10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 95,311 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.
About 4 weeks ago, on late Saturday morning, driving down the interstate, from richmond, va my car caught on fire in hampton. The car jolted a little and would not accelerate. Pulled to the side of the road, smoke became visible, but the temperature gauge was not running high. A witness ran toward the car yelling to get out of the car because it was on fire. Even though 2 fire trucks were on the scene, it took a little while to extinguish the fire and everything under the hood was burnt to a crisp. Unfortunately, it was not recoverable. Are you aware of what may have possibly caused this to happen?
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA
My vehicle only has 40,000 miles on it. It is not shifting properly from 2ns-3rd gear while driving, it jerks pretty hard if cold, I have had numerous brake problems, takes a long time to stop at slow speeds, & I'm having numerous issues with suspension. Balljoints keep clicking while reversing, (control arms, balljoints, bushings, bearings, have all been replaced, etc.) this car has been babied and has almost no miles. It is becoming a money-pitt and nobody wants to fix it.
- Cheektowaga, NY, USA
Lost all acceleration while driving on interstate in downtown nashville, tn. Check engine light came on at the same time. Car was on and in drive, but gas pedal was unresponsive. Was able to idle to shoulder. When gear was shifted to neutral or park, car would rev up to 2K RPM. While waiting for tow truck, car resumed normal function and check engine light went off. This has happend twice so far, but auto shop unable to diagnose since check engine light does not stay on.
- Nashville, TN, USA
The cruise and check engine lights flash. Car looses power and stalls while driving.
- West Hempstead, NY, USA
I have had two incidents with loss of speed control within the past week on a Subaru I just bought. The first I was accelerating from a stoplight when I lost response from the gas pedal and the engine went to a low RPM which allowed me to just barely roll into a nearby parking lot. When throttle control was lost the check engine light came on. After turning the car off and letting it sit a moment I tried to turn it on again, but it wouldn't start. I tried a second time and it started, but the check engine light remained on. The next time I started the car the check engine light had gone off. The second time was nearly identical but driving up a steep hill on a highway around 65 mph. Again throttle control was lost and engine went to low RPM so I could barely progress up the hill at 20-30mph to find a place to pull off, check engine light went on immediately. Before I turned the car off the engine was idling rough, about 2000 RPM. Again it took two tries to start but then I was able to continue with the check engine light still on. After driving it two or three times the next day the check engine light had gone off. In either situation I could have easily been in an accident if I had not been able to pull off quickly, especially in a high speed area as the vehicle could only maintain a low speed due to the low engine RPM (2K-3K). There is no warning before it occurs. I believe there is a fault in the throttle by wire system.
- Farmington, NM, USA
On street, from park with engine idling, car in drive, accelerator pedal dead at first, then high RPM 3000+ with pedal released. No control of engine RPM. Cel and cc illuminated on instrument panel. Put transmission in neutral. Killed ignition switch. Engine shut down. Restarted engine and RPM was normal. Very frightening! found dtc P2138 acc pedal sensor failure. Called Subaru support, no such record of failure. Called dealer from which car was purchased, answer was bring car in and will try to repair. This is a serious failure and danger. Please see this failure on google. Many people are reporting the same issue. I am apprehensive to put this car on the road especially with other people in it. An investigation should be pursued in these drive by wire vehicles as this car is. Please take this seriously.. thank you
- Plainview, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated, the cruise control flashed and the vehicle stalled. The contact pulled over to the parking lot. The contact restarted the vehicle after few minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was not available.
- Morganton, NC, USA
Ringland issue once again another ringland issue this is with my 2006 Subaru Outback xt. Yes, this car is out of warranty but has been driven gently by a grandmother and serviced with the precision of a formula race car. Why has Subaru not just come out and said yes our vehicles from 2005-2006 were garbage and the ringlands were junk. I can't believe I am even thinking about replacing a stock ringland on a vechicle...no other car....none has had as many issues with ringlands as Subaru. Car is now experiencing misfires, and some loss of oil as loss of power...compression in cylinders is now down to 30% so this is not a catastrophic failure...this is a defect a manufactures defect or a metallurgical defect and they really need to take care of this and make it right for older customers...we are all just sitting on ticking bombs. Love ya guys and stay classy
- Oak Ridge, TN, USA
Unexpectedly, while driving, the check engine light will come on, the car will idle high, the accelerator pedal will not respond, and the cruise control light will also come on. The car won't move even while pressing down on the accelerator pedal. I have to pull off the road, turn the car off, and wait until the car starts, the idle returns to normal, and the accelerator pedal responds. This has happened once last year and twice this year; the last time being 2/17/17. I was lucky. The first time it happened I was on a country road. The second time was more difficult as I was on a busy city street in winter, and the last time I had a green light and had just gone through an intersection in a suburb and was able to pull off the road. I did bring it to my mechanic who ran the code, which was P2138, the throttle position sensor. I will be getting this repaired. I am very concerned about the severity of this safety issue where the car just stops responding while driving.
- Wynantskill, NY, USA
Just received "takata recall" letter stating there are now sufficient parts available. At the same time my check engine light came on and cruise light started flashing. I made an appointment for the recall work and to have the car checked out. I googled this and found that a code P2138 is found with this occurrence and it seems to be happening with many of these vehicles. My wife called me on her way home from work and said the car would not accelerate. She pulled off of the highway into a parking lot. I drove to her location. She started the car and gas pedal seemed to be operating as it should. I followed her home and was thankful there were no problems getting back. I will determine whether to drive vehicle or have it towed to dealer for scheduled appt. Next wed.kind of makes sense now because when I drove the car the day before to get gas, there was hesitation when accelerating, which I found unusual, as the car runs great with plenty of power.
- Severna Park, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While driving various speeds, the check engine indicator illuminated and the cruise control warning indicator began to flash. As a result, the contact mentioned that the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the accelerator pedal failed and needed to be replaced. In addition, the accelerator position sensor and the epm were also replaced. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.
- Brandy, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While driving 70 mph, the engine warning indicator illuminated. Shortly after, the engine slowly idled and eventually stalled. The contact stated that the failure was unpredictable. The contact was afraid to drive the vehicle. Once the vehicle stalled, it took over thirty minutes to restart properly. The dealer was notified. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired; however, the contact managed to get a computer code from a local auto parts store while the engine warning indicator was illuminated. The failure code was (P2138). The failure mileage was 110,000.
- Chapel Hill, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled and the cruise control and check engine lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000. The VIN was not available.
- Irrigon, OR, USA
Throttle failure. While driving throttle completely fails. No acceleration, car will only move at automatic idle speed. Cruise control light flashes, check engine light on. Extremely dangerous -- very lucky it didn't happen in an intersection or while passing another car. Turns out to be common for this model -- my car has 127,000 miles on it.
- Honolulu, HI, USA
While driving at speed - city street 45mph -- lost ability to throttle. No throttle, engine, or acceleration response when pressing gas pedal. Check engine and cruise lights blinking. After pulling over, turned off engine. Upon restarting after a minute, throttle capability returned. This has happened twice, unexpectedly.
- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While driving at 70 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle lost power, the cruise control deactivated, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 182,000.
- Baxter, TN, USA
I recently had P2138.. one time. No throttle response, stopped on a hill on a 2 lane road, on a curve, in big sur.. not good. Rolled backwards down hill after the ones behind had all passed me. Turned off car, waited for 10 minutes, then it fixed itself after a restart. Jiggled the pedal connector and it has been gone for the last 2 weeks while waiting for my mechanic to have room in his schedule to replace my throttle pedal (which has a pedal position sensor), two days from now.
- Santa Cruz, CA, USA
When driving on the highway at 75mph the engine light and cruise control light came on and the accelerator became unresponsive. After pulling over and restarting the car it worked fine. This has happened 7 times so far and after reading many posts on Outback forums it seems that this is a very common and dangerous problem that needs to be figured out by Subaru.
- Ventura, CA, USA
Was driving at approx 55 mph when all of a sudden check engine light came on, cruise light was flashing, and sport light was flashing, car slowed down to 10 mph and could not go any faster. It was revved up to redline and there was no response with the gas pedal. I was only 2 miles from my destination, so I limped it there and shut it off. I had it scanned with a code scanner and code "P2138" (throttle position sensor) came up. After much research I found it usually is related to gas pedal assy. It has not yet happened since clearing the code and making sure the plug on the pedal was tight.
- Dayton, ME, USA
- Rockwell, IA, USA