2006 Subaru Outback

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR WENT LIMP AND LOST ALL ACCELERATOR FUNCTION. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT WAS FLASHING.THANKFULLY, WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT INCIDENT. DIAGNOSED WITH CODE P2138 AND FAILED PEDAL POSITION SENSOR. BASED ON SUBARU OUTBACK FORUM SEARCHES AND IDENTIFIX DATABASE, THIS ISSUE IS VERY COMMON FOR 2005 AND 2006 MODEL YEAR SUBARUS. THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY WAS REDESIGNED IN 2007 BUT IS NOT REVERSE COMPATIBLE. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE WHICH SUBARU OF AMERICA REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE.

MY CAR HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING EPISODES WHERE IT SUDDENLY STOPS ACCELERATING WHILE I AM DRIVING. THIS HAS HAPPENING BOTH ON CITY STREETS, AND ON THE HIGHWAY. IT'S MOSTLY ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER I INITIALLY TURNED THE CAR ON, BUT NOT ALWAYS. I WILL BE DRIVING NORMALLY AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS AND CRUISE CONTROL LIGHTS WILL COME ON AND THEN THE CAR WILL INSTANTLY STOP ACCELERATING WITH NO ADDITIONAL WARNING. THE MOST RECENT TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, MY CAR ACTUALLY SPED UP WITHOUT ME PRESSING ON THE GAS PEDAL. THE CODE READS P2138. AFTER TURNING MY CAR OFF AND WAITING A FEW MINUTES IT DRIVES FINE (ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES THE LIGHTS ARE STILL ON). I HAVE HAD A SUBARU DEALERSHIP CHECK OUT THE PROBLEM AND AFTER LOOKING AT THE CAR FOR ABOUT ONE WEEK THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THIS ISSUE APPEARS SUDDENLY BUT THEN GOES AWAY SO THAT BY THE TIME I CAN GET IT OVER TO A MECHANIC IT IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS AND I WOULD SAY I'VE EXPERIENCED THE ISSUE ABOUT 6-7 TIMES. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN I AM DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE CAR STOPS ACCELERATING.

UPON PUSHING THE ACCELERATOR TO ENTER TRAFFIC, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE THROTTLE. THE ENGINE REMAINED RUNNING AND THE CAR IDLED INTO THE STREET AND DRIVER WAS ABLE TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT AND COAST TO A STOP. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHERE THE DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT DIAGNOSED THE CAUSE AS FAILURE OF THE ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR COMPONENT OF THE THROTTLE BY WIRE SYSTEM.

ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, I WAS DRIVING MY OUTBACK, WHEN IT WENT "LIMP". THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR. MY CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE FORWARD AT THE SPEED I WAS DRIVING. WHEN I PRESSED THE BRAKE, IT SLOWED BUT, WHEN I LET UP ON THE BRAKE, THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO REV AND MY CAR CONTINUED IN FORWARD MOTION BEFORE TOTALLY DYING OUT FROM UNDER ME. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ON A SIDE STREET NEAR MY HOUSE. ON THE FIRST OCCASION, AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, THE ENGINE STOPPED REVVING AND I COASTED TO A STOP. ON THE SECOND OCCASION, I WAS PULLING IN MY DRIVE, AFTER A TWO MILE TRIP, WHEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED. THE MOTOR CONTINUED REVVING WITH THE CAR MOVING FORWARD AND I HAD NO CONTROL OF THE ACCELERATOR. WHEN I TRIED TO BRAKE, THE CAR WOULD SLOW DOWN BUT IMMEDIATELY PICK UP WHEN I LET UP ON THE BRAKE. I NEARLY HIT A 6' BANK OF FIREWOOD AT THE END OF OUR DRIVE.

WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ON I-95 THE ACCELERATOR STOPPED RESPONDING AND I HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE SPEED OF THE VEHICLE. AFTER I PULLED OFF THE NEXT EXIT, I HAD TO PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL IN ORDER TO BRING IT TO A STOP. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS THE CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT. LATER, I CHECKED FOR OBD2 CODES AND CAME UP WITH "P2138". AFTER RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE, IT APPEARS THAT MANY SUBARU OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM WHICH APPEARS TO BE CAUSED BY THE "PEDAL TRAVEL SENSOR" PART # 36010AG021. THAT PART WAS REDESIGNED AFTER THE 2006 MODEL YEAR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AND I AM VERY FORTUNATE THAT NO ONE WAS HURT THROUGH THIS PART FAILURE. *TR

WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION BOTH IN PARK, AND IN MOTION, AND WHILE BOTH TURNING AND GOING STRAIGHT, THE THROTTLE INTERMITTENTLY STOPPED RESPONDING TO ALL INPUT, AND THE VEHICLE ONLY RAN THE ENGINE AT OVER IDLE RPMS (ABOUT 2100RPM IN NEUTRAL). THE PROBLEM WOULD USUALLY PERSIST THROUGH SEVERAL RESTARTS. EVENTUALLY THE CAR WOULD RESTART AT NORMAL IDLE, AND THE THROTTLE WOULD BE RESPONDING AGAIN. THE VEHICLE CODE INDICATED TO MY MECHANIC THAT THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR NEEDED REPLACED, HOWEVER AFTER REPLACING IT, THE PROBLEM HAS PERSISTED. I HAVE READ MANY ACCOUNTS OF THIS ISSUE ONLINE OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND ANY ISSUE REGARDING VEHICLE ACCELERATION WHILE DRIVING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A SERIOUS PROBLEM. SUBARU NEEDS TO ISSUE A RESPONSE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THIS PROBLEM.

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING ABOUT 70 MILES PER HOUR IN THE MOUNTAINS OF COLORADO WHEN MY CAR'S ACCELERATOR STOPPED WORKING. I WAS ON A SHARP DOWNHILL CURVE WHEN I WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO ACCELERATE MY CAR TO KEEP UP WITH TRAFFIC. THIS WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS I WAS ALMOST HIT BY THE CARS BEHIND ME. THERE WAS NO WARNING PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT. *TR

TL* 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.

JUST RECEIVED "TAKATA RECALL" LETTER STATING THERE ARE NOW SUFFICIENT PARTS AVAILABLE. AT THE SAME TIME MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND CRUISE LIGHT STARTED FLASHING. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE RECALL WORK AND TO HAVE THE CAR CHECKED OUT. I GOOGLED THIS AND FOUND THAT A CODE P2138 IS FOUND WITH THIS OCCURRENCE AND IT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING WITH MANY OF THESE VEHICLES. MY WIFE CALLED ME ON HER WAY HOME FROM WORK AND SAID THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. SHE PULLED OFF OF THE HIGHWAY INTO A PARKING LOT. I DROVE TO HER LOCATION. SHE STARTED THE CAR AND GAS PEDAL SEEMED TO BE OPERATING AS IT SHOULD. I FOLLOWED HER HOME AND WAS THANKFUL THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS GETTING BACK. I WILL DETERMINE WHETHER TO DRIVE VEHICLE OR HAVE IT TOWED TO DEALER FOR SCHEDULED APPT. NEXT WED.KIND OF MAKES SENSE NOW BECAUSE WHEN I DROVE THE CAR THE DAY BEFORE TO GET GAS, THERE WAS HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING, WHICH I FOUND UNUSUAL, AS THE CAR RUNS GREAT WITH PLENTY OF POWER.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE CRUISE CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR BEGAN TO FLASH. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, THE ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR AND THE EPM WERE ALSO REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 77,000.