2006 Subaru Outback Vehicle Speed Control Problems
Owners have filed 98 complaints with NHTSA about vehicle speed control problems on the 2006 Subaru Outback, 35% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 100,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “engine cruise” (28% of reports).
- 98vehicle speed control complaints
- 100,000median miles at failure
- 2mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 49%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Engine cruise: mentioned in 27 of 98 complaints (28%)
- Position sensor: mentioned in 24 of 98 complaints (24%)
- Code P2138: mentioned in 23 of 98 complaints (23%)
- Control flashing: mentioned in 9 of 98 complaints (9%)
At what mileage do vehicle speed control problems happen?
Based on 93 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 98 complaints, 2 mention a crash.
Subaru Outback vehicle speed control complaints by model year
| Model year | Vehicle Speed Control complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Outback | 2 | 11% | — |
| 2025 Outback | 2 | 2% | 500 |
| 2024 Outback | 3 | 3% | 1,000 |
| 2023 Outback | 3 | 3% | 12,800 |
| 2022 Outback | 4 | 1% | 7,324 |
| 2021 Outback | 19 | 6% | 23,400 |
| 2020 Outback | 18 | 2% | 1,050 |
| 2019 Outback | 26 | 3% | 5,000 |
| 2018 Outback | 21 | 3% | 8,000 |
| 2017 Outback | 28 | 3% | 20,000 |
| 2016 Outback | 22 | 3% | 4,250 |
| 2015 Outback | 26 | 5% | 25,000 |
| 2014 Outback | 14 | 7% | 13,725 |
| 2013 Outback | 26 | 9% | 14,500 |
| 2012 Outback | 8 | 3% | 3,875 |
| 2011 Outback | 25 | 4% | 52,000 |
| 2010 Outback | 13 | 4% | 54,444 |
| 2009 Outback | 2 | 2% | 11,718 |
| 2008 Outback | 6 | 3% | 22,807 |
| 2007 Outback | 17 | 13% | 100,000 |
| 2006 Outback | 98 | 35% | 100,000 |
| 2005 Outback | 40 | 15% | 89,641 |
| 2004 Outback | 20 | 22% | 62,800 |
| 2003 Outback | 9 | 10% | 28,500 |
| 2002 Outback | 12 | 8% | 44,500 |
| 2001 Outback | 17 | 10% | 41,500 |
| 2000 Outback | 14 | 7% | 56,000 |
| 1999 Outback | 9 | 8% | 73,300 |
| 1998 Outback | 13 | 10% | 66,500 |
| 1997 Outback | 8 | 10% | 120,000 |
| 1996 Outback | 4 | 9% | 186,000 |
| 1995 Outback | 1 | 50% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists vehicle speed control for the 2006 Subaru Outback. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
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…
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…
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…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2006 Subaru Outbacks have vehicle speed control problems?
No. NHTSA has 98 owner complaints about vehicle speed control for the 2006 Subaru Outback (35% of the 277 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2006 Subaru Outback vehicle speed control?
No recall currently lists vehicle speed control for this vehicle.
At what mileage do vehicle speed control problems start?
The median reported mileage is 100,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about vehicle speed control problems on the 2006 Subaru Outback?
The most frequent phrase is “engine cruise”, in 27 of 98 complaints, followed by “position sensor” (24).
See all 2006 Subaru Outback problems or vehicle speed control problems across all Outback years.