Check Engine light and other dashboard indicators on 2012 Forester

Asked by ForesterFan2019 Nov 01, 2019 at 11:51 AM about the 2012 Subaru Forester 2.5X

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

While driving to an appointment, the Check Engine light on my 2012 Forester came on, steady, and other indicators such as my cruise control were flashing.
I've had check engine light come on for two other cars, but at that time the CEL was the only thing on.  Apparently, as of 2012, other indicators do come on, on purpose...they really, really want to get your attention.  I called the service department at a local Subaru dealer and confirmed car was okay to drive, and took it in to them the next day.  Has anyone else here had this happen with your Subaru?  My car is about 7 years old, approaching 140,000 miles.  On a previous Subaru, it was the oxygen sensor on my catalytic converter, so not a hard thing to fix.  I do not have the codes yet from the dealer.  Just interested in other owners' possible experiences.

1 Answer

Update - this turned out to be triggered by very low coolant in my radiator,due to a radiator leak. When the CEL came on, I did think to check my oil (even though I'd just had it serviced), but I did NOT think to look at my coolant level. This will probably resolve okay, a new radiator isn't as expensive as other stuff like within the engine itself. I wanted to pass this along as a lesson learned, and something you could check for yourself.

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