NHTSA ODI #11437824

2021 Subaru Outback Complaint

Forward Collision Avoidance

Filed October 22, 2021 · Incident date September 4, 2021

Vehicle
2021 Subaru Outback
Component(s)
Forward Collision Avoidance
Complaint filed
October 22, 2021
Date of incident
September 4, 2021
Reported VIN
4S4BTAPC7M3

Owner's description

The emergency braking forward collision system has deployed several times when it should not. In some circumstance the braking could result in the person behind me rear ending me. The main problem is that if the car detects another car directly in front of you, the system will sometimes deploy even if the vehicle is not in the same lane as you. I've had the emergency brakes deployed incorrectly in the following situations. I am driving in the left lane of a 2 lane road with a speed limit of 45 mph and the road is banking sharply to the left. Because of the sharp bank, a car was directly in front of me but in the right lane, so this is a normal non dangerous situation but the brakes deployed. I exited a parkway, the exit ramp banks sharply to the right as most exit ramps do. Directly ahead of me but off the road is a disabled vehicle. There is no danger to me as it is safely off the road, but the brakes were deployed. In both instances there was no one following close behind me but if there was, either situation could have resulted in them rear ending me. I have taken to disabling the emergency braking feature because I no longer feel safe using it. Unfortunately this takes 7 key presses to accomplish and it resets every time you turn the car on. I contacted Subaru customer service to complain, but got ridiculous suggestions, like just turn off the emergency braking when you expect to be driving with a lot of cross traffic. If not rectified, sooner or later that's going to cause an accident.

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Data sourced from the NHTSA Complaints database. Complaints are submitted by vehicle owners and have not been independently verified.