1.3
hardly worth mentioning- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 130,117 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Car would not accelerate upon entering the highway after pushing on the gas pedal the car wouldn't do anything. I was able to get off to the side and missed being hit from behind from on coming traffic...I notice check engine light and flashing cruse control light... second time some weeks later it did the same thing this is very dangerous because you never know when this will happen.
- Genoa, WV, USA
While driving, the check engine light comes on and there is no power to the gas pedal. The car is unable to accelerate or maintain speed and the driver needs to avoid potential collisions by pulling over on the road or freeway.
- Renton, WA, USA
While driving at any speeds, lose acceleration and need to coast and pull over. Just before shutting off engine, rpms jump to 3-4,000 when in park. Need to turn off engine for at least 30 seconds before being able to turn car back on with check engine light on and cruise light flashing, but have acceleration again. After driving for around 100 miles, check engine and cruise light turn off, but randomly incident can happen again. Had a diagnostic check, confirming throttle position sensor when check engine light was on.
- Beacon, NY, USA
Two occurrences so far on Wednesday March 23 and Tuesday April 5. vehicle suddenly displays check engine light and the cruise control light flashes and vehicle drops into "limp mode." Problem is apparently due to wear on the potentiometers in the drive-by-wire system. This wear causes different readings which makes the motor think something is wrong with the pedal and cuts the vehicle speed to roughly 5 mph. First occurrence driving along at posted speed of 45 mph. Second instance trying to leave from a stoplight, got into the intersection and the vehicle speed dropped, was barely able to get vehicle out of intersection. (cel code P 2138 - throttle position sensor)
- Wilmington, NC, USA
While driving engine light and cruise lights come on and vehicle will not accelerate. I almost got rearended because of it. It set a code #P2138. It is very dangerous and there should be a recall on it.
- Walton, WV, USA
I experienced two issues with the electronic throttle position sensor in my 2006 Subaru Legacy. The first time I was traveling at approx. 35 mph and the RPM's began increasing rapidly. I was in traffic and unable to pull off to the side safely when the engine completely stalled. I sat there thinking that the motor was going to blow up if I attempted to start it again. I called my mechanic and he thought that it could be the throttle position sensor, as he has replaced many of them on Subaru. I was able to start the car and move off to the side of the road to make sure that it was not going to do it again. The car was then taken to the mechanic where he cleaned the sensor and said if I have a problem again then I should replace it. Fast forward 4 months later and I experienced the same problem on a busy street where the car lost power and completely shut down after rpms skyrocketed and I was left with no control. Upon start up, the check engine light came on, obviously triggering a code that says the car is a death trap with a really poorly designed throttle. I plan to have the part replaced immediately, but this could be a serious safety issue for someone not in a position to move to the side of the road, as it just happens randomly with no warning signs.
- Clarkston, WA, USA
My 2006 Subaru outback ll bean has been cutting out on me while driving. One incident was on the highway at high speed. The gas pedal went limp and I had to navigate over 2 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder. Gas pedal was completely unresponsive. Check engine light came on and the cruise control light began flashing. Every time this has happened it was either raining or snowing outside. Took the outback into the dealer and was told they weren't sure what the cause was because they have never seen it before. They suggested replacing the gas pedal assembly, but they were not certain. The same situation happened once when I turned on the cruise control.
- Washington, DC, USA
While crossing a four-lane road, the accelerator pedal went limp and caused the engine to become unresponsive. The car would not accelerate and barely made it across the lanes of traffic to the median safely. The check engine light illuminated and when placed into park, the engine revved to approximately 2500rpm without my foot being on the pedal. I turned the engine off, and restarted it only to have it rev again on its own to 2500rpm. It took 5-6 attempts to restart it before the engine idled appropriately and the accelerator became responsive again. The check engine light remained on and obd code P2318 was returned when I plugged in a scanner to the port. This is not the first time this event has occurred; it has been random and sporadic for about 8 months now, sometimes occurring as often as 3-4 times per week to going 2 months in between episodes. Speed does not seem to be a factor, it's happened at both freeway and parking lot speeds, in all kinds of weather and at various temperatures, with the cruise control on and with the cruise control off.
- Laurel, MD, USA
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
While traveling at approximately 55mph, my Legacy's throttle became unresponsive, the check engine light came on, and the cruise light began to flash. I was able to safely coast off the road and a subsequent code check revealed a code 2138 (throttle position sensor). In the ensuing months I replaced the tps, which didn't help, then reseated the connection on the throttle itself, which worked for about six months. The problem has recently recurred and seems to be a common problem.
- Norton, VA, 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
- Chicago, IL, USA