I have developed a parking light problem with my '96 Subaru Legacy Outback. I washed and vacuumed it today and now my parking lights won't shut off! Any ideas on what could cause this? Thanks for any help.

on top your steering column theres a switch for the parking lights. It's a fairly common mistake.

Thank you very much, I detailed car today and must have accidently turned it on; never noticed it before. It's good to know that it exists anyway.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one to have done this at one time. If it happens to me again, I'll know I'm in trouble!!

I actually called the dealer on this when we first got the car. I felt stupid when he told me.

 

RTFM!!!

I got my first TurboWagon for veeerrrryyy cheap because of that problem.. They thought it was a wiring issue and I didn't know any better, not having tinkered with soobs much. Found it in the owners manual after letting the car sit in my driveway for 9 months.

i sorta did the same thing

wife hit the switch and killed the battery

i also had to ask to find out why

and just about kicked my own @ss when i heard the answer

It just goes to show that bad things happen when you clean a Subaru.

HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

My neighbors have a legacy that, after having it detailed, the parking lights were on and the battery died. It's still sitting out in front of their house. Maybe I should tell them.

Be kind and tell them. Also, soon, since a fully discharged battery is prone to ir-reversable sulfation and this could cost them a new battery also if it's not re-charged soon.

So even these newer models have no chime to remind you when the parking lights are on? After having left them on after parking the car at work one time, my g/f put a piece of tape to prevent me from using it again

Technically, you're supposed to leave your parking lights on when you park on the street. Of course nobody does it, but there has to be a way to leave them on for the car to pass. Since Subaru headlights automatically shut off when you turn the ignition off, there has to be an auxiliary switch to override that. So when you turn that switch on, the car assumes you're using them to park on the street like you're supposed to and does not chime.