What 98 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Subaru Xv Crosstrek

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH and making a left in the roundabout of a residential road, she felt a rear impact and all the air bags deployed. The vehicle then accelerated unintendedly, veered to the right, jumped the curb, and crashed into a tree. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that she sustained significant Hematomas on her left and right calves from the knee air bags deployment. The contact sought medical assistance, A police report was filed. Bystanders informed the contact that the vehicle was not rear-ended; however, the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was towed to an autobody shop where it was totaled. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field investigator who retrieved the EDR. The manufacturer then informed the contact that the vehicle had experienced a rear impact and responded as needed based on the EDR. However, the contact stated upon inspecting the vehicle after the accident, the rear of the vehicle did not display signs of a rear impact. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

NHTSA ODI 11505163

I NOTICED THAT WHEN GOT TO ACCELERATE FROM STOPING THAT CAR WON'T GO. WHEN I HIT THE GAS THE VEHICLE MOVES ONLY A LITTLE AND IF I PUSH MY FOOT ON THE ACCELERATION PEDDLE HARDER AND ALL THE WAY DOWN THE VEHICLE ACTUALLY SLOWS DOWN. IT HAPPENED THIS MORNING ON CITY STREET ROADS NOT GOING ANY FASTER THAN 45MPH. THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT TO GO AGAIN IS TAKING MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDDLE AND RE PLACING IT AND IT THEN WILL GO BACK TO ACCELERATE AS IT SHOULD WHEN I PRESS THE GAS PEDDLE. I HAVE GOTTEN IT LOOKED AT SUBURU DEALERSHIP AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. IT HAPPENED TO ME TWICE THIS MORNING. ONCE WHEN TURNING OFF MY STREET TAKING A RIGHT TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO 25MPH AND THEN ANOTHER WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE AFTER A STOP LIGHT ON A 45 MPH ROAD. I WILL BE REPORTING IT FROM NOW ON EVERY TIME IT HAPPENS. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE, IT COULD EASILY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THANK GOODNESS NO ONE WAS RIGHT BEHIND AT THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I WENT TO ACCELERATE.

NHTSA ODI 11415374

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK. WHILE DRIVING AND RELEASING THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO ACCELERATE FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR SECONDS WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WOULD THEN RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE FAILURE WAS EXPERIENCED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SERVCO TOYOTA HONOLULU (2850 PUKOLOA ST #200, HONOLULU, HI 96819, (808) 564-1100) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT A FAILURE CODE WAS NOT FOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS ALSO TEST DRIVEN, BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 19,000.

NHTSA ODI 11255868

FROM A STOP OR AT LOW SPEEDS, WHEN YOU PRESS THE GAS PEDAL THERE IS A DELAY OF APPROXIMATELY 1.5 SECONDS BEFORE THE ENGINE RESPONDS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC FROM A DRIVEWAY, OR IF YOU NEED TO QUICKLY MANEUVER TO AVOID A COLLISION. SUBARU TECHNICIANS HAVE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, AND THEY SAY NOTHING IS WRONG MECHANICALLY. I BELIEVE THIS IS A FLAW IN THE ECM PROGRAMMING. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH VARIOUS MODELS OF SUBARU. THERE ARE SEVERAL AFTERMARKET DEVICES WHICH CLAIM TO FIX THIS BY CONNECTING TO THE OBDII PORT AND CHANGING THE PROGRAMMING SO IT MATCHES THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL LINEARLY. ONE SUCH DEVICE IS HTTPS://WWW.SPRINTBOOSTERSALES.COM/SUBARU I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RELY ON AN AFTERMARKET ACCESSORY TO ADDRESS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11151849

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO REMAIN AT THE DESIRED SPEED AND INCREASED SPEED SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (TUCSON SUBARU, 4901 N ORACLE RD, TUCSON, AZ 85704, (520) 422-2111) WHO REPLACED THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,000.

NHTSA ODI 11010809

AS DRIVER WAS PARKING IN FRONT OF HER HOME, VEHICLE ACCELERATED IN RESPONSE TO BRAKING AND RAMMED INTO FRONT PORCH, ABOUT 60 FEET AWAY. DESPITE FORCE OF COLLISION, NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 10934063

AFTER REMOVING CAR FROM GARAGE, WHILE SLOWLY DRIVING UPHILL IN ALLEY (LESS THAN 15 MPH ), CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN WHILE MY RIGHT FOOT WAS IN THE AIR ON THE WAY TO BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN FOR A TURN. THE CAR MOVED & SOUNDED AS IF ACCELERATOR HAD BEEN DEPRESSED, BUT IT WASN'T BY THE DRIVER! I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR WITH THE BRAKE, BUT UNINTENDED ACCELERATION CAUSED CAR TO OVERSHOOT WHERE I WANTED IT TO GO BY SEVERAL FEET. IT DIDN'T COLLIDE WITH ANYTHING. I HEARD A "THUNK" BELOW CAR A COUPLE OF SECONDS BEFORE THE ACCELERATION. I BROUGHT CAR TO DEALER AT EARLIEST APPOINTMENT - OCT. 11. THEY SUGGESTED IT WAS THE CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION. I KNEW CAR WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT I EXPERIENCED WAS NOT HOW CVT OPERATES & INSISTED ON SPEAKING TO SUPERVISORS. THEY HELPED ME OPEN AN INVESTIGATION BY SUBARU. I GAVE SUBARU WRITTEN CONSENT TO ACCESS THE CAR'S BLACK BOX. THEIR INSPECTOR (FROM BOSCH AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES) DOWNLOADED BLACK BOX & CAR'S OTHER COMPUTERS, PERFORMED A PHYSICAL INSPECTION & TEST DROVE. HE SAID IT WAS UNLIKELY TO BE CAUSED BY CVT OR THE CRUISE CONTROL, & FOUND NO DAMAGE UNDER CAR. ON 11/10/16, I GOT E-MAIL FROM SUBARU THAT NO DEFECTS WERE FOUND, NO DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES WERE STORED, & "THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED." I CALLED THE SIGNER, WHO STATED THE "IMPACT OF THE ACCELERATION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO STORE." SHE REFUSED TO PROVIDE ME COPIES OF THE COMPUTER PRINTOUTS OR ANY OTHER DOCS FROM INVESTIGATION, CLAIMING THEY ARE PROPRIETARY TO SUBARU, EVEN THOUGH THE DATA, AS PART OF CAR, BELONGS TO ME! WHILE CAR WAS OUT OF SERVICE OVER 30 DAYS, LEMONLAW DIDN'T TAKE CASE AS NO DEFECT WAS FOUND. I UNDERSTAND INTERMITTENT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL PROBLEMS DON'T LEAVE DTC CODES. DON'T KNOW IF I CAN TRUST THIS CAR, AS MALFUNCTION'S CAUSE WAS NEVER FOUND. NHTSA SHOULD ISSUE REGS ON ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SAFETY AS OWNERS CAN'T SUE!

NHTSA ODI 10926857