2009 Subaru Outback Electrical Problems

Your car is bucking and chugging while driving, then stalling without warning—this happens on highways and local streets. When you're stopped or parked, the engine idles very roughly and shudders like it's about to stall, sometimes actually stalling. All your dashboard lights flash on when this happens, and the car is difficult to restart. This has been happening for 2 months, and despite multiple repair attempts by your mechanic and the Subaru dealership (including replacing a MAP sensor and wiring), the problem keeps returning within a week. The dealership may be clearing error codes without fixing the underlying issue, which creates a safety hazard, especially if the car stalls in traffic.

Your car is stalling unexpectedly at random times—both while driving on the highway and while stopped—and it's difficult to restart afterward. The engine runs rough for a moment after it restarts, then returns to normal, but no check engine light appears to help diagnose the issue. Because the problem occurs unpredictably and your mechanic can't reproduce it, the cause hasn't been identified yet. This creates a serious safety risk when stalling occurs in traffic or on the highway. The repair will likely require diagnostic testing to identify an electrical or fuel system component that's failing intermittently.

Your rear hatch won't lock, which is a safety concern since the vehicle can't be fully secured. This appears to be a wiring issue inside the hatch itself, and other owners have reported similar problems. The fix will likely involve inspecting and repairing or replacing the electrical wiring connections in the rear hatch locking mechanism.

Your Outback wouldn't restart after being parked, requiring multiple attempts to get it started. A tow truck mechanic and a certified mechanic both indicated that the end switch (a component that controls the starter circuit) needs to be replaced. You've scheduled a repair but haven't had it fixed yet. The fix will involve replacing the end switch component.

Your car is shutting off while you're driving at various speeds, and when it does, the check engine, traction control, and cruise control warning lights come on. Sometimes the engine won't restart right away after it shuts off. Your dealer has been notified but no root cause was identified in the available information. The fix will likely involve diagnostic testing to identify what's causing the engine to stall and the electrical/sensor signals to malfunction.

Your Subaru Outback is experiencing stalling issues. You previously reported this problem but are resubmitting because your original complaint wasn't properly processed. The stalling appears to be related to the electrical and engine systems working together.

2009 SUBARU OUTBACK STALLING WHILE DRIVING. THE ENGINE TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING WITH LIGHT ACCELERATION AT LOW SPEEDS (5-20 MPH) WITHOUT WARNING. WARNING LIGHTS FLICKERED ON AND OFF. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE TO HAVE THE CAR STALL OUT WITHOUT WARNING. SUBARA SOUTH BLVD DEALERSHIP SAY THEY DO NOT KNOW THE ROOT CAUSE. PRIOR TO THE ABOVE INCIDENCE THE CAR, WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, WOULD OCCASIONALLY SHUDDER AND THE WARNING LIGHTS WOULD FLICKER ON THEN GO OFF. IT FELT LIKE THE CAR WAS GOING TO SHUT OFF BUT IT DIDN'T. NOW IT IS SHUTTING OFF. IT'S COMPLETELY UNSAFE.

THERE IS A WELL DOCUMENTED FAULTY DESIGN ISSUE THAT LEADS TO FAILURE OF THE WIRING HARNESS (REAR GATE CORD) TO THE REAR WAGON DOOR/GATE OF THIS MODEL SUBARU OUBACK WAGONS. FAILURE OF THE WIRING HARNESS HAS AFFECTED ME WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. AS THIS ISSUE HAS PROGRESSED, MORE AND MORE WIRES BREAK, COMPLETELY SEVERED, AND LEAD TO THE REAR LOCK NOT WORKING, THEN BACKUP LIGHTS NOT WORKING, REAR DEFROSTER NOT WORKING, WIPER NOT WORKING, AND LICENSE PLATE LIGHT NOT WORKING. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, ESPECIALLY THE BACKUP LIGHTS, REAR DEFROSTER, REAR WIPER, AND LOCKING MECHANISM NOT WORKING AT ALL! THESE COMPROMISE VISIBILITY AND CAR SAFETY. THIS FAULTY DESIGN, OR FAULTY MATERIAL CHOICE IS CLEARLY SUBARU'S FAULT: SEVERED ELECTRICAL WIRES, AS A RESULT OF NORMAL USE, SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY COMPROMISE SAFETY BY DISABLING BACKUP LIGHTS AND THE REAR LOCK. WHILE THE REPLACEMENT CABLE ITSELF IS ONLY $63, THE SUBARU DEALERSHIPS WANT TO CHARGE OVER $500 IN LABOR. I AM REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL, OR SUPPORT ON THIS ISSUE FROM SUBARU OF AMERICA. I CANNOT FIND ANY OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM SUBARU ON THIS ISSUE. I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO HAVE LOYAL CUSTOMERS LIKE MYSELF, PAY EXCESSIVE LABOR CHARGES TO FIX A SAFETY PROBLEM THAT IS A DESIGN FLAW FROM SUBARU.

THE WIRING IN REAR HATCH IN REALLY BAD SHAPE SOME SHOWING THE COPPER AND TWO COMPLETELY BROKE APART. CAUSING THE LATCH NOT TO WORK AND ALARM GOING OFF. REAR WIPER NOT WORKING.

INDIVIDUAL WIRES IN THE HARNESS POWERING AND CONTROLLING THE BRAKE, TURN, BACKUP, AND LICENSE PLATE LIGHTS, AND THE REAR WIPER MOTOR AND WASHER PUMP, MAY FAIL WITHOUT WARNING. THIS FAILURE COULD RESULT IN AN REAR END COLLISION OR IMPAIRING VISION OUT THE REAR WINDOW IN INCLEMENT WEATHER. THE POINT OF FAILURE IS INSIDE THE FLEXIBLE RUBBER BOOT PROTECTING THE HARNESS WHERE IT PASSES FROM THE REAR FRAME OF THE MAIN BODY TO THE TOP OF THE REAR LIFT GATE. IT APPEARS THAT REPEATED FLEXING OF THE WIRES INSIDE THE PROTECTIVE BOOT, AS THE REAR LIFT GATE IS OPENED AND CLOSED, WORK HARDENS THE INSULATION AND COPPER WIRES CAUSING THEM TO EVENTUALLY BREAK. SYMPTOMS MAY APPEAR AS STATIC ON THE RADIO, FAILING REAR LIGHTS, AND/OR FAILING REAR WIPER/WASHER MOTORS. IN MY CASE, I EXPERIENCED RADIO STATIC AND A FAILURE OF THE REAR WIPER/WASHER MOTORS. TROUBLE SHOOTING LED ME TO CUT OPEN THE PROTECTIVE BOOT REVEALING THE BROKEN WIRES. FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE WIRE INSULATION WAS BRITTLE IN THE AREA OF THE BREAKS. A SEARCH ONLINE REVEALED THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT.

AFTER FUSES BLOWN REPEATEDLY AND REPLACED, REAR WIPER, WASHER PUMP AND LOCK CEASED TO OPERATE FOR PERHAPS A YEAR. RECENTLY THE HEADLIGHTS GOT REAL FUNKY - WOULD NOT OPERATE IN NORMAL "ON" POSITION. BUT THEN SOME STRANGE BEHAVIOR WHEN SHIFTED INTO REVERSE (IGNITION ON WITHOUT STARTING TO ALLOW SHIFTING). HEADLIGHTS STILL NOT LIT IN EITHER OFF OR ON POSITION, BUT THEN CAME ON AS SWITCH MOVED BACK FROM HEADLIGHTS ON TO RUNNING LIGHTS POSITION! I HAPPENED UPON THE VIDEO MENTIONED IN AN EARLIER POST ABOUT REAR WIRING HARNESS ISSUE WHICH EASILY COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO WIPER/LOCK ISSUE, SO TOOK A LOOK. INSPECTION REVEALED 11 SEVERED WIRES WITH A CLUMP OF 5 OR SO MELTED TOGETHER AND ANOTHER 3 WIRES NEARLY SEVERED (SEE PHOTOS). DEALER SAYS HE'LL REPLACE WIRING HARNESS FOR $350 -500, AND HAD A SAME GENERATION OUTBACK IN THE SHOP FOR SAME WORK. SERVICE MGR SUGGESTED A CALL TO SUBARU CUSTOMER CARE LINE. IF YOU HAVE GOOFY ELECTRICAL ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN REAR, CHECK THE WIRING INSIDE BOOT FROM BODY TO DOOR ON UPPER RIGHT SIDE. IT'S NOT EASY TO GET AT AS WIRES ARE SHORT, WHICH MAY HAVE LED TO QUITE A SERIOUS, UM, SHORT. CALL SUBARU BEFORE YOUR HEADLINER IGNITES...

REAR HATCH WIRING HAS WORN TO THE POINT OF FULLY BREAKING FOUR AND DAMAGING FIVE OTHER WIRES OUT OF APPROXIMATELY 14 TOTAL GOING THROUGH THE FLEXIBLE BOOT BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE HATCH ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. SYSTEMS AFFECTED: REAR WIPER, REAR LOCK, POSSIBLY THE BRAKE LIGHT AND LICENSE PLATE LIGHTS. THIS WAS DAMAGE INCURRED OVER TIME OF NORMAL USE, OPENING THE HATCH NO MORE THAN ONCE PER DAY.

THE REAR GATE WIRING HARNESS FAILED, CAUSING REAR BRAKE LIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS TO STOP WORKING. WITHOUT REPLACING THE REAR GATE WIRING HARNESS ($88.80 PARTS + $448.80 LABOR + 51.07 TAX) SOON THE REAR WIPER AND DEFROST WOULD NOT WORK AND THE BACK HATCH WOULD LOCK. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE, I WANT TO SEE A RECALL AND REIMBURSEMENT OF $588.67 FROM SUBARU OF AMERICA.

REAR GATE ELECTRICAL CORD PREMATURE FAILURE AT RUBBER ACCORDION BEND

THE BRAKE LIGHTS, HATCH LOCK, WIPER AND OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ON THE REAR PART OF MY SUBARU 2009 OUTBACK STOPPED WORKING OR WORKING ERRATICALLY. I CHECKED THE RUBBER BOOT CONTAINING THE REAR WIRING HARNESS FOR DAMAGE AND DISCOVERED 13 OUT OF 14 WIRES WERE EITHER COMPLETELY BROKEN, OR THE INSULATION WAS WORN, EXPOSING BARE CONDUCTOR. IN ADDITION TO THE REAR ELECTRICAL ISSUES, I REPLACED THE BULBS FOR THE HEADLIGHTS AT LEAST FOUR TIMES IN A TWO YEAR PERIOD. THE AM CHANNEL ON MY RADIO NO LONGER RECEIVES SIGNALS. THE REAR ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS ARE CAUSING A SAFETY HAZARD DUE TO THE BRAKE/TAIL LIGHTS NOT FUNCTIONING, OR THE REAR WINDSHIELD WIPER NOT WORKING. SUBARU IS NOT RESPONSIVE TO THIS DESIGN FLAW.

WHEN IT RAINED DASH LIGHTS COME ON WOULD NOT GO OUT WHEN TURNED CAR ON FOR A FEW DAYS NEXT RAIN WENT TO CHECK CAR WHEN STARTED LIGHTS CAME ON THEN ALL WENT OUT AND A LOUD NOISE AND FIRE UNDER HOOD

WHEN LOCKING THE VEHICLE, THE REAR LIFT GATE WILL NOT LOCK. SUBARU DEALERSHIP FOUND A BROKEN WIRE LEADING TO THE REAR LIFT GATE ACTUATOR, AND FIXED. JUNE 2015, PROBLEM OCCURRING AGAIN. JUST LOOKED, AND WIRE WAS BROKEN AGAIN (FOUND BY REMOVING PASSENGER SIDE RUBBER BOOT COVERING WIRES BETWEEN LIFT GATE AND BODY). WILL TRY TO FIX MYSELF, THIS TIME.

PROBLEM 1: EXPERIENCED REAR WIPER (STATION WAGON) NOT WORKING. CAR STILL UNDER WARRANTY, TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE WIRING HARNESS THAT GOES THROUGH THE HINGE AREA WAS BROKEN. IT WAS REPAIRED. NOW THE CAR HAS 72,000 MILES AND I AM HAVING REAR WIPER PROBLEMS AGAIN AS WELL AS THE REAR DOOR NOT LOCKING. WIRES FRAYED AND BROKEN AGAIN. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BOTH WITH SUBARU AND ON THE FORUMS ON THE WEB. THIS IS A POOR DESIGN AND POSSIBLY DANGEROUS AS IT CAN CAUSE THE REAR LIGHTS TO FAIL. FAILURE TIME FRAME WAS ALMOST DOUBLE MILEAGE FROM THE PREVIOUS FAILURE. (35,251 - 72,000). PROBLEM 2: AIR BAG LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON. HAVE HAD IT TO THE MECHANIC SEVERAL TIMES TO BE CHECKED OUT AND RESET. THIS IS ALSO A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH SUBARU AND ON THE WEB FORUMS. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS THE AIR BAGS COULD FAIL TO DEPLOY. SUBARU MAY SAY THE AIRBAGS ARE A "SECONDARY" SAFETY FEATURE, BUT TO ME THEY ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH IN AN ACCIDENT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE! *TR

"AIR BAG" WARNING LIGHT IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL (COMBINATION METER) IS ON. THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS COME ON SINCE IT HAS BEEN COLD OUT. IT KEEPS ON EVERY COLD DAY. IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND IF POSSIBLY NOT DEPLOYING THE SRS TO PROTECT DRIVER AND PASSENGER IN A COLLISION. THIS PROBLEM WAS REPORTED BY MANY DRIVERS OF SUBARU, BUT SUBARU COMPANY IS STILL NO RESPONSE. *TR

09 OUTBACK WAS BLOWING FUSES ON THE DOOR LOCK CIRCUIT. PUT IN A NEW FUSE AND IT WOULD BLOW IN A FEW DAYS, OFTEN WHEN CAR WASHED OR DRIVEN IN RAIN (OR PERHAPS WHEN REAR HATCH OPERATED). LAST REPLACEMENT FUSE HAS HELD FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW, THROUGH SUMMER. THEN THE REAR WIPER STOPPED WORKING. SAW THIS VIDEO AND THEN PULLED THE WIRING BOOT CONNECTING HATCH WITH BODY (TO RIGHT OF HATCH HINGES) AND SURE ENOUGH FOUR WIRES ARE SNAPPED RIGHT WHERE VIDEO SHOWS - AT BOTTOM OF RIGHT BOOT: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=AMEKPTVGMHS. *TR

2009 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN WHILE DRIVING. *SMD THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN, WAS THE RESULT OF A FAULTY IGNITION. *JB

THE HEADLIGHTS ON THIS VEHICLE ARE GROSSLY INADEQUATE WHEN USING LOWER BEAMS. I HAVE CONTACTED SUBARU AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM. I CONTACTED THE LOCAL DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT NOTHING CAN BE DONE - IT IS A SUBARU ENGINEERING DECISION TO HAVE THAT 'QUALITY' OF HEADLIGHT. *TR

STARTED MY CAR AT NIGHT TO FIND OUT MY HEADLIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN ON, BUT THE SAFELY LIGHTS WERE STILL ON. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE BRAKE LIGHTS AND REVERSE LIGHTS WOULD NOT WORK EITHER. THE LIGHTS ABOVE MY REAR LICENSE PLATE HAD BEEN OUT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS ALSO SO I AM NOT SURE IF THAT IS RELATED AS WELL. LOOKED ON-LINE TO FIND OUT MANY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK OWNERS HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM AND SUGGESTED LOOKING AT THE HARNESS THAT HOUSED MANY ELECTRICAL WIRES ON THE UPPER CORNERS OF THE HATCHBACK. MANY OF THE WIRES WERE EITHER BROKEN OR LOOSE. I HAVE READ THAT BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION, THE WIRES BECOME BRITTLE AND BREAK BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSTANTLY BEING BENT WHEN YOU OPEN AND CLOSE THE REAR HATCHBACK DOOR. TOOK MY CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAD TO RESOLDER THE WIRES AND CHARGED ME $225 FOR THE LABOR AND PARTS NEEDED. IF I HAD TO REPLACE THIS, IT WOULD HAVE COST ME OVER $600 SO THE DEALERSHIP DISCOURAGED ME FROM DOING THIS. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE COVERED BY SUBARU SINCE IT IS DUE TO BAD DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE AND THE SERVICE I HAD DONE DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. *TR