G'day & Welcome @colorado hooker First thing to check is if the Check Engine Light is actually working - does it illuminate when the ignition is turned on?

 

Yes, all check engine lights and qarning lights illumimate when attempting to start

 

oh...boy.. that does not sound good at all.
well, you check spark, fuel, all you need to do is check for compression.
Did you check for metal shavings in the oil? or milky coolant? Could be a blown head gasket.
If I where to guess, spun rod maybe a bad valve as collateral damage. But that's just a guess.

Let us know after you do a compression check. You can buy the tool or rent it at most auto parts stores.

 

oh...boy.. that does not sound good at all.
well, you check spark, fuel, all you need to do is check for compression.
Did you check for metal shavings in the oil? or milky coolant? Could be a blown head gasket.
If I where to guess, spun rod maybe a bad valve as collateral damage. But that's just a guess.

Let us know after you do a compression check. You can buy the tool or rent it at most auto parts stores.

i did check the oi, and there is no apparent metal in it, the coolant is normal. I did not check the compression with a gauge as there is was no loss of any type of fluid, and when turning the engine over by hand you can feel the crank going thru the stages, ( i know you can't always feel all the cylinders, but if any cylinders had compression then you would still have some attempt to start)

 

verified timing

To confirm, was this the cam timing that you verified?

Has the cam belt, water pump etc. been maintained as per maintenance schedule?

Is the vehicle AT or manual?
2.0L turbo? Or N.A?

Do any of the cylinders fire at all when cranked?

After attempting to start, can you smell fuel coming through to the exhaust? And are all the plugs wet?

Can she describe how she was driving at the time? Uphill, downhill, flat, cruise, accelerating, which gear, what speed etc

Can she describe how the car reacted other than the sound? Did the power just switch off like a light? Did it jerk back and forth whilst it was popping, did it kick hard or violently?

Was the popping very loud? Did it come from the front or the rear of the car? Was it an occasional or intermittent pop? Or was it consistent or rhythmic sound? Was the popping rapid, or slow? Did the popping start from the instant the power died, and continue the whole time till the car stopped? And was the volume and/or speed of the popping sound, consistent with the deceleration of the car and/or engine?

 

To confirm, was this the cam timing that you verified?

Has the cam belt, water pump etc. been maintained as per maintenance schedule?

Is the vehicle AT or manual?
2.0L turbo? Or N.A?

Do any of the cylinders fire at all when cranked?

After attempting to start, can you smell fuel coming through to the exhaust? And are all the plugs wet?

Can she describe how she was driving at the time? Uphill, downhill, flat, cruise, accelerating, which gear, what speed etc

Can she describe how the car reacted other than the sound? Did the power just switch off like a light? Did it jerk back and forth whilst it was popping, did it kick hard or violently?

Was the popping very loud? Did it come from the front or the rear of the car? Was it an occasional or intermittent pop? Or was it consistent or rhythmic sound? Was the popping rapid, or slow? Did the popping start from the instant the power died, and continue the whole time till the car stopped? And was the volume and/or speed of the popping sound, consistent with the deceleration of the car and/or engine?

Yes, I confirmed that the cam timing was correct in relation to the crank, timing belt and associated items were replaced less than 50k ago

vehicle is manual, not turbo

no cylinders fire or sound like attempt to fire

flat ground, accelerated to 70 mph, highway

power stayed on untill she pulled over and turned off the car, then wouldn't re-start, no jerking or any other unusual vibrations felt.

pop wasn't super loud and appeared to come from front of car, only one pop heard,

 

Have you checked all Earth straps?

Does this model use a cable actuated throttle and choke? Maybe check proper connection and routing; and adjustment.

 

I haven't checked all the grounds yet.
I pulled the injectors and rails today, after cranking the car there was no fuel evident on the engine side of the injectors, I removed the injectors from the rail housing and the rail was full of fuel. As the engine will not attempt to start i can only assume that there is an electrical issue with the injector harness as it is occurring on all 4 cylinders.

 

Power for fuel injectors come off Main Relay, and earth through ECU, if you want to test those harnesses and connections.

 

Is the Fuel Gauge working???

And can you hear a fuel pump going at all?

Do you have a scan tool?

 

Gauge is working, and you can hear the fuel pump when key is turned on, also with key on fuel is pumped to the engine and fuel rails

 

Fuel pump and Injector power circuit, via MB-2 and SBF-5

 

flat ground, accelerated to 70 mph, highway

power stayed on untill she pulled over and turned off the car, then wouldn't re-start, no jerking or any other unusual vibrations felt.

pop wasn't super loud and appeared to come from front of car, only one pop heard,
****
This same exact thing happened to me yesterday on I95 going 77mph. I ended up having my 2015 Forester towed. Funny thing is, it restarted after being unloaded from toe truck at a Toyota dealership. I was able to drive it another hour to a Subaru dealership. No lights came on and problem free the entire drive. Subaru immediately drained the transmission fluid, saw metal, and told me I needed a new transmission. They gave me a loaner and sent me on my way.

The tech at Toyota thought the transmission overheated. I contacted my dealership in Florida and they said it could be the fuel pump or transmission. I am starting to think both areas of car may be faulty but, given the work you have done, maybe it is the transmission.

Yesterday, I drove from north Florida to just 10 miles shy of VA state line. The entire drive was problem free up until the pop I heard. Mine sounded like it came from rear passenger side. My RPMs immediately went up while dropping speed fast. It would not accelerate. I too pulled over and after getting my bearings (15-30 seconds) realized my radio was on, car running smoothly, and all lights were on. I turned it off and no restart.

This is my third Subaru and I have had more problems with this Forester than the two previous models combined. I kept my first two Subarus for ten years each. Next May is six years with this Forester. However, it is under warranty. Subaru extended the drive train warranty to 10 years/100,000 miles.

As I write this, I have forgotten the year of your car. My transmission is a CVT. I think Subaru moved to the CVT around 2010 or 2012. The first generation CVT transmissions reportedly had a lot of problems. You might want to check to see if your car is covered under warranty or if it has the CVT transmission. Subaru did not issue a recall - their answer was to extend warranty and fix as people complained. Apparently, personal safety has fallen in their list of priorities. I filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today.

I hope this helps. I won't know anymore about my vehicle until mid-next week the earliest.