general problems of the 2005 Subaru Legacy

Rear wiper stopped working. The problem was due to a broken wire inside the passenger's side accordion boot for the rear hatch of the wagon. Other wires within the harness (which supplies power to the rear hatch lights, hatch lock, and wiper motor/sprayer) were also cracked. In researching this problem, I have found this this is starting to become a more frequent issue and should be replaced/recalled by Subaru.

The low beam light bulbs burn out frequently. I use the high quality bulbs (around $28 ea) but they still burn out every 3 to 4 months, same as the lower quality bulbs. Even with being very careful installing the bulbs, wearing clean gloves and cleaning with alcohol prior to setting and locking, they still burn out. I bought the car at 27,000 miles, now it has 50,500 and the problem is consistent. I doubt that bulb quality is the issue here, since I've experimented with the $17 bulbs and the $28 bulbs and the results are the same.

With approximately 2,000 miles on my brand new Subaru Legacy gt I was driving 80 miles to my home. The lights on my dash were flickering and the cruise control worked, then stopped working when I would try to decrease or increase my speed. Once I got into the canyon about 20 miles from home (a curvy road next to the colorado river) all my interior and exterior lights went off suddenly. I maneuvered my way to the side of the road, shut the car off then turned it back on. Thankfully, the lights came back on. I took the car into the Subaru dealership and they didn't find anything. They said they couldn't fix it until the problem was duplicated. My main concern with this statement is that if I crash my car and injure myself or kill myself because the lights went out, it will be fairly difficult for anyone to "duplicate" the problem. Second issue happened about a month later when the cruise control light began flashing and the check engine light came on. I took it to the Subaru dealership and they discovered a valve body problem. Meanwhile a day later I was driving and the car would barely move. It felt as if it were stuck in 3rd gear. I took it back in and drove a rental car until the part came in. I have the car back now with the 2nd and 3rd problem fixed, but with still no resolution to the fact that my lights could again shut off while I am driving at night.