Subaru Outback sudden acceleration problems

Filed Oct 11, 2026 · Brakes, Electrical · WI

Brand new 2026 Outback experienced a "Sudden Unintended Acceleration / Brake Ineffectiveness. This occurred 3 times this week after the car had been driven over 90 miles or over 90 minutes. Engine and components were warmed up. Car was initially reported to dealer 10/6, car was examined by dealer and returned to me later that day.could not be replicated. Car sat at my home until today when it was driven over 90 minutes or 90 miles. Replicated failure by me same as earlier in the week . Car drivetrain felt surged. CVT fighting brake system when trying to turn car at street corner. Would not stop until on straight away ( seems to be triggered when turning and car was hot and when no power applied to engine. Only stops on straight away.. Could be related to cvt torque converter? Software glitch? Force of turning wheel?

Filed Aug 10, 2026 · Acceleration · NY · crash

UNKNOWN When pulling into a parking space at the [XXX] diner my 2016 OUTBACK suddenly accelerated while I was ready to shift from drive to park. It was as if I put the gas peddle to the floor. There was a car about 6feet in front of me which I hit. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 8, 2026 · Acceleration, Electrical · KY · crash

I was in an automatic car wash, approaching the end of the tunnel. The car was running but in neutral. I put my foot on the brake pedal and shifted into drive. As I moved the shifter, I heard a scraping sound followed by a clink sound, then the car surged forward and accelerated toward a stone wall directly ahead. I turned hard right as I hit and held the brakes. I missed the wall but hit a pickup truck that was coming up the drive. My car hit the left front fender of the truck with my left front fender. The truck, which appears to have been "lifted" rode over the top of my fender and both vehicles scraped down the left side of each other. I finally got the car stopped some distance beyond the truck. Both vehicles had to be towed away from the scene. My car is currently in the Caliber repair shop with nearly $23,000 damage. The Knox County Sheriff's office responded but they did not file a report as the incident took place on private property. Even so, the Deputy did interview both drivers and several witnesses in front of his body camera. I understand those videos are maintained at the Sheriff's office.

Filed Mar 24, 2026 · Acceleration · 129,000 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact lifted her foot off the brake pedal and then firmly depressed the brake pedal another time. The vehicle was able to come to a stop. The contact stated that prior to the failure, the vehicle had stalled while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the dealer, who were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

Filed Mar 19, 2026 · Driver assistance · CA · crash

I was parking my car slowly until it suddenly accelerated. I hit a wall and car got totaled.

Filed Feb 13, 2026 · Brakes · FL

Today 13 Feb 2026, around 3pm I was following traffic it was slow (5 miles an hour) and the traffic light turned red so I pushed on my brake to stop the car and it surged forward I pushed down on the brake again and the my vehicle stopped. Lucy I was travel a couple car lengths behind the vehicle in front of me or we would have ran into his back bumper. This is the second time this year this happen the other time was a couple of weeks back and I thought I did something wrong but my wife was in the car this time with me and she thought I did something I told her I pushed on the brake and the car surged forward. I told her I wasn't going nuts as this was the second time this year the car did this. I live in Central Florida and the weather was over 70 degrees, we were shopping and were heading home I estimate we were in the car traveling 4/5 minutes when this happened.

Filed Dec 3, 2025 · Acceleration · MD

While in a parking lot moving at very slow rate speed the car suddenly accelerated on its own. I had just slowly turned within a parking lot in preparation to backing into a parking space. I had just removed my foot from the accelerator and the car was almost at a stop and I was about to brake and put the car into reverse when it suddenly and rapidly accelerated on its own. My foot was not touching the accelerator at the time (it was over, but not yet touching, the brake). The car felt as if someone had suddenly slammed on the accelerator, but my foot was not on the accelerator at the time. Luckily my foot was over the brake when the rapid unexpected acceleration occurred and also luckily there were no cars in front of me. I was able to immediately slam on the brake so that the car did not hit anything. Before I was able to brake, the car quickly lurched forward at a surprisingly rapid rate of speed for a short distance. Quick application of the brakes stopped the sudden and rapid forward movement of the car. I did not notice any warning lights or messages on the car. This could have been a very dangerous situation. If someone had been walking in front of the car, they would have been hit and potentially seriously injured. If there had been cars parked in front of the space I was about to back into, the car would have hit them and caused damage. This happened earlier today and I have not yet reported it to the dealer. No police or insurance personnel were involved as I managed to avoid an accident. The event occurred today, Wednesday December 3rd at about 11 am. There were no other witnesses. To my knowledge this is the first occurrence of this rapid unexpected acceleration for this car.

Filed Oct 21, 2025 · Acceleration · 500 miles · NY · crash

The contact owned a 2025 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after coming from a stop sign, she depressed the accelerator pedal to make a right turn, and the vehicle inadvertently stopped and then experienced unintended acceleration with no warning light illuminated. The contact regained control of the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while her husband was driving. The contact stated that while her husband was driving under 5 MPH and exiting a parking space, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into two other vehicles. The contact and her husband did not sustain any injuries, and no medical attention was received. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed from the crash site and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 500.

Filed Sep 26, 2025 · Fuel system · WI

SUDDEN AACCELERATION: Cold started the car in garage, all OK. Then backed out and into turn around where I placed foot on the brake. At that moment suddenly accelerated and engine revved to 2000rpm (sounded like). I had to push down very hard on the brake pedal (where my foot already was) to stop the car before crashing into a tree. Foot was clearly on brake pedal at incident (that was the only way I could stop the car). It was not on or close to accelerator pedal and no floor mat or other objects was on or near the accelerator pedal. Very concerned about safe vehicle with this sudden acceleration. Appointment with Subaru dealer made for full diagnostic check. Dealer is White Bear Subaru, [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Sep 22, 2025 · Acceleration, Brakes · IN · crash

I was within the town limits so I was driving slowly. When I approached the first stop light in town I saw that it was red. There were of three or four vehicles stopped at that light. At that point I was probably only going 5mph. I took my foot off of the gas pedal and put my foot on the brake to make a slow stop. Instead, the car accelerated rather quickly. I continued to brake but the car seemed to speed up. I was able to avoid hitting the truck in front of me by going around it. No vehicles were coming towards me but there were some stopped at the other side of the light. I drove up on the sidewalk to avoid hitting anyone. At that point the front passenger side of the car hit & snapped a pole. The car did not stop immediately upon impact. It stopped acclerating and came to a stop about 10 feet past the pole. I am not sure how fast the car was moving when it hit the pole but I was only going about 5 mph when I put my foot on the break. I would estimate the distance my car traveled from the moment I put my foot on the break until the car stopped was approximately 100-120 feet. It felt like the car went into the cruise resume mode and was trying to accelerate to a predetermined speed. I had not been using the cruise control that day but that is exactly what it felt like. There was one other time this year that the car lunged forward without using the gas pedal. It stopped quickly for me and I just assumed that I had hit the cruise resume button, although I also hadn't been using the cruise that day. The insurance company took the car to an impound lot two hours away. I am sure there has been no inspection and my insurance has not informed me of the status of having my car totaled or repaired. Because of the age of the car, and damage, they think it will be totaled. Yes, my safety and the safety of anyone near me was at risk. The car malfunctioned and the fact no one was hurt was miraculous. There were no warning messages before this accident.