2006 Subaru Outback: sudden loss of power

Filed Nov 26, 2020 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 156,000 miles · CT

At highway speed the vehicle suddenly lost power. The check engine light came on solid with the cruise control light blinking. The car did not respond to any inputs from the accelerator pedal and began to decelerate. Upon stopping and shifting into neutral the car held itself around 2800rpm with no accelerator input from the driver. After reading the check engine light code, the car gave a p2138 indicating a problem with the pedal position sensor.

Filed Feb 6, 2020 · Acceleration · 122,500 miles · MD

The same problem has happened several times over the past several months, randomly, while vehicle is in motion, both on highway and on auxiliary roads at lower speeds. On 01/20/2020, while driving ~65 MPH on the highway, suddenly, the car lost power--although my foot was on the gas pedal, no acceleration was possible. The car "locked up," and began to decelerate, since no gas was available. The check engine light came on, with the flashing cruise light simultaneously on. Luckily, I was able to move the car across the highway and stop on the shoulder. The car was turned off, and I re-started and drove away. When this same type of event occurred another time, on 02/01/2020, the car was in motion on an auxiliary road, ~30 MPH, in heavy traffic. The car again locked up, no gas was available--the car was only able to drift very slowly. I was able to make it to a stop light, which, luckily, was a red signal. At the stop, I shifted the gear into neutral. While in neutral, the engine revved to ~2500 RPM, even though no pressure was being applied to the accelerator pedal. I had to restart the car twice, but the problem didn't clear right away. After a few minutes, it did. In the several other instances when this very unsafe condition of loss of power/acceleration and revving in neutral has occurred, when the car resets, the check engine light also resets, so the code cannot be read in time. Following the most recent incident, I was able to read the error code: p2138 throttle/pedal position sensor/switch "d"/"e" voltage correlation. I have read many other reports to the federal safety agency and on subaru online forums of this very same problem. I have read that it may have been corrected on subsequent year models, but not on the 2005 and 2006, and dealers don't fix. This is a very serious, dangerous, life-threatening condition. I am afraid to drive my car. Please investigate. Should be a recall.

Filed Feb 2, 2020 · Acceleration · 150,000 miles · MI

P2138 check engine code. Vehicle lost all power while traveling 55mph in 4 lanes of traffic. Gas pedal didn't work and the engine was racing. Thankfully I was able to coast over into the left turn lane. The vehicle would only move forward while in drive and at a slow crawl. I was able to get a large enough window to crawl across the other 2 lanes and crawl into a parking lot. I ended up getting towed from there. When checking for repairs I had a smaller 'subaru only' repair shop tell me this is a very common problem and I am lucky no one was injured. They said they repair 1 to 2 of these each month. My local subaru dealer says they've never heard of the error code or my specific problem. They don't even stock the part I need. The internet has many reports of my specific scenario. This seems like a serious safety concern to me. Something is not right here but no by seems to be doing anything about it.

Filed Apr 23, 2018 · Fuel system · 89,364 miles · SC

While driving lost all power, got off road ,engine still run but would not move, finally,restarted and got home, checked codes,p2138 came up.this is a big safety concern,have read reports of this happening to others. What has subaru done to correct big safety problem!!! Has this become a recall.now scared to drive.

Filed Feb 2, 2018 · Fuel system · 210,000 miles · IA

While driving my 2006 subaru outback down the highway, the accelerator became non-responsive. I was traveling at above 65 MPH and lost power. The service engine soon (ses) light came on and the cruise control light started flashing. I had to pull over to the side of the road. The car was still running at idle but nothing would happen when pushing the accelerator. I turned car off and waited for 15-20 minutes and restarted the car. The accelerator pedal then seemed to work as normal. My husband read the ses code (p2138 throttle position sensor). He checked the wiring connection at the foot pedal and it seemed fine. He reset the code with his code reader. The car drove fine with no issues for about 3-4 weeks but then had the same issue recur. This is a safety issue as I was very lucky I wasn't in the middle of a lot of traffic when this occurred. If I was I was pretty much a sitting duck as the car wouldn't move. I had to coast to the side of the road. There are quite of few other people on the internet that mention they have encountered this issue however most of them don't mention they reported the issue.

Filed Mar 30, 2017 · Engine · 105 miles · TN

Ringland issue once again another ringland issue this is with my 2006 subaru outback xt. Yes, this car is out of warranty but has been driven gently by a grandmother and serviced with the precision of a formula race car. Why has subaru not just come out and said yes our vehicles from 2005-2006 were garbage and the ringlands were junk. I can't believe I am even thinking about replacing a stock ringland on a vechicle...no other car....none has had as many issues with ringlands as subaru. Car is now experiencing misfires, and some loss of oil as loss of power...compression in cylinders is now down to 30% so this is not a catastrophic failure...this is a defect a manufactures defect or a metallurgical defect and they really need to take care of this and make it right for older customers...we are all just sitting on ticking bombs. Love ya guys and stay classy

Filed Oct 6, 2016 · Airbags · 148,655 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 subaru outback. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power and all the warning indicators illuminated. After pulling the vehicle over to the side of the road, waiting a brief period, and manually restarting the vehicle, it became operable again. The failure occurred on three occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 148,655.

Filed Jan 28, 2016 · Acceleration · 95,000 miles · CA

Loss of power, no acceleration while driving at highway speeds. Trouble code p2138 faulty throttle position sensor in the gas pedal leading to no acceleration. This happened while driving on the freeway at highway speeds (70 MPH or so). Suddenly there was no power when pushing the gas pedal and we had to make it to the shoulder on a busy freeway with no acceleration what so ever. This should be a recall! People can die with loss of power and acceleration on the freeway, or being stuck on a blind curve on a mountain road. Very dangerous situation with this system!

Filed Nov 9, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · 182,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 subaru outback. While driving at 70 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle lost power, the cruise control deactivated, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 182,000.

Filed Feb 28, 2015 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 49,296 miles · NM

I was traveling on a 3-lane highway at the posted mileage (60 MPH). Simultaneously the check engine light came on and the gas pedal lost all power. The cruise light was also flashing. I tried flooring the gas pedal, but the vehicle continued to lose power and the speed rapidly decreased to less than 20 MPH. This happened with absolutely no warning and no time to get off a busy thoroughfare. This occurred at approximately 3:00 pm, so fortunately the traffic was not extremely heavy. I was able to cut across 2 lanes of traffic that was going 60 MPH +, exit on an off-ramp, and get to a safe location to call for a tow truck to take the vehicle to dealership for repair. The outcome was code p2138 (accelerator sensor). The sensor was replaced at a cost of $340. I purchased this vehicle new in 2006, and have kept it well maintained at the dealership per their service schedule. However, until this problem occurs, there?s no doubt it would have ever been caught by the dealer to repair. This is extremely dangerous because it could have caused a serious injury to me and other drivers. If it had been at another time, I could have been rear-ended by drivers going the posted speed limit.

Filed Feb 24, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 100,265 miles · NC

P2138 code - throttle issue --- today as I was driving to work, luckily on a side street,when the check engine light came on and the cruise control light began to blink. Then I lost power to the engine while it was still running. I normally take the highway to work but this day there was snow and ice so I decided to take the side streets instead. I pressed the gas pedal with no response. I coasted to a side street and turned in with no incident, thank god. I was near a toyota dealership and I asked for their help but they said they did not work on subaru. I was just about to call aaa when I thought to restart the car to see if it would go so I could take it somewhere else. I gave it gas and it went. The check engine light and cruise control was still on. I drove slowly to another service place and they found the code p2138 and said I could drive it but to get it to a dealership as soon as I could. The subaru dealerships are not located in my town and takes 20-30 by highway to get to one of them. I am very unsure of driving on the highway now and have this happening again. I drive the highways a lot in order to fit my daily schedule. This is especially true for me to see elderly mother who lives 30 minutes away by highway. I love my subaru even after having had the typical 2006 problems like head gasket leak and such which I consider acceptable for the mileage I have on her. I had planned on getting another subaru in the future but not having power is extremely scary and will make me shop elsewhere if this is typical. *tr updated 4/21/16

Filed Feb 11, 2015 · Electrical · 77,000 miles · CO

My fiancee was driving my 2006 subaru outback on the highway approximately 65 MPH when there was a sudden loss of power. The throttle was unresponsive, but the engine remained idling. My partner pulled over to the side of the highway and tried restarting right away but the engine wouldn't start. After waiting a few minutes he was able to restart and drive normally. The cel was on with the cruise control blinking. When I took the car in to get the code read it gave the p2138 error code. In the last month this has happened 3 more times, including when on the way to the mechanic this morning. The mechanic said he has heard of this problem previously with '06 subarus and recommended I get the wvu31 recall update, which I am really hoping will make a difference. This is extremely unsafe and essentially makes my car undriveable as I am never certain when a sudden loss of power will occur. If this happens where there is no shoulder it could easily cause an accident. This is an extreme safety concern that needs to be addressed!