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2021 Ascent all system malfunction

18K views 59 replies 28 participants last post by  mcwood4d 
#1 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
 
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#4 ·
Deedoody, hopefully more people answer post on this, I'm curious what some of the wiser Ascent owners have to say. Maybe post it in the general discussion category and see if it gets more attention there. Unfortunately this site has way more categories than people seem to look at most days, and so all but a few seem almost completely dead. Just a thought.
 
#5 ·
This is not normal behavior. This is not something that a lot of folks experience. It needs to be diagnosed by the dealer service department, including assistance to them from SOA if required.
 
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#6 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks

That sounds scary. I had a very similar incident with my 3 month old 2019 Ascent (in Jan 2020) and after a month, the dealer replaced the CVT. Then I had a few other problems. 1.5 years later this year, someone rear ended me and it was totaled. Now, I am planning to get the 2021 Ascent. Maybe I shouldn't after reading this.

I would suggest, you bring it to the dealer and they will try to replicate it. Subaru is now well aware of the transmission problems and will probably know where to look.
 
#7 ·
That sounds scary. I had a very similar incident with my 3 month old 2019 Ascent (in Jan 2020) and after a month, the dealer replaced the CVT. Then I had a few other problems. 1.5 years later this year, someone rear ended me and it was totaled. Now, I am planning to get the 2021 Ascent. Maybe I shouldn't after reading this.

I would suggest, you bring it to the dealer and they will try to replicate it. Subaru is now well aware of the transmission problems and will probably know where to look.

I forgot to add that it was a week or so before they could replicate it. They just need to drive it around a lot.
 
#10 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
Hi. We had this issue originally in Dec of 2019 with our Ascent. At that point it had about 16,000 miles on it. It has since happened 3-5 times more. All dash lights go on. Sometimes it’s drivable and other times it is like you described. We reported it to the nhtsb which you should too since it’s a safety issue. We have never gotten a satisfactory answer from the dealer. It just goes in and they say it’s fixed and then it comes out and it happens again. Sometimes a week later other times (most recently it went a whole 6 months! What we did get from Subaru was an 8 year 120K mile bumper to bumper warranty for all our troubles. So we are now frequent flyers. I’m beyond mad! We have escalated this to Subaru Corporate and that doesn’t help. I will never buy another. This car has issues they don’t want to admit to!!
 
#11 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
[/QUOTE
Bought my 2019 Limited two years ago. 13,600 miles on it now. Had the fuel pump replaced with the recall campaign about 10 months ago. Two days ago, my wife & I are driving down a busy 4 lane road. Just before a major intersection the engine dies & all the dash lights go nuts. Luckily, I was able to stop just before the intersection, but I'm still blocking the left lane of the road. Tried to restart several times. No go. Hit the SOS & it started to go through & failed. By then people are angry & blowing their horns and giving me gestures. The emergency flashers are on & the hood is up. Battery is failing rapidly. Flashers are dim. Finally got through to roadside assist. It took them a very long time to get me a tow. My wife is frightened & I'm trying to get her to calm down. The cops show up & sat behind me with their lights on until the tow showed up. Subaru Palm Springs called this morning to tell me the fuel pump is bad (again). This time they claim some of the wiring is fried. Supposed to have the new pump tomorrow. This is a very serious safety issue that can get people injured or killed. Do I keep the car & hope for the best or do I buy a new Kia Telluride? It has a 95 rating on Consumer Reports. Ascent has a 60.
 
#12 ·
We are having a progression of problems on our 2021 we've had for 2 months. The first problem was the homelink buttons on the rear view mirror. The first garage door paired no problem. Attempting to pair the second (same exact make/model) did not work. The searching light would not stop flashing and the door would not pair. Then none of the homelink buttons would work, including the one that previously paired no problem.

Problem 2 started yesterday, the radio wouldn't work, apple car play, nothing on the touch screen.

Today the car wouldn't start and it said the battery was dead. Making a 2nd attempt to start the vehicle activated the tailgate, it was engaging and disengaging repeatedly for about a minute, and now it won't latch. Attempting to turn off the car activated the christmas tree, that persisted on its own for about 30 minutes. Now it's just beeping over and over.

Having it towed to the dealer. Fingers crossed.

Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
 
#55 ·
We are having a progression of problems on our 2021 we've had for 2 months. The first problem was the homelink buttons on the rear view mirror. The first garage door paired no problem. Attempting to pair the second (same exact make/model) did not work. The searching light would not stop flashing and the door would not pair. Then none of the homelink buttons would work, including the one that previously paired no problem.

Problem 2 started yesterday, the radio wouldn't work, apple car play, nothing on the touch screen.

Today the car wouldn't start and it said the battery was dead. Making a 2nd attempt to start the vehicle activated the tailgate, it was engaging and disengaging repeatedly for about a minute, and now it won't latch. Attempting to turn off the car activated the christmas tree, that persisted on its own for about 30 minutes. Now it's just beeping over and over.

Having it towed to the dealer. Fingers crossed.

I'm just finding this. I have 2021 Ascent (Premium) - loved everything about it - until. Drove 75 miles one morning. As I pulled into parking garage a bunch of lights began to flash on dash and beeping happened. After reading manual in parking garage - suspected the dash lights were the rear seatbelt warning lights - but two seats were buckled with nothing in seats. Center belt not buckled and nothing in seat. So still a mystery.

Re-started. Pulled out of garage. No warning lights. 75 miles later, pulling into my neighborhood - seat belt lights started flashing and bell dinging. There was also some other bell - but I could not identify it.

Read a ton of stuff online from others. I read in the factory manual (not well organized or written) that a seat belt warning light can happen IF someone is in the seat - UN buckled - IF the car slows to less than 6 mph.

I've worked on cars all my life - and I could not imagine an engineer thinking up something absurd like this - so I figured it was bad manual writing/editing.

But then I noticed a tiny pouch of IGNITION WRENCHES had moved from the - belted - rear seat behind driver - over onto the - unbelted - middle rear seat.

This wrench set weighs about 1.7 pounds.

So - if the user manual is right, could this bell ringing have happened because - while driving 75 miles, my 1.7 pound pouch of tiny wrenches "sneaked" over to the unbelted middle seat...where it remained "undetected"...until my Subaru slowed down to less than 6 miles per hour?????

Could that be because the computer thought it was detecting a 1.7 pound "infant" sliding from one seat to the other - but then it waited to sound the alarm until the Ascent slowed to less than 6 miles per hour?

I still have no idea how all this happened - but I started traveling only with all seat belts buckled - and nothing in rear seats at all.

This worked for about a month

Then after driving 75 miles back home one day - ALL the seat belt warning lights started flashing and some bell started dinging as I slowed under 6 mph

I could not trade the car in because dealer was closed for Covid.

So I read about terrible factory batteries.

And put new double-strength AGM battery in Ascent. And put it on smart charger when parked.

So for a number of 20 mile runs nothing has happened.

But I still have no idea what happened.

And I don't trust this otherwise wonderful car to take me anywhere without 2 NOCO booster batteries and my diagnostic computer with me.

Wonder if anyone else had similar mysteries?
 
#13 ·
Definitely not normal behavior. Weve been trouble free for 17,500 miles in a year. Like others have said, have the dealer look at it and document it. Hopefully others who have heard of this issue (if its common) will chime in.
 
#17 ·
I have had a similar problem with my 2020 Ascent starting right under 20K miles. Initially the lights all just came on. Dealer replaced a valve and then worked fine for about 2,000 miles. Since then it has been back to the dealer 3 separate times. Once, they couldn't replicate the problem. As soon as I got back home it happened again. When I took it back they decided to order/replace the Transmission Control Module. They kept it for several days to drive (about 50 miles) before contacting me to pick it up. Then it happened again after 13-14 starts/stops. This time the Subaru America service guru happened to be in town and says that there is a service bulletin related to this and they are ordering a new harness. Up until now no one has spoken with any confidence about what is going on. It's like they're throwing things at the wall to see if they stick and sending me back on the road again. This is my new/safe car that I drive by myself long distance to see grandkids and I can't afford to drive it long distance without confidence. Fortunately, out of the 4-5 times this has happened, it only happened once while driving. That time I did lose power and control and such and it was frightening. The times that it happens on start-up the driving experience is normal. Most troubling thing to me is that I am the one that brought up the wiring harness issue that I had read about on this forum....... (and now that's what they're replacing). Hopefully this will fix it. I'd love to hear more from all of you who've had this same problem. I am now at 23,675 miles and have owned it since 10/31/19.
 
#20 ·
I certainly hope that you out there with 2020 Ascents with no problems do not have any in the future. I loved my Ascent until the problems began 20K miles in. And I am hoping that the harness fix will make everything better and I can feel safe driving it again. I personally am not trying to bash Subaru ..... just trying to see what has fixed the issue for others with the same problem. I appreciate the dialogue here.
 
#21 ·
I loved my Ascent until the problems began 20K miles in.
Oh, don't get me wrong! I know full well that things may change in the near future (I'm only at 8K+). But, I have a good relationship with my dealer and had a few previous issues with my (multiple) Forester XTs. Each time, they were immediately documented and eventually fixed. One was pretty serious and SoA got involved and their attention was appreciated. The tough part is the "eventual" aspect of the fix. Eventual isn't very helpful for some repairs, that's for sure.

I wish you the best of luck as I know the resolution to your situation may help someone else suffering from the same.
 
#23 ·
My first 2021 ascent died one hour after i purchased it. Dead, never to work again. Dealership could not fix it and finally gave me a replacement. My replacement rolled down a hill into a tree while definitely in park. Snowing at the time but my Ford truck managed to stay put parked next to it. Dealership can’t find anything wrong. 🤦‍♀️ The touch screen locks up constantly and it is running slightly hot. Heading into the dealership Friday. Would never buy an ascent again.
 
#24 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
It is a common problem, as you can see the string of >450 comments back in 2019 after many of us got the 1st Ascent. It happened to me while on a trip, where I ended up for a week while awaiting a transmission replacement. That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the Ascent. This was my first and will be my last Subaru.
 
#25 ·
I am sure you know at this point that the problem had been the defective 2019 wiring harnesses and their potential negative interaction with the cvt. This was fully addressed by Subaru and is not an issue for 2020 and beyond. I had my harness replaced but did not need my cvt replaced on my 2019. No icebergs in our path. It is of course a scary moment when the Christmas lights come on and the vehicle shuts down. I would be upset as well and in fact I was but luckily for me I was in my driveway and I had read about the issue prior to my experiencing it. The lights coming on and the rest of the experience as scary as it is, is typically not something catastrophic for the new models. Anytime those lights come on, the check engine light is involved and the system is shutting down for protection. It could be as simple as the battery or the fuel filler cap. The dealer with Subaru's support will be able to figure it out and correct it. Meanwhile they will be in a loaner.
 
#33 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked ...
I haven't had the same issue as you, but I experienced a kind of similar issue when the battery died (kids left a couple of interior lights on overnight--I don't have the more power-efficient LED interior lights). The dashboard lit up, but the car did not want to start. Of course in my case it didn't happen while driving, I just couldn't get it started cold.

I'm wondering if you have a loose battery connection, which may explain why it sometimes starts, and sometimes doesn't. If the dealer hasn't had issues, I wonder if someone (towing company, dealership) disconnected and reconnected the battery and inadvertently fixed the problem.

That's all complete guess though. Please let us know if you have any updates.
 
#35 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
Is the same issue some of us had with Transmission? This happened to a lot of ppl with their 2019’s and to me. It was very scary.
 
#36 ·
There was a set of 2019 VINs that had a transmission wiring harness that caused some transmission failures. The problem wasn't the transmission which has been in use by Subaru for over twelve years now. There was a recall for it, too.
 
#41 ·
Good luck! For me, they started with a valve, moved on to the transmission control module and ultimately replaced the transmission wiring harness. So far, so good although I’ve driven less than 500 miles on it. I also asked SBA for an extended warranty which they did give me (100,000 / 10 year). Don’t hesitate to ask for something for your inconvenience. Not feeling secure in your vehicle is a big deal and they want you to be happy. They sent me a bunch of Subaru swag too.
 
#45 ·
SOA knows they have serious issues with the Ascent. I have spoken with several people with the car when I run into them at the car wash, the dealers, the store parking lots, etc. They cannot be all wrong. SOA is trying to avoid class action lawsuits & buy backs. I'm not part of that. Why did SOA/Consumer Advocate offer to extend my warranty to 7 years/ 100,000 miles? It's because, when the car does things like dying completely at a very busy intersection with major short circuiting in the electrical system caused by fuel pump wiring that had previously been "repaired" through one of the recalls is just one of several reasons why this car's issues can get people killed. I never said I had "cracks in the windshield". My issue with the windshield is related to seals between the windshield & body when the car was built. I also had problems with the right front & right rear passenger door seals. I grew up around cars with my dad & grandfather. I'm not an idiot.
 
#46 · (Edited)
SOA knows they have serious issues with the Ascent. I have spoken with several people with the car when I run into them at the car wash, the dealers, the store parking lots, etc. They cannot be all wrong. SOA is trying to avoid class action lawsuits & buy backs. I'm not part of that. Why did SOA/Consumer Advocate offer to extend my warranty to 7 years/ 100,000 miles?
I follow many many thousands of Ascents here and in multiple Facebook groups, and elsewhere - and have spoken to a few thousand owners from all over the country. The combination of what I've seen and what I've been told strongly disagree with your assessments. Heck, we run polls in the FB group, and the results are always the same... more than 95% of owners either have no problems, no major problems and/or love their Ascents.

As for why SoA offered to extend your warranty, it's the sort of thing they do. It's literally the sort of thing they're known for doing. It's literally what's built them their following - going the extra mile when others haven't.

Regardless, I am sorry to hear about the problems you've had.


12579
 
#51 ·
I feel like they should put out an update of some kind allowing you to choose fake shifts or not. Other than downshifting for a merge or something of that nature, I don’t see the point in having set “shift points” or the paddle shifters. I actually find the paddles annoying as I have a hand injury that won’t allow me to fully close my right hand and my middle finger in particular, constantly presses against it if my hands are in the correct position on the wheel.
 
#53 ·
I only have one thing to say to this...
I feel like they should put out an update of some kind allowing you to choose fake shifts or not.

😍 😍 😍
 
#56 ·
Marty, have you taken it in for service? That should be your first step with a problem like that, especially for a vehicle that's clearly in-warranty.
 
#57 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
Hi. New to the forum, and not an Ascent owner (yet), but a former 2017 Outback owner. I am looking at an Ascent Limited on the dealer's lot that is not spoken for. I'm able to test drive it tomorrow, 05/02. I did a lot of research, and understood that most of the problems that 2019 and 2020 Ascent owners incurred, had been corrected on the '21s and '22s. But after reading some of the recent postings, I am having second thoughts re: following through with a purchase. What should I look for or beware of on the test drive? And any Ascent owners, who would NOT consider buying an Ascent again. I'm a retired senior, and this could well be my last new car purchase. I don't want to end up with a major case of buyer's remorse. I know that there are no guarantees. Some vehicles are largely trouble free with proper maintenance, and some are not. Advice welcome. Thanks. DEF
 
#58 ·
But after reading some of the recent postings, I am having second thoughts re: following through with a purchase.
The impression you'll get from posts on the Internet is that all vehicles "suck mightily". Why? Because folks with issues speak loudly while all the other folks (the majority) are out driving around and enjoying their vehicle. This is not brand or model specific, either. Go to ANY Internet vehicle forum and you see the same kind of behavior. If you like the Ascent and it will meet your requirements, that's what's most important.
 
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#60 ·
Had my 2021 Ascent for a month and suddenly at a traffic signal everything went crazy all lights on dash flashing, steering locked up and brakes locked so I put it in park turned off the engine and restarted it, everything seemed to be ok . They ten minutes later doing 50 everything goes crazy again I lost power steering and acceleration, managed to get to the side of the road before everything shut down and would not restart.

Had it towed to the dealer where upon arrival it started straight up. Even though whilst waiting for the tow truck i tried several times to restart the car with no luck.

Still waiting for the dealer to come up with a reason or solution, as no error codes were detected and they have had the car two days and have not had any issue?

I am terrified of it happening again next time possibly coming down a mountain with all my grandkids in the car (reason for buying 8 seater in first place)

Please advise if anyone had same issue and what was done to correct the issue

thanks
We had this issue on our 2021 with 16k miles after having a recall service at the dealership. Went back and forth 5 times over 4 weeks until a faulty air sensor "tube" was located. Fast forward 6 months and the vehicle stopped operating. Roadside assistance was needed to tow the car more than 100 miles back to dealership. Diagnosed with engine failure (thrown rod) engine replacement indicated. Dealer has had the vehicle for the past 5 weeks and no replacement engines are available. Glad we have a warranty 😡🤦‍♂️
 
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