Instrument panel light out

Could be a ground wire or perhaps a fuse. Seems unlikely multiple bulbs would burn out simultaneously.

Carl

If it's a bulb, it's probably just one. One bulb goes a long way!

If it's LEDs then there's a good chance of a loose connection.

My 2003 OBS is doing that right now as well - again. It's about the third time it happens in the last year. The problem is that the bulbs are popping out of the sockets in the instrument cluster. I don't know why it started happening all of a sudden.

Not too hard to replace. 3 screws takes the instrument cluster "frame" out. Drop the steering wheel and twist it around until it comes out. Pull the top of the instrument cluster forward so you can undo the wiring harnesses. Those might be a b!t@h to undo. Again, twist the whole panel until it comes out from behind the steering wheel. Shake it. Do you hear rattling? If so, that's the bulbs that have fallen inside the panel. The lamps are twist lock style and there are several (maybe 7 or 8) for the whole panel. Shake the panel upside down until the bulb units fall out of a hole. I find that the bulb assembly either falls out of the panel (and into the panel), or sometimes even the bulbs pop out of the twist lock things. It doesn't seem like it, but the bulbs are friction pushed into the twist locks. They do come out.

Good luck. Whole job should take you less than half an hour, and if they just popped out, you won't even need to buy anything.

You will have to pull the cluster; most subies have a special bulb and at our shop a special order part- so get some ahead of the job

I had this happen to me earlier this year. I noticed that one side of the instrument lights was out. And just as suddenly, a few weeks later, it was completely back to normal. I think it's grounding problems.

Yousuf Khan

Anyone recall that Radio Shack part number for replacement bulbs? Seems they were close enough to work for some folks.

Carl

Labor is 95% of this job. Don't save a a couple dollars getting a bulb that almost fits, and have to do it again.

Robert

When it happened to me the second time, I called a dealer (and even showed up) and they didn't have anything special. They were just run- of-the-mill bulbs. Made by GE I think. I ended up returning them once I figured out they were just falling out.

Dealer suggested converting to LEDs if replacements didn't work. Not sure what would be special about "dealer" bulbs. I can't imagine that Subaru would be wasting their time making bulbs. Leave it to those who are used to making bulbs.

The twist lock sockets are probably the only thing unique about those bulbs. But they are just sockets - probably standard for printed circuit board applications. The bulbs come right out with a good tug.

Then again, maybe they should not be pulled out. Maybe that's why mine keep falling out ...

Dunno if this applies to the newest models or not, but I found a few links in a search;

Carl

It's back on again. I'm guessing it probably is a grounding problem as you suggest. I might check the ground wire bundle I've got that was chewed (not completely through though) up by a rodent. Or it could have been a loose connection that was jarred back into place.

You just reminded me to go out and fix mine. Rainy night, so a good night for this job. Once again, 30 minutes of shaking my cluster until the bulbs fall out of the holes, push them back into the twist- lock sockets, and put everything back together again. It annoys me that the bulbs keep falling out. I'm not sure what to do to keep them in. I should have glued them or something ...