Used 2017 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews
Used Forester for sale
Very disappointed in Forester - CVT, PZEV, other
P. Laffin, 09/21/2018
updated 07/09/2025
2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
11 of 14 people found this review helpful
Subaru has a great reputation for safety and its all-wheel drive. So far, so good, but it lacks in so many other areas and the CVT transmission and the PZEV add-on are horrible. Subaru just issued an extended warranty on the CVT transmission when they should have issued a recall. This vehicle jumps into gear from a stop, and some have reported it stalling while stopped on hills. Even on level surfaces in parking lots our Forester sometimes rolls backwards. This is an accident waiting to happen. A couple of times, the eyesight feature failed to notice a car in the blind spot. Other problems include a back seat that is like sitting on a board, a tiny useless console that is impossible to reach if the seat is pushed forward for a shorter driver, 2 ridiculous drink holders that don't adjust much for different sizes (water or pop bottles rattle around in them but large travel mugs won't fit at all), and a navigation system that is frustrating to use and takes a zillion steps to program. I'm about ready to go look at a different make of vehicle. On the plus side, it has great visibility and is easy to enter and get out of. Have now had this vehicle for almost 6 years. Haven't had any major issues. The lift gate is slow to open and it turns out there's a service bulletin on that. The struts will be replaced. Also, the key gets stuck in the ignition many times. That, too, has a service bulletin and will be fixed. Manufacturers should just fix this stuff without waiting to hear a complaint about it. The transmission is still awful and acceleration is non-existent. Still, it's been a reliable vehicle, and I think new ones are not as good.
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Subaru Forester - Solid AWD vehicle, right price.
michael oleksiuk, 08/29/2016
2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
7 of 9 people found this review helpful
Great driver 360 visibility, but it is improved when removing rear headrests when not in use.
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2017 Subaru Forester for sale near you
Showing 3 of 44 listings
- 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $8,99520 mi away
- 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUVMSRP: $16,990In-stock online
- 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $13,995In-stock online
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Get one!
Ronald Nelson, 10/13/2016
updated 04/17/2017
2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Do your due diligence. You can save much. Shop very carefully.. Not a review, just a practical observation. By the way, the Forester is just great! Totally useful, fun and well designed. Does3 everything well.
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Quality Has Gone Downhill
Brad S., 05/25/2017
updated 06/01/2022
2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
23 of 34 people found this review helpful
My 2017 Forester XT Touring model has been one disappointment after another. The CVT transmission is just horrible, and completely detracts from owning the turbo model. When I try to accelerate quickly there is a 2 second delay before the car takes off. The manual shift mode doesn't help at all. The RPMs jump up to about 4000 and just stay there (whether I'm in the manual shift mode or not) until I ease up on the accelerator. The Harman Kardon sound system is terrible, too. The bass response is overbearing. I have to turn the bass all the way down, and it's still way too overbearing. The Harman Kardon system doesn't have speed controlled volume leveling, or several other features that are found on Subaru's basic sound system. The paint job on my Forester is terrible. The paint is so thin that it is chipped very easily. While washing the car, I have found several tiny little chips in the hood, the roof, and the doors. It seems that every time I wash the car I find new chips in the paint. I took it to the dealer to report the problem with the paint and the dealer told me to report the problem to Subaru of America (SOA). I reported the problem to SOA and they told me to take the vehicle to a dealer. The dealer says there's nothing they can do about the paint, so SOA says there's nothing they can do either. The climate control system doesn't work very well. When I'm heating up the interior, in the winter, and the desired temperature is reached, the AC comes on. The remote start is pretty worthless because the car shuts off when I open the door, so I have to re-start the vehicle (brilliant engineering). I have music stored on a USB drive, but every time I switch to the USB to listen to music it takes several minutes for the music to load. There are many other disappointments with this vehicle. Let me just say that I had a 2005 Forester XT Limited that blew this away, not only in the overall quality, but performance-wise, too. Subaru has gone way downhill. I'll never own another one after this.
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Great SUV, good control
s rastogi, 08/12/2016
2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
As the title says; I am impressed. this is my first Subaru. Forester did not disappoint at all. the leg room, head room, storage and perfect height to make our daughter seat on her seat. Windows are big, some time feels too big in sunny day, but rest of time gives a good view. our model has panoramic moon roof, my kids are fan to it, they just love to keep it open, for me not so much. dashboard and panel is great, only one complaint; "Starlink" every company make there own operating system, they should have learned by now that its not easy, better use "Android Auto", it works.
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