2005 Subaru Outback acceleration problems

Filed Mar 14, 2026 · Acceleration · NY

P2138 code. Gas pedal stops responding to inputs. Car goes into limp mode and managed to get car off the road. Shut off and waited 5 minutes, restarted and it works again. Associated P0500 code also present. First time this has happened on this car.

Filed Mar 10, 2022 · Acceleration · 177,000 miles · MT

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing cruise control failures. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at 50 MPH up a steep hill of a bridge, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle decelerated significantly to 20-25 MPH. The accelerator pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and remained at the bottom of the hill facing an incline, while there was oncoming traffic. The check engine warning light and other unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact engaged the Sport mode first gear and the vehicle moved slowly. The contact continued to depress the accelerator pedal but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact switched to the slow lane and drove to the top of the incline and made a left turn off the end of the bridge downhill. The vehicle rolled down, allowing him to veer to the side of the road. The contact parked the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the engine was running at 2,000 RPM, even though the vehicle had no motive power. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle. The contact shifted to drive and low gear, and he was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the throttle position sensor had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 177,000.

Filed Jan 4, 2022 · Acceleration · 215,500 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving downhill at 40 MPH, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact parked on the side of the road and restarted the vehicle after 3-4 minutes and continued driving to his destination. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was turned off after restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 215,500.

Filed Dec 8, 2020 · Acceleration · 200,000 miles · NY

Every once in a while the gas pedal stops functioning. It happens at highway speeds as well as local roads. When it does happen you have to find a safe spot to pull over and shut off the engine for at least a minute or more. Restart the car and the pedal comes back. This is very hazardous. I could end up getting rear ended. My grand children ride in the car. The scanner code came up p2138 subaru recommends that the gas pedal assembly needs to be replaced. It's a 185.00 part plus labor.I don't understand why there isn't a recall because of the safety issue

Filed Nov 17, 2018 · Acceleration · 129,653 miles · NY

I am having an issue with my car going limp after start. The engine does not register the gas pedal/throttle. Code reader said its the throttle position sensor. Brought to mid hudson subaru in wappingers ny, they said gas pedal sensor. That did not fix vehicle. Subaru does not seem to recognize this as a safety issue... The problem is sporadic and there is no warning, just driving along and gas pedal no longer has any effect on propulsion of vehicle.

Filed Aug 28, 2018 · Acceleration · 174,000 miles · CA

1) recurring phantom revving (in neutral and/or clutch depressed, both while completely stopped and while slowing down from any and all speeds) upwards of 4-5k RPM with difficulty getting the rpms back to normal. Happens sometimes daily, sometimes constantly, sometimes it goes a few days without happening. 2) complete loss of pedal control/response (a "limp" pedal) while going 60mph on a freeway, managed to coast to safety and let the car sit for 10+ minutes, when it restarted and the throttle worked again. Stored code p2138, cel on and cruise control disabled. Have only driven the car a few times since, out of fear of losing pedal control again. -- online research has LED me to a number of possible solutions, most common being defective throttle position sensor connections (which frequently get exposed to the elements and corrode, apparently), bad accelerator pedal position sensor, and many people replaced the entire pedal assembly when the previous "fixes" did not solve the problem.

Filed Mar 17, 2018 · Acceleration · 148,000 miles · NY

Error code p2138: some failure of pedal sensor assembly while in motion. Exact issue unknown. Acceleration goes limp and pedal becomes non-responsive. Has happened in both city and highway driving situations. Very dangerous in traffic

Filed Dec 14, 2017 · Acceleration · 81,000 miles · MA

Intermittently and without warning, the accelerator pedal will become unresponsive. On multiple occasions, the vehicle was in motion when this happened. The speedometer fell to 0, and when pressed, the accelerator pedal did nothing. The vehicle had to be limped to the side of the road and restarted in order for it to work again. The check engine light would then come on. On other occasions, the accelerator would not respond immediately upon starting the vehicle, and the check engine light came on immediately upon starting. This has the potential to be extremely dangerous or fatal if the car were to go limp when driving on a highway at high speeds, or taking a turn. Research has shown that this is a widespread problem with the outback, and action needs to be taken by subaru. This should be treated as a recall.

Filed Dec 5, 2017 · Acceleration · 171,000 miles · IL

Car randomly goes limp while driving, accelerator will not respond. Have to put it in neutral and eek to the side of the road. Very dangerous! Check engine light illuminates, pulling a p2138 code.

Filed May 8, 2017 · Acceleration · 131,000 miles · MN

While driving or accelerating from a stopped position the accelerator loses control. Check engine light comes on and I then have to coast to a safe place on the road. I turn off ignition, remove and replace gas cap, restart the xar. Had the check engine code checked as p2138. Trottle/pedal position sensor switch. So far I have been lucky and not been hit while this occurs.this has been happening for 2 weeks now. Going to repair shop to hope for repair.