During the 2 years since I purchased my 2011 Outback 2.5I (cvt), there have been about 15 occasions where I was going downhill, using engine braking, with my foot off the accelerator, cruise control not engaged, but gas was fed to the engine, resulting in speeds of 45 to 50 mph (4500 RPM) in 2nd gear. One indicator that gas is being fed to the engine is the fuel economy gauge shows poor gas mileage. This definitely does not feel like engine braking when the engine is screaming as you are speeding downhill. Usually when I drive the same stretch of road using engine braking my speed is 30 to 35 mph in 2nd gear and the fuel economy gauge shows no fuel is being consumed. Subaru refuses to comment on this problem since I cannot reproduce it for them. I asked the service manager about the similar but less severe, repeatable behavior, of cycling between accelerating to over 2000 RPM and decelerating to about 1200 RPM. He said this is done to meet emission standards.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

I was driving at 65 mph with the cruise control on and all of sudden the cruise disengaged, check engine light, brake, and traction control lights lit up on the instrument panel. The car's loss of speed could have caused an accident as the loss of speed was fairly dramatic. Disconnected the battery to see if that would help, it did, but only for a day. It happened again today 12/17/2012.

- Frazee, MN, USA

2011 Subaru Outback. Consumer states unintended acceleration the consumer stated the sudden acceleration problems started shortly after he purchased the vehicle. On two occasions, he came close to having an accident. The consumer believed there was an issue with the pedal arrangement. He stated he realized he was crossing his right leg over his left leg to apply pressure to the brake pedal. The brake power assist amplified the applied force very well, but at times the brake pedal seemed to get too close to the floor board. He found the brake pedal was high when the engine was off and sank to a lower level when the engine was started. The level could get close to the operating plane of the accelerator pedal. On one occasion, he flipped off the cover on the brake pedal and was braking on a bare steel plate. He discovered he was using more natural ergonomic motion and got too close to the right edge of the brake pedal. The distance between the edges of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal was about three inches. The width of the sol of his size 12 shoe was about 4 1/2 inches. The consumer believed the problem was an engineering design problem that involved the vacuum braking system, the accelerator linkage design and ergonomic.

- Prospect Heights, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. While the contact was driving approximately 5 mph in a parking lot, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle continued to accelerate over a parking barrier. The vehicle then crashed into a fence and traveled into several bushes coming to a complete stop. There was no personal injury. The vehicle was towed to a collision center for repairs. The vehicle sustained moderate damages. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact noticed that with the cruise control and the paddle shifters for the steering wheel malfunctioned and the vehicle would not decelerate. The dealer advised the contact not to use the paddle shifters while using the cruise control. The manufacturer was not notified nor was the vehicle inspected or repaired. The current mileage was 30,000. The approximate failure mileage was 27,000.

- Shelburne Falls, MA, USA