"Is the check engine light flashing?" the service manager at Las Vegas Subaru asked.
I replied "No"
"Then keep driving and bring it in for service later" she said.
I was 415 miles into a 2000 mile road trip into Death Valley National Park a month ago and the dashboard of my 2023 Subaru Outback looked like a Christmas tree.
It was a freak accident, there was a 4' pipe in the middle of the interstate and no way to avoid it. The Outback handled the road hazard just fine, what an amazing car. The Saburu went over the pipe like it wasn't there, bump and bump as the front and rear wheels went over the pipe with no surprises except for all those annoying warning lights on the dash.
A week later I made an appointment at Tucson Subaru to find out why my car was complaining. What happened was the pipe flipped up under the car and clipped off the left rear wheel ABS speed sensor.
Everything in new Subaru's are integrated, you wouldn't think a backup sensor would be such a big deal, but the Outback thinks it is so it shutdown all sorts of convenience features to get my attention. The diagnostic computer readout confirmed there was multiple codes in almost all modules including the transmission control system, the Eye Sight cameras stopped working resulting in no cruise control, blind spot detection was off, no emergency backup braking and a whole lot more. I have to admit it was an impressive list of failures.
Tucson Subaru replaced the sensor wire and everything is like new again. The sensor wire is long and has to be fished through body panels plus the computer codes had to be cleared so it wasn't anything I could fix in my driveway. Damage due to an accident isn't covered by the factory warranty and I have a $500 deductible on my insurance. Total bill was $511.60.
The trip to Death Valley was worth it.
