OK. After reading some of the above comments, I now know I’m not crazy! Our 2018 Subaru Outback was parked in our garage. We used it yesterday with no problem. This morning, upon entering the garage, I noticed the rear gate was open and the battery dead. The key fob was laying on my desk, not in my pocket. Somehow, the rear gate opened by itself and totally drained the battery. We have 11,000 miles on it. After a jump start, I took it to the dealer and they said everything was normal and had no explanation for the rear gate behavior. Clearly, there is an electrical issue here that Subaru must know about. How about a fix please???
Do you have a cat or a small child?
Where is the other key fob ?
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This has happened to me. My 2018 exhibits all the very well-documented Outback tailgate nonsense–won’t open, won’t close, opens on its own (and then drains your battery, like when you’re camping out in the middle of nowhere like what happened to me once). I’d say it works properly 50% of the time. You never know if it’s going to work, completely unreliable. I have read every forum, etc about it. Have tried all the stupid little dances to try and get it to behave like a normal car. Dealer basically says (have taken it in 3 times over a year for this) I must be doing something wrong because it’s “functioning normally”. “Normal” for a piece of crap, sure. It’s ridiculous. I have to transport lots of audio equipment and stuff like that and I can’t tell you how many times I had to unload big pieces out through the doors because it wouldn’t open when I got to the gig. Sure, you can force it open, and then closed, but then it doesn’t latch unless you go drive around for 20 minutes (otherwise you risk the battery drain). Whoever designed the electronics in this thing was either an idiot or sadist. My 2013 Outback had no issues. My sons 2013 Impreza WRX is a great car. This 2018 Outback is garbage. It’s a deal breaker, mine’s up for sale as we speak.
The Body Control Module sends a signal the rear lift gate control module when the switch is operated. This then allows the lift gate to operate.
One thing that can cause electronics in a vehicle to act unpredictably is a bad BCM.
Tester
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Thanks, but sadly, the Dealer has examined the car 3 times and says it’s “fine”, nothing wrong with it. My case is not unique either, that’s for sure. Just do a google search for Subaru Outback tailgate issues. It is a very well-documented and common issue and Subaru can’t seem to be bothered to fix it. None of the “hacks” you see on Youtube or on various forums (and there are many) fix it for many of us. It is frankly, absurd.
When a BCM acts up unpredictably, a problem won’t be found unless it’s malfunctioning at the time.
That’s why it’s hard to diagnose an unpredictable malfunctioning BCM.
Tester
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Much appreciated, but I for one am done with Subaru. For an issue to be this common it’s just crazy that they keep pumping these cars out without addressing it.
I know if I have my “Smart Key” and cell phone in the same pocket of my jeans, my “Smart Key” doesn’t work.
23 Toyota Tacoma
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Lowendreg, you hate car but still have it?
Why not just trade this thing for something that won’t cause this aggravation?
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In the original post he says the 2018 is up for sale. Is he going to let people know why he is selling it?
Maybe pull the fuse to it?.. Hatch can open itself if the motor doesn’t have power to it.. 
- Analyze the situation, create your own service bulletin and repair kit. Start selling them.
- Profit!