What 291 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Subaru Outback Wilderness

I was already parked in a spot in a public parking lot. I tapped the accelerator pedal to move the car a few inches. The vehicle responded by violently accelerating, hitting a vehicle directly in front of me in another parking space. I applied my brake but the car would not stop. The force of the acceleration pushed the car out of the it's spot and it hit a curb and tree appox 30 ft away. In defensive move I turned my wheels to the right and continue to try and brake. This caused my car to hit the car on the right side of me. Property Damage occured. No injuries. Vehicle defect.

NHTSA ODI 11748480

On 10/29/25 the car lost power once it got to 3500rpm. Multiple warning lights came on. On 11/06/2025, the Thermo Control Valve, high pressure fuel line, and gaskets for intake manifold and EGR were replaced. On 11/24/25, when backing up slowly in a small parking lot, the rear camera detection picked up a raised cement walkway with metal railing. The brake was applied by the driver, however the car accelerated quickly and slammed into the railing and cement. The vehicle was placed into drive after the collision and continued normally. The brake was on once the warning light beeped and prior to the collision. The foot was not removed from the brake pedal until it was in drive. It could not have been placed into drive without the brake pedal being pressed. I asked the dealership if they could pull data from the car at the time of the incident, and was told they weren't sure they would get any information. It has not been inspected by a dealership or insurance. There was no damage done to the cement and railing was already bent. Only the car sustained damage.

NHTSA ODI 11702874

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while idling at a red traffic light, the vehicle lurched forward twice and struck the rear end of another vehicle twice. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injury sustained. A Police report was not filed. Both the contact and her husband were able to drive away from the scene. The contact's vehicle sustained damage. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that a field technician would be sent to retrieve information from the EDR. The failure mileage was approximately 30,800.

NHTSA ODI 11689975

While slowly backing out of a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on it's own - I do not recall pressing on the accelerator but the engine surged and the vehicle rapidly reversed and struck 4 other parked cars. It felt as if the accelerator became stuck and would not respond to braking. No warning light or dashboard alerts appeared. Subaru eyesight and adaptive cruise control were not engaged at the time. There was no known obstruction under the petals. This felt like a serious malfunction and could have caused serious injury. I am reporting this in case it is part of a wider issue affecting this model and because i see that there are multiple complaints to you about sudden unintended acceleration, especially during low speed maneuvers like backing out a parking space.

NHTSA ODI 11679036

My vehicle is equipped with EYESIGHT. I was driving to my home after work at night and suddenly the infotainment system screen went blank; including Braking Assist, Adaptive Cruise control, Lane assist, Emergency Braking etc including Navigation, also the HVAC shut off and EYESIGHT that controls these as well, shut off. It was suffocating in the car due to no A/C and thusf I tried to pull over at a remote text-stop place and tried restarting the car but in vain. All screens were dark, no warm air, I couldn’t see what direction I was driving to, as well as I solely relied on navigation. I brought this car for it’s safety features and warmth in this cold temperature in UPSTATE NY and this happened. I waited for 20 mins, charged my phone for only 4-5% with a fellow citizen who was waiting there as well and checked online just to see a lot of people reported the same issue with 2021 Subarus with EYESIGHT. And there is NO way one can fix it. I tried contacting the dealer but in vain. I am afraid that if this would happen again, I wouldn’t be in a situation to face this scary experience.

NHTSA ODI 11557970