In temperatures lower than 45 degrees F, if not 'warmed up' the car will make a loud thunk noise and lurch forward upon being put into drive. If the brake is not firmly engage, the car will jump forward. The Subaru dealer claims this is caused by the car's status as a performance vehicle, and engine warm up needs to occur to lower the rpms.

- Fallston, MD, USA

I stopped at a stoplight. When the light changed, I pressed the accelerator and moved forward. I released the accelerator to slow up because of traffic conditions. When I pressed the accelerator again to move forward, the engine did not rev up. It was as if the car stalled. After several pushes on the accelerator ( 8 seconds worth) the engine revved up and the car once again moved forward just as if nothing was wrong. All this time I was blocking the intersection. This has happened multiple times now. Dealer indicates no problem found.

- East Longmeadow, MA, USA

After stopping at a stop sign, I attempted to drive off, but the car did not accelerate on application of the throttle pedal. The engine remained at idle, and the car rolled slowly into the intersection. Nothing I did corrected the problem until I placed the transmission in park, turned off the engine, then re-started the car. The car then performed normally until I reached the next stop sign, where the problem repeated. In all, the problem occurred seven (7) times on this day, apparently at random. That is, at some stops the car performed normally, and at other stops, the car failed to accelerate when the throttle pedal was depressed. The service department at my Subaru dealer was unable to replicate the problem and therefore performed no repairs. Two weeks later, the problem occurred again, three (3) times in two days. This is an extremely dangerous problem, because it can leave the car in a busy intersection without the ability to move until the driver turns off the car and then re-starts it. This problem has been noted by other Subaru Outback owners in online forums, and at least one other vehicle safety complaint has been filed regarding this problem.

- Napoleon, OH, USA