This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The accelerator pedal position sensor is faulty. It is prone to wear in these vehicles based on my research. This caused my car to go into limp-mode on the highway, rapidly cutting my speed in half. The accelerator provides no response until vehicle was restarted. The ECU put out the code P2138 for loss of voltage in throttle system.
OBD Code P2138 (Throttle/ Pedal Position Sensor/ Switch D / E voltage correlation). This code pops up intermittently resulting in the car going into "limp mode". Truly dangerous, if this occurs when traveling at speed in traffic or when pulling away from a stop light. It is hard to pin down; but, it generally happens with high humidity or When you start the car after a cool night when there has been a lot of condensation that has formed on the car. A check of Subaru forums shows that this is a prevalent and / or recurring problem with many Subaru models. (I have also found mention of similar problems with other manufactures.) Dealers and mechanics have confirmed this problem with other Subaru makes. There is no advance warning of this malfunction until after it occurs. Once it occurs the car goes into "limp mode", the check engine light flashes and the cruise control light flashes.
2006 Subaru Outback head gaskets went bad at about 35,000 miles.had to replace those called Subaru and they help me get those replaced. Thought all was well soon after, the electrical system including the air conditioner and the heater.then I was told that the airbags were defaulted and to bring it into replace them which I did. The final straw is that they called me again two weeks ago to bring the rigging to replace that same airbag again. I asked them why they gave me a car that wasn't safe. The wheel bearings also wore out very early around 50 miles. This car has been so expensive. And now they informed me that there was a second recall on the airbag. So I bring it in for the second time realizing that now in 2021 this car has not been safe the whole time I've been driving it with my family my daughter learned how to drive in this car and so did my son. As they were repairing the faulty airbag they cracked the dashboard and then informed me that it would be $300 to fix it because it had a tiny crack in it. Please note that they were the ones that took the dashboard off in the first place. Super rude! I called Subaru of America and they decided to reimburse me for the dashboard. They were talking about gluing it back together last I heard I'm very much hoping this is not the case my daughter ensures me that it isn't but we'll see. Also he informed me that my head gaskets were leaking again. The mechanic said that this is common once you've had your gaskets replaced. This makes no sense to me. My car has about 160,000 miles on it and it seems like it's already played out and not safe. What a joke. I'll never buy a Subaru again.this has been the worst car and apparently the most unsafe car I've ever owned. Note:this car was consistently unsafe while driving for the last 15 years. I bought it because it had a five star rating for safety what a joke!
No heat, air and of all defrost for the front window stops working while driving, also everything is controlled thru the radio whick could have bad cold solder joints. Very dangerous when shuts down while driving on the highway
- Doylestown, PA, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle stalled. Several warning lights were then illuminated after the vehicle stalled. The battery terminals were disconnected and then reconnected and the vehicle performed as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000. The VIN was not available.
Vehicle developed issue error code P2138, throttle sensor on gas pedal desynchronizes causing vehicle to go into emergency safety mode where power is lost, goes into a high idle, and vehicle must be parked and restarted multiple times before powertrain reactivates. Caused by faulty design of potentiometer on throttle pedal that wears a bare spot. Replacement of throttle (gas pedal) required to resolve issue, which will eventually start occurring again due to poor design. Has occurred when pedal isn't being used (cruise control only), as well as during normal driving at all different speeds.
I was driving my 2006 Subaru Outback at around 40 mph, going straight on a busy road. Without warning, the accelerator stopped functioning and the vehicle slowed down abruptly. It apparently entered a "safe" mode, with a maximum speed of about 10 mph regardless of how much pressure I applied to the accelerator. The "check engine" warning light was illuminated, and the cruise control light began flashing. I pulled into a parking lot and turned off the ignition. When I re-started the car, the warning lights remained illuminated, but the accelerator functioned normally again and I was able to return home. The vehicle's engine management computer provided an error code P2138, throttle position sensor/switch voltage correlation. This appears to be a common problem with Subaru vehicles from around this model year. It has the potential to be an extremely dangerous situation when the throttle suddenly stops working and the car slows to a crawl abruptly. My 17-year-old daughter is the main driver of this vehicle. If the error were to occur on the highway, it could cause a serious accident. There is no reason that the computer needs to put the vehicle in "safe" mode after sensing an electrical abnormality in the throttle wiring. I would like to request a recall to correct this extremely hazardous safety defect.
While driving car check engine light will come on and cruise control light will flash. Car goes into limp mode and the accelerator will not longer respond dropping the cars speed drastically. This can happen on any road, at any speed, and any weather condition. Temporary fix is to stop and cycle the cars power three or four times. More permanent fix is to replace the pedal assembly-accelerator at a cost of $199. Happened a few dozen times before I finally got the pedal assembly replaced. Issued started early 2016, and replaced the assembly in 2018.
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
Car intermittently loses all power as you are driving and RPM gauge goes up as cruise control and check engine light go on. A very dangerous situation that Subaru customers have complained about, but Subaru ignores need for recalls. Money spent on troubleshooting is ridiculous! car works fine after pulling over and restarting after a couple of minutes, only to happen suddenly weeks later. Gas pedal accelerator assembly and or throttlebody issues. Also Subaru cars from 2006 and older all have head gasket leaks. They never recalled cars for that problem. That costs $1600. They used a different gasket material after 2007
Hi, I'm writing you to to inform you of a safety issue with the 05-09 Subaru Outback airbag system. The passenger airbag notification board, located in the dome light assembly is assembled with poor quality solders between the board and diodes, this results in failure of the board, this is often seen in lower temperatures when the solders crack due to thermal contraction. When one of these solders fails, it causes 2 issues, 1, the indicator lights don't come on correctly, and 2, the entire airbag system is disabled. This is an issue known to the Subaru owners community. My dealer wants about $260 to fix it. Thanks.
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.
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 118,341.
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.
Broken wires in hatchback portion that affects license plate lights, radio antenna and potentially all taillights. Was this way when car was purchased and owner was not notified at time of purchase.
My vehicle lost all ability to accelerate while driving on the freeway. I had to coast into the emergency lane, which was a wall of snow in Colorado at this time of year. Blocking traffic in the slow lane, I waited for a tow to my Subaru dealer. They told me that my pedal accelerator assembly had failed. After repairs, I experienced the same problem 2 weeks later. This time they are stating that my electronic throttle body has failed. I have researched carcomplaints.com and see that I am one of over 50 consumers that have experienced this problem.
Sudden loss of acceleration while driving; connection between gas pedal and engine control is faulty. Forces driver to coast to a stop and turn off car. No ability to use gas to get out of the way faster.
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.
P2138 code - throttle issue --- today as I was driving to work, luckily on a side street, when the check engine light came on and the cruise control light began to blink. Then I lost power to the engine while it was still running. I normally take the highway to work but this day there was snow and ice so I decided to take the side streets instead. I pressed the gas pedal with no response. I coasted to a side street and turned in with no incident, thank god. I was near a Toyota dealership and I asked for their help but they said they did not work on Subaru. I was just about to call aaa when I thought to restart the car to see if it would go so I could take it somewhere else. I gave it gas and it went. The check engine light and cruise control was still on. I drove slowly to another service place and they found the code P2138 and said I could drive it but to get it to a dealership as soon as I could. The Subaru dealerships are not located in my town and takes 20-30 by highway to get to one of them. I am very unsure of driving on the highway now and have this happening again. I drive the highways a lot in order to fit my daily schedule. This is especially true for me to see elderly mother who lives 30 minutes away by highway. I love my Subaru even after having had the typical 2006 problems like head gasket leak and such which I consider acceptable for the mileage I have on her. I had planned on getting another Subaru in the future but not having power is extremely scary and will make me shop elsewhere if this is typical. Updated 4/21/16
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Salt Lake City, UT, USA