Wiper problems of the 2005 Subaru Outback

Defrosters and all digital climate controls are unresponsive. I cannot see out of my vehicle.

I was driving on the highway and my sunroof exploded. I pulled over and looked for any rocks or anything in the car that would have shattered the sunroof but could not find anything.

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.

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.

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.

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).