I had a recurring problem with my 01 Outback VDC. Occasionally, while driving, the VDC & ABS lights came on and would stay on until the car was restarted.
I understand that there are some folks out there who experienced similar behavior but were able to have the problem corrected.
Dealer (Jack Miller Subaru in Kansas City, MO) tried to solve the problem a number of times. Replaced everything from sensors to the whole VDC computer (if I understand correctly (and I don't claim that I do!)). They even had some regional service guy get his hands dirty. No luck. This took a bunch of visits over a few months.
Dealer was very cool about it; even though they hadn't sold me the car they treated me as one of their own. Complimentary rental car each follow-up visit, very flexible times, etc.
As I was approaching 30k miles I was getting more than a little frustrated and worried. Dealer's service dept got together with Subaru of America to work something out.
It took a bunch of aggressive follow-up on my part, but once they got the ball rolling things went very well. I did a straight trade of my 01 VDC with
30+k miles for a '04 Forester XT. Plus SOA is throwing in a thousand dollars credit towards future parts and labor. Loving the Forester XT, it's a better fit for me anyway.If anyone is interested in further details or anything I will be watching for follow-up posts.
-Ken