Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Subaru Outback owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while their wife was pulling into a parking space, uphill, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a sign. The vehicle continued accelerating approximately a car length of distance causing it to jump another curb onto grass and eventually come to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle had damage to the front end and bumper of the vehicle. The contact had no injuries and medical attention was not needed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who had not diagnosed the vehicle and it had not been repaired. The contact stated they found an article regarding the year/make/model experiencing the same failure due to a failure of the low-pressure fuel pump. …
Car jerked back and suddenly accelerated without warning as driver had foot on brake and was slowly pulling into parking spot. Car hit wall of parking garage causing front end damage. Parking collision warning did not sound at any point. Car was going 1-2 MPH and was 5 feet from end of parking spot when incident occurred. Sudden acceleration when driver has foot on brake can cause injury to driver, passengers or others in the path of the car. No hazards in parking garage were present that could have caused accident, which was witnessed by driver's work colleague. No police report filed. Incident was reported to Subaru, which ran diagnostic and could not replicate issue. No warning messages were present prior to the incident. It appears there are 2 current class action lawsuits filed against Subaru reporting similar issues with 2018 Outback. …
Driver experienced an unexpected uncommanded sudden acceleration upon application of the braking system in the driveway, which caused a collision with the garage/house. The safety of the driver and other were put at risk. Significant damage to the house/garage occurred. This is a first time occurrence. Owner has not yet had the opportunity to have the vehicle inspected by dealer, independent service center, manufacturer, police or insurance rep due to timing of the accident. No warning lights message were displayed. Driver slowed the vehicle in anticipation of putting the vehicle in park when uncommanded brake release occurred, vehicle accelerated and struck the house. Reason for incident is unknown. Vehicle remains parked pending further inspection.
I slowed down to approximately 5 MPH to pull into a parking space in front of a building. Without warning, the car suddenly accelerated toward the building. The car jumped over the parking block and onto the sidewalk in front of the building. I attempted to stop the car but the brakes did not function at that point. The car stopped when it hit a pole. There was damage to the front of the car and the pole. No people were injured. There was no warning before this happened.
The vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Outback Limited 3.6R, was being pulled into the garage at the owner's home. With brakes applied, and while putting vehicle into park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward making contact with a suspended shelf attached to the back wall of the garage. The force of the vehicle was such that the shelf and back wall of the garage were completely separated from the home in one piece and pushed approximately 10 yards away from the home before the shelf broke away from the wall upon impact with the ground, perpendicular to the back of the house. The vehicle then traveled down two hills in the back yard, across a water saturated easement, over a concrete drainage culvert and came to rest at the base of an incline in an adjacent yard approximately 150 ft from the garage. …
In heavy traffic, we were rolling slowly along, when all of a sudden the engine began revving on its own, against the brake. I quickly moved the shifter into neutral, and the engine revved wildly without my pressing on the accelerator. We couls have easily slammed into the car in front of us had I not moved the selector to neutral.
When I was idling in park, the car spontaneously accelerated at full throttle. Another incident occurred while braking the car started accelerating at full throttle, even though I was sitting still at a drive through. - it would not stop without turning off the ignition.
PROBLEMS & FAILURES include: 1. Repeated battery failures, towed over 12 times since car was purchased in 2017. Left [redacted] and [redacted] stranded and/or stranded in the dark on more than once occasion. Repeated (6+ attempts) to repair and/or replace the battery (local Subaru dealership) with no success- DRIVER SAFETY RISK. Two ADULTS (seniors) should not be repeatedly stranded in the middle of nowhere. Subaru issued battery recalls and was engaged in a lawsuit regarding this matter. 2. Cracks in windshield giving "spackle" pattern/ indicating weakness: DRIVER SAFETY RISK; multiple recalls. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, and if the windshield is thinner than industry standard poses risk of death. 3. Gas Tank door not opening & leakage 4. Subaru Radio Always on/ Comes on when car has started, no way to stop it or turn off. Was informed that "this is normal" which is outright false. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while his wife was pulling into a parking lot, the engine revved, and with the driver's foot on the brake, the vehicle accelerated and went over the parking curb and crashed into an embankment in another parking lot. There was no warning. The contact stated that his wife complained about an unknown light that once flashed on the right side of the dashboard. The contact stated that the light did not stay on. The vehicle was damaged but was not totaled. There was no injury and no police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the (anderson Subaru located at 7050 pensacola blvd, pensacola, fl 32505), where the technician stated that the vehicle operated as intended. The technician offered to have an engineer evaluate the failure but warned that it would take three to four months to be completed. …
The acceleration response is decoupled from the throttle. I had come to a complete stop at a stop sign. I tried to move ahead with a slight acceleration to get a view of cross traffic, unfortunately the vehicle accelerated too high and t boned into another car that was going across. The other vehicle was damaged. The problem is more evident while accelerating from slower speeds or from a stop.
Acceleration complaints in other Outback years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2018 Subaru Outback?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2018 Subaru Outback, 3% of the model year's 816 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2018 Subaru Outback acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2018 Subaru Outback, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2018 Subaru Outback acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 8,000 miles, and 64% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 7 crashes, 0 fires and 2 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.