The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the passenger’s side wheel window trim was slightly pivoted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the trim needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the dealer had not confirmed if parts had been ordered or received. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH in 2020, the vehicle experienced transmission failure and the vehicle came to a jerking stop, as if the parking brake had been activated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the CVT transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that approximately 4 years later, several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that after leaving the dealer, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was returned to the dealer and was diagnosed with CVT failure. The CVT transmission was replaced. The contact was informed that the wiring harness needed to be replaced; however, the wiring harness had not been replaced. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 35,000.
2016 Subaru Outback: multiple warning lights
7 of the 644 complaints about the 2016 Subaru Outback describe multiple warning lights.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 8,000
- recalls
- 0
Multiple warning lights by model year
What owners say
Chronic issue with the vehicle draining batteries. I’ve gone through 4 new batteries in the time I’ve owned the vehicle and find that they die in what’s sometimes only a few months after purchase. No lights or other electronic accessories in the Outback are ever left on and we’re careful to keep doors closed when we’re not actively shuffling people or cargo in or out of the vehicle. I just experienced another episode of the battery dying when we returned from vacation to a dead car in the airport parking deck, despite only 15k miles on this battery and all lights being confirmed to have been correctly turned off before our departure. I’m concerned for the safety of my family when the vehicle can’t be trusted to regularly start and the battery could die in situations where my family’s safety could be put in jeopardy.
Steering wheel locks and all lights light up on dash then vehicle completely shuts off. Tried to jump vehicle and vehicle will start but turns off a few seconds later. Subaru advise it was a defective battery. Subaru then replace battery under warranty on 11/05/2020. The battery was not even 1 year old when it was replaced. Today on 01/29/2021 it happened again while driving. Lucky both times I was not traveling at a high rate of speed like on a hey. I was able to pull off on the side street. Now I'm waiting for a tow truck to tow my vehicle to the subaru dealership.
Intermittently all the lights in the dash will go out for approximately two seconds, then come back on. During this period of time, I have nothing on the dash, no speedometer, turn signals, eyesight, radio, etc. To me this is a safety hazard. It happens, so fast that I do not have time to see if my headlights outside of the vehicle are functioning correctly or not, so that I am being seen by other motorists. It has happened on two occasions when I hit a pothole. My dealership has not been able to re-create this problem. I feel it is a short in the dash. It is always when I am driving, but it never lasts more than 2-3 seconds and the dealer tells me to "bring it in while it's happening". This happens every few weeks and has happened since I purchased the vehicle.
1st occurrence: while driving on a county road, all warning lights came on. Brought vehicle back to dealer, dealer replaced the transmission.
Less than 1 week later, 2nd occurrence: while driving on interstate, all warning lights came on and vehicle suddenly lost forward movement. Vehicle was running but not engaging enough to propel vehicle. Towed to dealer, dealer repaired pilot pin in transmission.
3rd occurrence: while driving on a state highway, vehicle jerked, all warning lights came on and vehicle lost movement with resistance. Towed to dealer.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This announcement provides information on the connected services platform for Subaru EVs.
- This Service Information Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but...
- This announcement provides information on DCM replacememts due to a parasitic draw.
- This announcement provides information on a new software update for the Midtronics Dss and DCA machines.
- This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a...
- This Bulletin announces additional troubleshooting steps for the following DTCs: DTC C1956: RH Actuator...
- This bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during...
- This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw...
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2016 Subaru Outback warning lights
Is multiple warning lights a common problem on the 2016 Subaru Outback?
7 of 644 owner complaints about the 2016 Subaru Outback (1%) mention multiple warning lights. The model year with the most reports is 2020.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2016 Subaru Outback?
There are 0 recalls and 142 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2016 Subaru Outback
Battery drain 110Windshield crack 70Won't start 45Wipers 15Fuel smell 12Jerking 12Sudden acceleration 11Adaptive cruise 9Collision warning 8No deployment 7CVT failure 7Sunroof shattered 7Transmission failure 7Stalling 6Door locks 5Hesitation 5Lane assist 5
VIN decoder
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