2013 Subaru Outback

I was pulling into a parking space very slowly when the car went into overdrive and suddenly accelerated at a high speed. It plunged down a slight decline and hit a large tree. My airbag failed to deploy although I was thrown violently forward, and the car sustained severe front end damage. The car is considered a total loss and I spent a day at a hospital emergency room. The sudden unexpected acceleration and the lack of airbag inflation is going to be assessed by Subaru on 10/24/23. I understand that there are two class action lawsuits against Subaru (in NJ & CA) for this same unanticipated acceleration issue.

Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehicle shudders often, and the car shakes very badly again if the transmission approaches 4000RPM. Vehicle will be taken in for service next week and it is suspected that Subaru will be required to replace the transmission under the extended warranty offered to all customers because of high transmission failure rates observed on this make/model of car. The NHTSA needs to require a recall on all Subaru CVTs due to unreliability and stalling putting passengers and the public at risk.

Thank you NHTSA for being my voice. We need and appreciate the life saving work you collectively do to keep my family, myself, and others safe on our roads. I need your action. My 2013 Subaru Continuously Variable Transmission valve body is failing. This is a major safety issue because my Subaru risks stalling out and potentially being harmed in a crash causing bodily injury or death to the driver, passengers, and other motorists. This is a known issue with Subaru and the NHTSA. Instead of a recall, Subaru of America opted to extend the warranty to 100,000 miles or 10 years for this safety issue. My car is 8 years old and over 100,000 miles. (I have taken amazing care of my beloved car and have already replaced the short block assembly that was a Service Bulletin under warranty for excessive oil consumption.) My goal, with your assistance, is to hold Subaru accountable to fix this known CVT failure at their cost (Approximately $1,829.94) by honoring my 8 year old car that is within the 10 year portion of the warranty extension. Although it is a known problem for cars over 100,000 miles, Subaru is denying my claim. The verbiage of this Continuously Variable Transmission issue being covered under an extended warranty of “100,000 miles OR 10 years, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST’ is a protection of the manufacturer only. I am compelled to ask you for your help and appreciate your time and advocacy. I can help in any capacity on my end. I am at your service!

Upon entering a parking space,my 2013 Subaru Outback went from idle to full acceleration,hitting a parked,unoccupied truck. Braking had no effect on the car,the air bag did not deploy,and the car did not decelerate until I was able to engage Park-within a few seconds it resumed the idle. The police made a report,car was taken to wrecking yard,and is now at repair facility for possible repair. There were no prior warnings or messages. I was unaware of a safety issue with Subaru and when I contacted my local dealer,I was told they were unaware of any issues. I then did research online and found numerous problems.

ON A FREEZING DAY IN NOVEMBER 2019, WHILE RUNNING AN ERRAND FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, MY 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK REVVED AND TRIED TO ACCELERATE WHEN I WAS DRIVING THAT I HAD TO PUSH THE BRAKES DOWN ALL THE WAY TO CONTROL THE SPEED. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL WHILE PULLING UP TO A STOPLIGHT. IT QUIT REVVING SO MUCH, SO WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I PUT BACK IN DRIVE AND WAS CONTROLLABLE. I LET THE CAR SIT FOR AN HOUR AND DROVE AGAIN TOWARDS OUR LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP. WHILE EN ROUTE, IT REVVED AND ACCELERATED AS BEFORE. I WAS ABLE TO PUT IN NEUTRAL AND IT QUIT REVVING. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP, THE CAR WASN'T REVVING ANY MORE. THE SERVICE TECH SAID UNLESS IT WAS DOING IT WHEN I BROUGHT IN, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY. THE CAR HAS NOT REVVED SINCE. HOWEVER, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IN OTHER YEAR OUTBACKS AND WANTED TO MAKE THE NHTSA AWARE.

ISSUE: OCCASIONAL NON-RESPONSE WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. 1ST OCCURRENCE ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO HAPPEN WHEN I STOPPED FOR A LIGHT AND THEN ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE. DEPRESSING THE PEDAL HAS NO RESPONSE, ATTEMPTED THIS THREE TIMES. THE RPM GAUGE REFLECTED IT WAS RUNNING. I TURNED ON THE CAR AND STARTED IT AGAIN AND IT WORKED. 2ND OCCURRENCE HAPPENED AGAIN AFTER A STOP. SAME AS ABOVE. 3RD OCCURRENCE MAY 6 2017 RETURNING FROM BWI IN BALTIMORE ON THE INTERSTATE, I WAS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. I HAD TO SLOW QUICKLY FOR A TRUCK AND THEN SAW AN OPENING IN THE LEFT LANE AND PULLED OUT INTO THE LEFT LANE AND ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE WITH NO RESPONSE. A CAR MOVING FAST IN THE LEFT LANE ALMOST HIT ME SINCE I COULD NOT ACCELERATE. I PUMPED THE ACCELERATOR TWICE AND IT THEN ACCELERATED. 4TH OCCURRENCE MAY 6TH 2017 DEPARTING A PARKING LOT I WAS MOVING SLOWLY THEN ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AND EXPERIENCED A DELAYED RESPONSE. PUMPED THE PEDAL TWICE TO GET THE RESPONSE. WENT TO A SUBARU DEALER AFTER THE FIRST TWO OCCURRENCES AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER CALLED AGAIN AND REQUESTED WE BRING THE CAR IN AGAIN APRIL11TH. A WEB SEARCH REVEALED ABOUT 24 OTHER LIKE OCCURRENCES WITH OUTBACK ABOUT THE SAME YEAR AND MAKE.

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE STALLED, AS IN THE ENGINE DIED. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. USUALLY IT HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED, THE ENGINE WILL DIE, THIS WILL HAPPEN 2-3 TIMES ON EACH OCCURRENCE. IT DOES EVENTUALLY START AND RUN CORRECTLY. A SIMILAR ISSUE OCCURS WHEN COMING TO A STOP. THE ENGINE WILL "FLUTTER" ALMOST DIE AND THEN RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. SO FAR IT HAS NOT LEFT US STRANDED, HOWEVER, I AM CONCERNED AS TO WHAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE AND AT WHAT POINT WILL IT STALL AND NOT START AGAIN. I PLAN ON TAKING IT TO MY DEALERSHIP AND HAVE THEM LOOK AT IT, HOWEVER, THE ENGINE LIGHT HAS NOT COME ON SO I DON'T EXPECT THE COMPUTER HAS STORED ANY CODES FOR THE MECHANIC TO BE ABLE TO TROUBLESHOOT.

ON A CLEAR DRY MORNING I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE ON A SLIGHT INCLINE IN FRONT OF A BRICK OFFICE BUILDING. WHEN I RELEASED THE SERVICE BRAKE (HAVING REACHED THE END OF THE PARKING SPACE) THE CAR BOLTED FORWARD, JUMPED THE CURB, CROSSED A SIDEWALK, WENT THRU SHRUBS, AND HIT THE BRICK WALL, CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE CAR AND BUILDING. THE DISTANCE TRAVELED WAS ABOUT 10 FEET.