I turned my car on one afternoon and found the power steering warning light stayed lit on the dashboard. When I tried to drive, the power steering was completely gone (i.e., very hard to turn steering wheel). Had car towed to dealer, since only 1 year old. Dealer initially diagnosed the problem as a bad power steering control module. Three days later, after the part arrived, they installed it and found more error codes indicating a power supply error. More new parts were ordered that took another three days to arrive. Upon removal of power steering rack, technician found rodent damage on wiring to module on rack and pinion unit. Total repair cost was $2,800.

Car was parked in an open parking lot of a condominium complex in a dense suburban community. I last drove the car a week prior to finding the damage. I drove my old car with the same frequency (i.e., I commute to work by mass transit) and lived in the same complex for 5.5 years with that car, but never had a similar rodent problem. Online research suggests rodents are attracted to soy wire insulation that is used in newer Subaru vehicles.