2006 Subaru Outback

The vehicle becomes uncontrollable on light ice. The rear end will "ghost walk" (seems to steer on its own). I have driven in snow my entire life and have never experienced this issue in any other vehicle. I am also an ASE certified master technician. It only happens if I have passengers in the rear seat or groceries in the cargo area. The car is not even close to its cargo limit. The tires have been replaced and an alignment performed and the issue remains. I found that this is a commonly reported problem in the forums. The car is absolutely unsafe in this condition. I was being passed by every other car on the road. The rear end will float back and forth over 35 mph regardless of any driver input (acceleration, deceleration, steering input etc).

I EXPERIENCED MY GAS PEDAL NO LONGER WORKING WHILE DRIVING, CAR WAS DRIVING WELL, ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET GOING ABOUT 25 MPH, THEN THERE WAS SUDDENLY NO GAS/ACCELERATION, HAD TO COAST TO A STOP. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT WAS FLASHING. ABOUT 2 HOURS LATER THE CAR WAS RUNNING NORMAL AGAIN. THE DIAGNOSIS CODE GIVEN WAS P2138 THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR/SWITCH D/E VOLTAGE CORRELATION. IT IS VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE TO SUDDENLY NOT HAVE POWER WHILE DRIVING, WILL BE DRIVING ON THE OUTSIDE LANE UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED TO I CAN GET OUT OF TRAFFIC SAFELY.

I'M DRIVING ALONG & SUDDENLY ALL THE LIGHTS GO ON & THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL DOES NOTHING, THE CAR JUST LOSES POWER. I HAVE TO PULL OVER, NOT ALWAYS IN A SAFE SPOT, BECAUSE IT WON'T DO ANYTHING! TURN THE CAR OFF & WAIT 5 MINUTES. THEN IT WILL START BACK UP, WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT & CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT BLINKING. AFTER ABOUT 3 RESTARTS THOSE LIGHTS TURN OFF. I'VE HAD THEERROR CODE READ & ITS P2138. WHEN A CAR JUST STOPS DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC, IT'S VERY DANGEROUS & I'VE BEEN READING ONLINE THAT IT'S COMMON IN THIS YEAR SUBARU & IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED!! IT'S BEEN HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY & LAST TIME ON THE FREEWAY!!!

ABOUT 4 WEEKS AGO, ON LATE SATURDAY MORNING, DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE, FROM RICHMOND, VA MY CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE IN HAMPTON. THE CAR JOLTED A LITTLE AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, SMOKE BECAME VISIBLE, BUT THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS NOT RUNNING HIGH. A WITNESS RAN TOWARD THE CAR YELLING TO GET OUT OF THE CAR BECAUSE IT WAS ON FIRE. EVEN THOUGH 2 FIRE TRUCKS WERE ON THE SCENE, IT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE AND EVERYTHING UNDER THE HOOD WAS BURNT TO A CRISP. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS NOT RECOVERABLE. ARE YOU AWARE OF WHAT MAY HAVE POSSIBLY CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN?

FALL OF 2011 I STARTED TO NOTICE A FILM, WHICH WAS ALL OVER THE DASHBOARD, THIS FILM WAS OF STICKY SUBSTANCE AND IT WAS MAINLY OR MORE NOTICEABLE ON THE PARTS OF THE DASHBOARD THAT WERE MOST DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE SUN. THIS FILM WAS OF SUCH STICKINESS THAT HAIR, DUST PARTICLES, PAPER, OR ANYTHING THAT WOULD COME IN CONTACT WITH IT WOULD GET TRAPPED AS IF IT WAS FLY PAPER. I DID EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAD BEEN DONE IN ORDER TO IF NOT ELIMINATED, TO MAKE IT ACCEPTABLE AND NOT SO STICKY AND GLUE LIKE. I WENT TO THE SUBARU DEALER, WHERE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED, IN ORDER TO GET SOME RE-DRESS TO THIS PROBLEM, IN SEVERAL OCCASIONS I WAS TOLD THIS FILM, THIS STICKINESS CAME FROM USING ARMOR ALL, THAT IT MUST COME FROM SOME PRODUCT I MUST HAVE USED ON IT. WELL, NOTHING EVER CAME OUT OF MY MANY VISITS AND CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER, AS THE LAST RESORT THE LAST TIME OF MY VISIT TO THE DEALERSHIP, I INSISTED ON THEM OPENING A CASE SO SUBARU HEADQUARTER WOULD BE AWARE OF IT, AFTER I CALLED AND OBTAIN A COMPLAINT #, THE SUBARU DEALER IN SANFORD WAS NOTIFIED AND THEN THEY MADE THE APPT TO TAKE THE PICTURES, THIS WAS SOMETIME THIS YEAR MARCH OR APRIL, ABOUT A WEEK OR SO LATER, I WAS CONTACTED BY THE SUBARU REGIONAL OFFICE AND THE REPRESENTATIVE WENT ON TO EDUCATE ME BY TELLING ME THAT MY CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY,THEY HAD NO COMPLAINT OF STICKY DASHBOARDS ON RECORD, AND 3RD THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIME I WENT TO THE DEALER OR HEADQUARTERS, I WAS NOT GOING TO GET MY DASHBOARD FIXED OR REPLACED. IN CLOSING THUS LET ME SAY, THAT ANOTHER JAPANESE COMPANY TOYOTA HAS ALREADY OWNED UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STICKY AND SHINNY DASHBOARD ALSO REFERRED TO AS MELTING DASHBOARDS: HTTP://MECHANICS.STACKEXCHANGE.COM/QUESTIONS/14613/WHY-IS-MY-TOYOTA-DASHBOARD-SHINY-AND-STICKY-AND-HOW-DO-I-CLEAN-IT

I AM IN MY THIRD SEASON DRIVING MY 2006 SUBARU OUTBACK TO LAKE TAHOE FOR WINTER SKI SEASON. I'VE ALWAYS FELT CONFIDENT DRIVING ON SNOWY OR ICY ROADS UNTIL MY LAST TWO TRIPS--CHRISTMAS 2008, AND NEW YEAR'S 2009. ON THESE TRIPS, I EXPERIENCED VERY DISTURBING FISHTAILING THAT EVERYONE IN THE CAR NOTICED, AND I HAD TO FIGHT TO COMPENSATE FOR. THIS OCCURRED EVEN ON LONG STRAIGHT SECTIONS. EACH TIME I HAD TO SLOW DOWN WELL BELOW THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, AND THE SPEED OF PREVIOUS TRIPS. THIS ISSUE MADE ME WONDER ABOUT IMPROPER TIRE INFLATION PRESSURE, SO WE CALLED THE TIRE DEALER, WHO CONFIRMED THIS WAS NOT THE CAUSE. IT FELT AS IF THE REAR WHEEL TRACTION WAS OVERCOMING FRONT WHEEL TRACTION, THAT MADE ME ALSO WONDER WHETHER THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE WAS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. I ALSO CONSIDERED WEIGHT AS A CAUSE, BECAUSE ONE DAY I DROVE FROM RENO TO TAHOE WITH ONLY ONE PASSENGER, AND LITTLE CARGO, AND DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM. BUT, THE FULLY LOADED VEHICLE WAS NO DIFFERENT THAN MANY TRIPS THE PREVIOUS TWO SEASONS, WHEN THE FISHTAILING DID NOT OCCUR, AND I COULD MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT SPEED TO STAY WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC. SAME VEHICLE, SAME TIRES, SAME LOADS, SAME ROAD, SAME CONDITIONS, YET MUCH DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE. I NOTICED OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS, SOME OF WHICH REFER TO "GHOSTWALKING." PLEASE WORK ON IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE AND SOLUTION FOR THIS ISSUE, TO PREVENT SERIOUS ACCIDENT/INJURY. THANK YOU. *TR

OUR 2006 SUBARU OUTBACK WAS TAKEN ON AN EXTENDED TRIP IN THE SUMMER OF 2006 WHERE THE ALIGNMENT WENT SO FAR OUT OF TRUE THAT THE TIRES ALMOST BLUE (PROBLEM CORRECTED ENROUTE). A 2ND EXTENDED TRIP WAS TAKEN A FEW WEEKS AGO WHERE THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED, EVEN THOUGH THE DEALERS SERVICE DEPARTMENT OK'D THE CAR. THE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT IN THE CAR WAS NO MORE THAN PERSONAL BELONGINGS AND SOME FOOD BUT, DUE TO THE ALIGNMENT (AS VERIFIED BY SUBARU MECHANICS), THE TIRES CAME FRIGHTENINGLY CLOSE TO BLOWING. *TR