'13 Outback - Check Engine Light, Brake Light Flashing, Cruise Control Light Flashing

[BHopkins]

Yesterday, while driving my '13 Outback 2.5, moments after setting the cruise control, the cc suddenly disengaged, and my IP lit up. The Check Engine light came on steady, the Brake light started flashing, and the Cruise Control light started flashing. I pulled off the road, and turned the ignition off for a short while, and the restarted the car. The same lights came back on. The car still drove normally, so I drove home. On the way, I attempted to engage the cruise control, and it would not engage.

When I got home I ran diagnostics on it and got a plethora of error codes. There were so many that I didn't get them recorded, but some were from the ECM, there was a brake system error, a transmission error, and a steering angle sensor error. Since the codes were all over the place, and I didn't know if they were all new and related to this incident, or which, if any, were old, I decided to clear all the codes, drive the car some more, and see which, if any errors came back. Clearing the codes also cleared the trouble lights on the IP, and allowed the cc to function again. All back to normal.

I drove the car this morning, repeatedly engaging the cc, increasing and decreasing the set point, and disengaging and re-engaging the c/c. Everything functioned normally. I got home and ran another diagnostic. No codes. No trouble lights.

My plan is to continue to drive it as normal, and run diagnostic on it often, to see if any codes come back. But I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this same condition on a Gen 4 Outback or Legacy. Or any other Subaru of similar age. If yes, what was your experience? Did codes come back? Did you have to repair anything? Or is it just a weird fluke, never to happen again?

This is real weird for my car. With 155k miles on the odometer, it has been rock solid. The only repair I've had to do is replace burned out puddle lights. (No surprise there. Bad design.) So I don't know what to make of this.

 

[oldcodger]

My guess is that you have an alternator going out.

 

[mk378]

My guess is that you have an alternator going out.

Yes low voltage and/or an electrical surge can disrupt all the computers and set a bunch of spurious codes at once. Check that the battery connections and ground wires are secure.

 

[Trav]

These cars are known for bad grounds, check the connections at the battery and inspect the cables for fraying near the connector, if any are noted change the cables. Look for broken ground straps from the bottom of the cyl heads to the frame and clean the ground cable connection on the drivers side strut tower.
The CC is designed to shut down when a CEL is present, as it comes and goes I would almost bet on bad grounds. I do a lot of cable upgrades on these cars.

 

[JTK]

The pages of codes that didn't set the CEL could have been from something as mundane as a battery swap, etc. I like your plan of clearing them to if/when any come back.

The CC, brake light and CEL could be an intermittent wheel speed sensor signal.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Could be a bad wheel bearing. Had it happen on two GM trucks and a Toyota when a wheel bearing went bad.

 

[IveBeenRued]

For my 2012 Impreza, the combination of those lights flashing was indicative of a bad O2 sensor. Low or fluctuating voltage will cause your air conditioning light to flash. Subaru’s communicate in odd ways…

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

Many newer cars do this to draw more of the drivers attention when there’s a malfunction detected and “encourage” it getting fixed.

 

[BHopkins]

Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions, everyone. I'm going to check ground cables first.

These cars are known for bad grounds, check the connections at the battery and inspect the cables for fraying near the connector, if any are noted change the cables. Look for broken ground straps from the bottom of the cyl heads to the frame and clean the ground cable connection on the drivers side strut tower.
The CC is designed to shut down when a CEL is present, as it comes and goes I would almost bet on bad grounds. I do a lot of cable upgrades on these cars.

@Trav , thanks for pointing out specific ground points to check.

For my 2012 Impreza, the combination of those lights flashing was indicative of a bad O2 sensor. Low or fluctuating voltage will cause your air conditioning light to flash. Subaru’s communicate in odd ways…

@IveBeenRued , interestingly enough, among all the codes, there was no O2 sensor code. But I will definitely watch for it, if any codes come back.

 

[GSCJR]

The icons which illuminate or flash are indicative of systems (Cruise/TRAC) that have been disabled due to a CEL; Subarus are programmed this way. Test your battery along with the charging system and inspect your connections, including grounds, which has already been mentioned by @Trav . My Legacy exhibits this same symptoms as @IveBeenRued intermittently, whenever the upstream O2 sensor sets a code.

 

[wlk]

Had a bad battery at work cause multiple cel's to come on with multiple systems. I would check grounds, battery and then alternator first

 

[wtd]

Any codes for Wheel speed sensors?

 

[BHopkins]

Any codes for Wheel speed sensors?

If I recall correctly, yes.


I've checked the ground on the strut tower and the ground cables to both cylinder heads. All look good. No corrosion or fraying. Bolts are tight. No sign of crimp damage. The RH cylinder head ground strap is very difficult to get to, so I've only been able to inspect it visually. I'll put the car on jack stands tomorrow and see if I can get a better angle to reach it.

I also found a ground block that has 4 ground wires that go into the connector block. It is smeared with dielectric grease and everything looks tight. But when I get the car up on jack stands, I'll disconnect it from the frame and inspect it closer.

I also tested the battery, starter, and alternator. All tested OK, per my battery tester.

 

[D60]

If you're actually getting a WSS code I'd address that.

 

[cptbarkey]

Seconding all the suggestions here, battery, alternator, wheel speed sensor is a big one (magnet disintegrated). You are right at the mileage where all of those things are going to have issues, especially bearings. Eric O and MrSubaru on youtube has several videos on it and a few with your symptoms.

 

[D60]

Yeah I forgot Subies tend to have a real appetite for wheel bearings. So, chase the location of the WSS by code and pull it out -- but know what you're getting into if they tend to seize (not sure?)

A lot of shavings or metallic goop on your sensor = bearing self-destruct

 

[Trav]

They sure do and if it a rear one it can be a real fiasco if rust has got a hold on it, I hate doing them but this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/removal-tool-Wheel-Removal-bolted/dp/B08J3Z6VHY/ref=asc_df_B08J3Z6VHY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=475741847238&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14617301427091390444&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001784&hvtargid=pla-1086918100687&psc=1

 

[BHopkins]

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the advice. It sounds like I've got a few items I can look at. I'll be getting it up on jack stands in the next couple days and more closely inspect the ground connections. I'll also give the WSS a real good inspection, and check wheel bearings.

I'll also look for the Youtube videos from Eric O and MrSubaru, to see what they have to say for my situation.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Yesterday, while driving my '13 Outback 2.5, moments after setting the cruise control, the cc suddenly disengaged, and my IP lit up. The Check Engine light came on steady, the Brake light started flashing, and the Cruise Control light started flashing. I pulled off the road, and turned the ignition off for a short while, and the restarted the car. The same lights came back on. The car still drove normally, so I drove home. On the way, I attempted to engage the cruise control, and it would not engage.

When I got home I ran diagnostics on it and got a plethora of error codes. There were so many that I didn't get them recorded, but some were from the ECM, there was a brake system error, a transmission error, and a steering angle sensor error. Since the codes were all over the place, and I didn't know if they were all new and related to this incident, or which, if any, were old, I decided to clear all the codes, drive the car some more, and see which, if any errors came back. Clearing the codes also cleared the trouble lights on the IP, and allowed the cc to function again. All back to normal.

I drove the car this morning, repeatedly engaging the cc, increasing and decreasing the set point, and disengaging and re-engaging the c/c. Everything functioned normally. I got home and ran another diagnostic. No codes. No trouble lights.

My plan is to continue to drive it as normal, and run diagnostic on it often, to see if any codes come back. But I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this same condition on a Gen 4 Outback or Legacy. Or any other Subaru of similar age. If yes, what was your experience? Did codes come back? Did you have to repair anything? Or is it just a weird fluke, never to happen again?

This is real weird for my car. With 155k miles on the odometer, it has been rock solid. The only repair I've had to do is replace burned out puddle lights. (No surprise there. Bad design.) So I don't know what to make of this.

Yes, any check engine light for any reason on Subarus disables the cruise, at least since 2001 but likely earlier. Even for a simple gas cap CEL, it can be a pain.

With all those codes at once, and they cleared and didn’t repeat, is your battery OK? Throw it on a good battery conditioner if you’ve got one; I usually put each of my vehicles on my Pro-Logix 2310 for at least 24 hours once or twice a year even if it doesn’t need it.

 

[BHopkins]

Yes, any check engine light for any reason on Subarus disables the cruise, at least since 2001 but likely earlier. Even for a simple gas cap CEL, it can be a pain.

With all those codes at once, and they cleared and didn’t repeat, is your battery OK? Throw it on a good battery conditioner if you’ve got one; I usually put each of my vehicles on my Pro-Logix 2310 for at least 24 hours once or twice a year even if it doesn’t need it.

Thanks, @SubieRubyRoo. I tested the battery yesterday with my Solar BA9 tester. It tested at 92% charge and 100% health. But since it is so easy to do, I took your advice and hooked up my Pro-Logix 2510 to fully charge and condition the battery. It surely can't hurt.

Question though. When you say that you run the charger for at least 24 hours, how do you do that? Mine is automatic. After fully charging the battery, it automatically goes into the battery conditioning routine. After the conditioning is complete, it automatically stops. A full charge and conditioning typically runs 10-12 hours, perhaps. I'm not positive, because I usually let it run through the night, and the charge/conditioning is complete when I check on it in the morning.

After conditioning, the charger goes into a maintenance mode, but if I understand correctly, once the conditioning is complete, the maintenance mode does nothing to improve the health of the battery. It's just keeping the battery fully charged and conditioned, long term.