2011 Outback - Strange Electrical Behavior

jtreulich

2 days ago, my neighbor knocked on my door to tell my my hazard lights were blinking. I turned them off and started the car immediately. I was concerned that the battery would be low on charge. Strangely, the doors were locked, I had not driven the car for 2 days, and hours before I looked out the a window at the car and the hazard lights were not on. Next, my wife is driving the car and the indash brake indicator begins to flash. Also, the anti lock brake light (yelow light with squigly lines) is also on. She drove to the dealer immediately. When she stopped the car and restarted it, the lights went off.

Has anyone else experienced these anomalies?

Any idea on root cause?

Thanks very much.

jtreulich

I travel for work (I live in RI, but spend a lot of time working in NY and NJ). I estimate that my navigation fails to perform as expected, if at all, 70% of the time (and I'm being conservative). That is, it cannot find common locations, says a location does not exist when very clearly it does, or brings me to an incorrect location. Additionally, the usability is absolutely terrible. To select a state you have to click a map which, for smaller states, is barely visible. And instead of having regions so that you don't have to constantly change the state setting, this system requires that you change states constantly. Also, the address entry controls are very finicky. You have to guess which order to enter house number, street name, etc. in order for the address to be found. It is never the same. It also fails to find common abbreviations and names. Seriously folks, there should be a class action lawsuit. 2K for a nav system that fails to perform and is very difficult to use. Advise to buyer, go with an aftermarket nav system with blue tooth and a backup camera. This is the worst navigation system I have ever used, and I've used many.

kcmotorhead

I agree. My $150 Garmin was superior. Why did they go with DVDs that have to be changed for each region? And the DVDs are apparently at least 3 years out of date. Subaru should at least supply updated DVDs.

cc412

Very similar thing happened to me just about a week after your experience- I recently bought a 2000 Outback with 150K miles (learner car for my 16 yr old daughter). I never had a Subaru before, and except for the oil leaks, like it. Then a few nights ago the radio went off and on by itself, the ABS lights flashed, the instrument dials swung wildly, and "At oil temp" message displayed. The car drove jumpy, but I was 1 mile from home and it was dark. I strongly suspected gremlins. As soon as I got home I positioned it for possible towing, and sure enough when I turned the car off it was completely dead. I thought I had killed it. Well, two days later and a new alternator and battery, and it is running strong again. I assumed this was because of high miles, (and my poor judgment in choosing cars) but it was probably just time for the alternator. Don't know if that lines up with your issue. Good luck.

xwesx

That sounds about right. I had to replace my alternator around those miles as well. After I did, I wished I had done it a couple years sooner!