2006 Subaru Legacy fuel system problems

Filed Apr 29, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 147,000 miles · IL

This only affect 05-06 legacy gt owners. The up-pipe for the subaru legacy gt in these given years have a catalytic converter in there and after a certain mileage, the debris of the catalytic converter breaking down would shoot back into the turbocharger. That would cause the turbo failure and stall the vehicle unexpectedly. The catalytic converter in the up-pipe does not have any indication of % of wear and most non-car enthusiasts would not know what the issue is caused by except for an expensive turbo replacement and up-pipe replacements. Most of the owners of these issues turn over to catless up-pipe but that would cause the check engine light coming on and overboosting or the engine run rich, further damaging the engine. This can be pretty dangerous if a person is on a road trip and having a long drive as it directly impact the drivability of the vehicle. Subaru has recognize the issue and therefore 07+ turbo models all have a catless up-pipe with the ecu tuned to that specification. I believe it is not fair for 05-06 legacy gt owners to have to suffer from such a critical issue without some sort of compensation or recall. Thank you for your time

Filed Sep 19, 2017 · Acceleration, Engine · 136,000 miles · WV

Car would not accelerate upon entering the highway after pushing on the gas pedal the car wouldn't do anything . I was able to get off to the side and missed being hit from behind from on coming traffic...I notice check engine light and flashing cruse control light... Second time some weeks later it did the same thing this is very dangerous because you never know when this will happen.

Filed Apr 28, 2017 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 145,000 miles · WA

While driving, the check engine light comes on and there is no power to the gas pedal. The car is unable to accelerate or maintain speed and the driver needs to avoid potential collisions by pulling over on the road or freeway.

Filed Mar 21, 2017 · Fuel system · 215,000 miles · NY

While driving at any speeds, lose acceleration and need to coast and pull over. Just before shutting off engine, rpms jump to 3-4,000 when in park. Need to turn off engine for at least 30 seconds before being able to turn car back on with check engine light on and cruise light flashing, but have acceleration again. After driving for around 100 miles, check engine and cruise light turn off, but randomly incident can happen again. Had a diagnostic check, confirming throttle position sensor when check engine light was on.

Filed Apr 8, 2016 · Fuel system · 149,000 miles · NC

Two occurrences so far on wednesday march 23 and tuesday april 5. Vehicle suddenly displays check engine light and the cruise control light flashes and vehicle drops into "limp mode." problem is apparently due to wear on the potentiometers in the drive-by-wire system. This wear causes different readings which makes the motor think something is wrong with the pedal and cuts the vehicle speed to roughly 5 MPH. First occurrence driving along at posted speed of 45 MPH. Second instance trying to leave from a stoplight, got into the intersection and the vehicle speed dropped, was barely able to get vehicle out of intersection. (cel code p 2138 - throttle position sensor)

Filed Feb 1, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 150,000 miles · WV

While driving engine light and cruise lights come on and vehicle will not accelerate. I almost got rearended because of it. It set a code #p2138. It is very dangerous and there should be a recall on it.

Filed Sep 23, 2015 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 129,000 miles · WA

I experienced two issues with the electronic throttle position sensor in my 2006 subaru legacy. The first time I was traveling at approx. 35 MPH and the RPM's began increasing rapidly. I was in traffic and unable to pull off to the side safely when the engine completely stalled. I sat there thinking that the motor was going to blow up if I attempted to start it again. I called my mechanic and he thought that it could be the throttle position sensor, as he has replaced many of them on subarus. I was able to start the car and move off to the side of the road to make sure that it was not going to do it again. The car was then taken to the mechanic where he cleaned the sensor and said if I have a problem again then I should replace it. Fast forward 4 months later and I experienced the same problem on a busy street where the car lost power and completely shut down after rpms skyrocketed and I was left with no control. Upon start up, the check engine light came on, obviously triggering a code that says the car is a death trap with a really poorly designed throttle. I plan to have the part replaced immediately, but this could be a serious safety issue for someone not in a position to move to the side of the road, as it just happens randomly with no warning signs.

Filed Dec 28, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 36,000 miles · NH

I was driving with my son (9) during the evening of 12/16/14 on side roads looking at christmas lights. I was going 15-20 MPH. Night was dry and clear. Suddenly, the check engine light came on steady, cruise control light began flashing and I had absolutely no acceleration! I pulled over and put the car in "park". Engine revved between 2000-3000 even though I was not pressing anything, just idling in p. Turned car off for a min, back on, dash lights still on - ce & cc. Still had no control over the gas pedal but when taken out of p, car got itself up to 15 MPH somehow. We were very close to home so coasted home and into the driveway. When shifted to p at home, engine revved again. Next morning I drove it to school, ce & cc light still on but car drove ok. When I drove it again, dash lights were off and it drove fine. Same exact issue happened again on 12/23/14, again at a low speed on a side road, thankfully. Error code on the car is p2138 - throttle position sensor. There is no warning before this happens, car is fine and then suddenly it is not. From what I see online, this has been a common occurrence lately with this car. I am terrified that it will happen while I am in traffic or on the highway and cause a serious accident! Please investigate this with subaru, I see that a lot of people have trouble getting it resolved and I don't have the time or money to pay for something that appears to be a common subaru defect. Thank you for your time and attention to this serious issue!

Filed Nov 9, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 92,000 miles · DC

My 2006 subaru outback ll bean has been cutting out on me while driving. One incident was on the highway at high speed. The gas pedal went limp and I had to navigate over 2 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder. Gas pedal was completely unresponsive. Check engine light came on and the cruise control light began flashing. Every time this has happened it was either raining or snowing outside. Took the outback into the dealer and was told they weren't sure what the cause was because they have never seen it before. They suggested replacing the gas pedal assembly, but they were not certain. The same situation happened once when I turned on the cruise control.

Filed Sep 29, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 66,100 miles · MD

While crossing a four-lane road, the accelerator pedal went limp and caused the engine to become unresponsive. The car would not accelerate and barely made it across the lanes of traffic to the median safely. The check engine light illuminated and when placed into park, the engine revved to approximately 2500rpm without my foot being on the pedal. I turned the engine off, and restarted it only to have it rev again on its own to 2500rpm. It took 5-6 attempts to restart it before the engine idled appropriately and the accelerator became responsive again. The check engine light remained on and obd code p2318 was returned when I plugged in a scanner to the port. This is not the first time this event has occurred; it has been random and sporadic for about 8 months now, sometimes occurring as often as 3-4 times per week to going 2 months in between episodes. Speed does not seem to be a factor, it's happened at both freeway and parking lot speeds, in all kinds of weather and at various temperatures, with the cruise control on and with the cruise control off.