[Suberman]

About a month ago most of the warning lights came on suddenly and my eye sight system went down on my 2017 OB. The car still drove.

The dealer did a "master reset" and said that everything should be fine.

Yesterday, it happened again and I am in a loaner for a few days. Has anyone else experienced this? Any thoughts on the cause? I did a search and didn't find anything directly on point.

 

[ammcinnis]

Has anyone else experienced this?

Check your fuel filler cap!

 

[idosubaru]

What warning lights?
Do you live in and around any areas with significant rodent populations - City chipmunks or rural mice/chipmunks? Though these would be unlikely to cause intermittent issues.

Two key points:

1. New cars often have outlier issues that aren't yet quantified.

2. In general the christmas tree effect on the dash is related to charging/battery - so I'd be testing the voltages at the battery, alternator, and one or two other points the instant that symptoms presented. This is usually only relevant to older/higher mileage units but are usually caused by:

(but again - refer to point #1, newer vehicles do odd less predictable things)

a. poor battery performance - this would seem most likely out of the following list
b. poor terminal connectivity - dirty, corroded, loose
c. alternator output (unlikely)
(i'm leaving out a few other causes that are unlikely in this situation)

 

[eagleeye]

I wonder if you are having a similar problem to the person (s) on this thread here:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/441001-battery-tender.html

weak battery = what makes the christmas tree effect on older cars, ...and maybe new ones too.

 

[Guest]

Mine did this once. The tech checked the codes and noticed something with the MAF sensor. The code apparent cleared itself at some point on the way to the dealership. He reset everything and that was that. No issue since. What he told me is that the way the computer works is that if one sensor goes off, it'll pretty much set off everything... thus the lit up dashboard. I don't understand the specifics of it, but that's what was told to me.

 

[miker104]

Mine did this once. The tech checked the codes and noticed something with the MAF sensor. The code apparent cleared itself at some point on the way to the dealership. He reset everything and that was that. No issue since. What he told me is that the way the computer works is that if one sensor goes off, it'll pretty much set off everything... thus the lit up dashboard. I don't understand the specifics of it, but that's what was told to me.

Since many people ignore the Check Engine light they added the flashing Cruise light to get your attention and to make you get the car checked out.

 

[OBnube]

Since many people ignore the Check Engine light they added the flashing Cruise light to get your attention and to make you get the car checked out.

There is a little known seat sensor used mostly in German cars such as BMW/VW/Porsche that senses the thickness of your wallet and reminds you to see the dealer to relieve you of the uncomfortable feeling of any extra money you might have.

 

[Suberman]

Fuel cap was on tight. No rodents, unless you count some of the discourteous drivers sharing the road. The car is only 10 months old.

 

[Yoda_One]

It will do that if Eyesight loses focus.... Heavy rain, Direct sunlight, etc., all this is explain in the OM. When it happens just drive it will reset when the issue has passed.

Laughing at Oneself and with Others is Good for the Soul

 

[Suberman]

Dealer had the car for over a week. Turn out it was a faulty computer which was replaced. The first time it happened, the error code cleared and they couldn't pin point the problem. They also replaced my battery, all under warranty.

I put 800 miles on the loaner, also a Subaru.

 

[d0830]

First of all the Christmas tree is just an auto-response to the electronics finding some fault or another. That includes that Eyesight and all other traction controls are disabled. None of the systems alarmed has anything whatsoever wrong with them. OK, in my case the low tire pressure warning was real.

It took Subaru two years to track down a problem like that in my car which was in fact just a battery problem that started with only 230 miles on the car. It cost them thousands of dollars in replaced computers and weeks driving their loaners because the only thing they can relate to is fault codes and replacing computers. I even mentioned to them they might check for power supply, aka battery, faults. There isn't a sensor that can be replaced or a fault code that tells you there is a battery problem. Typically the actual fault is transient and probably related to getting a low voltage somewhere for a few milliseconds. You can reset the system or let it reset itself for a month of Sundays, but it will just repeat again.

The whole thing is testimony to the maintenance and service organization being nowhere up to speed with the complexity of modern electronics.

 

[stupidaznmunkey]

its "limp mode" - a lot of the tech is disabled to protect the car - and an alternative map is put in place so performance and MPG will drop significantly. You'll want to pull codes if your check engine light went off.

 

[JeffinVA]

It will do that if Eyesight loses focus...Direct sunlight, etc., all this is explain in the OM.

I believe I had this issue two days ago. I was driving west in the late afternoon and the sun was shining directly in front of the car, only a few degrees above the horizon. The Lane Departure Warning OFF and the Pre-Collision Braking System OFF Indicator lights came on (in the tachometer display area), followed by the Eyesight temporary stop indicator in the Eyesight display area of the instrument panel. The LDW and PCBS indicator lights seem to stay on longer when the car first starts now, but maybe that's just me not noticing that behavior before.