2017 Subaru Outback Brakes Problems

On [XXX], around noon, my wife and I were driving south on [XXX] in our 2017 Subaru Outback, at approximately 70 mph. It was a clear and sunny day. We were just north of the [XXX] exit (in Port St. Lucie, Florida) in the far right-hand lane when our vehicle violently jolted. It felt like we were being dragged from behind, although we were still moving forward at a reduced speed. It was making a terrible sound (tires screeching), and you could smell rubber burning. This sensation felt similar to an airplane’s hard landing on the tarmac. My initial thought was that someone hit us from behind, while my wife thought we may have blown a tire. I glanced at the instrument panel and noticed that the word “Eye Sight” was displayed. As we were coming to complete stop, we realized cars were speeding to the left and right of our car to avoid hitting us. We both immediately realized that we were in a very dangerous situation and at risk of being hit from oncoming traffic. My wife put the hazard lights on while I was attempting to drive the car off the road. However, the car would not move forward even though the engine was running, and it was in gear (drive). Several good Samaritans stopped to assist us in trying to move the car off [XXX]. However, the car would not move because all four wheels were locked. My wife called 911 and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Road Ranger arrived approximately twenty minutes later. They were unable to assist us with moving the car off the road. We called a tow truck company (Apex Towing) to move the car because all four tires were locked and had to be lifted off the road. Our car was towed to a safe location and we able to call AAA to have the car towed to Dyer Subaru in Vero Beach, Florida. As time has passed, we realize that our car was a stationary object on a heavily traveled interstate. If a car had hit us, the outcome could and most probable would have been catastrophic to everyone involved. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing, the vehicle accelerated backward. The contact pumped the brake pedal and was depressed aggressively several times however the brakes failed to respond. The vehicle collided with a pillar of bricks causing the vehicle to stop. No airbag deployed and no one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center where the insurance deemed the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 41,806.

PULLING INTO OUR GARAGE (AS WE HAVE DONE PROBABLY THOUSANDS OF TIMES SINCE OWNING THE CAR), OUR 2017 OUTBACK ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL INTO THE BACK WALL OF OUR GARAGE. CAR HAD BEEN STOPPED AT THE PARKING POSITION IN THE GARAGE AND WAS BEING SHIFTED INTO PARK WHEN THE ACCELERATION OCCURRED. GAS PEDAL WAS NOT TOUCHED (CAR ALWAYS COASTS INTO GARAGE UNDER IT'S OWN POWER, AND FOOT IS ONLY ON THE BRAKE ALWAYS). EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO CAR AND GARAGE. BOTH SUBARU AND OUR INSURANCE COMPANY HAVE BEEN ALERTED.

TWICE, DURING A TIME PERIOD OF 10 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY WHEN THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. I COULD HEAR AND FEEL THE ACCELERATOR KICK IN WHEN MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE -- THE VEHICLE WAS PROPELLED FORWARD. FIRST AT A STOP SIGN BEFORE PULLING OUT ONTO A BUSY CITY STREET, THEN 10 MINUTES LATER WHEN STOPPING TO ALLOW CROSS TRAFFIC TO CLEAR BEFORE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT. PAVEMENT WAS DRY (NO ICE, SNOW, OR WATER). I KNOW THAT MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE AND NOT THE ACCELERATOR. CALLED THE DEALER AND BROUGHT IT IN IMMEDIATELY. OVER ABOUT A 3-WEEK PERIOD, THE DEALER EVALUATED THE VEHICLE AND HAD A SAFETY ENGINEER FROM CORPORATE COME IN TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE, AND THE CONCLUSION WAS THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR, AND NOTHING SHOWED UP ON THE VEHICLE LOGS/DATA TO INDICATE A PROBLEM. I SAID I REFUSED TO DRIVE THE CAR ANYMORE. WE DECIDED TO TRADE IT IN, AND THEY DIDN'T GIVE US ANY TRADE IN ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THEY SAID NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. HOWEVER, THEY DID GIVE US $2,500 COUPON TOWARDS A BRAND NEW, 2020, VEHICLE, WHICH WE USED. *TR

I HAD TWO SIGNIFICANT BRAKING PROBLEMS WITHIN TWO DAYS. BOTH DAYS WERE CLEAR AND SUNNY, WITH NO SNOW, ICE OR RAIN. THE FIRST OCCURRED WHEN MY WIFE AND I WERE ON A LOCAL STREET. I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE TO STOP AT AN INTERSECTION. INSTEAD OF STOPPING, THE CAR ACCELERATED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. FORTUNATELY, THE DRIVER COMING TO MY RIGHT WAS ABLE TO STOP BEFORE PLOWING INTO MY CAR. MY WIFE AND I AVOIDED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE FOLLOWING DAY WE WERE COMING UP TO A RED LIGHT BEHIND ANOTHER CAR IN THE TURN LANE. I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE - CAREFULLY SO I DIDN'T ACCELERATE - AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR. EYESIGHT ASSISTED BRAKING STOPPED THE CAR BEFORE I REAR-ENDED THE CAR IN FRONT. SINCE IT WAS A TURN LANE, THE CAR IN FRONT MOVED UP AND I SLOWLY MOVED FORWARD. ONCE AGAIN THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND ASSISTED BRAKING STOPPED THE CAR. I PULLED OVER ONTO A SIDE STREET AND THE BRAKES WORKED, BUT WERE SPONGY. FOR THE REST OF THE WAY HOME, ABOUT 3 MILES, THE BRAKES WORKED OK. AFTER THE SECOND INCIDENT MY WIFE AND I DISCUSSED WHAT HAPPENED. WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE BOTH HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES, TO A LESSER EXTENT, WITH THE CAR ACCELERATING WHEN BRAKING. WE BOTH THOUGHT THAT WE DID SOMETHING WRONG, BUT AFTER THE DRAMATIC ACCELERATION INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC REALIZED THAT IT WAS THE CAR. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. OVER A FEW DAYS TIME THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM AND REFERRED IT TO SUBARU CUSTOMER CARE. IT'S FOUR WEEKS SINCE THE FIRST INCIDENT AND THEY'RE NO CLOSER TO IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT INTERMITTENTLY WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE CONTACT THEN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO HEUBERGER SUBARU (1080 MOTOR CITY DR., COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80905 (719) 475-1920) WHERE THE BRAKES NEEDED TO BE FLUSHED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT THEN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE NO DIAGNOSTIC FAILURE CODES WERE FOUND AND THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE WHERE THE FIELD ENGINEER ALONG WITH TECHNICIAN INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THAT NO FAILURE HAD OCCURRED, AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE WARMED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

THE FIRST OF 4 INCIDENTS OCCURRED ON STATE HIGHWAY 509 WHEN TRAVELING WITH MY 12 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. AT THE SPEED LIMIT OF 60 MPH IN THE RIGHT LANE, THE PARKING BRAKE APPLIED ITSELF WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED. THE CAR SHUTTERED VIOLENTLY AS IT TURNED TO THE RIGHT HEADING FOR THE SHOULDER AND SLOWED THE CAR TO 35-40MPH BEFORE I SAW THE BRAKE LIGHT ON THE DASH AND WAS ABLE TO TURN OFF THE PARKING BRAKE SWITCH LOCATED ON THE CENTER CONSOLE. 2ND TIME GOING 35MPH ON A LOCAL STREET WHEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITHOUT WARNING. 3RD TIME ON THE SAME HIGHWAY AS 1ST INCIDENT BUT AT 55MPH AND BY MYSELF. 4TH TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS RIGHT AFTER I PICKED UP THE CAR FROM THE SHOP WHERE THEY TRIED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM AND WERE UNABLE TO FIX IT. I WAS ON THE FREEWAY ONRAMP TO HIGHWAY 509 STARTING TO MERGE ON A BRIDGE WHEN FOR NO REASON THE BRAKE APPLIED ITSELF. AGAIN THE DEALER SHOP WAS UNABLE TO REPAIR THE CAR AND I PICKED IT UP AND TOOK IT TO ANOTHER SUBARU DEALER. THE PAPERWORK STATES THAT THE CAR IS NOT TO BE DRIVEN HOME OR LONG DISTANCES. THIS SUBARU OUTBACK IS A VERY SEVERE SAFETY RISK IF I KEEP ON DRIVING IT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED ON THREE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING 25-35 MPH, THE AUTOMATIC COLLISION BRAKING SYSTEM ENGAGED WHEN THERE WAS NO OBJECT PRESENT. THE CONTACT MENTIONED IT HAPPENED WHILE APPROACHING A CURVE. ADDITIONALLY, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED TO THE FLOORBOARD HOWEVER, AFTER PUMPING THE BRAKE PEDAL THE BRAKES WORKED AS DESIGNED. THE AUTOMATIC COLLISION WARNING INDICATOR WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WYATT JOHNSON SUBARU (2425 WILMA RUDOLPH BLVD, CLARKSVILLE, TN 37040, (931) 648-4300) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WORKED AS DESIGNED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 18,000.