What 891 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Subaru Outback Wilderness

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - Car fire, originating under the hood. Unknown if vehicle is available for inspection. Last reported by Insurance company to be at IAA; [XXX]; PH#: [XXX]. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Car fire began while in the car after moving through an intersection with a stop light. Four of us in the car, ages raging from [XXX] old. Fire quickly spread; however, we were able to exit the car without injury. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - NO, car was totaled and Subaru, NA Consumer Advocacy agent assigned claims that the vehicle is no longer available for inspection. Both insurance company (Travelers Auto) and Subaru, N.A. consumer advocacy group made aware of our concern as to why the vehicle caught fire. One or both demonstrated nonchalance of this concern. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - YES - Just prior to the start of the fire, the vehicle stalled and cut-off with CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. Also, we smelled an unusual exhaust at the time prior to, and at the time of the cut-off. This occurred at the intersection of where the car caught fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11749535

A fire started under the hood of my car while I was driving. There were no warning lights on in my car and the temperature gauge was in the middle where it usually is. Earlier in the day, I smelled gas, but I thought it was a different car as the smell of gas went away after a car that had a lot of exhaust coming out was no longer in sight.

NHTSA ODI 11697021

On 12/6/2023, as I slowly turned right into a parking space, my car suddenly surged forward and accelerated without my input to the gas pedal. The brakes did not work, and there was no resistance from the brake pedal when I repeated to push it. The car continued to accelerate for about 80 ft as I focused on steering to avoid hitting other cars parked in the lot. The car ran over a curb, up a grassy area, and crashed into a row of trees. The airbag did not deploy. I sustained neck muscle strain/whiplash, and bruises to my chest and right knee. My safety was at risk, as well as anyone or anything that was in the car's path since I had no control over the acceleration or the brakes. The car is a 2020 Subaru Outback with about 44000 miles. It is in a body shop and they have not yet determined if it is safe to work on. So far, they have observed the engine race when the car was turned on. There were no warning signs prior to the acceleration. When I called the Subaru dealer service department, I was told that they never heard of this before and it had to have been my fault. They said I could bring it in after the body damage is repaired, and that I can pay for a diagnotic report. However, they expect that the report will not show anything.

NHTSA ODI 11560354

I was driving and car accelerated without warning. Hit partially open garage door, only stopped after hitting and damaging back wall of garage. Significant damage to car, items in the garage and garage wall. There was no warning whatsoever. As of yet the car has not been assessed as to the cause of the malfunction.

NHTSA ODI 11545058

I pulled into my driveway, came to a stop and planned to back up a short distance to be nearer the front walkway. Before I could shift into reverse the car started to accelerate forward. I slammed my foot onto the brakes which had no effect on the acceleration. The car stopped when the lower bumper hit and ran up onto a large boulder on the edge of the driveway. The car was partially wedged on the top of the boulder but I was able to back it off the boulder, park and turn off the car. I have scheduled an appointment with the service department on February 1st, at the dealership where I purchased the vehicle in June 2020. Of note, I had a routine oil change and service check at this dealership on January 16 with no engine problems noted.

NHTSA ODI 11503961

3 weeks ago the all of the warning lights came on. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Could not find out what was wrong. Saw there was a lot of carbon build up which was unusual since there is only 26,000 miles on vehicle. After a week a dealership a cleaning took it home. Went back the next day. They inspected and stated it was the spark plugs and needed new fuel injectors. Had replaced. Everything still covered. Picked vehicle up finally after 17 days of it being there. When picking it up the paper work stated the vehicle had cylinder 1 misfires 30-45 times in a 3 hour period. But was assured the vehicle was repaired and fully inspected and 100% safe. Within 24hrs of driving the vehicle. The next morning we drove to school and with after the second light we smelled smoothing rolled windows down and but was sure if it was us. Then had slowed down to turn at the next light to turn to pull over but didn’t get that opportunity before a boom and smoke and flame came and i rushed out of the car and took immediate action and got my 4 year old out of her car seat. Before the whole car was up in flames. I have heard that similar vehicles had similar issues but have had other repairs to deal with it.There was no lights that came on in the vehicle to warn us that something was wrong so thought the smell was from outside. Insurance and the auto maker are inspecting but i had to alert the automaker the dealership wasn’t going to. They stated that the insurance and automaker will just compare notes.

NHTSA ODI 11460311