Today I came to a complete stop at a red light. When the light turned green and I accelerated, my vehicle began to sputter out. I tried to pull over but my car had no power. It began to sputter then died in the middle of the road. I was stranded at 9am on broadway with my 1.5 year old and 2 week old. I tried to start my car multiple times for 8 minutes until one attempt it turned over, this time with my check engine light and cruise control light flashing. It limped around for a while as I took it to a shop I was told the code read 'throttle positioning sensor'. Which I can't seem to find anything about let alone find it in a store or online. This experience has been frightening and dangerous and I have lost utter faith in my subaru.
2006 Subaru Outback fuel system complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 40 of 40, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
Unexpectedly, while driving, the check engine light will come on, the car will idle high, the accelerator pedal will not respond, and the cruise control light will also come on. The car won't move even while pressing down on the accelerator pedal. I have to pull off the road, turn the car off, and wait until the car starts, the idle returns to normal, and the accelerator pedal responds. This has happened once last year and twice this year; the last time being 2/17/17. I was lucky. The first time it happened I was on a country road. The second time was more difficult as I was on a busy city street in winter, and the last time I had a green light and had just gone through an intersection in a suburb and was able to pull off the road. I did bring it to my mechanic who ran the code, which was p2138, the throttle position sensor. I will be getting this repaired. I am very concerned about the severity of this safety issue where the car just stops responding while driving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 subaru outback. While driving 25 MPH, the vehicle would not accelerate while the accelerator pedal was being depressed. The engine warning indicator illuminated. After the vehicle was stopped, the contact had to open the fuel cover, open and close the fuel cap, close the fuel cover, and start the engine to continue driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 155,000.
I was driving on the highway traveling about 70 miles per hour in the mountains of colorado when my car's accelerator stopped working. I was on a sharp downhill curve when I was no longer able to accelerate my car to keep up with traffic. This was extremely dangerous as I was almost hit by the cars behind me. There was no warning prior to the incident.
My vehicle lost all ability to accelerate while driving on the freeway. I had to coast into the emergency lane, which was a wall of snow in colorado at this time of year. Blocking traffic in the slow lane, I waited for a tow to my subaru dealer. They told me that my pedal accelerator assembly had failed. After repairs, I experienced the same problem 2 weeks later. This time they are stating that my electronic throttle body has failed. I have researched carcomplaints.com and see that I am one of over 50 consumers that have experienced this problem.
Three times I have lost all acceleration while in motion, with the car and engine slowing to idle speed even though the accelerator is depressed. This occurred twice on two-lane highways and once in my driveway. In all cases, the car returned to normal after being turned off for a short time and restarted. My mechanic is looking into a possible electronic throttle issue. In searching the internet, I find this is not an uncommon problem with 2006 outbacks and other subarus. This is a dangerous condition that could prove deadly if it happens on a busy highway and subaru should address it.
I recently had p2138.. One time. No throttle response, stopped on a hill on a 2 lane road, on a curve, in big sur.. Not good. Rolled backwards down hill after the ones behind had all passed me. Turned off car, waited for 10 minutes, then it fixed itself after a restart. Jiggled the pedal connector and it has been gone for the last 2 weeks while waiting for my mechanic to have room in his schedule to replace my throttle pedal (which has a pedal position sensor), two days from now.
I was driving on the interstate and when I got onto the exit ramp, the vehicle gas pedal stopped working and the check engine light came on along with flashing cruise control light. I coasted into a dealership with hazard lights on at about 10mph. Diagnosis was a faulty accelerator pedal sensor. This could have been very dangerous if I was in heavy traffic or still on the interstate. Car only has 53,000 miles on it.
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.
Sudden deceleration of vehicle. Check engine light comes on and the car goes limp. Vehicle is restartable after 5 minutes, however the throttle does not work properly afterward and the vehicle will not accelerate normally, thus it drives much slower, and will not go above 60 MPH. Problem comes and goes.
My wife was driving our 2006 subaru outback. She was driving in winter conditions. She was driving the 2 mile bridge to our home when the acceleration suddenly failed and the vehicle abruptly slowed from 55 MPH to 35 MPH. The roads had snow and ice on them. The vehicle behind her closed in on the rear of our subaru and began honking and flashing its lights. The check engine light in our car came on and the cruise control flashed. She was scared by the misfunction. The car revved up above 4000 rpms when she put it into park. She shut the vehicle off and I checked and found an error code. P2138. The accelerator has 2 circuits that relay the desired speed to the car's computer. When the circuits don't match the computer cuts the speed out of the vehicle. I think that the engineering behind this system needs to be re thought so that this doesn't occur. I read other reports online of people in heavy traffic who had near accidents.
Vehicle lost power and control abruptly while driving at freeway speed. This is a serious safety issue. This happened twice over a two week period. Lucky to have avoided rear end collisions both times as I was traveling in the right hand lane. If I had been in middle or left lane there would definitely have been serious multiple vehicle collisions on a densely crowded i5 where people don't leave safe following distances. Took vehicle to independent subaru shop and found error code p2138= accel. Pedal sensor circuit. Replaced accel pedal sensor for $269.
Driving on the highway, the check engine light came on soon followed by the flashing cruise control light. At the point, the car became no longer responsive to the accelerator. I was forced to pull over because after breaking, I couldn't speed back up. Turning the car off and on again did not solve the problem. When I turned the car on the engine revved at a high speed with the cruise control light still flashing. I eventually had to get the car towed.
The first incident with this car was me putting the transmission into park after stopping at a gas station and the rpms suddenly shot up to 2000. After filling the tank, I tried to start it but it wouldn't turn over. I let it sit for a moment and then tried again and it started with now the "check engine light" on and "cruise" flashing. The lights self-corrected later that day before I could have the code read. The next incident I was in a left hand turn lane with a green arrow. The check engine light and cruise came on and I suddenly lost the use of the gas pedal. It was completely limp. No matter how hard I pressed on it the car just moved along at idle speed, less than 5 MPH. I barely made it through the intersection before I lost the green arrow. I pulled over, put it in park, the rpms went to 2000, then I turned it off. Tried starting it again and it wouldn't turn over. Tried it a second time and it fired right up and the gas pedal functioned properly. The check engine light and cruise were on again. I took it to an auto parts store to have the code read and it came up with p2138, an issue with the throttle position sensor. These incidents occurred twice more before I was able to get a proper diagnosis from a mechanic and they occurred anywhere from one to two weeks apart. This is a potentially very dangerous issue with these cars and should be addressed by a recall by subaru.
While driving down the road, lost ability to accelerate, throttle failed to respond. This has happened 4 separate times now. Replaced accelerator assembly, but problem still continues without notice. Intermittent problem.
I was parked in a shopping mall parking lot. When I started the engine and pulled out of the parking space the gas pedal was unresponsive. I just rolled along with no power. The check engine light came on and I rolled into another parking space. I read in the owner's manual that it could be an emission control problem or something to do with the gas cap. I took the gas cap off and re-seated it and when I tried to start the car again on the third try, the check engine light went off and the car had power again and the gas pedal was responsive. I took it to my mechanic and he found the code to be p3128. I was fortunate that this did not happen while I was on the highway or anywhere in busy traffic. I had the entire throttle/pedal assembly replaced at a cost of aprox. $500 and hope that this solves the problem.
Sudden loss of accelerator control in traffic. Cannot rev engine or maintain speed above 600 RPM/5 MPH; barely idling. Codes on ecu indicate throttle body positioning sensor failure. Eventually had to replace throttle body to resolve problem.
Same symptom happened twice: once just after starting from a service area on the interstate, the second on suburban roads I describe here. During a normal 30 mile suburban trip, after about 20 miles the vehicle suddenly lost power and the check engine light came on. The engine continued running but the accelerator pedal seemed to have no control over the engine speed or power. After coasting to a stop and turning the engine off for a minute the car started and ran normally, though the check engine light stayed on for a day or so. When we took the vehicle to the dealer after the first incident they were not able to interpret the check engine codes; after the second incident they found a p2138 code -- "accelerator position sensor" failure. They replaced the accelerator assembly and the vehicle seems to be running correctly again. As I understand it the issue is a failure in the accelerator position sensor: there are dual sensors in the assembly and if their readings differ the accelerator pedal is effectively "disconnected" and the driver loses all power. I believe this is a serious safety issue: the failure could just as well have taken place at high speed on the interstate without the possibility of a safe stop, and having the first indication of trouble being "losing all power" is not acceptable.
Incident initially started in february, went to accelerate after starting car in the am, did not respond, cel and flashing cruise button came on, engine seemed to idle and wouldn't respond to trying to accelerate again. Turned engine off, tried to turn back on, would not start. Repeated process with starting 2-3 times until started again. Cel and flashing cruise remained on for a couple days, took to repair garage and they said that they couldn't find anything wrong on the diagnostic run. This has continued to occur off and on for the last several months. I have taken it to 2 different shops who could never find anything wrong with the car or get it to reproduce when they drove it, and then to dealer 2 weeks ago, they replaced throttle body and did a fuel injector service. Again, this morning, accelerating at 30-40 MPH in start/stop traffic, could not accelerate at 30 MPH, engine started to rev, pulled over to side, shut off engine, repeated 2 more times, again cel and flashing cruise. These lights are still on but car drove normally. Very frustrated as I cannot get it to reproduce for shop or for dealership because it happens so erratically.
Happened twice in one week. All of sudden, accelerator not responsive and lost of power. Check engine light comes on and cruise flashing. After turning on and off or stay off for a night, lights went out themselves. Error code p2138 accelerator position sensor. Check sensor no obvious loose on connector. Press connect on and no issue so far. It seems the connector too close to the floor and easy to kicked or touched by foot. \ car was bought in buffalo west herr subaru and used in toronto.
While driving 70mph in the fast lane down the highway I turned cruise control on. As soon as the cruise control was engaged all throttle was lost. While in motion I put the car in neutral then back into drive and nothing happened. The car was decelerating so I pulled off the highway. Once safely on the side of the road I turned the car off for several minutes and then back on. The acceleration capability returned but the check engine light was on. I took the car to a mechanic to read the code which came back as the throttle control sensor. This is a very dangerous defect and should be addressed by subaru america.
I was accelerating to get on the freeway entrance in my subaru outback (with my wife and two small children) when I notice a complete loss in throttle response. The car was just barely moving due to the engine idle. Check engine light came on. I drove at that pace to a parking lot to check my options. I had not noted, until now, that this car has no throttle cable and is completely drive-by-wire. I looked at the connection of wire harness to the pedal assembly and did not see any red flags - no corrosion, etc. It appeared to be in good shape. I shut the car off, waited about 30 sec, and restarted it. It then got us home. When I got home tonight, I ran my obd diagnostic tool and got a p2138 error code. This is listed as "throttle/pedal position sensor/switch "d"/"e" voltage correlation" trouble code description. I am going to check into my options tomorrow, but felt this was worth reporting since it appears there are others out there that have experienced this problem as well. There is definitely a safety concern with a failure of this nature as I was traveling at a good rate and in traffic. Luckily, everyone is ok - but my wife and I worry when this will happen again. Thanks.
In the 2006 subaru outback 3.0 the throttle is controlled electronically. This failed on me while driving at 70 MPH down the freeway. The gas peddle stopped responding. I could not accelerate or maintain speed. I had to pull over. After about 1 minute I restarted the car and the throttle started to respond again. My check engine light is now on and the cruise control light is blinking. This is a safety hazard and needs a fix. After reviewing many forums, it doesn't sound like subaru knows what is causing the issue. But there are some "recommendations".
There have been two incidents so far. One was traveling on the freeway at 65mph when the throttle completely stopped responding. The other incident occurred at much lower speeds when turning a corner and the throttle no longer responded. In both cases the car would not accelerate or maintain speed. Pressing on the accelerator did not have any effect at all. In both cases the car would "coast" along at whatever speed the engine idling would move it - roughly 15 MPH.
While driving on interstate highway, vehicle lost engine power. Electric was still on. Gas pedal did not work. Cel and cruise control lights both blinking. Was able to maintain 15 MPH on flat road, and barley any speed on incline. Got off highway near home and shut of engine. Waited and tried to start back up. 30 seconds of cranking, and nothing. Waited another minute and it started. Got home and pulled a p2138 code. Pulled wiring harness off gas pedal and reseated it. Reset the cel and everything has been fine since. Scary situation, especially at 65mph during thanksgiving eve rush-hour.
I was driving when the accelerator pedal stopped responding. I couldn't accelerate or maintain speed. The check engine light was now on and the cruise control light was flashing. I pulled over and the idle was at 2,000 rpms and the accelerator pedal was still not responding. I turned off the engine for about 5 minutes. When I turned it back on, the accelerator was working but the check engine light was on and the cruise control light was flashing.
My wife was driving the vehicle when the check engine light came on. The cruise light started flashing. The gas pedal was non functioning. She was able to cost to a safe place. When I arrived the car was running. The gas pedal was unresponsive. I shut the car off and took her to work. An hour later I returned to the car and tried to start it. It took several seconds to start, but did. The gas pedal worked. The check engine light was on steady and the cruise control was flashing. I was able to get the car home. Today 10/20/12 the car has no symptoms. This could have been very scary as my wife was driving on the busiest street in montana during the morning commute.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 subaru outback. After starting the vehicle in colder weather, he smells a strong odor of gasoline. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. No repairs were made. The failure mileage was 20,000. The current mileage was 30,000. Updated 02/17/10. *lj updated 02/18/10
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 subaru outback wagon. The contact smelled a strong gasoline odor inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle. An independent mechanic was unable to determine the exact source of the odor. When utilizing the heater or defrost system, the odor became overpowering. While traveling on the highway at various speeds, the odor was not as strong, yet still present. No repairs have been made. The failure mileage was 80,903 and current mileage was 90,198.
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