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Personally, when the time comes to replace, I am just going to remove it, and leave the sensor in place. I prefer my radiators unobstructed..... None of my cars ever had it, and I highly doubt in will affect my MPG on a noticeable scale.....
Does the shutter cover the whole radiator or just part?
I drove and still have a MY13 Focus Hatch which has the shutter and never had a problem, did help with warmup in cold weather.
 
Went to the dealer this morning, after two CE light in less than a week for the same reason (active grille shutter). They told me the harness gets faulty usually after a harsh winter. Apparently it's a design flaw, and they are aware of it. The replacement part is supposed to be improved and it should last, but it is in backorder so I'll get it next week.
I have 3 and a half years of full warranty left, so it's a subaru canada's problem for now :)

besides this minor annoyance, the car rocks (impreza sport-tech+eyesight)

cheers!
 
Went to the dealer this morning, after two CE light in less than a week for the same reason (active grille shutter). They told me the harness gets faulty usually after a harsh winter. Apparently it's a design flaw, and they are aware of it. The replacement part is supposed to be improved and it should last, but it is in backorder so I'll get it next week.
I have 3 and a half years of full warranty left, so it's a subaru canada's problem for now :)

besides this minor annoyance, the car rocks (impreza sport-tech+eyesight)

cheers!
Thanks to this thread I was able to figure out what the code meant. Living in Wisconsin after the winter we had I'm hoping the new one doesn't have the same issue.
 
Just had the same issue on my 2017 Impreza. The wiring harness to the shutter was damaged and had to be rewired (it is vulnerable because of location and road hazards). Had it done by my local repair place as dealer is too distant. Cost me $200
 
Would snow/sleet cause this to malfunction/clog it?

My car 17 Impreza Sport just had this code pop up


I just did some more research... the GEN5 Impreza does indeed have "active grille shutter" on the lower half of the grille. (below the bumper)

Direct from the Subaru website ==> At low speeds, this shutter is open for extra engine cooling. But at highway speeds, it closes, reducing aerodynamic drag and helping to increase highway fuel efficiency.

Here is excerpt from the factory service manual ==> Subaru Legacy Service Manual - Dtc u0284 lost communication with active grille shutter module "a" - Diagnostic procedure with diagnostic trouble code (dtc)


Essentually, the U0284 is saying that the computer cannot determine the position of the shutter. (NOT that the shutter is disfunctional)
 
This trouble code just popped up in my 2017 Impreza Sport wagon yesterday. I also lost cruise control functionality at the same time, which I use every single day on my 90 mile daily commute. I couldn't care less about having active grill shutters, but I absolutely must have cruise control. I must say, I am extremely disappointed in Subaru for these kinds of negligent design flaws. Lord knows how much the dealer service dept will extort from me for this one.
 
This trouble code just popped up in my 2017 Impreza Sport wagon yesterday. I also lost cruise control functionality at the same time, which I use every single day on my 90 mile daily commute. I couldn't care less about having active grill shutters, but I absolutely must have cruise control. I must say, I am extremely disappointed in Subaru for these kinds of negligent design flaws. Lord knows how much the dealer service dept will extort from me for this one.
Have you tried looking for debris that might be restricting the rotation of the shutters? I removed mine and couldn't get rid of the code or figure out how to bypass it, but when I reinstalled it the code remained. The issue was that the shutters were in the wrong position when starting the car, so I needed to unplug the shutters again, rotate them fully to the other position and then plug them back in. Solve the issue, cleared the code and haven't had a problem.
Even if you haven't unplugged yours they are pretty sensitive and the car needs to know weather the shutters are in the fully open or fully closed position.
It is possible that if some debris got lodged in the shutters when they were open the shaft that goes into the motor that rotates them may have skipped a tooth as it is made of nylon. If this happened then the shutters might not be fully in the correct position.
This is a wild guess, but knowing how sensitive that sensor is maybe it's possible????
Watch the shutters open and close while someone else starts the car and see if they move correctly.
 
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