New Subaru Outback And Legacy Recalled Now For A Defective Rearview Camera

Subaru of America and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a recall for the 2020 Subaru Outback wagon and 2020 Legacy sedan models. The recall notice says the car's rearview camera may shut down, reducing the driver's ability to see cars or people behind the vehicle when it's backing up.

The NHTSA report says 7,741 2020 model year Outback and Legacy models are affected by the recall. The recall is the second one for the two cars manufactured at the Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana.

What is the backup camera defect?

The 2020 Outback and Legacy equipped with "high" grade and "mid" grade multimedia navigation are under recall. The report says the August 2020 over-the-air software update may have timed out without completing the installation, corrupting the data and causing the rearview display to shut off intermittently.

Subaru says a timeout failure during the data writing sequence could cause the data to be corrupted and result in the center information display going blank. In this blank condition, the backup camera will continue to function with the shift selector in reverse; however, the cockpit control module may continuously reboot approximately every three minutes.

If a reboot occurs while the vehicle is reversing, the rearview display may disappear during the reboot process, which takes approximately six seconds to complete.

The number of potentially affected 2020 Outback vehicles is 6,768. The number of potentially affected 2020 Legacy vehicles is 973. Subaru of America estimates 100 percent of the models recalled have the defective rearview camera.

2020 Outback and Legacy models had another recall last year. Subaru recalled the two vehicles in September 2019 because a brake pedal mounting bracket may have had an insufficiently tightened or missing bolt.

When will Outback and Legacy owners be notified?

Subaru will notify 2020 Outback and 2020 Legacy owners within 60 days, and dealers will reprogram the software and, if necessary, replace the cockpit control module, free of charge. The recall will begin on January 22, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-20.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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