Hill Assist Light / Loss of Power

What did you find out? Did you have the valve spring recently replaced for the recall? My car is having the exact same problem, also a 2013 impreza with only 45,000 miles. Thank you!

@Chris: I took it to Subaru. I had not done the valve spring recall yet, because there was a very long wait list. The Subaru technicians believed it was a transmission issue. They replaced the entire CVT transmission under warranty, and so I will let you know if that fixes it.

I had the same problem with my 2014 xv crosstrek ( basically a lifted Impreza) . It did it on my way to work today for the first time. I purchased the car 2 months ago 89k miles

Ok Jwolfer, you're not gonna believe this. It was caused by the taillight recall. Subaru redid it and everything is fine. I can't understand how this made the car cutout but it's been fixed a week and a half and it's completely back to normal. Unbelievable. The crosstrek had the same recall which i suspect you might know.

I just got my 2013 Impreza back from the Subaru dealership tonight after they performed both the valve spring and brake lamp recall. SAME thing happened getting onto the expressway to go home, I accelerated and it seemed to lag and lose power. It worried me quite a bit. Then the hill assist light went on, then off, then on again. And now my cruise control doesn't work either and it worked just fine before. I'm worried they botched the job and I'm not sure how safe it is. This is so frustrating...now I need to go back to the source of the problem for the solution. Did anyone figure out the cause and solution?

I took it back the next chance I could. The brake lamp switch was replaced, but there was slightly too much room left between the brake pedal and the switch.. the speck was off slightly. It was replaced again, the technician showed me exactly what happened.. even crawled under dash.. he made the problem all better with his attention to detail and taking time to show me. All was fine

Just had the brake light recall fix. And now - First noticed the hill assist light illuminating randomly , then had multiple episodes of loss of power . A little unnerving while doing 70 and no response from the accelerator for at least 5 seconds. Then acceleration returns to normal . No warning lights on the dash. And cruise works intermittently. Coincidence?

It's a 2014 crosstrek 91k mi.

Take it back in and tell them they will reconnect it, i'm glad you found this thread!

I have the same issue, loss of acceleration for 2 seconds then complete recovery. happened about a month or so after the brake light switch recall replacement. Additionally have to jump start the battery for past three days from what appears to be the brake light stuck on and some other so far invisible issue related I do not know yet. The acceleration loss started about three days ago. taking to dealer shop for inspection.

from subaru: Type: Safety|Safety Recall: WUE90|NHTSA Campaign: 19V149000 Brake Lamp Switch Replacement Completed Completed February 28, 2019 Description Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2013-2017 MY Crosstrek vehicles, 2014-2016 MY Forester vehicles, 2008-2016 Impreza (4-door) vehicles, 2012-2016 Impreza (5-door) vehicles, and 2008-2014 WRX (4-door) vehicles to replace the brake lamp switch. Safety Risk Depending on the model, the brake lamp switch functions affected may include: brake lamp illumination, transmission interlock (shifting from park), ignition interlock (push-button ignition start), anti-lock brake system (ABS) functionality, vehicle dynamics control (VDC) functionality, and/or Eyesight operation. If the vehicle experiences a loss in function, as described, any of the associated warning light(s) will illuminate. If the brake lamps do not illuminate properly, a trailing vehicle may be unable to recognize the braking operation, which may increase the risk of a rear-end collision. Remedy Dealers will replace the brake lamp switch on all affected vehicles once the remedy parts are available, at no charge to the customer. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90. Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

So I have a 2013 cross trek with similar issues. Mine started AFTER the brake light fix (which I didn’t even know was a recall at the time) after the “fix” my brake light stuck and killed my battery. Subaru replaced battery and since I’ve been having the hill assist loss of power issues. Just Friday my new (5 months max) battery dies. Car is dead needs to be jumped. Took it to Subaru Monday after jumping it once again bc it wouldn’t start and they can’t find a single thing wrong. The battery is good and it’s oddly starting. They told me that when I jump started car it reset the computer so they have not history or malfunctions registering. :/ so I’m back to square one waiting for the next day it lights up and slows down. They want me to take it directly to dealer when it happens (bc they need light on to run test) but it usually turns off after a minute. So frustrating. I love my suby but it’s out of warranty and I’m scared to see what this will cost.

I think I might be having the same issue with my 2015 Forester. I had the brake light recall work done in summer 2019 (July or August). November 16, the hill assist light came on, then several other dashboard lights, followed by a loss of power. I pulled over, turned the car off, waited about 30 seconds, then restarted. All was fine and I didn't have any more issues until... December 7, when the brake light stayed on after I parked my car for the night. It drained my battery, which I ultimately replaced. January 20, I lost power twice within about a mile (driving around town). I pulled over the first time and waited - did not shut car off - and was able to return to regular driving. The second time, I tried pumping the accelerator and it re-engaged (and accelerated pretty rapidly - because I was pumping the gas). Each loss of power was less than 10 seconds or so. I called the dealership and brought in the car. That was Monday. They still haven't even looked at it (no appointment, busy service center, etc.), but I called today to suggest that they start by re-doing the brake light recall work. I don't think they appreciated my online sleuthing and micromanagement, but I'm hoping they take this information into account. Is it worth taking to a different dealership where the wait might be shorter, or should I wait these guys out since they did the original work?

@strechhall: I don't think it hurts to take it to another dealer, but it definitely helped having a paper trail everytime I brought it in. It got exhausting having to explain the issue over and over.

Thanks, @jwong0900. I ended up calling another dealership. The person listened to what's been going on and said they could look at my car tomorrow. I'm dropping it off tonight. I'm going to track down the paperwork from the day my recall work was done so I have that. I'm planning to put together a timeline for them and will leave it in the car.

Update: The new dealership confirmed that the brake light switch was out of adjustment. They corrected the issue and my car should be all set. When on the call to get the update, there was definitely an implication that 1) the original work was not done properly by the original dealership and 2) I would not have needed a new battery if the original dealership had not screwed up doing the recall repair. I'm not sure it's worth pointing this out to the original dealership, but I do think I'll write to tell the service manager how badly they managed this whole thing.

My GF has a 2014 Crosstrek with hill assist illuminating- but its a slushbox. She says it slowed down on the freeway on one occasion. She also noted the brake light on when she came back to her car on a trip to the store. The switch was replaced approx two months ago. I don't understand how the switch being out of adjustment could cause the power loss and hill assist to light. What luck have you had with the dealership? If it's adjustment

@Guru99HWL, I asked about the loss of power associated with a brake light switch that is out of adjustment (the dealership that diagnosed and addressed my issue said it was literally a bolt that had not been tightened properly, and that cold temps were bringing it to light). Given that this was months ago I don't remember exactly what was said. I think the basic idea is that if the car's computer is getting signals that the brake light is malfunctioning so completely, it determines that the car is not safe to drive and shuts down all the systems, like a kill switch. Don't quote me on that - others who know more about the tech, etc. may be able to explain it better - but that is the general idea behind what was described to me by the service manager at the second dealership.

I had the same problem , I used the a contact cleaner spray on the both sides of the pedal brakelight switch ,without detach it,and now it is Okay !! problem solved! I 've bought a new pedal brakelight switch anyway