I was driving my well maintained vehicle in the left lane of the highway during rush hour at 65mph when the car suddenly decelerated. Nothing happened when I pressed the gas pedal. The engine continued to run. The check engine light came on. Traffic was very heavy and aggressive. Somehow I managed to get across the lanes and off the road. I turned the car off and waited at least 5 minutes. I turned it back on and the check engine light was still on. I drove it to the dealership (over 20 minutes) without incident. When the car was serviced the check engine light was out, but there was a record of P2138 which is a throttle position sensor error. The technical couldn't find any failure or connection issues. No repairs or replacements were made. After reading numerous accounts of the same dangerous problem, I believe my car is unsafe.

- Rochester, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the vehicle abnormally accelerated while the brakes were engaged at a complete stop. The contact was able to restart the vehicle with the illumination of the check engine warning light. The vehicle was taken into a local dealer where the technician diagnosed that the throttle position sensor had failed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 129,000 and the current mileage was 129,000.

- Akron, OH, USA

Tapped brake pedal to disable cruise control. No throttle control when resuming manual speed control. Coasted to a stop through multiple lanes of freeway traffic. Engine kept running possibly at raise idle speed when stopped. No loss of power steering or brakes.turned key off. Restarted after maybe less than a minute. Throttle control resumed. Check engine light was on. Drove to multiple locations to get codes read. After 2 or 3 restarts check engine light went out. Found a shop to read codes. Code P2138 in memory. Have removed throttle pedal assembly and tested position sensor resistance values. Some readings may appear to be slightly out of range indicated in service manual. Intend to recheck readings and possibly replace pedal assembly. May also check harness resistance and/or consult dealer. Mileage reported is approximate.

- Flagstaff, AZ, USA

Driving at 35mph I pressed the gas pedal to accelerate to go up a hill and nothing happened. Steering became very tight. Had to coast to the side of the road. Shut car off and waited then turned back on. Has happened 1 other time since first incident, with no warning or indication. Researched online to find this is a common problem with my vehicle's throttle/pedal position switch. Had I been on a more busy street or on a highway when this occurred, numerous vehicles may have been effected.

- Johnstown, PA, USA

I was driving in the left lane of the highway during rush hour when the accelerator stopped responding. I would push the gas pedal and nothing would happen. The engine seemed to be running nominally (idling, since the accelerator wasn't working). No unusual sounds, no jerking, nothing. Then the check engine light came on. I managed to get across the lanes of traffic coasting and rolled slowly into a gas station. I turned the car off and turned it back on and everything worked fine again. I finished driving to work without incident. I went after work and had the check engine code read. It was a stored code (no longer actively faulted) of P2138 which is a throttle position sensor error. I've been reading online and this appears to be very common and an ongoing problem for lots of people. It is incredibly dangerous to not be able to control your car randomly in the middle of the road. Hopefully you can help make Subaru fix this safety issue.

- Denver, CO, USA

After driving for about 30 minutes, the acceleration pedal suddenly became completely unresponsive. I attempted to accelerate by depressing the pedal twice but, to no avail. At this point, I was coasting but, the car was idling at exactly 2K rpms. Luckily, the road I was on wasn't too busy and I was to safely pull off the road, into the grass. After which, killed the engine. I waited about five minutes, started the car, tested my accelerator, and it worked again. So, I waited five more minutes, tested again, and drove home. No other incidents thus far. I'm going to test the throttle position sensor's (and accelerator pedal sensor's) seating, clean the connectors and, if necessary, replace one or both of the sensors.

- Cabot, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the cruise control and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle would not accelerate and engaged into limp mode. The contact shut the engine off and after restarting the vehicle, the contact was able to drive without failure however, the warning lights continued to illuminate. The failure recurred three times intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,300. Updated 1/30/13 the consumer stated the vehicle didn't immediately go into limp mode, but it did after a period of 2-10 minutes after the hazard lights illuminated. Updated 01/31/13

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

Vehicle failed to sustain highway speed although pedal was pressed steadily and then variably to regain throttle control. Vehicle stalled on freeway, very dangerous situation. Mechanic test show error code P2138. Replaced accelerator pedal position sensor switch assembly to resolve issue. No prior evidence of failure to provide warning prior to throttle system failure. Cost to repair: $282 P&L, $296.26 with tax.

- Moorpark, CA, USA

I continuously receive error P2138 on my 2006 Subaru Legacy. This error is associated with throttle/pedal position sensor/switch. This appears to be a common error related to the sensor on the gas pedal or the throttle body for this make and model and other Subaru models around the same time frame. This issue causes the vehicle to loose power/ability of the gas pedal of the vehicle at unknown times. This has happened while driving on the highway at 60+mph, I am lucky no accidents have occurred so far. If I am unable to pull off to the shoulder, I have to stop the car in the middle of the highway or road and turn the car off and try and restart. See links attached as this appears to be a common issue for the past 5 years for other Subaru users. www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/24906-code-P2138-throttle-position-sensor.html forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php"T=1209810 legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/P2138-and-warrantyi-61407.html?P=2370840 legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/P2138-throttle-pedal-position-sensor-switch-150344.html"T=150344.

- Denton , TX, USA