2005 Subaru Outback owner complaints

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Subaru outback. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal would intermittently become unresponsive. The dealer repaired the defect, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 65,696 and the current mileage was 75,000.

Accelerator pedal randomly stopped functioning while driving straight on flat road approximately 30mph, resulting in no speed control, able to drive only on idle speed. First seems like not 'shifting gears' correctly, then no speed control. (many comments in online forum of elusive problem to diagnose by Subaru dealers and much money spent with only random success.) when restarted car drove normally with 'check engine light' on about 3 miles then same thing, accelerator went limp, no speed control but got me home. Car taken in to dealer the next day.(drove down hill approx 30 miles with no problem). Service department claimed "not current code" (clearly the problem is intermittent) and said never heard of such a problem (nonsense, it's all over the web); they cleaned the throttle mecha

Tl* - the contact stated that the driver was pulling into a parking space with a 2005 Subaru outback when the car unintentionally accelerated. The contact stated that his mother was doing about 5 MPH. The contact stated that is was a nice day and weather was not an issue. The contact stated that the car stopped when it struck trees and that front end damage was done to the car. The contact also stated that the car's engine continued to run until his mother turned the car off. *ak updated 1/19/2007 - *nm

2005 Subaru outback faulty cruise control. Consumer states that the invoice states that it turns off on its own but it should state that it turns on by itself. *kb the consumer stated while the cruise control was in use, suddenly and unexpectedly the vehicle lunged forward at a high rate of speed, jumping a 10 inch curb, striking a pine tree, then down a grassy slope and off a second curb into a lower parking area. *jb

Intermittently and without warning, the accelerator pedal will become unresponsive. On multiple occasions, the vehicle was in motion when this happened. The speedometer fell to 0, and when pressed, the accelerator pedal did nothing. The vehicle had to be limped to the side of the road and restarted in order for it to work again. The check engine light would then come on. On other occasions, the accelerator would not respond immediately upon starting the vehicle, and the check engine light came on immediately upon starting. This has the potential to be extremely dangerous or fatal if the car were to go limp when driving on a highway at high speeds, or taking a turn. Research has shown that this is a widespread problem with the outback, and action needs to be taken by Subaru. This should be

Every time the cruise control is engaged while going downhill the throttle begins to rapidly and wildly accelerate and decelerate as if it is out of control. It stops when cruise control is disengaged. Very unnerving. *jb

Every once in a while the gas pedal stops functioning. It happens at highway speeds as well as local roads. When it does happen you have to find a safe spot to pull over and shut off the engine for at least a minute or more. Restart the car and the pedal comes back. This is very hazardous. I could end up getting rear ended. My grand children ride in the car. The scanner code came up p2138 Subaru recommends that the gas pedal assembly needs to be replaced. It's a 185.00 part plus labor.I don't understand why there isn't a recall because of the safety issue

Car was purchased in september 2014. This was my first time driving this car in wet, snowy driving conditions. I had 5 passengers and twice we had the rear end of the car kind of break loose. It felt like it was swinging to the side. It scared me and the passengers in the car. I have not noticed it while driving alone. I originally suspected under inflated or poor tires, but when I checked the following day they were not bad. I went to a Subaru website looking for tire recommendations and there are over 1,000 postings regarding "ghostwalking" on 2005-2009 Subaru outbacks. I had never heard of this before but it appears to describe my conditions. *js

Rear suspension issues cause uncontrollable steering from the rear end on snow and ice. Car refuses to drive in a straight line on snow/ice even with snow tires and proper alignment.

I drive a 2005 Subaru outback xt limited and have experienced the rear sway, unstable conditions that many other people seem to be experiencing. I have done much research on the problem and have found that Subaru's rear sway bar and alignment specs. To be unmatched for the longer wheel-base and the weight of the vehicle. After the replacement of the rear sway bar to a heavier duty one and a better alignment my outback now drives outstanding and handles like a dream. I am a spirited driver and I drive in all weather conditions including ice and snow and have had no problems since the upgrades. *tr

Intermittent throttle disabled. Car becomes unresponsive to the gas pedal. Engine continues to run but gas pedal has no response. *kb

Both rear wheel bearing hubs went bad between 55k and 58k miles. They were fixed with a replacement part. They caused a loud noise while driving. *tr

Dt: when the daytime running light are on the taillight are off. The brake lights are not connected to the running lights and as a result the consuemr did not remember to turn lights on when it was dusk outside. This almost caused the consumer's vehicle to be rear ended on several different occasions. The consuemr feels that htis may be a saftey issue therefore contacted teh manufacturer. *ak ipdated 3/9/2006 - *nm

Consumer feel that the headlight are pointed too low to the ground. This causes poor visibility while driving at night. Dealer was contacted, and informed the consumer that the headlights could not be adjusted and that it met the specs.*ak the consumer stated that visibility was cut in half. Only half of the roadway was illuminated during night driving. The upper half of the beam was blocked out. *tc

My 2005 outback is very unsafe to drive under certain conditions. After extensive research online, I have discovered people use the term "ghost walking" to describe the issue. After driving over a bump or slick spot on the road, the driver momentarily loses control of the vehicle. The back end sways side to side and the car can jump several feet to the left or right. I have noticed this problem several times but it was drastically worse today. Driving on a straight, dry stretch of interstate, I drove over an icy patch under a bridge. My vehicle jumped to the left several feet and into the other lane. Had there been a car next to me, there most likely would have been an accident. I was traveling at approximately 40 MPH as I had already experienced several incidents driving over large bumps.

While driving on straight, flat and level ice-covered northern indiana road at 35 MPH, my 2005 Subaru outback xt ltd fishtailed (rear over-steer) repeatedly. This felt as if the rear of the vehicle was being quickly pushed from side to side. (this is often referred to as "ghostwalking" and is unmistakable once experienced.) there were two average weight adults in the front seats and one young adult (135 lbs) in the rear passenger seat. The vehicle received a four-wheel alignment two years ago and does not exhibit any alignment-related issues on dry pavement. I.e., doesn't pull to left or right, nor wear tires unevenly. The vehicle is equipped in winter with bridgestone blizzak ws60 215/55 r17 tires with approx. 75% of their tread remaining. (these tires show no signs of abnormal

Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2005 Subaru outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v323000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

November 15, 2008 my husband was driving to work when the airbags in our 2005 Subaru outback deployed without provocation. Our car was immediately taken to the authorized Subaru dealership here in puerto rico where they have yet to discover what caused this to happen. We purchased our car in seattle but we live here because my husband is stationed here for the military. We have been attempting to get Subaru of america's assistance in determining what caused this deployment but they have not been very helpful. Nothing has been repaired because we don't want anything done if they don't know what happened to the car. We are fearful to drive our car again and want Subaru of america to be a little more active and interested in discovering what could have caused a serious safety malfunction

Vehicle experienced sudden complete brake failure while driving due to a rupture in brake system in the exact area of a known defect / recalls NHTSA SUBARU RECALL WQG-43 and WQK-47 (both completed) which had been issued to inspect and repair the defect. Safety of driver / occupants were immediately put at grave risk due to inability to slow or stop vehicle. Car was traveling on a two way high traffic road at a speed of approximately 30+MPH. I was able to stop slowly using the emergency hand brake though only after attempting to pump the brakes which became absolutely unresponsive (this took approximately 7-10 seconds while pumping the Brake pedal). It was pure luck that there was no one directly in front of me at the time. If anything had been in front of me my choices would have been: A)

While driving on the highway at 65 MPH, the car would not accelerate. The check engine light came on and the cruise control light flashed. Once the car was turned off and restarted, the accelerator again engaged. This is an extremely dangerous (and common in subarus) malfunction. I was fortunate enough to be able to pull over on the side of the highway without incident. *tr