2005 Subaru Legacy Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) Problems

“My car door power door locks stopped working, rear wiper stopped working, rear brake lights and running lights stopped working, also radio stopped working. Upon investigation I found that the wiring harness on both sides of my rear lift gate had torn and shorted out. This is a dangerous shortcoming on this car, the wires are so short and placed under constant tension that they rip themselves apart.”

“I recently noticed that some elements of my rear hatch on my Subaru Legacy wagon were not working. Specifically, the lights that illuminate the license plate, the rear defroster, center brake light, hatch locking mechanism, and radio antenna were not working. An inspection of the area where the wires enter the hatch door from the body of the vehicle reveals that several of the wires in the harness were broken completely with some wires in various states of deterioration. I believe this is an unusual failure and not a typical wear item. …”

“My rear brake lights and tail lights stopped working, my wiper would work intermittently, and license plate lights would not work at all. Took to a mechanic who diagnosed that the wires traveling through the rubber grommet to the rear gate had been broken due to a design in the path they travel where they are bent severely every time the gate is opened and closed, and eventually they snapped. He informed me that this was a common issue on my model and put new wires in place of the broken ones.”

“2005 Subaru Legacy gt wagon with 55k started intermittently about nov 1, 2008. The heating/AC display would go dead but the fan was on and kept blowing whatever temp was last selected but none of the controls would change it. Could not duplicate at the dealership so they didn't do anything. About 2 weeks later it went from intermittent to 100% dead. Radio still works and I've noticed that the radio display doesn't dim at night even though the rest of the instrument panels does. I cannot control any of the defrost or heating/AC controls.”

“I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy gt manual transmission sedan. Thus far I have had several issues with the car. 1) engine stuttering: this problem normally occurs when starting from a dead stop, or when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. The engine will pause, or stutter, or hesitate, and cause the car to slightly jump . This occurs under low acceleration as well as high acceleration. 2) clutch stink: the problem is especially notable when going uphill from a dead stop. When the clutch slips, it causes a very acrid smell, like something is burning. This issue also occurs when in rush hour traffic. …”