This car is having constant problems with the battery failing. It especially fails when we are going to any type of trip where packing the car is a process that takes time. The battery dies on us often and is unpredictable, leaving us stuck often. I bought this car because I want a RELIABLE car. At any moment we could be stuck somewhere with my kids. No warning comes on to prevent this from happening.
2020 Subaru Ascent electrical complaints
Page 2 of 5: complaints 11 to 40 of 101, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My battery electric has been to hay wire from time to time and now my car is flickering all electric and car wont start. Locks wont work.
Battery gets drained if the trunk is open longer than an hour. Left the car trunk open during our camping trip while unloading and loading and in both the instance the battery drained and we we had to scramble for help to jump start the car. This happened last time exactly the same way when we were in the campsite as well.
The battery in my 2020 Subaru ascent died without any warning. The light would go on, back talegate wouldn’t open, nothing would work. I called AAA and they came out to test it. I was told it was completely dead, there were no cells left in it, as if the lights, radio and doors were left open for an extended period of time (I was in the grocery store for 15 minutes, nothing was left in). He was able to jump start it but after some time of charging the battery. The battery is not old. We purchased the car in Dec of 2021 from a dealer.
We had two wire harness that was burnt twice in a year apart for our 2020 Subaru Ascent Touring. Here are the two parts # and description: Slow Blow Fuse 170A under part #82211XC00A & Wiring Harness R LH USA under Part #81502XC11B were burn. We use Subaru to tow from time to time for our 2021 Airstream Bambi 16RB (dry weight of 2,900 lbs. and GVWR of 3,500 lbs.). On 06/21/21, we noticed the car has no battery and we called roadside assistance to jump the car, but the car battery died again. On 06/22/21, we called roadside assistance to jump the car, this time, we drove to Subaru directly to have the dealer look at the issue. Dealer inspected and replaced a battery for us under warranty. On 06/26/21, the battery was completely dead again. So we have our car jumped and go to the dealer. We have 9,214 miles at this point. After 2 weeks of diagnose, dealer told us the main left wiring harness was burnt due to excessive power draw from the trailer, possibly by the electric tongue jack on the trailer, we were the 2nd exact case happened in the whole nation by that time, they will fix it as a one time courtesy and recommend us to remove the electric tongue jack. Vehicle picked up on 07/27/21, we switched electric tongue jack to manual jack. On 08/05/22, when we drove less than 5 miles out of our house, we noticed our dashboard started to flash all kind of warning message-Transmission, Tire Pressure, Vehicle Dynamic Control and Airbag system, eyesight was disabled. We decided to exit the freeway. Burning smell noticed and the car can't be started. We towed the vehicle to dealer for inspection. Dealer took a week to discover the problem was caused by the same burnt harness. After back and forth for 3+ weeks, dealer refused to cover under warranty despite we did not use the electric tongue jack(the cause dealer identified last year for the burn) the whole year. We are waiting for Subaru of America for update as of 08/31/22 under case #220824-232370 filed on 08/24/22.
Excessive battery drain for no reason. The vehicle has a random battery drain for no apparent reason. This vehicle has less than 26K miles on it and has needed a charge or jump-start more than 10+ times. We have been able to replicate the problem numerous times, once charged, the battery and alternator pass tests.
Battery died while in idle, unable to restart, constant clicking and beeping. Requires roadside assistance. This is the 3rd time the battery has been dead on this car....First time, shortly after purchase, the dealer replaced the battery, saying it was a battery issue. Second time the car had been parked in the garage, a few months ago, no lights left on. Today, it was idling as I was picking up my kids, it just died. Battery is about a year old. Now all dash lights are just flashing. Will see if there is permanent damage.
Something in car drains battery frequently not while the vehicle is running but after it’s been off for a few hours when no lights have been left on, Subaru dealership refuses to admit there’s a problem. This leaves me exposed to being stuck in unsafe situations with a dead battery. No warnings ever come on to alert me the battery is draining. Transmission frequently slips and stutters when accelerating to higher speeds like when trying to transition onto the interstate. Subaru also denies this problem. They fixed the transmission clutch but that did not help.
Battery goes dead after a series of short trips. Happened once before. Dealer had the car for 3 days and could not reproduce the problem. Intermittent problem, stranding driver in potentially unsafe areas.
Constant dead battery No start
My Subaru 2020 with 16,000 miles stalled in the middle of driving down the road in Town, I was driving 35 mph when out of nowhere the car stalled. I was able to coast/turn on to a side street. I’m lucky the car had enough momentum to keep going or we would have been hit by traffic as the street we were on is a busy road. The car flashed all the lights when it stalled and refused to crank over, it was low on gas so I called AAA and they brought 5 gallons of gasoline and filled it. The technician then tried to get the vehicle to start but it wouldn’t. Luckily he offered to tow it to my house for free. I have tried multiple times to get the vehicle to start and it wont. It cranks but doesn’t actually move. I don’t know what’s wrong and now I have to have it towed to the the local dealership. This is the second major issue that has happened. The first one was that the transmission failed and with my car having a branded title for being stolen/recovery. Subaru would not replace the transmission at 7,600 miles and I had to find a used one to replace it with. I now just got the recall letter and have messaged Subaru about it.
During a camping trip the battery died when the tailgate was left open. Second battery incident: Went to go start my car after not driving for 6 days, battery was dead. No lights, doors, or hatch was on or open. After using a trickle charger I recharged the battery and was able to start the car after 4 hours of charging. After the car sat for one day the engine did turn over, but it sounded like it took a bit of extra effort for the starter to get the engine going. Third battery incident: I went to start my car again after it was parked for 5 days and the battery was dead again. I used the trickle charger again and was able to charge the battery to over 80%. The next day I took the car in for a service to investigate why the battery was draining to dead after not driving for days. The service department was unable to determine a cause of the issue. The battery was in good condition and was in the green on the grading scale.
12V Battery for the Car needed to be jump started every morning. Car will not START until we jump start the battery. Security Beeping and all car buttons not working. The problem started since Feb 28, and its been happening almost every morning.
Rear hatch open for more than 10 minutes, the battery is dead. Also, if the radio is left on after the car is turned off the battery is dead.
Battery randomly failed on 1/5/22. Had it jumped, kept it on for an hour. When I went to start the car on 1/6/22 the battery is dead again. 7,000 miles on the car, no signs of any issue prior to the failure. My safety was at risk because it was freezing outside. I attempted to contact subaru's roadside assistance per their 3 year 36K mile warranty but when calling the automated message said there are significant delays in call times and to submit the issue online. I tried submitting online but the online submittal process was not working. I ended up having it jumped through my insurer, though now I have to figure out how to get a new battery. I saw where Subaru 2020 ascent OEM batteries are part of a class action, so probably going to avoid taking it to the dealer for a replacement.
When packing the car for a trip, if any of the doors are left open for a period of 15 minutes to 20 minutes the battery will drain. I am unable to start the car. This has happened three times. I have mentioned this to the dealer who remarked that I am not driving the car enough to keep the battery charged. On one occasion it happened after driving for over three hours (148) miles.
The rear liftgate on our 2020 Subaru Ascent opened on its own during the night of 12/18/21, resulting in a drained battery. The tech dispatched by Subaru roadside assistance stated that there is a software problem resulting in these doors falsly detecting an obstruction and opening the liftgate, which results in a drained battery. The Subaru dealer stated that they could not replicate the problem and did nothing about it. Several days later on 12/23/21, the battery failed again. The tech dispatched by Subaru jumpstarted the car, but noted that the battery was producing only 8 volts of power.
Started having electrical and audio glitches ultimately causing the battery to completely drain
This is the second time I've had a dead battery problem with my 2020 Subaru Ascent. The first time was 4/2021 and they replaced the battery. The second time is today - dead battery, could not charge or jump start. Tow truck coming to take it to a Subaru dealer.
The care continues to drain power resulting in dead battery. We have had continuous issues since purchasing the vehicle. The Dealer even installed a higher quality battery and due to Subaru admitting tot the problem. However this has not resolved the issue. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times at a factory dealer. We can't be in and out of the care while parked for 45 minutes. Subaru markets the vehicles for camping and recreation vehicles, but the vehicle is useless in these scenarios. Furthermore, there is great potential now in the winter session that we could become stranded in the vehicle. Also note that with a dead battery the rear hatch is in operable. The manual release is not easy to get to.
I purchased this car new, and it has less or about 20.000mile. I am using it daily. Yesterday suddenly the sound system stop playing. Neither the radio, the CD player, or the car play. Just the sound. Today, the battery died, but all the buttons will flickering and would not stop. My husband had to remove the battery cables so to stop. I also have notice in the past that the frond windows will close in a slower pace than normal. I saw here that there is a class action about this issue. Very disappointed, if this issue will not resolved I am driving my kids daily and I cannot have this happening in the middle of a road or while it is feeezing outside.
Several times my 2020 Subaru Ascent has failed to start and required a jump. I have taken my vehicle into the Subaru dealers 3 times for this problem. Every time they tell me something was left on that drained the battery when the vehicle was turned off. One time they replaced the battery but same issue occurred after the battery was replaced. Another time they replaced the radio but same problem occurred after replacing with a new radio. The last time they told me the WiFi was turned on. We don't even have a Wifi account for this vehicle which is needed to use the WiFi. Each time the dealers reset electrical components and computer chips they said needed to be reset. This vehicle is a daily driver so does not sit long between starts. I brought the vehicle in October of 2020 when it had 5K miles on it and to date only has 16K now. Now I have to purchase and carry a portable vehicle jump starter as this vehicle's battery is not reliable. I have read that other owner's have the same problem. Why can this not be fixed/resolved without costly repairs to the owner. I am worried that when the Dealer warranty runs out, I am going to face unnecessary costly repairs. Please assist and advise. Thanks.
I was taking my kids to school. On the way, we stopped at an intersection. The car all the sudden stopped while it was in the Drive gear. The electric part of the car turned on but the engine didn’t. A police officer and a towing company came to the rescue to make sure our car didn’t get hit. However this was a quite scary process for our kids and myself. If could have happened in the middle of the intersection or on a highway and we could have been hit. The towing company couldn’t put the gear in the neutral and suggested an issue with TCM.They had to get a different towing track and took it to the dealer.
Battery dead something is happening with the trunk. I think it drained the battery. This is the second time this happened
Battery died, currently a class action lawsuit indicating an issue with the manufacturer
Bought vehicle new in October 2019, now has 20,000 miles. Started having issues a couple months ago with not starting and needing to jump start. I can tell it is getting harder to start on its own as time goes by. Its going to the dealer this week for a new battery. One or two times the hatch may have been open for a short period as described in some of these posts. For those reading this, there is a class action law suit pending right now out of New Jersey for this issue against Subaru.
We purchased our 2020 Subaru Accent on 8/9/2020. On 6/9/2021, our family took a day trip to Petaluma and stopped at a park to let our toddlers play. When we returned to our vehicle in the parking lot, the ignition would not turn on the vehicle. AAA Roadside Assistance was called to the scene and the technician found no issues with the battery. He was able to get our car to start, but only by randomly placing the shift to Neutral, then turning on the ignition. We were advised to bring our vehicle in for repair, brining the car to the dealership of original purchase at Elk Grove Subaru. Following diagnostics, they stated there was an issue with the shifter, identifying "fluid leakage" and it was cleaned out. Although we have a new car warranty, they charged us for the labor out of the warranty, citing “customer at fault” claiming fluid leakage caused the issue from a spilled beverage. We do not recall any beverage being spilled in our vehicle near that area. On 7/21/21, the same issue for a second time with the ignition not turning on happened once again. My husband and I were stranded in summer heat with my 2 year old son, my 1 year old daughter, and I was 30 weeks pregnant at that time. A THIRD occurrence, same issues, on 8/14/21. Our car is barely a year old. Subaru replaced the entire shifter this time, and so far no recurring issues. I thought of safety concerns if this was to happen to someone else, perhaps stranded on a busy road susceptible to oncoming traffic, or a secluded area that would pose risk of serious safety issues, or perhaps worse. One occurrence is an isolated incident, however three or more points to a significant pattern and worth investigating for a recall of this part. We took to the internet to see if anyone has experienced the same issue with this make and model and we found one video of a couple with an identical experience with the ignition randomly stopping working to start the vehicle. https://youtu.be/g--VICP26hg
My battery drains with only the slightest mistake in leaving the hatch open for an hour. It has happened so many times we had to replace the battery after 1 year. I was stranded somewhere because of it.
Leaving my lift gate open for even a short amount of time drains the battery. Even after charging the battery manually my battery went completely dead after one year and three months.
The battery has died 2 times on me and the tech was unable to find a reason why the battery would die; I did not leave lights on or have any thing draining the battery. There is a well known issue with the electrical system in this car and it needs to be replaced.
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