[Merope]

FWIW: There are sensors that will stop the door from closing on something. There's a pinch sensor that looks like a black 3/8" hose running around the edge of the hatch. If it is depressed anywhere along its length it stops the hatch from closing. You can verify this by starting the hatch closing then pressing on that hose with a finger. Also, if the door feels enough resistance, it'll stop closing. You can verify that by starting the hatch closing then stopping it with you hand.

Of course the hatch shouldn't be closing on its own, but these may help prevent/reduce injury caused by the hatch closing either unintentionally or intentionally.

 

[sloheim]

FWIW: There are sensors that will stop the door from closing on something. There's a pinch sensor that looks like a black 3/8" hose running around the edge of the hatch. If it is depressed anywhere along its length it stops the hatch from closing. You can verify this by starting the hatch closing then pressing on that hose with a finger. Also, if the door feels enough resistance, it'll stop closing. You can verify that by starting the hatch closing then stopping it with you hand.

Of course the hatch shouldn't be closing on its own, but these may help prevent/reduce injury caused by the hatch closing either unintentionally or intentionally.

When the liftgate is closing, it also gives the closing "warning beeps".

The bigger risk of injury is when you HEAR the liftgate closing down on you, and you go to jump out of the way of it, and you whack your head on it. Its happened to both my son and I now.

 

[Merope]

Har! Yeah. I would have happily opted for a manual hatch. My previous vehicle also had a motorized hatch. It always seemed kind of silly to me, more of a novelty than anything else. The Ascent's certainly has had its issues.

 

[Mip]

I too encountered this, and got whacked in the head by my 2020 Outback. We took it into the dealer and the service guy showed us an easy fix for this.

The problem is due to the liftgate opening too far, causing it to think it has hit an obstruction, and then closing back up . The fix is to reset the stop point on the liftgate.

Here's the procedure the service guy showed us to do this:

1. Find the two liftgate buttons near your left knee when sitting in the driver's seat. The one closer to your knee has the word 'Off' on it.

2. Make sure this 'Off' button is depressed.

3. Get out and go to the back of the car.

4. Open the liftgate with the liftgate button.

5. Let it open all the way and do its beeps and start coming back down.

6. Firmly stop it with your hand. It may require some fighting, but it will eventually give up.

7. Manually move it to the height where you want it. Don't set the height all the way back up to the stop point, because that's what may be causing the problem in the first place. Try opening it all the way up, and then bring it back down just a little bit.

8. Press and hold the button on the liftgate until the car beeps a few times and the rear lights flash. The new liftgate opening height should now be programmed.

9. Test it out: close the liftgate and then open it back up.

10. If all is good, press the liftgate ‘Off’ button from step 2 again, so it is no longer depressed.

NOTE: I went out and tried these steps again just now, and I didn’t need to do steps 1, 2, and 10. I was able to program the liftgate height whether the liftgate ‘Off’ button was depressed or not.

Regardless, Subaru needs to make this a high priority fix. Automatic features are great, but they must not do harm. If the liftgate is going to auto-close due to an obstruction real or perceived, it should do it slowly and only back off a few inches.

 

[cathyplate12]

In the two months that we've had our Ascent Limited the power liftgate has suddenly closed on me twice while accessing the cargo area. It does the usual three warning beeps and then lowers. The second time happened last Saturday and when the door hit my back it stopped and reversed upward again where it stayed until I closed it. It's happened both times within five seconds of the liftgate having reached the fully open position. I always open the liftgate using the button above the license plate. My keyless fob is in my shirt pocket and definitely not being pressed and held accidentally. Both occurrences happened in different parking locations. I've got an appointment with my dealer at the end of the week to have this safety hazard fixed. I'm wondering if it's a bad module sending a signal to close the hatch. Any other owners experiencing this crazy problem?

January 13th 2023, I was out in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I pushed the button for the trunk of my 2017 Subaru outback to come up. I got out of my car went to the back and proceeded to go under the trunk when it all of a sudden started beeping. It startled me so I popped up not knowing the trunk was actually coming back down on me. I hit the right side of my head pretty hard then proceeded to go down in the trunk as the door kept coming down laying on my back. At that point I thought it was going to crush me. But, it started beeping and going up again. The impact of the trunk injured my C6-C7: leaving me with, Posterior disc osteophyte complex with uncinate spurring creating moderate to severe/severe bilateral neural foraminal stenosis. I go to see neurologist June 1st. I will know more of what's next to come. I wanted to warn people of the GLITCH. (which is what Subaru is saying it was, cause Wal-Mart will not release video). If you are under the electronic trunk of your vehicle and you hear a beeping noise drop down. Do not get startled and go up. I have learned apparently GLITCHES happen and there's nothing you can do about it. Learn from my experience.

 

[HeyChris]

Welcome to the Ascent Forums @cathyplate12. No one has reported on the Outback Forums of an occurrence happening like the one you posted.
With that type of medical designation, you may not wish to drive until after your June appointment.

C.