| Issue ID | 1260440 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10825212 |
| Manufacurer | Subaru of America, Inc. |
| Brand | SUBARU |
| Model | OUTBACK |
| Model Year | 2015 |
| File date | 01/06/15 |
| Component | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Cruise control (cc) caused what i thought at the time of the incident was unintended acceleration. Operation of cc is different from any cc i used in the past. The cc was already engaged and i was going about 40 mph on a highway. I decided to increase my speed, so i pressed the 'set +' button. After a couple of seconds when i reached 43 mph, i released the button. The car continued to accelerate to 70 mph. Luckily the highway was empty and i was able to disengage the cc. The problem is that the cc 'set +' (and 'set -') has 2 positions - pushing it half way increases your speed like a traditional cc, and pushing it all the way actually increases the set speed of your cc by 5 mph increments. Hence when i thought i was just accelerating to 43 mph, i was actually setting the cc speed to 70 mph. One of the option packages with the car adds this 5 mph increment 'feature'. The quick reference guide and the regular manual do not mention this 'feature' - it is only mentioned in one of the auxiliary manuals for the option package. I think under different circumstances that this incident could have turned out much worse than it did. The cc does not work like traditional cc, and the controls look like a traditional cc. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 3000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | DOYLESTOWN, PA |
| VIN pattern | 4S4BSANC4F3XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 40 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |