[raymieb]

Yesterday morning as I started my 2019 Ascent, the dashboard lit-up with all warnings. While the engine was idling normally, all safety and driver assist systems were off. The evening before I had parked my Ascent without any problems.
First thing I did was check this forum. An overwhelming majority of Check Engine Light posts referred to a loose gas-cap. I had filled gas 3 days back, so that did seem like a possible issue. The gas cap indeed seemed a little loose (human perception is often flawed though). I retightened the gas cap. But the lights didn't go away. Various posts suggested waiting for a day or two or driving around a bit to make the warnings go away.
I am wondering how many start-stops or miles of driving or days of waiting (or a combination) are needed for the sensors to reset? Next few weeks it'll hard for me to find time to take it to a dealer - so unless absolutely needed, I don't want to do that.
Also, the red light that says "Brake" seems to be on on the tachometer. Does that indicate brakes are engaged and I can't or shouldn't drive?

 

[MrCairo]

I think I was told that it takes about 100 miles to clear a warning that has been resolved. I'd also take it in to get the OBD code(s). Unfortunately, what I've been told is that any time there is a CEL, this is the behavior you'll see. If you can get the code(s) it will help you at least get some idea of what the issue might be.

One thing that my dealership mentioned is to make sure that you don't have any rodents that might have chewed through some wires. Just another possibility worth checking into.

So, it can be a wide variety of issues that could cause this. I'm experiencing this exact problem now but it's from a very uncommon case - my dealership is having to call out a Subaru factory technician to examine the problem.

 

[raymieb]

I think I was told that it takes about 100 miles to clear a warning that has been resolved. I'd also take it in to get the OBD code(s). Unfortunately, what I've been told is that any time there is a CEL, this is the behavior you'll see. If you can get the code(s) it will help you at least get some idea of what the issue might be.

One thing that my dealership mentioned is to make sure that you don't have any rodents that might have chewed through some wires. Just another possibility worth checking into.

So, it can be a wide variety of issues that could cause this. I'm experiencing this exact problem now but it's from a very uncommon case - my dealership is having to call out a Subaru factory technician to examine the problem.

Thanks for the suggestion @MrCairo. I doubt if rodents have chewed the wires. But we do have squirrels in the area that seem to be breeding like rats.
100 miles is a lot to drive just to check if CEL goes away and gas cap is the issue. I guess I'll have to take it to a dealership when I get a chance.

The red "Brake" light that I referred to in my earlier post is no longer lit while rest of the warnings are still there. I am wondering what might've caused it to turn off when nothing else changed.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

I'd see if you can go to any local auto parts store to read the codes.

 

[raymieb]

Thank you @Robert.Mauro I'll try doing that.

BTW I also got an email from the dealer I usually go to which essentially says:

We’ve been notified via STARLINK™ that the STARLINK system light is on in your Ascent.
The warning light may indicate that there is a potential problem with you Ascent.
Please schedule an appointment.

Is that normal and does it indicate anything?

 

[Robert.Mauro]

Thank you @Robert.Mauro I'll try doing that.

BTW I also got an email from the dealer I usually go to which essentially says:

We’ve been notified via STARLINK™ that the STARLINK system light is on in your Ascent.
The warning light may indicate that there is a potential problem with you Ascent.
Please schedule an appointment.

Is that normal and does it indicate anything?

It's both normal, and indicates... something... but nothing helpful. Some fault was detected, but that doesn't indicate which. If you get a code or codes, post and tag me, or message me. I'm out doing a state forest cleanup this weekend, but I will check when we take a break each night.

 

[raymieb]

It's both normal, and indicates... something... but nothing helpful. Some fault was detected, but that doesn't indicate which. If you get a code or codes, post and tag me, or message me. I'm out doing a state forest cleanup this weekend, but I will check when we take a break each night.

Thank you so much @Robert.Mauro. I'll certainly post/message you once I get the codes to get your inputs. Thanks again.

 

[raymieb]

@Robert.Mauro
Oh well! This evening as I started the car again, everything is cleared. No error codes anymore. I presume this was a loose gas cap after all. It took ~20 starts, ~80miles of driving and 3 days since tightening the gas cap. Forum really came to the rescue. Thanks.
Now let's see if CEL returns again.

 

[MrCairo]

@Robert.Mauro
Oh well! This evening as I started the car again, everything is cleared. No error codes anymore. I presume this was a loose gas cap after all. It took ~20 starts, ~80miles of driving and 3 days since tightening the gas cap. Forum really came to the rescue. Thanks.
Now let's see if CEL returns again.

I'm glad to see that everything worked out!

 

[KRiley]

I think I was told that it takes about 100 miles to clear a warning that has been resolved. I'd also take it in to get the OBD code(s). Unfortunately, what I've been told is that any time there is a CEL, this is the behavior you'll see. If you can get the code(s) it will help you at least get some idea of what the issue might be.

One thing that my dealership mentioned is to make sure that you don't have any rodents that might have chewed through some wires. Just another possibility worth checking into.

So, it can be a wide variety of issues that could cause this. I'm experiencing this exact problem now but it's from a very uncommon case - my dealership is having to call out a Subaru factory technician to examine the problem.

I'm glad to see that everything worked out!

I had the same indications on 2020 Ascent after not tightening the gas cap completely. Corrected the loose gas cap issue immediately after seeing previous posts here. Called dealer and they claimed that the lights would reset after some time (or maybe some number of miles driven). But lights didn't clear, even after 8 days, 1300 miles of cross country driving, dozens of ignition cycles, and four tanks of gas.
Finally, took the Ascent to local dealer and they reset a problem code via OBD - took about two minutes.
Pretty ridiculous that a loose gas cap would disable Eye Sight safety and adaptive cruise functions indefinitely after the problem is corrected.

 

[valaitiska]

Similar issues with a 2022 ascent (5,100 miles on it) all my driver assist features failed: ABS, RBA, Eyesight assist, all sensors, cruise control goes out, power steering dampens & the brake light comes on. This has happened on 4 separate occasions. The 1st no check engine light, no codes popped after being read twice. The lights went off briefly. 2nd time: On the way into the dealership the check engine light came on & oil temp. At this point codes directing them to a transmission issue showed up. New transmission at 4,900 miles. 3rd time week later the lights came back on: came to the forums. Played with the gas cap, topped the car off (lights went off) & drive about 100 miles. 4th after about another 100 miles all the lights less the check engine came back on, all drivers assist features failed & again power steering dampened. dealership is working to recreate. anyone else had similar issues with power steering & cruise control?

 

[fultonjones79]

Had the same problem a couple of months ago with my 2021 Touring. My wife was driving it and I was notified by my Subaru app that there was a problem. I called her and told he to check the gas cap. She did but said it was tight. When I got home, all the dash lights were still on but everything appeared to be working fine. I made an appointment with the local dealer for them to look at it and took it in a couple of days later. Of course, by the time I got it in, the problem cleared itself and the dealer told me that they could no longer get the code to diagnose it.

 

[valaitiska]

Had the same problem a couple of months ago with my 2021 Touring. My wife was driving it and I was notified by my Subaru app that there was a problem. I called her and told he to check the gas cap. She did but said it was tight. When I got home, all the dash lights were still on but everything appeared to be working fine. I made an appointment with the local dealer for them to look at it and took it in a couple of days later. Of course, by the time I got it in, the problem cleared itself and the dealer told me that they could no longer get the code to diagnose it.

Mine just go diagnosed! They had to bring in a district engineer who found an error code in the history for a faulty tire sensor.

 

[jrspingel]

I’m having all the problems described above with the warning lights and I found that my gas cap was loose. I’m addition to this, my cruise control does not work. Has anyone had this happen?

 

[Daniel Acosta]

I’m having all the problems described above with the warning lights and I found that my gas cap was loose. I’m addition to this, my cruise control does not work. Has anyone had this happen?

Normal for a loose gas cap, should resolve itself within a few ignition cycles. In the meantime I think you can still use old fashioned cruise control by holding down one of the following distance buttons for a few seconds, but I could be wrong on that as I've never had my eyesight fail.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

A loose gas cap throwing a "Christmas Tree" dash isn't just a Subaru thing, either...it's normal for many current generation vehicles as part of the emissions setup and how pressure in the fuel system is measured. This is why it's almost always the first thing someone says to check when said "Christmas Tree" happens. It may take some time for the code to clear after insuring the cap is installed properly and snugly, too.

 

[TRoy1333]

I have a 2019 and I’m getting code P04AE. I found that my gas cap was loose too. I’ve now driven my vehicle about 200 miles and it hasn’t reset. What I’m wondering is could this be a different problem and could I manually reset everything and if there’s a sustained problem will the check engine light come back on. Thanks a bunch for the help.