2006 Subaru Outback vehicle speed control problems

“The engine will randomly loose power. This has happened three times now. You must coast to a stop, turn the key off and try to restart the car. Sometime it will take several tries to restart. I see this as a real safety concern in heavy traffic. Especially so if heavy traffic makes it impossible to reach the side of the road safely. The service code points to the throttle peddle position sensor. Reading some of the internet forums it seems to be a fairly common issue. Of course internet forums must be considered carefully. However with the above said I see this issue as a real safety concern. Not only for my safety but those around me if this happens in heavy traffic. Thank you”

“The accelerator pedal position sensor is faulty. It is prone to wear in these vehicles based on my research. This caused my car to go into limp-mode on the highway, rapidly cutting my speed in half. The accelerator provides no response until vehicle was restarted. The ECU put out the code P2138 for loss of voltage in throttle system.”

“I EXPERIENCED MY GAS PEDAL NO LONGER WORKING WHILE DRIVING, CAR WAS DRIVING WELL, ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET GOING ABOUT 25 MPH, THEN THERE WAS SUDDENLY NO GAS/ACCELERATION, HAD TO COAST TO A STOP. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT WAS FLASHING. ABOUT 2 HOURS LATER THE CAR WAS RUNNING NORMAL AGAIN. THE DIAGNOSIS CODE GIVEN WAS P2138 THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR/SWITCH D/E VOLTAGE CORRELATION. IT IS VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE TO SUDDENLY NOT HAVE POWER WHILE DRIVING, WILL BE DRIVING ON THE OUTSIDE LANE UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED TO I CAN GET OUT OF TRAFFIC SAFELY.”

“I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT DOWN THE HIGHWAY GOING ABOUT 50-60 MPH AND OUT OF NOWHERE MY THROTTLE PEDDLE FAILED TO WORK. MY CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWED DOWN TO A CRAWL AND I HAD TO QUICKLY FIND A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER ON A ROAD WITH BARELY ANY SHOULDER. LUCKILY NOT MANY CARS WERE ON THE ROAD SO I DID NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A PILE-UP ACCIDENT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON WHILE THE CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT BEGAN TO FLASH ON AND OFF. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF AND WAITING A FEW MINUTES I DECIDED TO TRY AND DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN SINCE I WAS IN AN AREA WITH NO SERVICE AND IT WAS BELOW FREEZING OUTSIDE. THE CAR STARTED AND I COULD USE THE THROTTLE PEDDLE AND THE CAR DROVE WITH NO PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 5 MILES BEFORE THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED. LUCKILY SOMEONE DROVE BY AND I WAS ABLE TO CATCH A RIDE WITH THEM TO GET SERVICE AND CALL A TOW TRUCK. THIS ISSUE CAME OUT OF NOWHERE WITH NO PRIOR ISSUES TO THE CAR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN NOT ONLY AN ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD BECAUSE OF THE RAPID SPEED DECREASE BUT ALSO RISKS LEAVING PEOPLE STRANDED LIKE I WAS.”

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL HOWEVER, THE PEDAL REMAINED IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION. THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO LIMP MODE. THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE RESIDENCE. THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER A DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.”

“AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON SOLID WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT BLINKING. THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND TO ANY INPUTS FROM THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND BEGAN TO DECELERATE. UPON STOPPING AND SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL THE CAR HELD ITSELF AROUND 2800RPM WITH NO ACCELERATOR INPUT FROM THE DRIVER. AFTER READING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CODE, THE CAR GAVE A P2138 INDICATING A PROBLEM WITH THE PEDAL POSITION SENSOR.”