If you're planning to change your oil or swap out a flat, knowing the 2015 subaru forester jack points is the first thing you need to figure out before grabbing your tools. It's one of those things that seems simple until you're crouching on the pavement, squinting at the underside of your car, and wondering if that specific piece of metal is strong enough to hold two tons of Japanese engineering.
Believe me, I've been there. The last thing you want to do is shove a jack under a piece of plastic trim or, even worse, the oil pan. Doing that won't just ruin your day; it'll leave a massive hole in your wallet. The 2015 Forester is a great vehicle, but like any Subaru, it has specific spots designed to take the weight of a jack. Let's break down exactly where they are and how to use them without breaking anything.
Start With the Basics: Safety First
Before we even talk about where the jack goes, we have to talk about where the car stays. You'd be surprised how many people try to jack up a car on a slight incline or on soft dirt. Don't be that person. You need a flat, level, and solid surface. Concrete is best, but a paved driveway works too. If you're on grass or gravel, find another spot. The jack can easily shift or sink, and that's how accidents happen.
Once you're on flat ground, put the car in Park and pull that handbrake up as tight as it goes. If you're lifting the front, you should really put some wheel chocks behind the rear tires. If you don't have professional chocks, a couple of heavy bricks or chunks of wood will do in a pinch. It's all about making sure the car can't roll anywhere while one end of it is up in the air.
The Side Jack Points (Pinch Welds)
The most common 2015 subaru forester jack points are the pinch welds located along the side of the car, right between the wheels. These are specifically designed for the scissor jack that comes with your spare tire kit, but you can use a floor jack here too if you have a rubber pad or a slotted adapter.
If you look at the rocker panels (the plastic trim under the doors), you'll notice two small notches or indentations in the plastic near each wheel. If you feel behind those notches, you'll find a sturdy metal lip that sticks down. That's your pinch weld.
There are four of these in total: * Front: About six inches behind the front wheel well. * Rear: About six inches in front of the rear wheel well.
When you're using the factory scissor jack, the "mouth" of the jack fits right over that metal lip. If you're using a standard hydraulic floor jack, try not to lift directly on the thin edge of the metal with a flat metal cup, as it can bend the weld over time. A thick piece of rubber or a specialized hockey puck adapter makes this much safer for the car's bodywork.
Lifting the Front: The Center Jack Point
If you're doing something like an oil change and you want to get the whole front end up at once, using the side points one by one is a bit of a chore. Thankfully, Subaru gave us a front center jack point.
To find it, you'll need to look under the engine bay, just behind the plastic splash guard. There is a heavy steel crossmember (the frame part that holds the engine) that has a flat, reinforced plate. It's usually situated right in the middle, behind the oil pan.
Wait! A word of caution here: Do not, under any circumstances, put your jack on the oil pan. The oil pan is relatively soft metal and will crush instantly under the weight of the car. Make sure you're looking past the pan at the solid steel beam. It's usually a bit deeper in than you might expect, so you'll need a floor jack with a decent "reach" to get back there. Once you hit that crossmember, you can lift the entire front end and then place your jack stands under the side pinch welds for safety.
Lifting the Rear: The Differential
For the back of the car, the easiest way to get both wheels off the ground is to use the rear differential. If you look under the back bumper, you'll see the "diff"—it's that big metal pumpkin-shaped housing in the middle of the rear axle.
When jacking from the rear diff, make sure your jack is centered on the main body of the housing, not on the rear cover where the bolts are. If you put pressure on the cover, you might break the seal and start a gear oil leak, which is a mess you definitely don't want to deal with.
Lifting from the diff is standard practice for Subarus, but again, it's only for lifting. Never leave the car supported only by the jack at the differential while you're working. As soon as it's high enough, get those jack stands under the rear side pinch welds.
The Importance of Jack Stands
I can't stress this enough: a jack is a lifting device, not a support device. Hydraulic jacks can fail. Seals leak, valves bypass, and things happens. If you're just swapping a tire on the side of the road with the emergency scissor jack, you might get away with it (though you should still keep your limbs out from under the car), but if you're doing any real work, you need jack stands.
Once you've used the 2015 subaru forester jack points to get the car up, lower it slowly onto the stands. Give the car a little "nudge" or a shake once it's on the stands to make sure everything is rock solid. It feels a bit scary to shake a car that's in the air, but it's much better for it to fall while you're standing next to it than while you're underneath it.
Tools of the Trade
If you find yourself working on your Forester often, it's worth investing in a 3-ton floor jack. The little scissor jack that comes with the car is meant for emergencies only. It's slow, it's unstable, and it's honestly a workout to use. A hydraulic floor jack makes finding the 2015 subaru forester jack points and getting the car up a thirty-second job instead of a ten-minute struggle.
Also, consider the height of your Forester. Since it has more ground clearance than a standard sedan, some smaller "compact" jacks might not lift high enough to actually get the tires off the ground. Check the "max lift height" on any jack you buy to ensure it can handle the Forester's suspension travel.
A Few Final Tips for Success
One thing I've noticed with the 2015 model is that the under-body plastics can sometimes hide the frame rails. If you're ever unsure, take a flashlight and look for the shiny, reinforced metal. The jack points are always part of the structural frame, never part of the floorboards or the suspension arms (like the control arms).
Don't jack from the suspension! If you put a jack under a control arm, you could bend it or cause the spring to compress in a weird way, which could lead to the jack slipping out. Stick to the points mentioned above, and you'll be golden.
Maintenance is one of the most rewarding parts of owning a car, and the Forester is a pretty DIY-friendly machine. Just take your time, double-check your placement on those 2015 subaru forester jack points, and always prioritize your safety. Once you've done it a couple of times, you'll be able to find those spots by feel, and your Saturday morning oil changes will go a lot smoother. Happy wrenching!