There's a number of possible problems. It could be mechanical, i.e. the locking mechanism in the latch is broken or it could be electrical, i.e. the solenoid isn't getting the electrical signal to lock and unlock.

I would start by checking if the electrical connection to the latch is supplying the voltage that causes the lock solenoid to lock and unlock. If you're handy with a multimeter, this can be checked at the wiring connector at the latch.

There have been a few reports of malfunctioning latch locks, but unfortunately no reports of the final outcome. However, the following link, and another thread linked in that one have information that you might find helpful.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/25713-hatch-lock-failure.html

 

Thanks plain OM. I'll start by checking for voltage at the mechanism.

 

Checked for voltage at the connector at the hatch lock and there was nothing. Opened up the rubber boot (passenger side) and found a broken wire. Spliced and taped wire and all tested ok.

 

That's great news! . . . well, sort of. Good that you found the problem and repaired it, and good that we were able to help. But not good because it means this problem, which so far seemed to be in 2005 and 6 models, is still around for 2007. So I guess I better get ready.

Might I ask if you can estimate your use of the rear gate -- sort of how long you've had the car and how often the rear gate is opened.

Also, could you explain in more detail? For example, which end of the rubber boot did lift (if that's what you mean by "remove") and where was the break -- inside the boot, or at one end. Were you able to fix it without removing the headliner or trim?

This might be useful for others, as well as perhaps for preventative work.

 

Purchased the car new in May 07. It now has 75000 miles on it.

The rear gate is used a lot. The back seats are always folded down so most things go in and out through the hatch.

The broken wire was very close to the roof end of the boot. Maybe a half inch was all I had to splice on a piece of wire that I fished through the boot and attached to the longer piece going to the lock. There was no need to remove the headliner or trim.

To me the wires just need more protection as they enter the boot. I added a few wraps of tape.

 

Thanks.

So it was just a matter of lifting the boot at each end, pulling the broken wire up at the body end, connecting the fished wire to it, and connecting the fished wire at the other end of the boot (rear gate) to the original wire. going to the lock.

I had pulled the boot out on mine to take a picture when discussing one of the earlier cases here and didn't find any cracks in the insulation, but I'll make this a routine inspection item. Hopefully it will be caught it when the insulation starts to show cracks, rather than when a wire actually breaks.

I suspect that there's two causes. First, the wire insulation isn't flexible enough for what it has to do, so it eventually cracks and that causes the wire inside to always flex at that same point, evenutually breaking. The other contributing factor is that the boot, and therefore the wires inside, bends, more or less at the same point, as the door is opened and closed, rather than twists. If we look at the movement of the same type of boots used for the side doors, we see that these twist as the door is opened. This also goes for the pre-2005 rear gates and in the 2010+ version -- the boot is placed more transverse (across the car rather than primarily in-line with it) so it tends to twist rather than bend. As the twist is along the full length of the boot, the wire bundle inside isn't subjected to repeated back-and-forth bending at the same point, and therefore at much less risk of cracking.

Anyways, glad that you're good-to-go.

 

anyone know if Subaru has offered to fix this or not since it is obviously a very common problem? Thanks to the search feature I found this thread and thus found I have the very same problem. I have 3 broken wires and one about to go on my 07. Oddly all the lights/wiper stuff work for now. just not the lock.

I am assuming you guys are adding a short peice of wire since the boot makes it nearly impossible to just solder back together what is there. Are you soldering or just twisting and taping? maybe i can figure a way to take the trim off the hatch to be able to access the wires from there too.

thanks!

 

There's at least five or six, if not more, reports here now of breaks in the wires in 2005+ models. As far as I can recall, none reported Subaru covering the repair. But as you note, it does seem to be a problem -- more like when will it happen, rather than if it will happen.

The wires are for the lock, the back-up lights, licence plate lights, the rear wiper, the rear window defroster, and the rear gate "open" switch. I would have to imagine that with three wires broken, more than the rear gate lock is not working properly.

As far as repairs, some have managed to use butt connectors, and others have added a small length of wire with the connections twisted or soldered and taped. In one case I recall where the car was repaired by the dealer the whole harness was replaced, and in another the dealer managed to rejoin the broken ends. I would note that whatever method is used to reconnect, it, and the other wires, will still be subjected to bending as the gate is opened and closed.

My "ideal" approach would be remove the rear gate and "D" pillar trim and lower the headliner a bit in order to replace all the wires going through the boot with better, more flexible, ones. I wouldn't replace the whole harness -- just splice in new wiring from the "D" pillar area where the harnesses are, through the boot, to an accessible point at the rear gate side. But this would take some time and patience to connect the wires one by one, so it remains an "ideal" sort of solution for now.

 

i like that idea of replacing with more flexible wire. i think the jackets on those little wires are too brittle.

any idea on where to find a tutorial on removing the D pillar and headliner covers nice and neat like?..sometime trial and error on that interior trim stuff can prove destructive!

 

Never seen anything like a tutorial. The trim pieces around the windows are supposed to pull off and, yes, I guess it can be tricky if the plastic pins that hold them on are tight. I seem to recall that there was a thread where someone described the locations of some of the push pins. I think it was about the same problem so a search might help.

 

Both my brother and girlfriend have 2008 Outbacks bought in the States. I'm from Canada. My brother had the wiring that goes to the rear hatch replaced due to breakage. He paid out of pocket and was reimbursed by Subaru America no questions asked. It was out of warranty. Which means to me that it is a known problem. Not too sure what to do about the girlfriends car. Wait for it to fail?

Dan

 

I doubt Subaru would replace the harness as a preventative measure. Even if the problem is identified in a Technical Service Bulletin (which it has not been, yet), it would apply only when a car comes in with broken wiring.

Also, if your girlfriend's U.S. bought car is now in Canada, I would note that SOA and SCI operate totally separate, and do not necessarily follow the same approach when it comes to "goodwill" support for problems arising after the warranty is over.

That said, I'd like to see a TSB on this, even if all it does is clearly recognize the problem. At the least it would probably mean that Subaru has changed the way the harness is made, so that a replacement, even if it costs, isn't the same as the original. Nothing worse than replacing a failed part with one that will inevitably have the same problem.

 

Bad Hatch Lock Solved

OK, plain OM. By this time, I must owe you several bottles of wine or cases of beer or whatever you like. You've saved me hundreds of $ in trips to the mechanic.

Solved the bad rear hatch lock...it was indeed the broken wire where it flexes. I took the pillar trim and and rear headliner trim off to see if I wanted to replace the entire section as someone suggested, but I only ended up splicing a short section new wire at the break. It would be good to replace them all with more flexible wire, but it's pretty cramped where the wiring passes through the inner roof and down the pillar, and everything is wrapped with tape. Guess I'll just fix them one at a time as they break...it's not that difficult, took about 45 minutes to do a good job with solder and heat shrink.

Attached is a photolog of the process, including removal of the trim around the rear. I've found that using a wide putty knife is a good way to gently pry off trim pieces. Slide it in and lift just enough to peek inside and find where the clips are. Then move the knife to that location and pry. haven't broken one yet.

View attachment Outback 2005 hatch wiring repair 1.pdf

View attachment Outback 2005 hatch wiring repair 2.pdf

View attachment Outback 2005 hatch wiring repair 3.pdf

 

mountainroo:

Thanks for the report and the detailed photos -- invaluable!

I've saved a copy of the photos to my Subaru folder -- no doubt I'll be using them in the future.

 

Thanks to this thread and others, I was able to find and fix my 2006 Outback hatch not locking and no alarm problem. I removed the bottom of the flexible boot and found 3 wires severed.

I fed new wires through and spliced both ends. Everything works now (untill another wire breaks. )

Thanks!

 

Yep, my 05 did this a couple months ago. Pretty sure plainOM pointed me in the right direction too.

 

Invaluable photos! Will check tomorrow (or later in week). Where did you splice the wires, in the actual rubber boot (guess not) or somewhere else

Again, thanks!

 

I couldn't get the boot high enough, so I had to cut it up the side. I then pulled out the broken wires, spliced the wire with solder and shrink tubing with a small piece of wire, fed them back through the boot and then soldered and tubed the other end splice. There was not enough wire slack for me to splice at the actual break.

 

Rear Latch Failed Again

I have had the rear lock fail a few times so today I soldered in a new wire that goes to the original wire above the rubber boot and the original wire below it. I used a small metal tube to feed the new wire through the boot and soldered each end, then put liquid electrical tape on it and finally regular electrical tape. I then shoved that mess up inside the boot. The new wire hopefully has a lot more cycles in it for opening and closing the hatch and therefore not failing. I used wires that were about 8 inches long. I wish I had made them 12 inches. It would have been easier.

 

posted this in another thread but thought others may see it here as well.
After my rear lock stopped working I have found several threads about broken wires in the boot going to the rear hatch door (which is my problem) if this has happened to your outback please report it to the NHTSA at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Seems like a ridiculously common occurrence.

 

Thank You Gentlemen!!!!0

I will add my 2008 OB to the wiring failure list. It was purchased in the USA in January 2008.

There was 1 broken wire (for the rear lock actuator) - some strange green patterned one and there were 3 other wires where the insulation was opened up but the wires were still intact.

I soldered a small piece in to repair the broken one and covered the three others with liquid tape to seal them up.

I will keep an eye out for any additional issues.

THANKS!!!!!!!:smile2:

 

This is the same problem I have with my 09 Outback. Removed both ends of the boot but could not locate broken wires. Will pull some of the shrouding to get a better look. Thanks for the lead.

 

I experienced that problem this week on my 2006 Subaru Outback. Dealer would not give me a "worst case" guesstimate to fix. I took it to a local repair shop. They diagnosed it and fixed it within an hour or so for $90.
There were two broken wires at the top pivot point area where the hatch meets the roofline. They simply rejoined the broken wires. No lock parts required.

 

There should also always be a key lock in rear hatch! Subaru needs to fix this..

 

My 2009 finally developed this problem in the last couple weeks (around 175,000 miles) and I do use the hatch multiple times every day. I couldn't see any breaks when I pulled the boot down from the top, and it doesn't come up from the bottom enough to see anything so I guess it's time to bust out a multimeter...

 

2005 Outback 3.0R Rear hatch lock not functioning, reverse lights not working.
Removed the rubber boot from upper right hand side of hatch and sure enough, 3 wire pairs were 'open'.
Stripped ends of wires, applied solder to re-connect and taped. Successful fix. Functional rear latch and working reverse lights!

 

A repair done in the flex boot area is bound to fail again, as soldered wires are stiffer than the original, and all that happens is that more stress is transferred to the next failure location.

The proper fix involves patching in wire type that can take flexing better, and to do the splices into the existing harness away from the flex area. Read through this thread and others like it to see how this is done; it's been well documented.