

I purchased my Forester used. It was previously a rental vehicle and I figured something was really wrong when the lurching started. Being married to a mechanic, I know to get more info than "it lurches sometimes". So I started paying attention. Mine lurches (sometimes hard enough to think it's a stall) at 10mph then again at 20mph, most times.

Other times it lurches 3-4 times on the way to 20mph. Sometimes only once. Obviously this is a moving target and Subaru's line to me was "oh, that's how the transmission works - it's belts and pulleys". WHAT?

At first I thought it was worse when the vehicle was cold. Nope. Doesn't matter. Stop and go traffic is a nightmare because you definitely cannot get too close to the car in front of you, with unknown lurching. I always wonder what it looks like to the car behind me in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I'm pressing the accelerator but the car is just now doing a slow-down lurch, we are so out of sync it is ridiculous. There's rarely a smooth stop.... Or a smooth acceleration.

After doing months of research on what car to buy, I am definitely on the fence about this one. I keep my cars for 15 years on average, so this is a real problem - I do not want to go back to research again. It is hard to believe Subaru has no fix for this.

Just goes to show, having computers in charge of almost every aspect of your car is not a good thing.

After the first time I took my Forester in for this problem, I drove it for a while. My Forester has a bucking/Lurching/jerking when accelerating between 0 and 25 mph (usually 10-25). Sometimes it drives completely find, but other times this bucking/lurching has been very significant and severe. Sometimes it is more mild, sometimes it's dramatic, other times it doesn't happen at all.

On the days when it is acting up, it will typically start the worst the first time driven, then slowly get better as the drive/drives of that day go on. The Subaru dealership allowed me to have a technician ride alone, and he was able to notice a milder version of this issue during the ride. After checking the fluids, and calling tech support, they determined the oil had been over filled at the last oil change. I was told they would preform an oil change, as over filling can sometimes cause this issue. However, if it does not fix the issue, then it is considered to be the torque converter "operating as design", because they have no fix!

The technician admitted that he has had quite a few people complain of the same issue, but it was considered normal without a fix! This is my first Subaru and first new car purchase. Frankly, at this point in time, I have no desire to own another Subaru ever. Hopefully, the correct oil level will fix the issue...

The Bluetooth system sucks. You can only put 50 numbers in and they must be entered manually. The system does not recognize your voice when you try to make a call. The head unit only shows the number of the caller, but NOT the callers name; unbelievable.

The CVT transmission hesitates between 15 and 25 mph; it's like it doesn't know what it's doing. The shuddering is so annoying that I intend to sell this vehicle, at a loss, come the Spring of 2016...it's great in the snow so I'm gonna hold onto it in the event we have another tough Winter.

How Subaru could put such crappy Bluetooth head units and transmissions in an other wise great vehicle is beyond me. They must have taken lessons from corporate Amerika.

With only 1500 miles on the car, at low speed and start off the car jerks (some times real bad, some times slightly). Dealership said it was the torque converter locking up. I say crap, how many times can it lock up in one start off from a light? The problem feels like too lean a fuel mixture or an overactive EGR valve. But then I am not a tech and have no experience after 49 years of driving. Dealership said the cars computer just had to learn how my wife and I drive and it would fix the problem. You can figure that one out.

Bottom line is we really like the car except for the problem. We should have kept our paid for KIA Rondo.

Several days after I purchased my 2015 Forester I felt a bucking, and surging of the vehicle at low speeds or slowing down. I called my Subaru dealer, explained the problem and was told it more than likely was the CVT transmission and it was normal. When the problem did not improve I called the dealership again and talked to the sales person who sold me the car. He said it should not be doing that. Finally after nearly plowing into my garage, I brought it in to the dealership to have it checked out. A technician drove the car for a test run and could not duplicate the problem. I was told once again that it was the CVT transmission . I let them know that in my opinion, if it was in fact the transmission something was not right and this vehicle was not safe.

Prior to the purchase of this car I was never informed of how this CVT transmission would affect the operation of this vehicle. Had I been properly informed I would not have purchased my Forester.

This not my first Subaru. I purchased a 1999 Forester and had it for 15 years with no transmission or other significant problems. This was my reasoning for going back to a Forester. Subaru must own up and fix this problem before a serious accident occurs..