While turning into a parking spot my wife had foot on the brake and vehicle accelerated over parking bumpers and into a fence and ultimately was stopped by a combination of a tree and the fence car drove through. This collision prevented her from crossing pedestrian sidewalk and continuing into Southbound traffic lane of state hwy. This incident put not only my wife at risk but also potentially any pedestrians or southbound vehicles. There were no system failures or warnings prior to my wife's arrival to her appointment. As mentioned this occurred within an approximate 5 second time frame. It is unknown as to what if any warnings occurred prior to/during the crash as my wife was pushing the brake to park when the sudden acceleration occurred. The braking system seems to have failed along with the sudden acceleration. The Automatic Braking System didn't engage, nor did the parking collision system. All our other Subaru's (including this vehicle have the collision warning and automatic braking systems) The dealership did not try to replicate the incident but all warning systems appear to be functioning correctly at this time. Following the accident I first reported the incident to my dealership where I purchased the vehicle. The initial damage estimate is forthcoming but Subaru tech indicated it will be may thousands of dollars to repair. I will follow-up next with Subaru's National Customer Care (per conversation with dealer) At the dealership (Southern Oregon Subaru) I had a safety/drive-ability inspection performed. Vehicle was given a clearance to drive, but obviously my wife refuses to drive it. Subsequent to the accident, we learned there are over 200 similar reports to the federal safety agency for this exact issue. We will also submit claim to insurance provider USAA.
2019 Subaru Outback: false forward collision warnings
5 of the 1,036 complaints about the 2019 Subaru Outback describe false forward collision warnings.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 0%
- recalls
- 0
False forward collision warnings by model year
What owners say
This is known issue with the electrical system that is associated with the touch screen controls. Without any driver input, the EyeSight driver assist system was shutoff. That system controls adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance, and lane departure features. Rebooting the Starlink touch screen restored those functions. The safety issue is that no audible warning gave indication that the safety features were disabled. Two icons appeared on the dash. There appears to be a class action suit that applies to the Starlink system for my model year. It is important to understand that this more than merely a problem with the entertainment features.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at a slow rate of speed and parking the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control and crash into a brick wall. During the incident, the brake pedal was pressed but the vehicle did not stop. The driver sustained a left shoulder injury. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was not yet towed. A police report was taken at the scene. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated that previously the vehicle had experienced unintended acceleration problems while driving at highway speeds with and without cruise control activated. In addition on several occasions, the collision avoidance system had erroneously activated while driving at highway speeds. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failures and no service was performed. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 24,000.
Drove into the Walgreen's parking lot, made several low speed turns to arrive at the west side of the building. Pulled into an empty parking space. Entered parking space at very low rate of speed and proceeded to brake to a full stop. Moved shift lever with the intent to move transmission from Drive to Park and despite my foot still being on the brake, the car suddenly lurched forward, drove over the curb and sidewalk, crossed sidewalk and hit the side of the store (a brick wall). Car bounced back to a midpoint of the sidewalk. Engine was still running but car came to a full stop. I turned off the engine. Two Walgreen employees came out to see if I was OK (they heard the impact). I told them I was but later my chest hurt and I found a bruise suggesting impact with the steering wheel. Entire front of car is damaged. There were no warning notifications from the car (no parking or forward collision warnings). My right foot never left the brake pedal. The "unexpected acceleration" lunge forward occurred with the attempted shift of the transmission from Drive to Park. The transmission ended up being in Neutral when the car finally stopped moving. Floor mat was in the normal position, secured by the built-in pins, had not shifted and was not near the brake or accelerator (gas) pedal. Cruise control was not turned on. This was a routine trip to a local store.
2019 subaru outback. Consumer writes in regard to design or malfunctioning of technology. The adaptive cruise control failed to maintain adjusted speed. *as the consumer stated while driving the cruise control was set to 45mph at which point, the vehicle speed up and crashed into the car ahead. The pre-collision brake system did not activate.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2019 Subaru Outback collision warning
Is false forward collision warnings a common problem on the 2019 Subaru Outback?
5 of 1,036 owner complaints about the 2019 Subaru Outback (0%) mention false forward collision warnings. The model year with the most reports is 2016.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2019 Subaru Outback?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2019 Subaru Outback
Windshield crack 317Battery drain 149Won't start 54Wipers 38Backup camera 24Fuel pump 22Sudden acceleration 14Adaptive cruise 12Screen failure 11Key fob 11Lane assist 9Stalling 8Sunroof shattered 8Airbag light 6No deployment 6Pulling 6
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