vic Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 The red dashboard backlights (radio controls, temperature, fan, vent controls, cabin dimmer controls, gear shift controls, and that little blue LED above the rear view mirror) do not come on when I turn the headlights on. The little green headlight indicator also does not come on. The blue high beam indicator does come on. However the headlights do come on, and all the indicators on the instrument panel (speedometer, tach, etc.) do come on. The car is a 2010 Forester 2.5X Premium with the all weather package. It has just turned 1,900 miles. I plan on keeping this car for at least 10 years (my ’99 Forester lasted just over 11 years and 228,400 miles.) I told them that surely over that time I will be driving at night and in the rain. I also told them that this situation is unacceptable in any car, let alone one with less than 2,000 miles. I first noticed this the last two mornings when I turned on the headlights. The car had been sitting out in the rain during thunderstorms both nights. Yesterday after letting the car sit in the garage at work for two hours all the dashboard backlights and the green headlight indicator came on as they are supposed to. The rain had stopped that morning and throughout the day all the internal lights worked as they should. This morning after another thunderstorm last night the same problem with the dashboard backlighting happened again. I took the car into the dealership with the backlights still not working. They said they had never seen nor heard of this problem and that they could find no tech bulleting on it. After about an hour and half the manager came out and said they tested the everything and found no problems. He also said that the backlights had just started to work again. They called SOA for technical assistance and as of this evening we are waiting to hear back from SOA. Has anyone experienced this problem. Does anyone have a suggested fix or diagnosis. I’ll even consider a WAG, as the dealership has no idea of what the problem or fix may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus56 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) The dealership is required to figure it out, as the car is still under warranty, i would assume. go back and make a scene in front of as many customers as possible. That will get their attention Do you know what diagnostics have they done? Edited June 24, 2010 by Markus56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) your location pretty much sums things up. Not too many good things posted about Ramsey, or C&S motors. I guess you are a Ramsey one....they are worthless at what they do..If you ever travel west, Denver has some good places i highly recommed.until then, i guess keep pressing them. this board will be of more help than any Iowa dealer,someone on here will find the problem, then you can go tell the dealer what it is they need to fix under your warranty. welcome to the board. might also check the newer forums over on : http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/ http://www.subaruforester.org/ they might have already gone over this unless yours is unique Edited June 24, 2010 by bheinen74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Does playing with the little dimmer slider/roller switch change anything? I agree, this is something that could be entirely livable on a ten or fifteen year old car, but on a brand new one it is just plain unacceptable. Car's still under warranty, raise hell until it gets fixed. If you can't get any magic out of the dealer, call SOA directly and try speak with the Regional Service Representative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 I would guess water is getting to the circuit somehow. Possibly a leaky windshield seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 Well the problem does not seem to be related to rain. Yesterday I started up and the red dashboard backlights and the green headlight indicator worked. There was no rain the night before, but there was condensation on the car from the high humidity we've been having. After driving for about 20 minutes I turned on the headlights to test the dashboard backlights. While the headlights came on, the red dashboard backlights and the headlights indicator light did not come on. I got to work and tested again and the backlights and headlight indicator lights still did not work. When I went left work about six hours later the dashboard backlights and headlight indicator lights worked, and I turned them off. When I got home about 45 minutes later I turned on the headlights to check the dashboard lights and the headlight indicator light and they did not work. I've thought of every variable I could remember related to the problem showing up (rain, car washes, dew, driving time, etc.) and nothing seems to present a cause and effect. It seems totally a random occurrence. The dealer heard back from SOA who said they never heard of such a problem, but told the dealer a series of tests to run. I have it scheduled for Tuesday. Somehow I do not have any confidence in their ability to diagnose or fix the problem. I am starting to research Iowa's lemon law. I am at a loss about what to do to diagnose the problem. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus56 Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 run over one of their sales associates? or the guy who sold you the car? ask them for a new car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Well basically, if they can't fix it, you tell them you want another new one. Push the issue, don't let them tell you they can't replace the car. This isn't a big safety concern, but it's a problem that could mean other problems down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Since the headlight indicator light isn't working along with the dash lighting I would say the trouble may be with the light switch. If the trouble was just with the dash lighting I would say the trouble would point towards the illumination control module. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 Third time at the dealer may have been the charm. I had been researching Iowa's Lemon Law, and asked the dealer for copies of all service records and diagnosis of the problems in order to start compiling my record. They did a "wiggle" test of all the connections in the dimmer unit, tail/illumination relay, and integrated unit. They found that the inner blue connector of the integrated unit had not been locked into the unit and it was intermittently open resulting precisely in the problems I had described. They reattached the unit and it seems to have solved the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Good deal. Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 WHAT? wiggling isn't in the FSM? crazy subaru guys. how bizarre it was loose enough to partially make contact. awesomeness to find an easy solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Good ol' quality control! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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