2022 Subaru Outback

After 20 years of driving experience that's probably the first car where I feel unsafe. Once in my life I had such experience which I have every day right now. It was hydroplaning on the very wet road. In another words it feels like driving under strong side wind or really wet/slippy road and car not under my full control. I already had five visits in two different Subaru dealerships. They twice did wheels allignment. But it didn't help. The last my visit they told they can't find and reproduce the issue. I guess I can be close my eyes for another issue but that's can be dangerous not only but another guys on the road.

Driving on a highway but no other vehicles in front or to the side. Possibly there seems to be a central point from a dot, but this is no larger than a no larger than a pencil point. In a matter of a few minutes a crack extended across the windshield in a snake pattern. I had concern since this seemed to be a drastic outcome and was more thinking it was a stress crack rather than a rock chip, especially in light of the fact that there were no other vehicles on the road. Curious, I researched Subaru windshields and became aware of previous recalls on Subaru windshields.

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would independently accelerate without warning. The contact would be forced to place the vehicle into neutral to stop the acceleration. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and recently became more frequent. The contact also stated that an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle when the vehicle would independently accelerate. The contact called the dealer and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer kept the vehicle for almost two weeks and was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 700. The VIN was not available.

(ADAS) R WAVE RADAR SENSOR/BLIND SPOT WARNING SENSOR. NO WARNING FOR THE STATIONARY OBJECT (TREE) BEHIND MY VEHICLE CAUSING A COLLISION. A REPORT WILL BE MADE TO THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP ONCE THE VEHICLE IS REPAIRED BY THE COLLISION CENTER. INSURANCE ADJUSTERS HAVE REVIEWED. NO WARNING LIGHTS, OR ANY SIGNS OF ANY ISSUE UNTIL THE BLIND SPOT SENSOR FAILED TO PROPERLY WARN ME OF THE STATIONARY OBJECT.

The windshield is warped on the passenger side, approximately 6 - 8 inches from the right seal, bottom corner. This creates a blurred distortion from traffic merging to the right, and causes a hazard in spatial relationship to the vehicle. Pictures show distortions through the windshield that do not exist. This has nearly caused me to be in accidents. The dealer is checking with Subaru on the issue; the service rep acknowledged seeing the warping through the windshield.

The 2022 Subaru Outback has a "feature" called AUTO START STOP. This is intended as a fuel saving feature. In the car's Setup Menu, you have the choice to turn this feature off. However, this feature MUST be turned off EACH and EVERY TIME you start the car. The change is NOT held in memory. This fact was confirmed by a Subaru Customer Service Representative in a call on the morning of 9/7/2021. This Auto Start/Stop feature works just like a gasoline powered golf cart. Take your foot off the gas and the engine dies. Press the accelerator and the engine restarts. However, there is NOT oncoming traffic on a golf course. If the wheels are canted to the left or right, a notable amount of force is experienced in the steering wheel. Subaru should be FORCED IMMEDIATELY to make a software change to allow this feature to be disabled permanently. I also suspect that in extreme cold or as these vehicles age, this "feature" will become an extreme safety hazard.

The initial incident occurred on July 31, 2021. I used the push button start to start the car, put the vehicle in reverse, and the vehicle proceeded to roll uncontrolled down my driveway, which is on a slope. I had no power steering or power brakes. I was able to safely stop the vehicle with no incident other than damage to the plastic over the right rear taillight. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, and everything seemed operational. It seemed that the car's engine had not turned on, only the electrical system. The same issue happened repeatedly over the next few days. In observing what was happening, I have noticed that the push button ignition requires a significant press in order for the vehicle to start correctly - quite different from my experience with our previous two push-button start vehicles. In the "Getting Started Guide, Outback 2022", p. 41, instructions clearly state "briefly press and release the Engine START/STOP button." I submit that this is inaccurate, and that new vehicle owners should be advised as to what to do, and what to look for in the dashboard to understand that the vehicle engine has, in fact, started properly. I am a user experience researcher, including in automotive research, and we have an expression that there's no such thing as user error, just poor design. This is a clear example of poor design.