2015 Subaru Crosstrek Speed Control & Cruise Problems

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH and making a left in the roundabout of a residential road, she felt a rear impact and all the air bags deployed. The vehicle then accelerated unintendedly, veered to the right, jumped the curb, and crashed into a tree. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that she sustained significant Hematomas on her left and right calves from the knee air bags deployment. The contact sought medical assistance, A police report was filed. Bystanders informed the contact that the vehicle was not rear-ended; however, the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was towed to an autobody shop where it was totaled. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field investigator who retrieved the EDR. The manufacturer then informed the contact that the vehicle had experienced a rear impact and responded as needed based on the EDR. However, the contact stated upon inspecting the vehicle after the accident, the rear of the vehicle did not display signs of a rear impact. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

FROM A STOP OR AT LOW SPEEDS, WHEN YOU PRESS THE GAS PEDAL THERE IS A DELAY OF APPROXIMATELY 1.5 SECONDS BEFORE THE ENGINE RESPONDS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC FROM A DRIVEWAY, OR IF YOU NEED TO QUICKLY MANEUVER TO AVOID A COLLISION. SUBARU TECHNICIANS HAVE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, AND THEY SAY NOTHING IS WRONG MECHANICALLY. I BELIEVE THIS IS A FLAW IN THE ECM PROGRAMMING. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH VARIOUS MODELS OF SUBARU. THERE ARE SEVERAL AFTERMARKET DEVICES WHICH CLAIM TO FIX THIS BY CONNECTING TO THE OBDII PORT AND CHANGING THE PROGRAMMING SO IT MATCHES THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL LINEARLY. ONE SUCH DEVICE IS HTTPS://WWW.SPRINTBOOSTERSALES.COM/SUBARU I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RELY ON AN AFTERMARKET ACCESSORY TO ADDRESS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU XV CROSSTREK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO REMAIN AT THE DESIRED SPEED AND INCREASED SPEED SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (TUCSON SUBARU, 4901 N ORACLE RD, TUCSON, AZ 85704, (520) 422-2111) WHO REPLACED THE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCH. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,000.

AFTER REMOVING CAR FROM GARAGE, WHILE SLOWLY DRIVING UPHILL IN ALLEY (LESS THAN 15 MPH ), CAR ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN WHILE MY RIGHT FOOT WAS IN THE AIR ON THE WAY TO BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN FOR A TURN. THE CAR MOVED & SOUNDED AS IF ACCELERATOR HAD BEEN DEPRESSED, BUT IT WASN'T BY THE DRIVER! I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR WITH THE BRAKE, BUT UNINTENDED ACCELERATION CAUSED CAR TO OVERSHOOT WHERE I WANTED IT TO GO BY SEVERAL FEET. IT DIDN'T COLLIDE WITH ANYTHING. I HEARD A "THUNK" BELOW CAR A COUPLE OF SECONDS BEFORE THE ACCELERATION. I BROUGHT CAR TO DEALER AT EARLIEST APPOINTMENT - OCT. 11. THEY SUGGESTED IT WAS THE CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION. I KNEW CAR WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT I EXPERIENCED WAS NOT HOW CVT OPERATES & INSISTED ON SPEAKING TO SUPERVISORS. THEY HELPED ME OPEN AN INVESTIGATION BY SUBARU. I GAVE SUBARU WRITTEN CONSENT TO ACCESS THE CAR'S BLACK BOX. THEIR INSPECTOR (FROM BOSCH AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES) DOWNLOADED BLACK BOX & CAR'S OTHER COMPUTERS, PERFORMED A PHYSICAL INSPECTION & TEST DROVE. HE SAID IT WAS UNLIKELY TO BE CAUSED BY CVT OR THE CRUISE CONTROL, & FOUND NO DAMAGE UNDER CAR. ON 11/10/16, I GOT E-MAIL FROM SUBARU THAT NO DEFECTS WERE FOUND, NO DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES WERE STORED, & "THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED." I CALLED THE SIGNER, WHO STATED THE "IMPACT OF THE ACCELERATION WAS NOT ENOUGH TO STORE." SHE REFUSED TO PROVIDE ME COPIES OF THE COMPUTER PRINTOUTS OR ANY OTHER DOCS FROM INVESTIGATION, CLAIMING THEY ARE PROPRIETARY TO SUBARU, EVEN THOUGH THE DATA, AS PART OF CAR, BELONGS TO ME! WHILE CAR WAS OUT OF SERVICE OVER 30 DAYS, LEMONLAW DIDN'T TAKE CASE AS NO DEFECT WAS FOUND. I UNDERSTAND INTERMITTENT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL PROBLEMS DON'T LEAVE DTC CODES. DON'T KNOW IF I CAN TRUST THIS CAR, AS MALFUNCTION'S CAUSE WAS NEVER FOUND. NHTSA SHOULD ISSUE REGS ON ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SAFETY AS OWNERS CAN'T SUE!