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Problems with 2018 Subaru Outback ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On average, the 2018 Subaru Outback starts to “feel” problems with the ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and its various aspects after 9 896 miles.

Components Affected by ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Issues

We have classified the 47 complaints from 2018 Subaru Outback about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM into the following categories.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL 1

Recently reported ELECTRICAL SYSTEM problems on 2018 Subaru Outback

The car is parked. the flashers are activated. the car is then locked from the outside with the key fob. after returning to the car a short time later (maybe 5 minutes or so) the key fob is totally unusable. lock, unlock, rear hatch or panic do not work. must then use the key in the door lock, to unlock the door. then, of course, the alarm sounds until you can put the key into the ignition to silence the alarm. there appears to be a time out problem because the key fob can unlock the car with the hazard flashers on, right after locking the car but this problem only happens after the car has been left for a short time. i have given this problem to subaru headquarters and they gave me a case number of 1-27586772057. in an emergency when the flashers are activated, if the car is locked and upon returning a short time later and the key fob won't unlock the car, there could be a dangerous situation, especially in a dangerous location or someone (especially an older person) might panic and not think clearly what to do next. i am able to repeat this problem at any time since it happened. i tried both key fobs with the same result.

These incidents are ongoing problems from purchasing my first outback 4 years ago. the question/answer below (*when did this happen?) cannot be answered truthfully, pinpointed to an exact date. it was a brand new car purchased from the dealer and my current, second one with the same exact issues are also a new purchase from the same dealer. the hazard flashers: when the car is in parking and hazards are on, if one locks the car with the fob, they won't be able to unlock the car with the remote anymore. the tiny key from the fob needed to unlock, which is hard enough especially for someone with disabilities and consequently triggers the car's alarm. weather warnings: this outrageous thing started just a few months ago (nov. 2019), when i was prompted to update the firmware. ever since at any weather phenomena (regardless of my phone being plugged in or not, bluetooth on or off) a warning appears on the screen and one has to interact with it. this warning pops up sometimes every 2-4 minutes while driving. especially dangerous on the highway at high speed, at night and while using the navigation system in unfamiliar areas since one's been distracted by the blacked out screen. when i first reported this issue at the dealership they spent an entire day finding the problem, unsuccessfully. which is a huge surprise because there are multiple websites and forums (https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/weather-alerts-on-the-head-unit-radio.449129/) discussing the problem with no solution, going beck for years. while i appreciate the effort, it's absolutely not my vehicle's job to tell me about the weather.

The volume of the phone ring: this is another problem going on for years, throughout different year models, and very well documented on the internet in several forums as well (https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/2018-w-nav-phone-ring-volume.497495/). every time my cellphone rings, it's ear piercingly loud. it makes one jump loud. i did try to get help at the dealership but sadly there is no remedy. the problem is twofold: 1. the phone connected via bluetooth to the car's native system. while in settings there is a mode where one is able to adjust the ring volume (which is for some reason set to '10' by default) and bring it down to '1-2', soon as one parks and leaves the car for even an hour the system resets to '10'. even worst, sometimes all one have to do without leaving the vehicle, to turn up the volume on the radio and that will reset the previously lowered ring volume. 2. the phone connected to airplay for which there are no settings whatsoever. even if the phone in silent mode and there is no sound for text messages, it rings overwhelmingly loud.

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