2001 Subaru Legacy: engine stalls while driving

Filed May 19, 2011 · Engine · ME

When I put on the brakes to stop the car the engine stalls out..

Filed Dec 20, 2004 · Engine · 51,062 miles · MI

Whne the car is cold, it hesitates and stalls when taking off from a stop sign or other stop. Dealer does not know how to fix. Fails every time the car is operated cold.

Filed Jan 28, 2004 · Acceleration, Brakes · 40,000 miles · NY · crash

Driving on secondary road - well know to me - at dusk @ 45 MPH approaching an intersection with a major road. Began to tap gently on brake to ease to my "yield" or stop in case driver on other road did not do so. Each time I hit brakes, the engine would rev up & pull forward @ increased speed. After several attempts to brake, I attemted to downshift, put in park and pull up parking brake -- all to no avail, except engine and front end made loud grinding noises. The car would still not stop and when I was about 25' from the intersection, I had no choice but to drive into a "snow bank" which turned out to be several inches of snow over a pile of gravel. There was damage to the front of the car & it was towed. The tow truck driver had a difficult time starting the car so he could winch it onto his flatbed truck. The car was towed to the subaru dealer from whom I purchased the car. The service manager maintains that the problem was caused by "birdseed in the filter" in the air box going to the throttle. (he also said the seed indicated that there may have been a mouse nest, but he found no evidence of a nest at that time.) I told him that I found that hard to believe since my car is in a heated area of the garage and any mice have much warmer places to stay. My own mechanic said the birdseed explanation was implausible and, if anything, the birdseed would have LED the car to stall out - not increase acceleration. I checked your web site and found other 2001 legacies with "fuel: throttle linkages & control problems. I printed these out and took them to the dealer. He said he checked the throttle linkages and controls electronically and found them to be fine but would not put this in writing. He stands fast on his birdseed explanation. Am an experienced & safe driver - have "platinum" level of safe driver discount. This car is my 6th new subaru in under 20 years. Have always found them reliable in the past. Am afraid to drive this car.

Filed Jun 3, 2003 · Fuel system · 17,400 miles · PA

Fuel system issue. I have owned my vehicle for approximately 9 months. I bought it as a used car from sloane in philadelphia. It has approximately 17000 miles on it and is considered still under warranty. I have had to take it in for service 4 times for the vehicle hesitating upon acceleration. The service center first said the hesitation came from a bad battery, second incident they stated they could not find anything wrong, third incident, when I almost got in an accident because the vehicle started to stall up entering the freeway traffic, I brought it back in for service. They did a thorough check and said it was the oxygen sensor. They replaced it. Approximately 2 weeks later, the vehicle began hesitating once again! Again, at a crucial point in a traffic situation. I returned the vehicle again for service, they stated it was the codes, they just needed to be cleared. The vehicle is still hesitating and is causing a potential for serious injury upon driving under crucial situations. I have now resorted to public transportation. Audio system issue: vehicle's radio will display all it's features, but will not play any sound through speakers. This has been addressed with the service team on 3 past occasions, but it has not been remedied. Last know problem was the speaker amps and grounding mechanism for speaker, also the radio, when it does work gets interference when the rear defrost is on.

Filed Jan 4, 2002 · Engine · ME

Repeated cold engine hesitation to the point of stalling when gaining speed from a stop. Manufacturer repeatedly stated that there is no fix and the problem was a "condition of operation"characteristic of all 2001 and 2002 engines, that owner would have to warm the engine prior to use and burn a higher grade of gasoline. Engine light on at time of first service with code p0133. Replaced a/f sensor did not fix problem. Condition was not disclosed to me at the time of purchase. Dealer warms engine prior to customer test drive. After being refused a refund, I traded in the car 11/14/01 at oconner vw, augusta me. Informing owner of dealership about problem.

Filed Sep 6, 2001 · Acceleration · KS

When engine is cold,vehicle hesitates and nearly stalls when accelerating from idle speed or taking off.