general problems of the 2005 Subaru Outback

Parasitic battery drain: when the vehicle is in use, the can system in the car relies on an electrical current to be operated as intended. When the vehicle is not being driven, the can system should enter a sleep mode in which it stops drawing significant electrical current. However, vehicle does not enter sleep mode when the car turns off, resulting in a "parasitic battery drain. " local Subaru dealer maintenance department has not been able to determine any way to fix. Battery drains completely after approx 1 week of nonoperation (and sometimes sooner) leaving me (owner) stranded and unable to start vehicle without obtaining a jump start. Has also required recurring battery replacement at a cumulative significant cost. Not sure what to do and do not want to sell to another person that would inherit this ongoing issue.

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving 25 mph on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.

Rear hatch harness wires are broken/ frayed. Backup lights do not work, and the rear wiper works intermittently. Every now and them rear defroster doesn't work. Hazard a lot of 2005-2009 Outbacks have.

Rear hatch wires on wagon liftgate that go thru rubber boots have defective insulation causing wires to break in multiple places. Systems include : back up lights, license plate, wiper.

The wires that pass through the body to the liftgate that operate brake lights, tail lights, rear wiper, defroster, lock break and make a short or open circuit. Many Subarus have this issue.

Wires passing through rear hatch to rear lift gate crack and break from opening and closing. Rear lift gate lock not working, wire is broken in two. Wires for rear lights are cracking and about to sever as well.

Just after getting off I-43 near sheboygan on frontage road my car lost all power and no acceleration on gas pedal. Check engine light came on and cruise control light was blinking. I had to shift to neutral and pull over to a shoulder. Turned the car off for couple of minutes while I check under the hood. Started the car just fine but check engine light was still on and cruise was blinking. Subaru mechanic read error code p2138 throttle/pedal position sensor/switch ¿d�/�e� voltage rationality. They said it was caused by bad contacts on tps sensor by the gas pedal. He reset the code and it has not appeared again for almost a week. I am afraid of it going off again while my wife and kids are driving it on the highway. Does someone need to die before Subaru takes action on this.

Subaru Outback 2005: the wire harness to the rear tailgate failed and shorted out the brake lights and reverse lights, creating a safety hazard while driving.

While traveling in heavy flow rush hour multi-lane traffic at around 65 mph and at merging point of multi higher exchange with near zero shoulder or stopping lane, the car suddenly lost response from accelerator pedal. I manage to coast to a stop just between the triangle space separating two of the major highways viaring two separate direction with very heavy traffic at high speed on both sides (nearly getting smashed several times before coming to the only possible yet dangerous place to stop). The car remain idling but very limp; afraid to venture to continue to the next exit because there would be no shoulder area to pull over, I called for help thinking the car had ran out of gas and was just running on fume. After enduring several minutes of near death moments of being crashed into by on-coming vehicles at high speed merging traffic coming from a curving road, I dangerously ventured to open doors into flowing traffic to fill the tank escaping death many times. The car started and was able to get off highway to fill tank. Same limp pedal repeated again two days later coming off a two lane {two-way) bridge with absolutely no shoulder. I was able to coast to the end of the bridge to turn into a business parking without being plowed by the heavy traffic around. Obd reading of the car indicate p2138 pointing to faulty fly-by-wire defect in the accelerator position sensor which is part of the accelerator assembly. I manage to escape death with this manufacturer defect. I just wonder how many crashes and deaths have resulted and will continue to result because of this very well reported issue with these Subaru Outbacks before the accelerator assembly units are recalled?.

Soon after purchasing the car, I realized that the rear wiper was not functioning. After checking an online owners forum I found that there is a common problem with the functions in the rear lift gate such as inoperable brake lights, rear wipers inoperable, and other items. This problem seems to be caused by the degradation of wire insulation and breakage of wire. Upon further investigation I discovered my own vehicle has a severed wire located in the accordion boot on the right (passenger) side near the hinge for the lift gate. This could result is serious safety issues. As with any faulty electrical wiring there is also a risk for fire associated with this issue.

My back up lights and license plate lights were not working. Found the wires between the light gate and body of car were breaking one by one. Also my antenna wires were broken on other side same location. Was surprised to see this. Wires usually don't wear out like this I wouldn't think.

Low beams replace several time, replaced both recently and both went out at the same time in the dark on they way to work. Lights in dashboard constantly flashing on and off, abs, battery, brake. Speedometer jumping all over the place. Been happening over a month or so. Very upset can't figure out what it is.

Rear wiper failure was first noticed followed by failure of the license plate light, the wiring harness in the rear lift gate has multiple broken wires where the door hinges. Appears that the wiring insulation becomes hardened and brittle, and will break instead of flexing. There are several other wires in the harness that are showing bare wire but have not yet broken. This is what all the harness enables and will eventually fail: rear wiper motor license plate light rear gate latch switch rear gate lock actuator rear defogger back-up light rh rear defogger back-up light lh.

While driving my Outback lost suddenly lost all acceleration. The check engine light immediately came on and the cruise control light began to blink. The car continued to move forward but decelerated to about 15 mph which nearly resulted in my being rear ended. I was able to get to the side of the road where I turned the car off and turned it back on. After doing this the car behaved normally expect the check engine and cruise control lights stayed on. After about an hour, both lights went off. Since then, this problem has recurred multiple times. I recently took the car to be repaired where the problem was diagnosed as a bad pedal assembly. However, I'm concerned that this problem will reoccur at speed and cause an accident.

Intermittent throttle disabled. Car becomes unresponsive to the gas pedal. Engine continues to run but gas pedal has no response.

Sitting at stop light - light changes green - no acceleration. Car will move at idle speed creep through intersection. Pull over stop turn car off. Restart w accelerator working but cruise control indicator flashing and check engine light on. Error code indicates pedal position sensor and dealer says entire pedal assembly needs replaced. New 'drive-by-wire' accelerator system for Subaru in 2005. Repair: ~$200 with no change in assembly from what the service dept. Reports.

The rear windshield wiper stopped working due to a bad electrical connection that occurs where the hatchback opens up. The wires fray and break from normal usuage of the hatchback, causing loss of power to the rear windshield wiper, defogger and backup lights. I have experienced this problem and there a numerous blogs and videos on the internet showing this problem, this should be recall item for all 3rd generation Subaru Outbacks (2005-2009).

I have been having a problem with my car for the 2-years and has been getting worse. The throttle pedal at times will become non-responsive and the engine idle cannot be controlled. At this time the check engine light is on with a code. P2138. I have taken the car to the dealer with no luck they could not find anything wrong. The car has left me stranded several times and I had to limp or be towed home. The rpm can be anywhere from idle to 3000 rpm and as I said the pedal has no control. I have replaced the accelerator pedal assembly and the problem was gone for the past six months. It has now failed again.

Immediately following heavy rain storms, my 2005 Subaru legacy wagon had problems starting and running. The hole car shacks really bad. I know two other people with the same problem. My dealer said many people have come in with a 2005 with that same problem. It started at 18k and still haven't been about to fix after 80k. The engine 'stutters' or 'misfires'. I cant get my check engine light to come off.