Rear hatch wiring insulation failed after 8 years & 70,0000 miles resulting in (among many other problems) failure of all brake lights. Wires shorted out resulting in blown brake light fuse. There was no indication of failure of brake lights on any dashboard warning light. It is unknown how long this vehicle (known to have unsafe airbags) was also driven without brake lights. This is a known common failure point and should be a safety recall.
2008 Subaru Outback electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 34 of 34, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 subaru outback. The contact stated that the ABS, traction control, engine, and other unknown warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure was unable to be diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 128,000.
Bought a used 2008 subaru outback in april of 2015, and shortly afterwards began seeing the airbag dash light occasionally upon startup. The airbag light would remain on until the vehicle was turned off, and would often come on and stay on when the vehicle was started again. Overhead passenger airbag indicator also was malfunctioning, and did not indicate on or off. Vehicle was serviced at dealership on 3/22/2016, and the overhead console (part # 92151ag13aor) was replaced to remedy air bag code 26. Total cost was $182.95; $130.45 for the new console, and $52.50 for the labor. This malfunction is far too common in subaru vehicles across several years,and is an extremely important repair and a dangerous safety concern. The airbag system is inoperable when the dash light is on, and should be a recall situation for all subaru vehicles that have the defective console.
The dashboard lights blinked off & on and the heater stopped working, then started working again. This happened three times. It gives the appearance of involving a short circuit. This happened both when the vehicle was stationary and while moving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 subaru outback. While driving 5 MPH, the audio and the whole panel related to the heat/air and defroster failed without warning. The contact stated that the audio and h-back control panel lights were blinking. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,000.
(vehicle has 112k miles) beginning approximately in the march 2015 timeframe, the radio controls/display began to malfunction intermittently. At first, the radio display would blink off/on, and then preset station buttons stopped/started working, then the cd/radio/aux control knob stopped/started working, etc. Controls from the steering wheel appear unaffected. There would be one problem on one day, which would seemingly "go away." then, at random (sometimes days or weeks later), another problem would present itself. It, too, would "go away" in short order and the process would repeat itself. The problem would occur on start-up as well as suddenly while in motion (in may 2015, I had the radio go off about midway on a 150-mile trip.) on sept 16, the radio controls became completely inactive, but the unit functioned and the display was on. Then, on sept 24, I was travelling at night when the headlights and radio/AC displays suddenly went dark. This is clearly a safety concern. The high beams and running lights remained functional, but the regular lights no longer function. I did not test the fog lights and I am no longer driving the car. I am using my wife's car. Until I can take the car for service, its use is limited to daylight hours. The issue has remained and does not appear to be "going away". When you turn on the headlights, the radio/AC displays go blank and the headlights do not light.
Hvac fails to operate. Defroster will not operate. Symptoms accompanied by flashing control panel for HVAC and radio. Widespread reports of this problem shared on car owner internet forums.
The airbag warning light is frequently on for extended periods of time (days, weeks,months). The issue and subaru's unwillingness to address it are well documented in complaints filed with the federal safety agency by other subaru owners and on various subaru owner websites. For example, see http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2008/subaru/outback/air_bags/problem.aspx there is conflicting advice on whether illumination of the dashboard warning light means the airbags are disabled or not. Either way, this is a serious safety hazard that needs to be addressed immediately.
The wiring for the rear lift gate lock is broken. The same problem occurred in 2013. Definitely faulty design. Subaru says to replace the entire wiring harness to the lift gate for $500+.
The wires in the boot between the hatch and body become brittle over time and can snap with hatch usage. I removed the boot and found one wire completely severed (operating the hatch lock which had stopped working). Others were frayed and required repair (including the wires for the brake lights).
The airbags light is on intermittently. The tech at the subaru dealership said it was a problem in the connection in the map light console. He indicated the airbags would deploy correctly. It appears to be a common problem with 2008 outbacks and other posters have indicated the airbag system will not work if dashboard airbag light is illuminated. Apparently many folks have found a weak/aged solder point to be the cause of an intermittent connection. Given the large number of owners encountering this problem, subaru should initiate a recall based on the safety concerns of a an airbag system failure in the event of an accident.
Having airbag light coming on intermittently along with passenger airbag light. Mechanic said airbags probably are not functioning properly. Cost for repair would be between $350-$400. From reading other complaints, this is an easy and cheap fix but dangerous if it's not repaired. This should be a recall!
I'm updating my 2/3/15 complaint 10680982. I contacted subaru directly on the same day and included a copy of the complaint I filed with the federal safety agency and my bill for the replacement of the overhead airbag control module. In the report the subaru tech said the unit was shorting out, showing code "26 for passenger?s airbag indicator failure and s8 airbag light on." I also gave subaru my tally of my first cursory search of the federal safety agency complaints database on the word "airbag" for all models of subaru from 2000 to present. The search resulted in 145 complaints. After I looked through the first 60 complaints I found 45 of them that seemed to be about this exact problem - the airbag warning light on the dashboard and/or passenger side airbag overhead indicator going on and off intermittently. These complaints were across every model of subaru and years from 2003 to 2013. My 2008 outback had the most complaints - 13. Other searches for different key words and spellings of airbag resulted in many hundreds of results, too many for your database to display, probably many of them were about the recent airbag recall issue. Subaru's customer service department responded immediately and on 2/12/15 they promised to reimburse me for the entire $352, the total cost of parts and labor to replace the module. I urge all subaru owners to test their passenger airbag lights and those with problems to lodge a formal the federal safety agency complaint and report it to subaru. Since the airbag doesn't work when the light isn't working properly this is a very dangerous problem! Enough complaints to the federal safety agency will help pressure subaru to finally let all potentially affected owners know about it.
Was driving vehicle in heavy snow, suddenly lost power, the dash light flashed, the instrument cluster needles moved as if the car was starting up. Could not restart engine, would not crank. All other electrical equipment worked. Sat in heavy snow for two hours (no tow trucks available until next day). Suddenly after attempting to restart after many failed attempts, it did. Drove it home fine. Stalled next day on way to repair shop. Had car towed and shop found one code, but nothing else wrong. Drove home fine, ran can for 45 mins, fine. Next day drove for 35 min to work, fine but left work and immediately stalled just like few days before. Towed to subaru dealer and took a day to figure out was main engine compartment wiring harness. Replaced with minimal charge of $50, even thought three months out of warranty. Vehicle has been fine since then.
Dash airbag light comes on intermittently, and this disables the airbag. Dealer states this is a known problem, but can only fix by trial and error replacing (expensive) components. It happens most on cold wet weather days, often goes off when car warmed up, so probably electrical. Has continued for years now, still happening at 105,000 miles. Many many examples on internet boards of people with this same problem. Should be a safety recall!
Recently replaced headlights did not illuminate on a return trip home. They turned off without warning while driving. According to the dealer, the wiring harness failed.
Hvac / radio (cd 6 disc changer model) fast flashing, all functions stay enabled but can not be controlled from the panel. Can not turn on defrost unit or adjust temperature or radio controls while flashing occurs. This happens intermittently for a year and has gotten significantly worse where controls are unavailable for 20 minutes or more at a time. Dangerous situation in winter when you can not use the defrost buttons to deice windows or control window fogging.
Passenger side airbag on/off light malfunctioning. Sometimes ceiling console passenger indicator light comes on to indicate bag is off (supposed to happen when less than 25 lbs in passenger seat) and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes dashboard red airbag warning light comes on to indicate malfunction with bag and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the passenger airbag on/off light shows dimly as if it's trying to illuminate. Seems like a wiring problem based on intermittent illumination but dealer said needed new $300 plus indicator switch but they were sure airbag working properly. Have already had serious problem with quality of work done by this dealer so unsure of whether they really know what's happening. Why no recall from subaru? I see several other complaints here about the exact same problem.
Air bag light in dashboard comes on and airbag light in overhead console does not display proper info. 55000+ hits in internet point to bad solder joints in overhead circuit board. Once loose resistors are re-soldered problem goes away. Dealers are charging up to $500 to replace overhead console. This problem of bad solder joints goes over several model years. Why has there not been a safety related recall over airbag issues which expire when warranty expires? There should be no expiration date on safety!
Vehicle started showing signs of electrical problems 2 months ago when the rear view mirror homelink would only have power intermittently. Problem progressed to the reverse lights and now affects the headlights. The headlights went out at night as I was leaving a parking lot, a definite hazard. Have researched the problem on subaru online forums and discovered that the problem is that individual wires in the wiring harness have a tendency to crack and break at the joint between the body and the liftgate. This vehicle has 2 completely broken wires and most others with breaks in the insulation. Other owners describe similar problems.
The radio and heater, A/C and defroster controls are all one piece in my car. The display screens on both go blank without warning. When this happens nothing works, most importantly the defroster when you bad weather while driving. The output temperature and fan speed cannot be changed and the defroster cannot be turned on or off. The factory radio-A/C control unit went bad and was useless. Subaru was unable to provide service parts since it is no longer available new, only as a rebuilt unit, and subaru has no cores to rebuild nor do they know when they will get one. I bought a used radio-A/C unit from a junkyard and installed it about a year ago. Now this unit is starting to go bad. I have contacted panasonic to find an authorized repair facility and they cannot identify my radio even with the numbers on the tag that says made by panasonic, so they cannot tell me where I can get it repaired. Subaru has been just as useless. I can live without a radio, but when my windshield fogs up at 60 MPH and I cannot turn the defroster on or it's 20 degrees out and I cannot turn the heat on, this becomes a safety issue. I checked a subaru owners website and found numerous people with 2005-2008 models saying they had the same problem. I have owned the car since new and besides changing the oil myself, all other repairs on the car have been done by a subaru dealer. The dealer even installed the junkyard radio. The last contact I had with the subaru factory, they are blaming the problem on me using an aftermarket radio. My local subaru dealer confirmed thru serial numbers that the radio from the junkyard is the exact same radio-A/C unit that came in my car when new. Since subaru no longer uses panasonic radios, they are no longer providing any product support on panasonic products. Subaru is required by law to provide service parts for at least 7 years and they are not doing it.
Wires in the rear hatch break repeatedly. Wiring harness comes from the roof and into the rear hatch; most of the wires worn and mechanic has spliced more than half including the antenna wire.
Since the car was nearly new the airbag warning light comes on intermittently and now stays on continuously, rendering the airbag system inoperative. The vehicle was brought to the dealer the first time it happened but the dealer said no fault code was found. In december 2012 the warning light came on continuously. I brought it to the subaru dealer to diagnose and service the problem. The service manager stated that the problem is with the light in the maplight module, and if something in the module goes bad the airbag warning light will come on and prevent the airbag from deploying. Consequently I have to replace the entire maplight console at a cost of $510 ($110 to read the code plus $400 for the light module) to fix a dangerous safety defect and design flaw that should be the responsibility of subaru.
One wire leading to the rear cargo hatch (right side) broke and 3 others had cracked insulation due to a lack of resilience after flexing. These wires are flexed every time the hatch is opened and closed. All electrical parts on the hatch travel though this wiring harness (wipers, lock, etc.). Had the failure of the lock not been noticed, further wear could have caused a short and a fire. The vehicle is only 4 and a half years old. Many other people have had similar problems going back to at least the 2005 model.
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