The Subaru Outback is widely known for its outdoor ruggedness and spacious trunk. But like any vehicle, you’re going to need to pop the hood to examine the condition of the crossover SUV. So, how exactly do you open the hood?
While sitting in the driver’s seat, look for the hood release lever on the left-hand side. Pull the lever as far forward as it will go. Now, get out of the car and run your fingers underneath the slightly opened hood to release the secondary hood lever. Now, lift the hood as high as it will go to prop it up with the hood lift prop.
In this guide, I’ll provide a more in-depth explanation of how to open the Subaru Outback hood for different model years and how to do this without batteries in your car or key fob.
How to Open the Subaru Outback Hood
There will eventually come a time when you need to open the hood of your Subaru Outback. Of course, you could take it to the nearest mechanic where they’ll do everything for you, but if you want to save a few bucks (plus learn how to perform light-duty maintenance on your car), you should figure out how to open the crossover SUV’s hood on your own.
So, how do you do this exactly?
Here’s a general guide on how to open the Subaru Outback Hood.
- Unlock the door and enter and sit in the driver’s seat.
- Look for a lever on the left-hand side. It should have a picture of a car with its hood open.
- Pull the lever as far forward as it will go until you hear a slight popping noise. The noise indicates that the first hood lock has been released.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the car.
- Carefully run your fingers palm-side up underneath the hood to locate the secondary hood lock. It will be near the middle of the hood.
- Pull the secondary hood lock up with one hand while raising the hood with the other.
- While holding the hood up, look for the hood lift prop on your left.
- Lift the prop and insert the tip into a tiny hold on the underside of the hood.
If you follow the steps above, your Subaru Outback’s hood should remain firmly in place, allowing you to tinker with the engine and everything else underneath the hood.
How to Open the Subaru Outback Hood by Model Year
It’s worth noting that the Subaru Outback has undergone some pretty major changes since its debut in 1995. One of those changes is in regard to how to open the hood.
The steps provided above are applicable to most Subaru Outback model years, but there will be tiny differences between them. Take a look at the following year’s ranges to see how to open the hood of your precise Subaru Outback model.
2000 to 2004
- Look for the hood release lever on the lefthand side of the driver’s seat directly in front of the door.
- Pull the release lever forward and up.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the hood.
- Use your fingers to release the safety catch to raise the hood.
- Lift the safety prop to keep the hood in place.
2005 to 2009
- Look for the hood release lever on the lefthand side of the driver’s seat near the steering column.
- Pull the release lever forward and up until you hear a tiny popping noise.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the hood.
- Use your fingers to release the secondary hood catch and raise the hood.
- Lift the safety prop to keep the hood in place.
2010 to 2014
- Look for the hood release lever underneath the steering wheel.
- Pull the release lever forward and up until you hear a loud popping noise.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the hood.
- Lift the safety prop to keep the hood in place.
2015 to 2019
- Look for the hood release lever on the lefthand side of the driver’s seat directly in front of the door.
- Pull the release lever forward and up.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the hood.
- Use your fingers to release the secondary hood lever to raise the hood.
- Lift the safety prop to keep the hood in place.
2020 to Present
- Look for the hood release lever on the lefthand side of the driver’s seat directly in front of the windshield.
- Pull the release lever forward and up.
- Exit the vehicle and move to the front of the hood.
- Use your fingers to release the secondary hood lever to raise the hood.
- Lift the safety prop to keep the hood in place.
How to Open the Hood without Power
The real challenge of opening the hood on a Subaru Outback is doing it without power. This can happen when the car battery is dead or the key fob’s battery has run out of juice. In either case, entering the car to pull on the hood release lever is going to be a challenge.
That is, unless you know how to open your Subaru Outback without power. I’ll explain how to do this.
- Turn your key fob over and push on the metallic square button.
- While pushing down the square button, pull the keyring to reveal the hidden key inside the fob.
- Use the key to manually unlock the driver’s side door.
- Follow the steps to open the Subaru Outback hood above.
The great thing about this is that you can even turn on the car without power in your key fob. Subaru has made it so that you only need to place the key fob next to the ignition button of a Subaru Outback.
So, if you want to start the car with a dead key fob, follow the steps above to enter the vehicle. Place the key fob directly next to the ignition button while depressing the button. And just like that, your Subaru Outback is ready to go.
Please note that this only works if your Subaru Outback has an ignition button.
