general problems of the 2006 Subaru Outback

Tl- the contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while traveling at various speeds, the vehicle would stall intermittently while depressing the accelerator, as the engine rev uncontrollably. The vehicle would then shut off as several service warning lights would illuminate. The contact would have to disconnect the battery and then reconnect it in order for the vehicle to resume normal operation. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000. Jo.

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 on highway transmission cooler fitting stripped out, emptying transmission fluid and ruining transmission. As can be seen in picture, oem component has very few threads which are sheared and covered in factory loctite. This is not an inspectable component, nor listed on any maintenance schedule, however when I contacted Subaru they stated that it is not defective, considered regular wear and tear, and outside the powertrain warranty. I pointed out that they just setled a class action lawsuit regarding faulty powertrain components, and they declined further discussing my concerns.

The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Outback. While driving at various speeds, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle failed to accelerate. The check engine warning indicator illuminated. The driver had to coast the vehicle to the shoulder and turn the ignition to the off potion and back on in order for the vehicle to operate normally. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

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.

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.

My 2006 Subaru Outback has had a code p2138 issue for over two months now. In many cases I am in the car with my 4 year old son and end up being in danger for no reason. Loosing 99% of power while going to school or to the store. All attempts to fix this issue have not worked and the car itself is thought of as a death trap in our house. Subaru disregards the code and offers no fix. Please issue a recall. Lives are at risk.

Subaru Outback began to exhibit "ghost walking" while driving straight during a winter storm. Rear end attempted to race the front end, and could not regain control. This "ghost walking" is well discussed in the online form at Subaruoutback. Org. Car eventually made it to the edge of the road where it then proceeded to roll 3 times. The experience was not the normally sliding on ice. The rear end seemed to have a mind of its own.

Four times in one month prior the above date, this vehicle stopped running in traffic. It would not restart. Most importantly, the automatic transmission could not be taken out of gear and put into park!! in addition, the emergency brake failed to properly keep the vehicle from rolling in traffic. The most recent time this happened, the driver was in heavy traffic on a hill and the emergency brake again did not properly hold the vehicle. The driver had to open her door, exit the vehicle in order to physically stop it from rolling downhill in traffic and was nearly ran over by a passing semi trailer truck. This is a well maintained vehicle, often through the dealer it was purchased from. During this time, the vehicle was towed twice to the dealer. They diagnosed the problem as being caused by electronic computer parts malfunction. After these expensive and possibly unnecessary repairs the problem still persisted. The vehicle continued to stop for no reason in traffic and would not restart. Each time this happened, the vehicle could not be taken out of gear and put into park!! I know of no other vehicle where this type of problem has happened. After the latest breakdown, upon inspection, the dealer located a section of wire loom that had worn bare and possibly had caused a short in the electrical system. This worn spot in the wire loom may have tripped up the logic in the vehicle computer and been the reason the driver could not put the vehicle in park after breaking down in traffic. If this electrical wire loom caused this "malfunction", it would put anyone in this vehicle in a position where there is great potential for serious injury, or death. This problem should be looked into by your department in order to make sure this does not happen again to someone else.

I have 2006 Subaru out back sport wagon which is a basic Subaru impreza wagon with dual paint. Automatic transmission. While on road car begin to choke and check engine light and cruisecontrol light came on and start blinking. The car engine wants to cut off whenever in stop so in low idle and it did cut off on the drive way. From the shop diagnose retrived dtc p0304 cylider #4 misfire check ignition, fuel system ok, check compression 25psi recommend engine shop, possible valve problem. I also had same car transmission rebuild on the car 97xxx miles ago. Cost $3589. Xx. Now I need to rebuild the engine, man this Subaru is a nightmare.

First occurrence 12/5/11. I was driving through a parking lot and check engine light came on as I lost the ability accelerate. I coasted to a parking space, shut my car off and was waiting for a tow truck. After and hour I turned my car back on and all seemed fine. I took it straight to the dealership where they found problem p2138, accelerator pedal assembly problem. They replaced the accelerator pedal. All seemed to be working fine. Second occurrence 1/21/12. I was driving along a side road, check engine light came on as I once again lost the ability to accelerate. Shut the car off, sat for a few minutes and turned it back on. I was able to drive but the check engine light was still on. I got my car home and hooked up the diagnostic computer to it and got the same p2138 code. I readjusted the wires connecting the accelerator and check engine light went off. My concern is that this problem is going to occur when I am driving on the highway. Obviously the replacement of the accelerator pedal is not the solution to this problem.

While driving on a limit access highway, the check engine light came on and the vehicle immediately went into "limp home" mode. This event nearly resulted in a high speed rear end collision.

Straight line driving on flat concrete highway, rear end of vehicle may start to wander when road is slippery. This occurs generally over 25mph, when all other vehicles are able to travel at a higher rate of speed than the 2006 Subaru Outback 3. 0r is able to. Cars will pass while I am white knuckled, concerned the rear end is going to break loose and cause complete control failure. I have found other instances of this issue from other Subaru drivers, and this is being referred to as "ghost walking" - this is a very good description as this is what it feels like. Essentially, the all wheel drive system feels like it is sending too much power to the rear end, under even/constant speed, and causing the rear to break loose. Or, there is a alignment geometry problem. Very unsettling and very unexpected for a highly regarded all wheel drive system. I have had several all wheel drive systems and none have done this in the same conditions. Very hard to recreate for dealership or manufacture, as it requires precise road conditions. Just so happens it is precisely the road conditions that most people might buy a Subaru (in mn or CO). Very dangerous.