108 of the
3,451 complaints filed about the Subaru Impreza
are about the throttle and cruise control —
3% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2013.
108
Complaints
3%
Share of all complaints
35
Crashes
0
Fires
Acceleration & Cruise Control complaints by model year
car just locking on its own as you're driving down the road cruise control light blinking on and off randomly had a brake light gets stuck when I got home and got other vehicle the other night it took you forever to get that off but I have received takata airbag recall notice do not drive and no one can be in the passenger seat also definitely progressed as time went on these unusual symptoms mostly computerized but have a hard time believing they're not related to the airbag recall yes it's available for inspection that's what I tried to do at not closest authorized dealership but they would not budge really on anything at all wouldn't have towed it then tow back wouldn't come pick it up exchange me a car then I would have means of transportation to pick it back up that makes the most sense but I can drive it is what they're telling me but there can be no passengers in the car they want me to bring it down there bottom line but it's nothing like the complimentary round trip towing or other transportation alternatives are available that is advertised on the do not drive paper I got in the mail and its not worth my time arguing with them I had an appointment scheduled on the 17th at 8:30 but that was me driving it down there maybe getting a loaner vehicle while I was there but there just didn't seem like there was no certainty on that but something's got to be straightened out here I can't have my children riding in this car or my wife she's pregnant and my grandmother has got to get to dialysis this week and here I'm stuck I'm trying to get this dealership to reason with me we never come to an appointment to be rescheduled because they don't want to work with me at all drive down there wait and bring it back is it should I contact another dealership right now I'm driving it sparingly to get groceries in a few things by myself but the more I looked into the situation and the bizarre computer errors any more details you need contact me sorry for the grammar errors
NHTSA complaint #11719677 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while reversing the vehicle at 10 MPH, the transmission was shifted into drive (D), and the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration at 30 MPH. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to stop and instead accelerated. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle then crashed into a building. No air bags were deployed. The contact did not sustain any injuries, but medical attention was received on the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a repair shop and had not yet been deemed totaled by the insurance company. The contact stated that a police officer later arrived at the residence to deliver a notice suspending her driver's license indefinitely due to a medical condition. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
NHTSA complaint #11592389 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Since new, maybe once a month, Cruise control idiot light comes on and flashes until car is turned off. usually no bother but one day it started braking without me and I bought the DUMB base model!!! before extended warranty expires, this august, hopefully dealer will replace wheel speed sensors on rear wheels. not sure if this will fix problem. I have asked them to check this six or seven times now. they tell me warranty may not cover it unless code is stored? hopefully they will stand behind product and fix it anyway. 2017 Impreza with 33000 miles and have done ALL recalls and maintenance!
NHTSA complaint #11573219 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While slowly pulling into a parking slot in a Wal-Mart parking lot, the car experienced an abrupt acceleration causing it to lurch forward at full throttle and it struck a parked vehicle in the next space. The accelerator pedal was not depressed. Upon investigation I discovered that there have been many reported incidents of this behavior with Subaru Imprezas, Foresters, Outbacks and Legacy sedans, engendering at least two lawsuits. The following links contain information on the reported events: https://www.carparts.com/blog/subaru-impreza-reliability-and-common-problems/; https://www.copilotsearch.com/posts/subaru-impreza-years-to-avoid/; https://getjerry.com/questions/what-are-some-common-problems-with-the-subaru-impreza ; https://www.motorbiscuit.com/subaru-impreza-owners-have-dealt-with-expensive-problems/; https://www.carproblemzoo.com/subaru/impreza/car-accelerates-on-its-own-problems.php ; https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/auto-news/which-subaru-models-are-experiencing-unintended-acceleration/; https://www.torquenews.com/1084/new-details-subaru-forester-outback-sudden-acceleration-lawsuit; https://bergermontague.com/cases/subaru-unwanted-acceleration-class-action-lawsuit/; https://www.classaction.org/news/subaru-faces-another-class-action-alleging-defects-to-blame-for-sudden-unintended-acceleration-problems; https://classactionsreporter.com/subaru-vehicles-sudden-unintended-acceleration-california-class-action/;
NHTSA complaint #11506328 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After the coil pack recall was done, our car began shuddering, hesitating and stalling. Went to the dealership 4-5 times. ECM and Prindle valve were replaced but still doing it. then engine exploded going up a hill, stranding us for 2.5 hours on the freeway. Engine replaced under warranty (which expired while in shop for two months). No warranty on new motor. Same issues still going on and shop now charges us to "look at it." It stalled last week in heavy traffic, so it definitely is dangerous. We don't want to sell the car and pass the problem on to someone else.
NHTSA complaint #11502411 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I purchased a Subaru for reliability and safety reasons. This car has placed my family in some dangerous situations. Every time the outside temp is 90+ degrees F and it is driven on a road trip of 200+ miles, the car's acceleration shuts off. There is never any warning or check engine/trans lights until after this happens. Nate Wade Subaru in Salt Lake City cannot find any codes and does not know how to help. The car will not restart after being turned off, even after waiting up to an hour. We have had to tow it. The last incident taking place 7/30/2022 with our 19 year old son driving. The worst part is that twice it happened in the far left lane with no option to get over to the right side of the highway safely due to traffic. Cars/trucks from behind have narrowly missed hitting us because there was not enough shoulder to pull out of the way. This has happened both in UT and ID where posted speed limits were 70-80 mph and put us in real danger. I don't know what to do other than sell the car. But I don't feel right doing that without sharing this problem -which would then "kill" the sale. It is unacceptable to not have a fix for this issue or at least a warning light so we know when it might happen.
NHTSA complaint #11477430 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was using the adaptive cruise control on the highway set to 55 mph. The car suddenly decelerated to ~44 mph so quickly I had whiplash. There was no other vehicle in front of me and the highway was clear of debris. The dealership said this could be caused by a glare.
NHTSA complaint #11470131 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while reversing she depressed the accelerator pedal, the engine revved and the vehicle accelerated in reverse crashing into the rear of the garage. None the air bags deployed. The contact attempted to depress the brakes however the brakes failed. The contact attempted to drive forward when the vehicle revved up again and accelerated independently. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal however they failed to respond. The vehicle came to a stop at the opposite of the road blocking traffic. The contact managed to park the vehicle and activate the emergency brakes. The contact sustained injuries to their knee and chest area. No medical attention was not needed. There was damage to their home. There was no police report filed. The contact's insurance had the vehicle towed to a repair shop who was not able to find a cause for the failure. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer who was unable to identify the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 95,000.
NHTSA complaint #11456985 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was starting to reverse out of a parking spot in an underground parking lot. (It was about 10 am). The car accelerated and went backwards at top speed into a wall and door that led to elevators. It happened very suddenly. I did not have time to brake before impact. The car was still running after impact and I had to switch off the ignition to stop the engine running. The airbags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. I had ringing in my ears afterwards, was having difficulty focusing my thoughts. Pain in the tendons of my neck lasted a few days. I only realized later that I probably had a concussion from whiplash. My son was sitting in the back seat, and my daughter was standing nearby outside the car, but thank goodness, neither were injured. Fortunately no one was coming through the door into which the car crashed. The car was drivable despite the severe damage to the rear end. I drove it up to street level, where it was towed from to a body shop. The following week it was declared a total loss, and sent to salvage. I have not yet reported this to the manufacturer. It was only while I doing research to get a new car, that I stumbled upon the issue of subaru imprezas suddenly accelerating on their own. Now everything makes sense, although it doesn't lessen the trauma that we all experienced. I truly hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.
NHTSA complaint #11453117 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In November of 2018 and again January 31, 2022. In November 2018, I was backing up in small parking lot tap the gas pedal. and my car speed up going backwards, even when I was pushing the brake. What stopped the momentum was another car, my car crashed into caused extensive damage to that car( it was totaled) . The second time; I turned the wheels to back-in as I had a several times into my driveway. The car was to far over, but because I was not centered enough in the driveway, I moved forward to realign myself. The car seemed to hesitate as I moved forward, before putting it in reverse. I Put the car in reverse, lightly hit gas the car seem to take off as if it was a rocket backing up into driveway and went through the back wall of my garage ( because there was so much snow it came to a stop). My daughter was observed on the ring camera. I have been very sensitive to making sure since first time to be more aware. It is significant to note prior to this occurrence my car did this in smaller spurts ,( but did not think anything of it , I took my car in for all of the checks) but I was able to control it by putting foot on brake, It's like this time the engine revved up on its own. This time the car was totaled. ( The back window shattered. A lot of damage underneath the car. I will not be buying another Subaru. It was my dream car:(. I was very traumatized.)I was diligent with the maintenance of the car. I informed my insurance company.
NHTSA complaint #11450687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My vehicle starts to shake and the engine acts like it is going to die when I hit around 50-60 mph. I cannot floor it and the vehicle will not let me go any faster then 60mph without it acting like there’s no fuel getting to the engine or something in that sense
NHTSA complaint #11428195 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving at a low rate of speed and making a right turn, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the steering and drive into the opposite lane and into the neighbor’s yard. After shifting into neutral, the vehicle decelerated. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. In addition, on several occasions when turning the vehicle off, the key would remain stuck in the ignition switch. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,800. The Vin was not available.
NHTSA complaint #11426926 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Slowing down to pull into a parking space when I put my foot on the brake to shift into park, the car lurched forward and accelerated over a parking barrier and into a brick wall. Unexplained acceleration. This was not driver error. I felt a few unexplained accelerations previously but thought it was a mistake on my end. In this instance, my foot was nowhere near the acceleration pedal. It was very very frightening. I am now waiting for the insurance adjusters. My car was damaged. I damaged the building and another car tat was parked inside the building. This is a significant safety issue. Consumer stated insurance provider stated it is a total loss and wants to take possession of the car.
NHTSA complaint #11422728 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I experienced a sudden acceleration issue when parking my car in January 2020. As I was pulling into my parking spot and removed my foot from the gas pedal to the brake the gas pedal quickly went all the way to the floor and the car sped forward despite the fact that my foot was on the brake. The car was stopped by a large pile of snow. There was some damage to the bumper. Took the car to the dealership and was told they couldn't find any issue with the car. The problem only happened once to mee but I read of similar things happening with other makes and models of Subarus so I wanted to report it.
NHTSA complaint #11417397 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
THE CAR ACCELERATED WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM DRIVER. DRIVER DID NOT APPLY PRESSURE TO GAS PEDAL HOWEVER THE CAR STILL MOVES BOTH FORWARD AN BACKWARDS. CAR ACCELERATED ENOUGH TO DRIVE OVER A SPEED BUMP WITHOUT STOPPING, ROUGHLY 5 MPH. THREE VIDEOS WERE TAKEN TO DOCUMENT THE ISSUE. THE EVENT HAPPEN IN A PARKING LOT, THE CAR WAS STOPPED AT FIRST HOWEVER AS SOON AS THE DRIVER REMOVED PRESSURE FROM BRAKES PAFEL, THE CAR ACCELERATED WITHOUT INPUT. THE CAR DIDNT SLOW DOWN EVEN WHEN TURNING, IN FACT THE CAR APPEARS TO HAVE SPEED UP. UNABLE TO UP LOAD VIDEO
NHTSA complaint #11406308 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
CAR WON'T TURN OVER IGNITION. ALL BRAKE LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING. IT IMPACTED BRAKING, VDC SYSTEM, ABS SYSTEM AND CRUISE CONTROL DIDN'T WORK. OCCURRED AFTER 2 HOUR TRIP WITH NO CONCERNS AND FUNCTIONING SYSTEMS.ONLY NOTICED WHEN TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR.
NHTSA complaint #11404918 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ON (3) SEPARATE OCCASIONS, MY 2013 SUBARU IMPREZA UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED WHILE I WAS DRIVING (IN MOTION). EACH TIME (SHORTLY AFTER), I TOOK MY CAR TO THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP IN GLEN MILLS, PA FOR INSPECTION. THOSE DATES ARE: 6/25/16, 1/16/20, 2/27/21. EACH TIME THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THE FIRST INCIDENT (2016), I WAS DRIVING TO WORK (WITHIN 3 MINUTES OF HOME). THE CAR WAS TRAVELING AT ABOUT 25 MILES AN HOUR. I PANICKED (HIT THE ACCELERATOR HARDER), BUT WAS ABLE TO BRAKE AND REGAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR. THE SECOND INCIDENT (2020) , I HAD JUST LEFT WORK, WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR, AND THE CAR ACCELERATED AS BEFORE. AGAIN, I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR BY BRAKING LIKE NORMAL. THE THIRD TIME (2021), I WAS ABOUT HALFWAY HOME (FROM WORK) TRAVELING ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND THE CAR ACCELERATED. I WAS ABLE TO BRAKE LIKE NORMAL AND REGAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR. EACH INCIDENT WAS SIMILAR IN THE SENSE THAT IT "FELT LIKE THE CAR WAS POSSESSED". IT REMINDED ME OF A CAR WASH WHEN THE CAR FIRST MOVES ON ITS OWN. IT FELT DIFFERENT FROM SIMPLY "TRAVELING FASTER". I ALSO MENTIONED TO THE MECHANIC THAT MY CAR SOMETIMES "LUNGES" AT A RED LIGHT. THIS OCCASIONALLY OCCURS WHEN I FIRST START THE CAR. A FEW TIMES I NEEDED TO PUSH HARD ON THE BRAKE SO IT DIDN'T ADVANCE FORWARD AND HIT THE BACK OF ANOTHER CAR. AS A RESULT, I TRY TO "WARM UP" MY CAR A SHORT WHILE BEFORE DRIVING. I DON'T KNOW IF THE "LUNGING" RELATES TO THE OTHER INCIDENTS. I AM ATTACHING THE PAPERWORK FROM THE DEALERSHIP. ALL (3) REPORTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE SINGLE PDF. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED MORE DETAIL OR HAVE QUESTIONS.
NHTSA complaint #11399638 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
CAR WAS PARKED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF RESIDENTIAL GARAGE. I STARTED THE CAR TO PULL IT INTO THE GARAGE. AS SOON AS I PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE, WITH MY FOOT STILL ON THE BRAKE, IT SHOT FORWARD AT FULL SPEED AND CRASHED INTO A TRAILER AT THE BACK OF THE GARAGE. THE IMPACT FROM THE TRAILER BROKE A HOLE IN THE GARAGE WALL. TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELED WAS ABOUT 25'.
NHTSA complaint #11388673 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I HAD PURCHASED A SUBARU IMPREZA 2017 IN JUNE OF 2017. SINCE LEAVING THE PARKING LOT WITH THE CAR I'VE EXPERIENCED ALL THE INFO ENTERTAINMENT ISSUES. I HAVE A WEIRD ENGINE TICKING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WILL CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE. IT HAS NEVER GONE OUT OF CONTROL. HOWEVER THE 'FORWARD' MOMENTUM/ INERTIA THAT'S CREATED BY THE ENGINE DOESN'T DISPERSE CORRECTLY THRU THE EXHAUST AS IT SHOULD. THE VEHICLE IS A 5 SPEED MANUAL AND IF I DON'T SHIFT DOWN TO NEUTRAL WHEN STOPING THEN I WON'T STOP WHERE I'M JUDGING TO. THE CAR WILL FEEL AS IF IT'S SLIDING OVER THE BRAKES. YOU ALSO MAY HAVE TO POWER BRAKE WITH THE CLUTCH AS I DO REGULARLY. SINCE HAVING ALL THESE ISSUES. WHEN EVER I'D GO TO A DEALER THEY WOULD SAY SOME JARGON ABOUT HOW IF THEY HAVE TO TURN A SCREW THAT'S NOT A PART OF THE PART BEING FIXED UNDER WARRANTY OR A RECALL THEN THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE PAID FOR. I WAS TOLD I CAN HAVE MY CAR SERVICED BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WILL HAVE TO DO. PRETTY MUCH TAKING ME FOR A RIDE OF 'FEAR MONGERING' AND SAYING PUT YOUR HAND ON THIS TABLE AND LET'S PLAY THE KNIFE GAME...POKE! I WOULD BE PUT IN A VERY TOUGH SITUATION WITH NO GUARANTEE. THE DEALER DID THIS SO THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO WORK AND NOT GET PAID. BECAUSE THEY LOOSE MONEY AS A DEALER FOR RECALL WORK. THEY ARE NOT SUBARU AT ALL. ALL IN ALL NOW I'M TOLD TO HAVE MY CAR TAKEN TO SERVICE FOR ALL THE NUMEROUS RECALLS/LAWSUITS ATTACHED TO MY CAR. EVEN THO NOW I'M PAST MY WARRANTY (120,000). AND THERE SAYING THE SAME BS AS THEY WILL CHARGE FOR EVERYTHING NOT ASSOCIATED TO THE EFFECTED PARTS. ALL NECESSARY MEANS TO ADDRESS THE EFFECTED PARTS SHOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECALL. I HAVE BEEN SCAMED. THE WHOLE TIME EVERY ISSUE WAS EITHER UNDER WARRANTY OR RECALL AND THEY NEVER HONOR IT. IF THEY DO. THEY WILL FIX WHATEVER HAS A SCRATCH AND CHARGE YOU SAYING IT WAS REQUIRED. IT'S ALL A GAME. THEY ARE CON ARTISTS!!!
NHTSA complaint #11364840 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.