Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CABLES | ||||||||||||||||
| 04V128000 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | from 03/15/2000 to 02/19/2004 | V (Vehicle) | 127580 | 04/12/2004 | MFR | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 03/16/2004 | 03/22/2004 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | On certain passenger sedans, wagons, and sport utility vehicles, the cruise control cable could come out of its track on the cruise control lever and lodge on the control lever tab when the accelerator pedal is released. if this condition occurs, the throttle will not return to the idle position and will remain in an open position. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If this occurs during vehicle operation, the driver could lose control of the vehicle, which could result in a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will install a cruise control cable retaining clip to the cruise control lever tab on the throttle shaft in order to prevent the cruise control cable from coming out of its track. owner notification began on april 12, 2004. owners should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Subaru recall no. wwq-01.customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CABLES | |||||
| 031004 | 03/10/2004 | 10006827 | Immediate stop sale order for possible cruise control cable mislocation that could prevent the throttle from closing. *tt | 05/14/2004 | |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||||
| 01 | 03/01/2004 | 10006814 | Cruise control cable retaining clip. *tt | 05/14/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 10/28/2011 | 91640 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 subaru outback. the contact stated that when shifting into park, there was an increase in engine rpms. the engine rpms continued to increase until the vehicle was shifted into neutral and shut off. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 91,640. | |||
| 10/28/2011 | 91640 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 subaru outback. the contact stated that when shifting into park, there was an increase in engine rpms. the engine rpms continued to increase until the vehicle was shifted into neutral and shut off. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 91,640. kmj | |||
| 10/28/2011 | 91640 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 subaru outback. the contact stated that while shifting into park, there was an increase in engine rpms. the engine rpms continued to increase until the vehicle was shifted into neutral and shut off. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 91,640. sm. | |||
| 05/24/2011 | 67000 | ||
| Tl. the contact owns a 2004 subaru outback. the contact stated while pulling into a parking space the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward while the contact applied the brake and crashed into a building. the contact face hit the steering wheel and also suffered a injured ankle. the vehicle is currently at the dealer under going diagnostic test to see what may have caused the sudden acceleration. the failure mileage was 67,000. jo | |||
| 03/07/2010 | 58600 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2004 subaru outback. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle suddenly began to accelerate. the contact was able to apply the brake pedal and slow the vehicle down; however, when he released the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test but they could not duplicate the failure. the failure continued to occur on an intermittent basis. the failure mileage was approximately 58,600. the current mileage was approximately 61,200. | |||
| 02/06/2010 | 96000 | 1 | |
| 2004 subaru outback wagon, unwanted, uncontrollable acceleration, unable to stop vehicle resulting in collision, the collision incidents were while in reverse and the ambient temperature was cold ( 0-22 f). generally the accelerator is oversensitive most of the time. ira subaru dealership has not been able to resolve problem. i had an independent repair shop look at it and they could not resolve it . *tr | |||
| 10/11/2009 | 103000 | 1 | |
| The automatic gear shift had been locked in park, which never happened previously. it eventually was released by putting the tip of a key into the area of the panel. advised for this problem in the drivers manual. after driving the vehicle twice more , it was parked again. when the key was put in the ignition, there was a whirring sound and when it started, it surged forward very rapidly and could not be stopped by using the brakes.. the vehicle was out of control. it was off the road and rocks punctured a tire. it stopped. when brought to the subaru repair shop, the insurance adjustor did not advise repair, because of heavy damage to the engine, transmission etc. *tr | |||
| 01/04/2008 | 200 | 03/01/2004 | |
| The cruise control on my 2004 subaru outback will disconnect on its own at random after being set. it has done this since shortly after i bought it new, and i have reported this numerous times during the warranty period to subaru dealerships, who have attempted to replicate and/or repair it, all to no avail. it used to be that it would usually disconnect after i had driven for approx. 1 1/2 hour. now, it disconnects in under 1/2 hour on drives. it will not reset and stay set, and will continually refuse to accept to resume or set after it initially disconnects. this has resulted in situations where speed has abruptly dropped, nearly causing accidents from following vehicles overrunning me. looking around online, there are reports that this is a known problem for subaru's, but there has been no fix or recall made, and subaru has seemingly made no effort to fix this problem. incident date is most recent date it has disconnected, and the number of failures is probably underestimated. *tr | |||
| 06/07/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2002 l.l. bean outback accelerated uncontrollably, making the vehicle vibrate. vehicle went up over parking barriers and shrubbery and rolled over. *kb the air bags did not deploy during the accident. the consumer complained of body pain, but refused medical treatment. the police officer stated in his report that the vehicle was found in the reverse position. the consumer stated she never took her foot off the brake. the consumer and her husband had experienced problems prior to the accident. the consumer experienced a hesitation in shifting and variation in engine speed. *jb | |||
| 04/21/2004 | 12361 | 6 | 10/17/2003 |
| Throttle intermittently stuck open when driving from 40-45 mph, and vehicle surged when applying the accelerator pedal from the stop position. both issues caused the vehicle to suddenly/unexpectedly accelerate and lurch forward. consumer had a concern that this problem will lead to an accident. vehicle had been to the dealer on five separate occasions. twice the dealer could not duplicate the problem, and three times dealer was able to duplicate the problems, but unable to correct the problem. *ak as of may 13, 2005 vehicle has failed 6 times, 4 times the dealership was able to duplicate the problem and twice they were unsuccessful in finding the problem. vehicle gets stuck in cruise control and doesn't want to go below 40 mph. *sb | |||
| 01/22/2005 | 16000 | 4 | 01/08/2004 |
| Upon starting the vehicle and shifting in drive or reverse, the vehicle will accelerate erratically with force. this has also occurred with normal driving. the vehicle has been to the dealer on several separate occasions, but the problem recurred. on each occasion the following repairs were made; electrical grease was applied on the tcs contact. 3 days later the problem recurred. dealer adjusted the accelerator throttle, and 3 days later engine light illuminated while driving. dealer replaced the ecm control module, and the next day vehicle stalled again while coming to a stop. dealer was unable to correct the problem, which has been passed on to the manufacturer, and no response was received at this time.*ak | |||
| 04/01/2004 | 3000 | 20 | 01/25/2004 |
| The vehicle tends to have poor acceleration performance during first 1 minute of operation causing a sudden surge of power during the first few minutes of operation climbing our 15% grade driveway. initially the car would not even go up the driveway. the dealer found some of the problem, but it still continues to surge if the car is left setting for a few day. very difficult to duplicate so the dealer says it is not a problem if we cannot duplicate. prolbem has occurred starting in about april 2004 and continued thru today. my wife says the car is dangerous the way it surges when a lot of throttle is applied to overcome the poor response. *ak | |||
| 01/31/2005 | 2500 | 2 | 08/15/2004 |
| On two separate occasions, with two different drivers, my subaru outback 2004 vehicle experienced dangerous sudden acceleration. in both cases, we were stopped in traffic for a few minutes, foot on the brake, when suddenly, the car began to surge forward. even exerting strong pressure on the brake, the car continued to surge forward, the engine racing. on one occasion, we were behind other stopped cars and almost rear-ended the car in front of us. on another, we were stopped at a cross walk and almost lurched forward into pedestrians. in both cases, we then threw the car into neutral (it is an automatic). the engine then raced wildly for a few seconds. we then threw it into park. at this point, the engine continued to race, then subsided. a moment later, the car was behaving normally again. our initial calls to subaru were regarded with lightheartedness. they told us, in essence, we didn't know how to drive (each driver has more than 30 years driving experience). a search on the internet reveals many other subaru owners who have had this problem, and a subaru history of ignoring it and their customers' safety. shame on subaru. please take action to prevent injury or death resulting from this unsafe vehicle.*ak | |||
| 07/08/2004 | 2 | 08/01/2003 | |
| On june 28, 2004, while driving between 25 to 30 mph, the speed dropped to 5 mph. the consumer depressed the gas pedal and the vehicle would not move. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the mechanic found nothing wrong. on july 4, 2004, while driving between 45 to 50 mph speed dropped to 5 mph and suddenly the vehicle accelerated from 5 to 70 mph in less than 10 seconds. the vehicle was towed to the dealership, after several attempts to fix the problem vehicle was still at the dealership. *ak the dealer repaired the vehicle by replacing the entire computer system. *sc *jb | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CABLES | |||
| 08/01/2004 | 1 | ||
| Last month i purchesed a new 2004 subaru outback. after my purchase i discovered that the vehicle had been repaired by the dealership for a recall that involved the speed control cable. this problem could cause the throttle to remain open and the driver could lose control of the vehicle and crash. had i know about this problem i would have not purchased this vehicle. the dealer never told me about the repairs or recall and i beleived i was buying a new and safe vehicle. *ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - CRUISE CONTROL | |||
| 08/30/2004 | 5000 | 5 | 01/21/2004 |
| My subaru, forester xt has had numerous problems since it had 5000 miles. the engine performance is inconsistent. the car has an intermittent miss at idle, cruise control that disengages at will, is difficult to start intermittently; spitting and sputter for 30 seconds, acts as if it will stall occasionally while braking, and the clutch does not grip the flywheel properly. while passing on 2 lane roads, i have nearly had numerous head-on accidents; the car does not accelerate consistently. the cruise control defect has nearly caused many other accidents in distinct conditions: 1. while ascending hills, i have nearly been rear-ended by other cars when my car loses speed without warning 2. while descending hills, i have nearly lost control as the car accelerates while cruise control has disengaged i have problems with the car when i must take off hard, especially when crossing a busy street. when launching hard, the clutch will slip excessively. the car will not accelerate; it will only burn the clutch creating a large cloud of smoke. it does not matter which gear i switch too or how much throttle i apply; the clutch will not grip until it cools down. i have nearly been hit numerous times because of this. i am experiencing problems with the brake pedal. after braking to a stop, when the engine idles down, the brake pedal will sink an additional half an inch. i have brought my car to 2 different dealerships, and involved subaru's regional service manager. all efforts to repair my car have been unsuccessful or ignored. the dealerships have only adjusted switches and replaced an oxygen sensor. the manufacturer has now claimed that they will not issue a repair order, since the problems are intermittent, even though the lead tech has experienced the problem, and they can't replicate the problems. i am stuck with a defective vehicle that is going to cause a serious accident, as i drive 1500 miles per week throughout a 6 state region.*ak | |||