Adaptive Cruise Control Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

I was driving to a medical appointment in ann arbor mi, and was in the area where [xxx] has a few big turns in the road . . . . Like at . . . [xxx] . All of he sudden the car started to accelerate a little on the turn so I attempted to brake the vehicle and I could not feel the brake pedal. I slowly moved into the right lane and frantically trying to slow the car down. I still could not feel the brake pedal and I believe when I hit the speed control off is when it slowed down and I was able to finally brake the car. It all happened in a matter of 10-20 seconds I would guess and it was absolutely terrifying. I have on occasion used the speed control to slow down the vehicle and wonder if that might have some connection. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback 🔎.

On Sunday, July 13, 2025, I received a warning that my eyesight was disabled in the middle of driving. This meant that I was unable to utilize cruise control or any driver assistance functions. The weather was clear, sunny, and there was nothing obstructing the eyesight cameras, nor were there any cracks in the windshield. The following day, Monday, July 14, eyesight worked normally in the morning, but was disabled in the afternoon. Again, the cameras were clear of any obstructions and no cracks were visible on the windshield. Cruise control and driver assistance features were unavailable. On the morning of Tuesday, July 15, I came out to a 7-8 inch crack in the windshield, on the passenger side. No impact had occurred to cause this crack and it was not present the previous days. Eyesight is still disabled due to this and the windshield needs a full replacement. All driver assistance/collision prevention features are not available until the windshield is replaced and a recalibration is completed. Advantage auto glass of rockford, IL will be inspecting the glass and can make it available for NHTSA evaluation. However, given that I have owned two Subaru Outbacks now, windshield weakness has been an issue with this vehicle, especially in warmer weather.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Car was being driven on the highway in cruise control, when the cruise control turned off and the car began to decelerate. When the gas pedal was pressed, the rpms shot up but there was no acceleration. The car was pulled over, turned off, and we were not able to turn it on again. The car was towed to a shop, where they were able to identify the engine wasn’t working but not the root cause, and also mentioned the possibility of there being a transmission problem. We then brought it to a Subaru dealer, and they said a similar thing without being able to diagnose anything more specific. This car is 8 years old and has had routine, consistent maintenance the entire time. The surprise of an engine failure with no warning is very alarming and dangerous.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The thermo control valve on the vehicle failed. This has been such a consistent problem, that Subaru has extended the warranty for this item to 150k miles. I realize that alone is not a safety problem, but the issue is that when there is a check engine light error, the system shuts down the cruise control, lane departure, collision avoidance (eyesight), and xmode (all wheel drive). The safety issue is shutting down these unconnected safety features because of a check engine light. I will say that the dealer promptly fixed the problem at no charge under the extended warranty. My concern was the loss of the 4 wheel drive right as major snow was hitting the mid atlantic area.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The speed control (adaptive) doesn't work. The interior heater doesn't work. Several lights including the 'check engine' light come on the dash. The lane departure system doesn't work. (it appears the thermo control value subassembly may be at fault. ) the car has approximately 25k miles on it.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I was driving down the street, stopped at an intersection, and made a u-turn. Immediately after I made the u-turn a message came up on the screen saying "eye sight disabled. " from that point on the cruise control stopped working, the lane deviation stopped working, the forward collision system stopped working, and several other things malfunctioned (I can't seem to connect to the bluetooth system with my cell phone). The local Subaru dealer told me they are aware of the problem, but, have not notified anyone, they told me that I needed to make an appointment to get the problem fixed and it would take four to five hours.

The car has been to the dealership five times for electrical/computer issues. First the main dash ui computer screen would occassionally lock up and freeze shutting all safety systems off. (cruise control, lane holding, blind spot warning, etc. ) then the battery failure issues started - basically four times the car when parked and sitting overnight for approximately one week - will not start and the battery is completely dead. This is a know Subaru issue with earlier models and even involved a class action lawsuit. Subaru has not fixed the issue in newer model cars and continues to deny it is an issue. This is gross negligence by continuing to make unsafe cars with the same flaw and nof fixing the issue.

After completing an ota software update the screen would not load and entered continuous buffering disabling all environmental and safety functions.

When coming to a stop at a stop sign, the car jerks and the engine appears to stall. I have brought it to 2 dealerships and both have said that it is "normal". I have had dozens of cars and none have ever performed in this manner. The adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking frequently brakes for no reason or does not recognize cars in front of me. It regularly misses large objects directly in front of the car. The system also has a lot of failures and turns itself off randomly for unknown reasons. (again, "working as designed").

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Acc eye sight is intermittent. It normally fails within 5 minutes of operations and just turning the car on.

The eyesight system will malfunction and turn off at random times. The automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning will activate when there is nothing in front of my car causing it to brake abruptly. I have almost been in numerous collisions due to the random safety systems malfunctioning.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Went out to driveway and started car. Heard a ping. A few minutes later the windshield started to crack from drivers side bottom corner upward across the field of vision. At first it was about a foot long but spread to about 3 feet. No sign of impact.

When traveling on hwy at hwy speeds with cruise control on set for 70 mph and car in front is traveling 60 mph as am I. The road curves the car no longer identifies a car in front of me and accelerates to 70 mph, when the road becomes straight again and I am getting close the system slams on the brakes. When I'm going 70 mph and approach a car going 60 mph the car slows to keep a safe distance. As I change lanes the car begins to accelerate. As I am passing the slower car, if on a curve and the car identifies a car in another lane and slams on the brakes. This has caused road rage from drivers approaching from the rear in the passing lane thinking I'm braking to slow them down for no reason. The dealership told me to turn my cruise control off on roads nort straight! this has happened since the car was new. This occurred on a recent trip across country on hwy us 40.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Windshield cracked spontaneously while parked, March 29, 2024. Temperature was approx 28°f. This was the second time in 11 months this has happened. Safelite technician said it was caused by faulty windshield heater. The first one I paid for the replacement, the second one was under warranty from safelite. But was told if it happened again they would not be responsible.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback 🔎.

While doing a casual drive, engine made a noise after work at night. Woke up in the morning and check engine light as well as the eyesight light was on. Checked everything and noticed the coolant was low; but upon filling it, did not resolve the issue. Took it to a Subaru service center and was told that it the temp valve had been stuck and that they had replace not only one for my year model the same day, but also a ‘20 and ‘19 in the past week. Have looked online and noticed others have been unfortunate around the same mile range 60k.

On 12/28/2023 my 2018 Subaru Outback without warning suddenly accelerated on its own, causing my vehicle to hit the curb and ran into a building.

Adaptive cruise control slows way down for a sound wall on a curve.

Received error code p2682, a faulty thermo control valve. This happened on 11/17/2023. Car potentially could have quit running in traffic. Subaru has identified the issue with TSB 09-80-21r. They have changed the design of the valve due to the many failures. My car has 74,000 miles. My brother in law has the same vehicle with 57,000, and his car is in the shop today for the same issue. The service tech working on his vehicle stated that he does a couple of these repairs a week, and that Subaru knows this part will fail and should issue a recall.

My entire infotainment system, including the "eyesight" sensors regularly shut off, or won't turn on upon vehicle start. Happens to the radio and other parts of the infotainment system too. It's been happening since about September 2023. I purchased the car in March 2023.

This is known issue with the electrical system that is associated with the touch screen controls. Without any driver input, the eyesight driver assist system was shutoff. That system controls adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, and lane departure features. Rebooting the starlink touch screen restored those functions. The safety issue is that no audible warning gave indication that the safety features were disabled. Two icons appeared on the dash. There appears to be a class action suit that applies to the starlink system for my model year. It is important to understand that this more than merely a problem with the entertainment features.

Radio headunit -- freezes and has ghost inputs. Makes the unit unusable- no backup camera. Flashes and beeps constantly. You can not mute it or stop it. It seems to also cause the "eyesight" to not behave normally.

On my 2023 Outback my Subaru eyesight is intermittently inoperable, which causes my cruise control and automatic braking to not work.

Transmission failure at 55mph my couldn't shift and the motor revved up all the way to the redline mark and wouldn't stop when I tried to stop it the reaction control lights came on the cruise control light was flashing the emergency break light was flashing every light on my dash was flashing there was a terrible vibration in the steering wheel the transmission was humming really loud and just got worse the car just kept going and not stopping I could have hit someone another person a car I could have hit anything instead I choose the ditch and cornfield the car has been looked at by a repair shop and everything has been duplicated by them the problem hasn't gone away or changed all the codes were cleared and as soon as it starts up they all came back signaling the transmission and torque converter the sounds are still there also upon start up the engine starts fine but the car can't be driven can't get above 15 mph without vibration and loud noises and the motor revving up without notice this is very dangerous you can't control the car.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Outback 🔎.

This complain is specific to the wireless charging pad featured in the touring 2023 model I leased. The wireless charging pad overheats very quickly, thus overheating the phone it's charging. Even if the device is just plugged into a charging cord, located right next to the charging pad, it will overheat the phone, sometimes to the degree that the phone and the screen console will go blank. This has been incredibly dangerous when using the screen for navigation on the highway and the whole thing goes black/malfunctions, and this has happened quite a few times. The other frustrating issue is that the battery of my phone has overheated many times so it doesn't hold much of a charge anymore. The other issue is that the eyesight function, which is necessary for cruise control, goes out often and completely malfunctions in head-on strong sunlight, which is often in southern California.

While I am driving my cruise control will just stop working causing the auto braking feature to stop also.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? actuator assy-epb, part number 26002aj02c (from technical service bulletin), part is not available how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? brake light and isight warning light comes on. Safety systems will not operate properly when these lights are on has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? brake light and isight warning light comes on, this started several months ago after driving this car for about an hour, shutting it off then starting it back up after short amount of time, like 20 minutes, the brake warning light and isight light (safety system/adaptive cruise control/automatic braking) will come on immediately, they will stay on until the car has been allowed to cool down for several hours. This happens more often in hot weather. This has happened about a couple dozen times already. Took the car to eurasian autoworks in tilton nh, the mechanic, who I'm told is a former Subaru master tech says this is a common problem and is usually fixed by replacing the emergency brake actuator under technical service bulletin 06-58-17r. I called the local dealership and they do not have any of these parts available. I called Subaru customer support, case number 230720-1600595. And was told the part is discontinued and essentially said I should get one from a junkyard. I do not believe a 10 year old car should have safety related parts unavailable, especially on a common issue with this year/model of car.

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The eyesight keeps disabling itself. And the infotainment system is not working properly. My car is at the dealership and they are telling me they are waiting for back up camera to come off backorder 10/3/23. This means my vehicle will have been at the dealership for repair a total of 45 days if backorder date is correct. I purchased this vehicle brand new 5/6/23. I have researched online and there is a class action lawsuit for the issue. The braking safety system does not work properly and warns with red lights beeping that collision is ahead which then brakes the car automatically when not needed. I have taken the car to dealer 3 times to have this repaired.

A crack has spontaneously appeared at the base of my windshield after no apparent damage. The crack is spreading across my windshield and will affect my adaptive cruse control and automatic emergency breaking if it interferes with the Subaru eye-sight system at the top of my windshield. I have not taken the vehicle in for service but I did see this was an issue that lead to recalls on previous Outback models but not currently a recall for the 2020 Subaru Outback. I do not have any current warning lamps or messages.

They eyesight continuously disables. Dealership cannot find any codes or issues with it. They say it is the weather, dirty windshield, clouds. It has been happening since week 3 of ownership. I clean the windshield all the time, there is no clouds. I have another Subaru with eyesight and it doesn’t disable like this one. 90% of the time the system disables itself as soon as I turn it on.

I purchased a new 2023 Subaru Outback in December 2022. The two displays on my 2023 Subaru Outback (both the main entertainment one and the tiny dash one) randomly restart without notice and/or freeze and are unresponsive. This disables adaptive cruise control, eyesight warnings, lane departure warnings, front collision warnings, rear back up camera, navigation, apple car play, phone capabilities, and electrical display odometer. Even in reverse, the backup camera will appear at times and then freeze, so the image I am looking at on the display is not true. I noticed this the other day when I was in reverse and saw a mother and child walking outside of my review mirrors that never appeared on the camera. I have taken it to my Subaru dealer where they had trouble twice uploading new software onto the car. They finally uploaded the "new" software and the issue persists. This last issued occurred today 3/22/2023 - I was on a 10 minute drive and the software restarted at least 11 times in the short 10 minutes. I am unsure what else this electrical/software issue impacts but it seems to be a safety one if I cannot trust the rear camera, departure or collision warnings, or cruise control. Luckily, I have never been in cruise control when the system malfunctions, as I'm not sure what the result would be. This has occurred at random speeds, as slow as 12mph, as fast as 60mph. It has happened when I have been on phone calls and when I have not been on phone calls. I have photos and videos of the unresponsiveness, and have attached the invoice for when I got it serviced on 3/20/2023. This is a serious issue and it seems Subaru does not have a fix at this time. Since this is a new car, I was also told that if this happens after my warranty, it will be my responsibility to pay for the updated software and to fix this glitch, and that they will charge me for service and the update.

This has happened many times since my vehicle ownership in may. Today for example I am on the highway cruising along (cruise control set) and alarms start going off, the vehicle lurches as it self-disables safety features one by one - cruise control shuts off automatically - check engine light on, reverse auto breaking disabled, lane assist disabled, collision avoidance disabled, entire eyesight system disabled. (and I'm sure more I am missing) I have contacted Subaru of America many times about this fault, they have yet to respond appropriately to my inquiries (usually they dont respond at all or simply tell me something about the factory stereo?). The only fix I've found is removing the gas cap tapping it a few times and resetting (to the "one-click") tightness. After multiple start/stops the codes will clear and life will resume with safety features. This incident today was 204. 3 miles into my gas tank, not sure how the gas cap is related but something is definitely wrong. If it truly is the gas cap they could simply have a small icon on the 11" display vs disabling every safety feature- while I am driving!.

The touchscreen shuts down and makes the safety features shut off. This use to happen a few times per quarter, but now is happening a few times per month. Happens always while driving which causes the adaptive cruise to shut off, causing deceleration, the eyesight shuts off, the controls on the keyboard are not available. It takes a minute or two for the screen to reboot and safety features to re-engage, this causes distraction and possible safety hazard. Additionally, the speakers randomly will blast so loud it startles and distracts everyone in the car. This seems to happen randomly, can be at start up, or after sound system has been in use. Additionally, the power windows occasionally will not go back up. Thry reverse partway through raising. Then we have to wait a few seconds and try again. Please make Subaru issue a recall and remedy for-the control screen issue. It is the most dangerous problem we’ve listed here.

As I was pulling in to park my vehicle, the car accelerated and after running over three small trees, finally stopped. Both my feet were on the brakes; I could not stop the car. Luckily, no one was hurt. The car was towed and Subaru had the car for close to 7 weeks for inspection; they reported no abnormalities with the car. I know that the car accelerated on its own- I had no control as I avoided hitting the cabin and plowing through the woods. I had my new car for 32 days and did not see any warning signs. It was towed on December 12, 2022, the day after the incident. Then Subaru had my car for inspection and repairs and it was picked up on March 22, 2023. I will not drive this car and Subaru has denied my request for a buyback. I will be trading it in for a loss.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 mph with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that it was difficult while attempting to shift the gear lever out of drive(d). The contact stated that once she was able to shift the gear shifter, she shifted into park(p) to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted after multiple attempts. The contact then noticed that the parking brake had engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000.

Cracked windshield from no impact.