2018 Outback Diesel, crazy warning faults!

[James_AU]

Hey all. I have a Outback 2018 Diesel, and suddenly it is showing some crazy warnings on the dash.

I have a video, but it will not let me attach it here... 
What is happening is, in order:

Beep beep (pause) beep.
check engine warning in the center
X-Mode starts flashing
Eye-sight off - check manual in center
check engine warning in the center
Check owners manual
ADB disabled

I have attached a screen shot with the errors.
Any help??
I will take it to the Subaru dealer on Friday (nearly a week away), when COVID allows.. 

[Justin Time]

I read this today and thought of your post https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/check-engine-light-eyesight-lane-departure-rab-collision-avoidance-failures.537365/  so it's a very very long shot but maybe.. just maybe... fingers crossed it's that simple - fuel cap? 

[James_AU]

I read that also, tried and failed 😞 Turns out that this problem is a little "temperamental". Turned on the car and the errors are all gone, looks like nothing happened at all. 

Turned it off and on again, lights up like a christmas tree again! (next 3 times turned on it was failing again 😞 ) 

[Judd]

This type of thing is common in modern vehicles of all types.

I drive an MAN truck, every now and again you switch on the ignition only to find a list of control module failures coming up on the screen each one of up to 7 you have to OK to delete it from the screen, then switch off wait about 30 seconds retry and all is good again. Its 3 years old at Christmas, has covered 397000kms and hasn't missed a beat so far, save the failure of one outside temp sensor**. Other vehicles give false warnings of failed bulbs on trailers etc when there's nothing wrong.

I think you just have to accept that these systems are now so complex, linked and all encompassing and they will throw spurious errors periodically.

On some trucks simply turning the Battery isolator off for a few minutes will clear these issues, obviously that means disconnecting the Battery on a car, have you tried that.

** believe it or not the failure of the outside temp sensor saw the vehicle stop using adblue completely but with no dash warnings, presumably because the system was under the impression it was 50'C outside and adjusted adblue accordingly so all ok as far as the vehicle was concerned, just shows how things are all interconnected, so maybe have a check on your car that something seemingly nothing to do with your faults isn't maybe giving an intermittent false reading or fault.

[James_AU]

Judd, I agree with you regarding cars being so complex, their systems do appear to get "overwhelmed" at times. Just a shame to find this with new cars, you would think there would be more in the way of "identification" of errors to help users work out what/why things are happening. 

In my car I have checked all fuses, globes, etc.. disconnected and connected a trailer, had auto-lights on/off, etc.. even had the radio console off when I started the car, to try to find out what is causing this error, or more-so, why is it intermittent -Which I think is the most frustrating part!

I am thinking about buying one of those doo-hickeys that connect to the car to read the error messages, has anyone got anything to say about those, regarding newer cars? (I also have the 2020 Forester (Hybrid), which just went nuts on me, turns out it is a known fault to do with a dying Battery!). 

 

 

 

[Judd]

 

I have Techstream for my Toyota Prado, that is very involved right down to programming keys injectors airbags, full diagnostics, you name it, getting it put on the laptop was way above my poor tech knowledge and my IT chap had to sort that out but ince installed it's great to have.

Whether there's an equivalent of that for Subaru i haven't a clue.

[Buachaille]

On 10/9/2021 at 8:21 AM, James_AU said:

Hey all. I have a Outback 2018 Diesel, and suddenly it is showing some crazy warnings on the dash.

I have a video, but it will not let me attach it here... 
What is happening is, in order:

Beep beep (pause) beep.
check engine warning in the center
X-Mode starts flashing
Eye-sight off - check manual in center
check engine warning in the center
Check owners manual
ADB disabled

I have attached a screen shot with the errors.
Any help??
I will take it to the Subaru dealer on Friday (nearly a week away), when COVID allows.. 

@James_AU I'm a newbie here, but this is the issue I have with my Outback. Apologies for the thread revival.

It has seemed previously to be DPF related, at least to me. Driving the car (auto) in the manner outlined in the manual for DPF regen for a Manual Transmission has normally cleared it, however it seems to be sticking around this time.

I am wondering what info you got from the dealer?

[James_AU]

Hi Buachaille, 

I hate it when people don't write the solutions to their problems on forums, turns out that I am now one of those people!! Ooopps, sorry!

Firstly, what you tried did nothing for me, I tried any and all combinations of turning on accessories (like cameras, lane sensors, cruise control, etc..), tried manual, even tried crazy things like turning the car off (attempting to) while it was in 'drive' to attempt to reset/jolt the computer, nothing... 

So, I took the car and they told me that it was an "environmental sensor" that was causing the problem. All replaced under the warranty of the car, and the car has been working fine since then.

The problem is (as always), I am not a 'car person', so I am unsure if this is 100% the truth or not. I have since purchased one of the many OBDii car scanners on the market, so if a fault like this occurs again I will not be blindly trusting someone else. 

[Buachaille]

Hi James_AU,

Thank you for getting back to me. I'll be calling a garage on Monday morning. I need to get it dealt with before Thursday afternoon, as I'm getting a cracked windscreen replaced then. That requires the EyeSight system to be calibrated etc., which will be tricky to do if the system is disabled.

I might just have to get the code read and reset, so I can get things calibrated, then get the issue dealt with.

[Buachaille]

An update from my situation, for future readers.

The garage found that the issue was that the Exhaust Pressure Actuator had seized. Due to the cost and delay of at least a couple of weeks for the Subaru dealer to supply a new part, the garage freed off and lubricated the mechanism, before refitting. Fault codes were cleared and vehicle tested.

[James_AU]

Interesting, maybe saying that it was a "sensor" in my case was just their attempt at simplifying the problem....? 

I am glad that you have gotten to the bottom of your problem, hopefully once it is replaced it will not cause you any more problems 🙂

I still have my Outback, and I also have the Forester Hybrid, I must say that the Outback is a much better engine than the Forester Hybrid, that car is a huge let down! But, that is a feed for another topic !

Again, good luck with your Outback, I hope that it all goes smoothly for you

[Justin Time]

On 1/11/2023 at 12:22 AM, James_AU said:

Interesting, maybe saying that it was a "sensor" in my case was just their attempt at simplifying the problem....? 

I am glad that you have gotten to the bottom of your problem, hopefully once it is replaced it will not cause you any more problems 🙂

I still have my Outback, and I also have the Forester Hybrid, I must say that the Outback is a much better engine than the Forester Hybrid, that car is a huge let down! But, that is a feed for another topic !

Again, good luck with your Outback, I hope that it all goes smoothly for you

I had a Forester hybrid (less than 1000 miles on the clock) for a whole day in December while my Outback was in for a service.  I agree, the Forester was ponderous when moving off from junctions and felt really heavy.  I also couldn't seem to find a way to permanently disable the lane centring assist, or the auto stop-start.  It was a Sport trim, and had a very dark interior compared to the sunroof lit Outback.  Fuel economy wasn't anything different either, and the small petrol tank limits the range.  I think Subaru hybrids might work in a city, but for rural driving I can't see the point of lugging all that heavy Battery equipment around for no extra benefit.  And why would you want one in a city anyway? Also, a major deal breaker for me is the lack of space to put a full-size spare, or any spare into. Ridiculous for a so-called 4x4.

[James_AU]

Justin, 100%. I am very disappointed with my Forester. I have a sunroof in mine, so it is lighter inside, but everything else you are spot on with!

The size of the interior is great, much larger than my Outback (and I am 6ft4, so the extra head room in the Forester is GREAT!), lack of spare tire, horrible(!) fuel efficiency, automatic features that will not be quiet, yeah, all things that get to me too.

I am thinking about letting this Forester go, and see what else is on the market. I love the idea of EV/Hybrid, but not when it costs me so much to get this one.