2010 legacy lite combo comes on

[gduerson]

I’m noticing that after I drive on a highway for a while then come to a stop this interesting light patter comes on. The “brake” and “at oil temp” light are flashing. The the middlE light is solid. 

what is interesting is that the car seems to be fine otherwise.  After I turn it off for a while they won’t come back on.  And this doesn’t happen every time I drive it. 
 

anyone had this happen? My best guess is that a sensor somewhere may be bad.  

[brus brother]

get alternator checked by reputable auto store

if going bad they can put on a light show

[1 Lucky Texan]

3 hours ago, brus brother said:

get alternator checked by reputable auto store

if going bad they can put on a light show

 doesn't seem like coincidence, but just in case, make sure brake fluid is not low in reservoir on top of MC.

 

[heartless]

with that specific combination of lights, i would be leaning more toward checking brake & trans fluids to start with.

AT Oil Temp = tranny fluid is too hot - could be low?  Obviously Brake has to do with the braking system so checking brake fluid would be in order... the center one is Vehicle Dynamic Control - which relies on both tranny & brake systems to operate properly.

alt going out tends to illuminate ALL the lights, and not necessarily brightly, either. Nor do you get one steady and others flashing.. they all do the same thing at the same time and is usually more of a flickering than a regular flashing on/off.

[idosubaru]

Check fluid level - brake and trans and coolant for good measure.

Alt test is a great suggestion.  Charging issues can cause dash light weirdness in other Subarus.

Id ignore the middle light it’s just telling you dynamic control is turned off because those other lights are on.  Fix brake abs trans light and that one won’t come on. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by idosubaru

[nipper]

On 4/27/2021 at 6:26 PM, brus brother said:

get alternator checked by reputable auto store

if going bad they can put on a light show

Just get a volt meter and test it yourself. 

[heartless]

it is not the alternator, i would put money on that simply based on how the OP describes what the lights are doing - one steady and the other 2 flashing is NOT indicative of a bad alternator.

seriously..

seems to me a lot of you have not actually experienced the "light show" of a bad alternator and are just regurgitating 3rd hand information. i have experienced it firsthand and I am positive what the OP is describing is NOT how the lights behave.

the "light show" of a bad alternator is having multiple warning lights (typically battery, CEL, & brake for sure, others depending on the actual model) FLICKERING in varying degrees of intensity (bright/dim) and ALL of the lights involved do EXACTLY the same thing at the same time. That is not what is being described here.

the vehicle dynamic control relies on both the tranny and the brakes to function correctly - if a fault is being seen with either, or both, of those two systems, it stands to reason that it could potentially throw an error light for the dynamics. Not something i would just "ignore". I would be looking into WHY are the lights coming on? Tranny fluid at proper level and clean? Same with brake fluid? ABS system operating properly? Faulty sensor, damaged sensor wiring? multitude of possibilities..

There has to be a reason those specific lights kicked off, the question is, what is the reason?

[1 Lucky Texan]

ABS is often the most sensitive system to low voltage on the older cars....

On 3 occasions, on 2 vehicles, I have had a bad battery set 'spurious' codes. But, on older cars, it isn't much of a light show. set the CEL and disabled cruise on my WRX. But new battery, and codes didn't come back. I THINK on the Outback, it was a bad cell in the batt once.

Edited April 30, 2021 by 1 Lucky Texan