Fix SRVD Disabled on Subaru Outback by VXDIAG SSM3

This post helped to save me a ton of money.

 Fixed Subaru Outback 2015 SRVD Disabled Issue without the Dealer

My wife’s 2015 Outback started getting the SRVD disabled warning light about a month back. When I read of the steps you took, I seriously considered buying a VXDiag and hunting down a set of radar reflectors. While I could find the VXDiag vcx se subaru, I couldn’t find a good source for the radar reflectors. Instead of getting two replacements, I ordered a single 87611AL00B off of eBay for $92 (w/shipping). The original parts were 87611AL00A also available on eBay for a few bucks less, but I figured the newer model might be more reliable.

I watched a couple YouTube videos on how to remove the tail lights and bumper. They noted that I’d likely break some of the fender clips, so I went to Amazon and ordered a set that included a handy trim remover tool (Dr.Roc Subaru Replacement Bumper Fender Clips Set) for $17–it really came in handy, as I did break a couple of the clips.

The mud flaps were a bit of a challenge, but a small offset screwdriver took care of the one screw with low clearance, so I didn’t need to remove the tires. Fortunately, I found that I didn’t need to fully remove the bumper. Once I pulled it back enough, there was enough room to reach in to unscrew and replace the RADAR units. I replaced the back right with the eBay unit and turned the car on. Nope, still got the SRVD disabled warning. I put the old unity back on and then tried the eBay unit on the left side. When I turned the car back on, lo and behold, no more SRVD Disabled warning! And yup, SRVD is back to working like normal! Overall, it took me about an hour to go through the whole process.

So, for those who stumble upon this thread and are experiencing this dreaded SRVD Disabled problem, I suggest these steps to resolve it:
1) Lie down under your bumper, find the RADAR units on either side (black boxes, a bit larger than a deck of cards) and see if you can reach up and disconnect/reconnect the harness to see if that works, as IdahoPat noted above. It didn’t work for me, but you might get lucky and you’ll fix the problem for free
2) Order a single 87611AL00A or 87611AL00B off of eBay and try swapping it in on either side to see if you get lucky like me and find that only one of yours has failed (likely). Note, it’s the same part for both sides and yes, you can mix the old and new part numbers.
3) If that doesn’t work, you may have gotten a bum one from eBay. Consider ordering another and giving it a try. It’ll still be cheaper than the next two options
4) Do all of the steps that original post did. It’ll cost you, but you’ll get a cool VXDiag to play with out of the deal.

 

Subaru outback 2015 – SRVD disabled (bumped into a pole, got a small dent on the rear passenger side bumper). Fixed the dent.

Steps taken so far:
1. Took out the bumper, bought a sensor part 87611AL00A of eBay, replaced the sensor – passenger side.
2. SRVD disabled sign was gone for 15 minutes, drive around those 15 minutes to see if blind spot detection works, it worked but then conked off again.