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Warning Lights

23K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  codymroberts 
#1 ·
I just brought my car into Subaru to have my car looked at because of three warning lights that have been lit up on my dash for the past couple days. The three lights are the Vehicle Dynamics Control warning light, the ABS warning light, and the Hill start assist warning light. I have a 2010 WRX with 19,000 miles. The dealer has just informed me that my VDC module needs to be replaced. Has anybody had this problem before? I find it strange as though I've only had the car for 10 months now and the last thing I need right now is car problems (though this should be covered by warranty). Let me know what you guys think! Thanks, Jon
 
#2 ·
I guess no one has had this problem...I got my car back from the dealership last Wednesday and then last night driving home from work the three warning lights went back on. I guess it wasn't a faulty VDC control module - apparently something else is causing this problem. Any ideas??
 
#8 ·
Then I don't know that I'm buying that. As far as I know, the brake switch is a simple on-off switch and if the brake lights work, the switch is working properly. Let us know if it fixes the problem, I'm always up for learning something new!
 
#10 ·
Just wanted to bring this topic back up to speed. I took my car to the dealer 2 weeks ago for this very same issue. The 3 lights come on when I brake somewhat harder than normal. The lights will disappear after restarting the vehicle. Of course the dealer couldn't reproduce the problem but a brake light switch code was found stored in the computer. They "adjusted" the switch to keep it from sticking and was supposedly fixed. Well, since I've had it looked at it hasn't been occurring as often, but it still bugs me. I will be bringing this up again when I go to get my winter tires mounted in 2 weeks.
 
#12 ·
Yea it's pretty annoying. I dug around and found the sheet from my visit. This is what it said:

Customer states ABS, Hill Assist & Trac Lights all come on when stopping. No active fault present. VDC has code C0054 Brake Light Switch Off malfunction. No fault found with circuit. Possible very intermittent switch stick, but could not verify. Adjusted switch.
Like I said in my earlier post though, since they fixed it, the lights have come on a few times...

Maybe you'll have better luck when taking it in!
 
#13 · (Edited)
Update: Took my car to my sales dealer who said they've seen this on a few 11's. Looks like the third time was the charm. They replaced the switch and it's all set.

Customer states that when braking the ABS, VDC and Hill Assist lights come on intermittently. Diagnostic results in found codes C0054 and C0857. Found bad switch. Replaced switch. Test all ok.
No more annoying lights! :)
 
#14 ·
I had the switch replaced twice, the second time it still failed shortly after leaving the dealership. The position the dealership installed the switch at allowed me to slow the car down just a little bit before the lights would come on, so my theory is the ABS computer was seeing brake pressure but since it didn't see the switch as being open it would throw the lights for the abs hill assist and VDC. So I took it upon myself to adjust the switch so the brake lights come on as soon as you touch the pedal, I havent had any problems since.
 
#15 ·
I just did a 360km drive in my 2011 WRX and I had 3 different lights come on at once too; engine check light, VDC light (both stay on) and the cruise control light flashes. I am taking the rex into Subaru tommorrow and hopefully they can look at it but I have no idea what it is. Needless to say the engine check light alone was cause for concern...
 
#17 ·
Yeah looks like this is a common problem. The general consensus is the most common error is an overboost due to cold weather (makes sense, I had the car parked up for 2 days prior to my trip and it snowed this morning) and generally Subaru have no idea how to fix it... Which is not great
 
#18 ·
That isn't guaranteed to be the problem. The CEL comes on because the ECU detects there is something wrong and throws a code, the DTC, which is what points you to what the problem is. You need to get that code pulled, and if you're in warranty, the best place to have that done is at the dealership.
 
#21 ·
I have a 2011 WRX and I've been seeing the same three warning lights on 4 or 5 separate occasions in the last two weeks. Always seem to happen in stop-n-go traffic, not under heaving braking or speeds. It's come to the point that I clutch, turn car off, restart car, declutch, and keep driving, otherwise all three systems are disabled, which in stop-n-go traffic I really want my ABS to work. It usually stays off for a few days before it comes back again. I've connected my AccessPort the first time it happened, but didn't see any codes. I'll check again. I'm at about 35,500 miles, so not much time to get to a dealer while the lights are on.
 
#23 ·
Interesting, I haven't checked to see if the tail lights still worked when the warning lights are on. I'll keep an eye out for that one. I would interpret that as a sign that the Brake Light Switch may actually be stuck, preventing the lights from activating. I did locate the Brake Light Switch (wow is it tight up under the brake pedal). Basically, my brake lights are coming on, but it seems I had to press a little too far on the brake pedal than I would have expected, so I made a quick adjustment so that the switch engages sooner. If you turn the whole switch assembly about a quarter turn counter-clockwise, it will release then you can move it up or down to the new position, and turn it clockwise to lock it into place. No need to disconnect the wire harness, although I did the first time. Here are some pictures of my switch, and a detailed view of the setting that I am going to give a try.

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#24 ·
Bumping this up for an update. Car currently has 85,000 miles and is sitting at the dealer for troubleshooting. Not too happy that this is trip #4 for the problem...crossing my fingers that this is the last time. Has anyone else had this problem (and a permanent fix) on a 2011-2014?

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