2004 Outback Sudden Acceleration

W

Wanderer

At the risk of riling up all the anti-consumer-complaint trolls who dwell in
here, I need to ask if anyone with a recent model Outback is experiencing
sudden accleration problems while stopped, foot firmly on brake.

This has happened to us twice, with two separate drivers, each with over 20
years driving experience. Here's what happens:

Car is stopped in traffic, idling for maybe a minute. Suddenly, the engine
begins to rev. Even with great force applied to the brake, the car lurches
forward a few inches. In both cases, we threw the car into Neutral (it is an
automatic). At this point, the engine revs wildly. We then put the car into
Park, and the engine revving gradually subsides and everything returns to
normal.

This is the third Outback we have owned since 1996. And I repeat, there is
absolutely no question about it: we were depressing the brake, not the gas
pedal. In fact, the car was stopped dead in traffic for about one minute
before this happened. Two different drivers, two different occasions. A quick
search on the Internet and the NHTSA reveals that this is a problem Subaru
drivers have been complaining about for at least six years.

If you have had any experiences of a similar nature, please post here or
email me at: (e-mail address removed).

And to all the wackos who immediately claim that all automotive problems are
caused by the drivers and send a barrage of insulting posts claiming the
original poster was drunk, stupid, elderly or looking for a law suit, flame
away. That's what kill filters are for. :)

Wanderer
 
I had this same problem a couple weeks ago. When I first noticed it I
wasn't paying attention to the tach and actually thought the person
behind me had rear ended me. I got out and accused the person of
bumping me and asking what the deal is. She denied it!

Then the wife commented on the reving and lurching.

I took it to the mechanic and he noted that a spark plug wire was loose
and was only occasionally making contact. Thus, causing the lurching
etc.

I was suspicious of this cure but he fixed it for free.
 
At the risk of riling up all the anti-consumer-complaint trolls who dwell in
here, I need to ask if anyone with a recent model Outback is experiencing
sudden accleration problems while stopped, foot firmly on brake.

This has happened to us twice, with two separate drivers, each with over 20
years driving experience. Here's what happens:

Car is stopped in traffic, idling for maybe a minute. Suddenly, the engine
begins to rev. Even with great force applied to the brake, the car lurches
forward a few inches. In both cases, we threw the car into Neutral (it is an
automatic). At this point, the engine revs wildly. We then put the car into
Park, and the engine revving gradually subsides and everything returns to
normal.

This is the third Outback we have owned since 1996. And I repeat, there is
absolutely no question about it: we were depressing the brake, not the gas
pedal. In fact, the car was stopped dead in traffic for about one minute
before this happened. Two different drivers, two different occasions. A quick
search on the Internet and the NHTSA reveals that this is a problem Subaru
drivers have been complaining about for at least six years.

If you have had any experiences of a similar nature, please post here or
email me at: (e-mail address removed).

And to all the wackos who immediately claim that all automotive problems are
caused by the drivers and send a barrage of insulting posts claiming the
original poster was drunk, stupid, elderly or looking for a law suit, flame
away. That's what kill filters are for. :)

Wanderer


I've often thought that the cruise control mechanism was the cuplrit behind legitamite "sudden
acceleration" episodes.
 
I've often thought that the cruise control mechanism was the cuplrit behind
legitamite "sudden
acceleration" episodes.

Apparently, there has been a recall of Subarus for a sudden acceleration
defect related to Cruise Control -- so you are right on the money. Subaru
seems to be claiming that the problem affected only 6-cylinder vehicles, but
mine is a 4-cylinder Outback that apparently has the exact same problem.
Thanks for your reply.

Wanderer
 
Wanderer said:
At the risk of riling up all the anti-consumer-complaint trolls who dwell in
here, I need to ask if anyone with a recent model Outback is experiencing
sudden accleration problems while stopped, foot firmly on brake.

This has happened to us twice, with two separate drivers, each with over 20
years driving experience. Here's what happens:

Car is stopped in traffic, idling for maybe a minute. Suddenly, the engine
begins to rev. Even with great force applied to the brake, the car lurches
forward a few inches. In both cases, we threw the car into Neutral (it is an
automatic). At this point, the engine revs wildly. We then put the car into
Park, and the engine revving gradually subsides and everything returns to
normal.

This is the third Outback we have owned since 1996. And I repeat, there is
absolutely no question about it: we were depressing the brake, not the gas
pedal. In fact, the car was stopped dead in traffic for about one minute
before this happened. Two different drivers, two different occasions. A quick
search on the Internet and the NHTSA reveals that this is a problem Subaru
drivers have been complaining about for at least six years.

If you have had any experiences of a similar nature, please post here or
email me at: (e-mail address removed).

And to all the wackos who immediately claim that all automotive problems are
caused by the drivers and send a barrage of insulting posts claiming the
original poster was drunk, stupid, elderly or looking for a law suit, flame
away. That's what kill filters are for. :)

Wanderer

Did you take it in for the cruise control cable recall? This is the symptom
it fixes. 15 minute job. Free.
 
Did you take it in for the cruise control cable recall? This is the symptom
it fixes. 15 minute job. Free.

We're taking it in tomorrow. The dealer made it sound as if we were not
eligible for the cruise control cable recall because ours is a 4-cylinder
Outback, not a 6-cylinder. (Apparently the recall was for 6-cylinder models
and WRX models.) We'll see... thanks for your post.

Wanderer
 
Was the MY01 WRX affected by this?


Wanderer said:
We're taking it in tomorrow. The dealer made it sound as if we were not
eligible for the cruise control cable recall because ours is a 4-cylinder
Outback, not a 6-cylinder. (Apparently the recall was for 6-cylinder models
and WRX models.) We'll see... thanks for your post.

Wanderer
 
My understanding of the recall was that they basically ziptied a cable so
that it would not rub on something and wear through.
I am sure you could find it yourself, where it might rub and tie it back.
 
@newsread1.mlpsca01.us.to.verio.net>, (e-mail address removed)
says...
My understanding of the recall was that they basically ziptied a cable so
that it would not rub on something and wear through.
I am sure you could find it yourself, where it might rub and tie it back.

Not a cable tie and not for rubbing or wearing.

It's a purpose-made metal clip that retains the
Cruise Control cable-end in the throttle body
positioner track. It keeps the CC cable from
hanging up or shifting in it's track, and
preventing the TB return spring from doing it's
job when you lift off the accelerator pedal.
According to Subaru, this version of a "stuck
accelerator" could occur with or without use of
the CC itself.

The fix is free, and takes 15 minutes. Do it.
 
It's a purpose-made metal clip that retains the
Cruise Control cable-end in the throttle body
positioner track. It keeps the CC cable from
hanging up or shifting in it's track, and
preventing the TB return spring from doing it's
job when you lift off the accelerator pedal.
According to Subaru, this version of a "stuck
accelerator" could occur with or without use of
the CC itself.

The fix is free, and takes 15 minutes. Do it.

Thanks for your explanation of the underlying issue. We are taking it in this
morning. As I mentioned earlier, the dealer made it sound as if our
4-cylinder model was not eligible for the recall. (We were never notified of
it either.) We'll see.

Wanderer
 
@news.bellatlantic.net>, (e-mail address removed)
says...
Thanks for your explanation of the underlying issue. We are taking it in this
morning. As I mentioned earlier, the dealer made it sound as if our
4-cylinder model was not eligible for the recall. (We were never notified of
it either.) We'll see.

Or just check yourself at

http://www-
odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm
 
Or just check yourself at

http://www-
odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm

Thanks again, but I already checked with NHTSA. There is a discrepancy
between the way the recall reads on their site, and the way the dealer
understands it. If you search online, you will find that there are other
sudden acceleration issues with Subarus, unrelated to this recall. The
purpose of my posting is to find out if other Subaru owners have experienced
the problem I originally described, and to find out how their problems were
(or weren't) resolved.

Wanderer
 
The pedals are close together.

Chances are good you are hitting the gas with the side of your shoe.

I'm constantly hitting both pedals with my 91 Legacy, truing to train
myselef to actually move my foot instead of simply swiveling on my heel.
 
The pedals are close together.

Chances are good you are hitting the gas with the side of your shoe.

I'm constantly hitting both pedals with my 91 Legacy, truing to train
myselef to actually move my foot instead of simply swiveling on my heel.

Nope. My foot was on the brake. In fact, I purposely moved my foot to the far
left side of the brake, then threw the car into Neutral. The engine continued
to race wildly. It continued to race wildly even in park, with my foot off
the brake. If you search online, you will find many instances of this with
Subarus. But thanks for your input.
 
Wanderer said:
Nope. My foot was on the brake. In fact, I purposely moved my foot to the far
left side of the brake, then threw the car into Neutral. The engine continued
to race wildly. It continued to race wildly even in park, with my foot off
the brake. If you search online, you will find many instances of this with
Subarus. But thanks for your input.

I recently had my 1982 gas pedal stick down. Was going up a slight hill and
had it floored. Crested the hill and the pedal stayed down and the speed
started quickly building up (70+). Was in the left lane on I-78 with lots of
traffic around me. Tapped the pedal several times but still stayed stuck
down. Put the clutch in and the RPMs climbed rapidly so shut the key off (be
careful to not turn it too far) and put it in neutral and was finally able
to get over to coast over to the breakdown lane. Was real scary. Even after
stopping, the pedal was still jammed down and would not release. Fortunately
my brother who was a former Subaru shop foreman was along and knew right
where to look for the problem. I had some oil in a container under the hood
and he took some of that and applied it to some linkage on the right side of
the carb - problem fixed. I now make sure I periodically apply a little oil
to that area.

--
Ed Fortmiller | (e-mail address removed) | Hudson MA
*
* To avoid getting a lot of SPAM junk mail, I have altered my REPLY-TO
* address. PLEASE remove the leading "RUBBISH" from my REPLY address.
* Any Email sent to the address without removing "RUBBISH" will
* automatically be discarded without me even seeing it.
 
I had this happen only once early on and it was caused by the floor
mat fouling the gas pedal. ed
 
I had this happen only once early on and it was caused by the floor
mat fouling the gas pedal. ed

Thanks, Ed. What is weird about this -- and the reason I know it was not a
mechanical case of the gas pedal somehow being depressed -- is that I was
stopped in traffic for at least 60 seconds, with everything completely
normal, before the engine began to rev. I had not moved my foot, or done
anything else in that interval. Was sitting in traffic, foot on the brake,
typical low idle... when all of a sudden, with no change whatsoever in what I
was doing, the engine began to rev wildly. Subaru is sending out a trouble
shooter from the local office, should meet with him tomorrow. Will report
back after we meet with him.

Wanderer
 
And now for the rest of the story. Subaru sent an engineer out to interview
us and sit in the car with a computer plugged in while we drove around. The
sudden acceleration issue was not duplicated (it has only happened twice
since we owned the car). After the case was reviewed back at headquarters, we
got a call from a very pleasant woman informing us that they were
sufficiently concerned about our safety that they wanted to take back the
car, and provide us with a new one (a 2005). The car was on a lease, so
essentially, they gave us the same lease terms we had had on our 2004, and
simply transferred the lease to the new 2005 Outback. My wife and I felt we
were treated with professionalism and courtesy by everyone at Subaru, from
the dealer to the customer care people who handled the case. This is the
third Subaru we have owned, and as a result of the company's high ethical
standards, we will in all likelihood purchase an additional Subaru (WRX) next
year. Thanks to everyone who posted suggestions and information. Your
assistance is most appreciated.

Wanderer
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,887
Messages
67,362
Members
7,362
Latest member
Sandlance

Latest Threads

Back
Top