[ckalkhof]

Hello - My first post.

My 2015 Forester just started with this problem yesterday.
1. Hill assist light and warning message appeared
2. While troubleshooting, I noticed the rear lights turn on incorrectly. This may have been an existing issue that I didn't notice until I started troubleshooting the hill assist problem.

I have not touched the car yet trying to fix the problem because the hill assist along with the odd brake light problem is confusing. Maybe two separate problems?

I've attached a picture to help explain the brake light issue. I looked at the brakes because "Brake light Switch" came up a lot in google searches for the hill assist error.

Thanks in advance for any help /suggestions you can give me. The car has 179K on her. Manual Transmission

 

[ckalkhof]

Thanks the great responses.

I called the dealer and yes, the light switch recall was performed back in 2019 when I had the cracked coil spring issue fixed.

I’ve been driving around to see if I could get any additional info for trouble shooting.
This happened:

1. When I started driving the hill assist display was on and the “I” (info) symbol was on my display. I noticed the fault would flash up again with a beep a few times while I was driving. This seemed to happen while I was shifting. So this leads me to believe maybe the error is being caused by something in the clutch circuit?

The hill assist indicator on the dash went out after a few minutes of driving. I turned the car off and and on a few times and the “I” symbol on the display went away as well. I’m sure it will come back.

2. With the hill assist error gone temporarily, I checked the brake lights - that problem is still there. So you guys were right - totally unrelated. I replaced the left rear tail lamp assembly ( tailgate strut mounted t broke and cracked the taillight housing ) many many years ago - like 5. It would be freaky if I was driving around like this the whole time!!! I normally do my own oil change , but this past winter I had a quickie lube do it and they performed the normal brake light check and did didn’t mention any problem. I’ll definitely check the bulbs next.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[ckalkhof]

Ok - so I moved the bulbs and sockets - brake light problem solved. Took literally 30 seconds. I am a total idiot for making this mistake. The lights must have been this way for 5 years and I just noticed it while troubleshooting the Hill Assist error. So much for the oil change place brake check. Quick story about that visit - I noticed the car was shaking quite a bit when the guy was trying to take off the oil filter. I got out to see what was going on... he was turning the filter the wrong way!!! He was tightening it. He demolished the filter in the process. I made sure they noted the incident and I checked the flange and everything looked OK , so I didn't make a fuss.

Thanks FozzieBalou for the pics to the screws. The housing slid right out with no drama.

I drove around quite a bit today around - 45 miles to hike and back - and the hill assist dash and display never came back. They will though, I just know it.

Since the error seemed to beep when I was making shifts, I googled a bit more and included "clutch" along with "hill assist". This came up and I think it is the most likely culprit. Hill Start Assist (HSA) Warning Light, DTC C0076 - 2008-2015 Subaru

Anyone ever had the clutch pedal switch go bad/out of adjustment and cause the hill assist error?