Two incidents of unprovoked acceleration 1st incident: approximately March 2021 Slowly backing up at a gas station and experienced sudden acceleration causing the car to hit a metal guard at the fuel pump. This resulted in damage to the vehicle requiring repair. 2nd incident: 12/2023 Slowly entering a parking space when there was sudden acceleration causing the vehicle to to go over a concrete curb across a grassy median to hit an unoccupied car parked directly across. This resulted in damage to the bumper and damage to the car it hit. Police were called but they were busy and this happened in a parking lot so an incident number was obtained and insurance information was exchanged between driver and other vehicle owner.
2018 Subaru Outback: fuel pump failure
5 of the 816 complaints about the 2018 Subaru Outback describe fuel pump failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 1
Fuel pump failure by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while their wife was pulling into a parking space, uphill, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a sign. The vehicle continued accelerating approximately a car length of distance causing it to jump another curb onto grass and eventually come to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle had damage to the front end and bumper of the vehicle. The contact had no injuries and medical attention was not needed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who had not diagnosed the vehicle and it had not been repaired. The contact stated they found an article regarding the year/make/model experiencing the same failure due to a failure of the low-pressure fuel pump. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000.
Car stalled in a busy intersection. No warning lights occurred when this happened Diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump
While beginning a left turn with arrow, the motor died and the vehicle stopped. I put the transmission in neutral and attempted to restart without sucsess. I then placed the transmission in park in the driving lane with moving traffic, attempted to restart,this attempt was sucessfull.iproceeded home without further trouble. The next day I looked on line and read of the fuel pump issue. The symptoms seemed the same as I had experienced. I then inquired at the subaru dealership and gave them my VIN # and they informed me that our vehicle was not part of the recall.please help
I recently purchased a 2018 outback. I was driving it going about 25 MPH on road by my house and it shut down out of nowhere, dash lights came on, gas pedal wouldn't work, the only way I got it to go was shutting it off completely and restarting it. They car has 3500 miles, I dropped it off at the dealership on 8/25 and they have had it since. They replaced the fuel pump saying it was the cause of it shutting down on me. I received the car back on 9/21 and drove it for 180 miles, this time at 65 MPH the car shutdown again while I was trying to pass someone on a 2 lane road, power steering lost and all lights came on dashboard like it had some type of electrical problem. Very similar to the first time but I was driving much faster this time.after about 30 seconds the car just kind of started up by itself without me having to push the start button I believe this issue is a huge safety issue and could possibly get me killed or someone else killed while driving this car. Subaru service facility has no clue whats going on since the car is not throwing codes. I have started the lemon law process but subaru is not being very helpful thus far. Also having a problem with passenger seat not sensing if someone is sitting in the seat and not enabling the airbags. This problem came up on the scan on 8/25 analysis. I was unaware of the issue, nothing in the car told me passenger side airbag was not working. Subaru replaced the seat but I am still concerned that the problem is going on since I have no way to tell if it works or not.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
- Risk
- Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.
Recall number 21V587000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2018 Subaru Outback fuel pump
Is fuel pump failure a common problem on the 2018 Subaru Outback?
5 of 816 owner complaints about the 2018 Subaru Outback (1%) mention fuel pump failure. The model year with the most reports is 2019.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Subaru Outback?
There is 1 recall and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2018 Subaru Outback
Windshield crack 217Battery drain 73Backup camera 60Won't start 31Screen failure 20Stalling 20Sudden acceleration 16Wipers 15Sunroof shattered 12Lane assist 11Jerking 10Pulling 10Fuel gauge 9Key fob 9Adaptive cruise 7No deployment 6Grinding brakes 6Collision warning 6Headlights 6Loss of power 6CVT failure 5Hesitation 5Power steering loss 5
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