What 295 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Outback

I was pulling into a parking spot, without any warning the car accelerated through a fence and hit a tree. There were no injuries and the airbags did not deploy. A man was waving me to stop and I could not. Fortunately the small tree stopped the car. At first I thought maybe the gas pedal stuck or in human error I hit the gas to hard. But that was not the case. I could not control the car and my thought "what is happening"!

NHTSA ODI 11644740

I was pulling into a parking space very slowly when the car went into overdrive and suddenly accelerated at a high speed. It plunged down a slight decline and hit a large tree. My airbag failed to deploy although I was thrown violently forward, and the car sustained severe front end damage. The car is considered a total loss and I spent a day at a hospital emergency room. The sudden unexpected acceleration and the lack of airbag inflation is going to be assessed by Subaru on 10/24/23. I understand that there are two class action lawsuits against Subaru (in NJ & CA) for this same unanticipated acceleration issue.

NHTSA ODI 11548304

Upon entering a parking space,my 2013 Subaru Outback went from idle to full acceleration,hitting a parked,unoccupied truck. Braking had no effect on the car,the air bag did not deploy,and the car did not decelerate until I was able to engage Park-within a few seconds it resumed the idle. The police made a report,car was taken to wrecking yard,and is now at repair facility for possible repair. There were no prior warnings or messages. I was unaware of a safety issue with Subaru and when I contacted my local dealer,I was told they were unaware of any issues. I then did research online and found numerous problems.

NHTSA ODI 11418358

SUDDEN UNWANTED FORCEFUL ACCELERATION (SUSPECT AUTO CRUISE CONTROL GOT ENGAGED VIA EYESIGHT MALFUNCTION), COLLISION AVOIDANCE FAILED TO ENGAGE. BACK HOME SAFELY FROM A LOCAL GROCERY, PULLED THE CAR SLIGHT ON THE DRIVEWAY, STOPPED WITH FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO OPEN THE GARAGE, ABOUT TO HIT THE HOME LINK, MUST REMAIN STOPPED WHILE GARAGE DOOR OPENS BECAUSE DRIVEWAY SLOPES DOWNWARD, HEARD ENGINE ROAR WITH FOOT STILL ON THE BRAKE, CAR STARTED THROTTLE FORCEFULLY, GOT BEWILDERED, PRESSED HARD ON THE BRAKE; IT DID NOT RESPOND, THE CAR HIT HARD ON THE GARAGE AND BRICK WALL, CAUSING EXTENSIVE DAMAGES. AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, DRIVER WAS SENSELESS, BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER HURT, CAR IS DECLARED TOTAL. IT WAS VERY HOT AT ABOUT 4:15 PM, AIR CONDITION HAD BEEN RUNNING AT FULL FORCE ALL THE WHILE DURING THE SHORT 15 MINUTE DRIVE. THE DRIVEWAY HAS A 10 FT SLAB WITH UPWARD SLOPE, THE CAR STOPPED WITH FRONT WHEELS AT THE END OF THE FIRST SLAB. THE REMAINING DRIVEWAY IS ABOUT 30 FT ON A DOWNWARD SLOPE. I KEEP THE CAR TOTALLY STANDSTILL WHILE THE GARAGE IS OPENING. THE CAR WAS AT A SLIGHT ANGLE FACING SLIGHTLY TOWARD THE DRIVER SIDE CORNER OF THE GARAGE. THE CAR IS STILL ON MY DRIVEWAY: EVENT DATA RECORDER AND EYESIGHT DATA RECORDER SHOULD HAVE VALUABLE DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION. THE IMPACT WAS VERY FORCEFUL: A COMPLETE BRICK WALL GOT DISPLACED BY ALMOST 1 INCH AT ONE SIDE AND THE DISPLACEMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL CAUSED A TWO STORY LOAD BEARING BRICK COLUMN TO CRACK ON BOTH SIDES. GARAGE STRUCTURE AND ROOF GOT DAMAGED. THIS CAR IS MAINTAINED IN GOOD CONDITION AND NEVER HAVE BEEN IN ACCIDENT BEFORE. CALLED POLICE, BUT THEY DID NOT COME. LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU WANT DIAGNOSTIC DATA: I AM 100% SURE THAT THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. I SAW COLLISION AVOIDANCE WORK IN MANY OTHER SITUATION, BUT THIS TIME, IT DID NOT WORK. THIS IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE HAPPENING A LOT WITH SUBARU.

NHTSA ODI 11112135

SUBARU OUTBACK SELF-ACCELERATED (UNINTENDED ACCELERATION) ON MARCH 22, 2018 AS I WAS ATTEMPTED TO PARK THE CAR IN A PARKING LOT. DUE TO THE SELF-ACCELERATION THE CAR HOPPED OVER THE CURB IN THE PARKING LOT AND RAN OVER A BUSH. MY FOOT WAS NO WHERE NEAR THE ACCELERATOR AND EVEN WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE, I HAD TO PRESS EXTREMELY HARD ON THE BRAKE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. WHILE IT SELF-ACCELERATED THE ENGINE MADE A LOUD REVVING SOUND. ON MARCH 23, 2018 THE CAR SELF-ACCELERATED AGAIN WITH MY HUSBAND DRIVING ON THE OPEN ROAD. AFTER THIS INCIDENT WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO OUR CAR DEALERSHIP. SUBARU HAS HAD THE CAR SINCE MARCH 23 AND DENIES ANY PROBLEM WITH THE ACCELERATOR OR CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11089972

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE IN THE DRIVEWAY, IT ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE DOOR. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED HEAD INJURIES, BUT DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.

NHTSA ODI 10782394

PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, I HAD NOTICED SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHERE THE ENGINE WOULD SUDDENLY REV FOR NO REASON WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT A SLOW SPEED OR BRAKING. THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED ON DEC 2, 2014 AT APPROX. 7:40AM EASTERN TIME. AS I WAS APPROACHING THE SECURITY CHECK-IN GATE AT MY JOB, TRAVELING ABOUT 10 MPH, I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN AND WAIT FOR THE GATE TO OPEN. AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY REV'D TO MAXIMUM AND THE CAR ACCELERATED AND LURCHED FORWARD. I WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP OR CONTROL THE CAR AND IT CRASHED THROUGH THE SECURITY BARRIER GATE. NO ONE WAS INJURED AND THERE WAS NO DAMAGE DONE TO THE CAR, BUT THE METAL ARM OF THE GATE WAS SEVERELY BENT. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY SUBARU DEALER SEVERAL DAYS LATER TO BE INSPECTED AND REPORT THE INCIDENT. THE DEALER SAID THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECM) AND UPDATED THE SOFTWARE. SINCE THEN, THE CAR HAS RUN SMOOTHLY WITH NO FURTHER ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. THE ECM UPDATE ALSO SEEMED TO SOLVE A PROBLEM I HAD EXPERIENCED WHERE THE CAR HAD DIFFICULTY STARTING UP. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10670219