2019 Subaru Crosstrek: won't start

Filed Jun 17, 2026 · Electrical · WI

2019 Subaru Crosstrek; Battery is drained even when car is fully turned "off". If the car is not driven every day, battery may drain completely and car won't start. If not driven for several days, battery will discharge so low that it is damaged, in which case it may not have sufficient charge to start the car after sitting overnight. After battery is discharged to the point of damage, it must be trickle charged anytime the vehicle is not driven, and even short periods and distances of driving will leave the battery at 25% (or less) of fully charged. Battery replacement is the only way to restore normal operation, but the replacement battery is gradually degraded and ruined just like the original. SOA has not recognized this parasitic battery drain problem in this vehicle. Jump starting the car with auxiliary battery is possible, but this does not reduce the risk of battery insufficiency. Subaru instructs me to have dealer diagnose the problem (at a cost of about $200) and then it might consider a gratis contribution to full cost of diagnosis and repair (estimated at $1,662 including cost of diagnosis). No warning, visual or aural, alerts the driver to this problem.

Filed May 11, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · PA

In the middle of driving car stuttered, engine light went on, and car stalled. Unable to restart, Engine cranks but would not turn over. Had car towed for repair. Diagnostic shows engine coil short causing blown fuse. Subaru has an active recall for this identical issue for my same year and model 2019 Crosstrek but the recall does not cover my VIN.

Filed Sep 4, 2025 · Electrical · IL

Subaru owners have reported experiencing premature parasitic battery drain in vehicles equipped with Starlink in-vehicle technology. The defect presents itself when the equipped data communications module (DCM) attempts to communicate with 3G cellular networks. As 3G networks within the U.S. are no longer functioning, the call will continuously fail even after the vehicle has been turned off, draining the battery and resulting in a no-start safety risk for drivers. According to those familiar with the issue, the only solution to the battery drain defect is to remove the DCM fuse, thus disabling vital safety features such as hands-free calling. This issue is happening to me specifically, as I have had to jump my car multiple times within a week long period if in a bad cell range area. I have brought this into the dealership multiple times, under warranty, and presented this to them. They refuse to fix, even though multiple online threads and lawsuits point to this issue being known.

Filed Jun 16, 2025 · NC

My vehicle would struggle with starting intermittently over the past 2 years. Last week It became a consistent issue each time I would start it. Today my car would not crank and I tried several times over the span of 3 hours. What I experienced previously when starting my vehicle is it would initiate starting, I would hear a mechanical whirring, the car would stop then start again and the engine would turn over a couple of times and eventually start up. Today when trying to start the car, I hear a mechanical whirring and several notifications appear on my dashboard including the following: Check Engine, EyeSight Off Check Manual, Check Owner Manual, RAB Disabled. Thankfully I was not stranded when my car wouldn't start again, but that is a real risk because I travel to the mountains often where there is no cell reception. I looked online for similar issues and have discovered several instances of people with 2018 and 2019 subaru crosstreks (and other models) have had the same issue. Subaru has issued a Technical Service Bulletin (07-198-21), but this is a safety issue which they should address. My coworker has the same car and it has had work done for the same issue. My neighbor has a 2019 ascent which has an auto Start/Stop where it wasn't able to restart and was stuck in traffic creating a hazard.

Filed Nov 27, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · DE

Per the federal safety agency Product Campaign Bulletin WRE-21, all ignition coils on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Premium were replace on August 9th, 2021. On November 26th 2024, the same vehicle experienced a total loss of motive power on a 50 mph, 2-lane road, resulting in emergency action to move the car off of the right-of-way. All occupants of the car were not injured. After the vehicle was towed to a Subaru Dealership, the service notes stated “DIAGNOSED NO START SCANNED AND FOUND P1604 STARTABILITY MALFUNCTION, AND P0304 CYLINDER 4 MISFIRE, CHECKED FUEL PRESSURE AND FOUND IT WAS WITHIN SPEC, FOUND THE IGNITION COIL FUSE WAS BLOWN AND UPON FURTHER INSPECTION FOUND THE CYL 4 COIL PACK SHORTED INTERNALLY AND THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CIRCUITS CONNECTED BLOWING THE FUSE, COIL PACK AND FUSE WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED.” The wording of the technician’s notes mirror the wording of the WRE-21. The dealership offered a one-time free “goodwill replacement” of the part in question, but only for 1 cylinder. I believe further corrective action needs to be taken by the federal safety agency to prevent total loss of motive power in affected Subaru crosstreks.

Filed Apr 17, 2022 · Transmission · CO

This 2019 Crosstrek dangerously malfunctioned. When driving at 75 MPH on the highway it went into in neutral, then it would not go in reverse, and in park it revved to 75 MPH, ultimately it would not start. Based on many codes the car was indicating, the Subaru mechanic tried to replace a cable that communicates the computer to the transmission (turbine?), it did not solve the problem. It has been waiting on a new transmission for four weeks with no ETA. Subaru dealer indicates the new transmission will have a 100,000-mile warranty. It appears that rather than fix this known dangerous defective transmission issue for good, there are many reports when you research online, they simply up the warranty. Someone is going to get hurt if they haven't already. Thank you for your time.

Filed Oct 1, 2021 · Electrical · NY

2 battery failures in 2 years of purchasing vehicle. I am on my third battery in less than two years. Incidents occurred 15, 19, 23 and 24 months into car ownership. 4 battery / electrical related dealer service visits in 2 years. 2 times the car was immobilized due to battery failure, would not start and required a tow to dealership service. On 3 occasions lost car audio - no audio map directions, no hands free phone calling, no radio. On 1 occasion lost all internal lighting on entire instrument panel and all switches during night driving on one occasion creating a serious driving hazard and safety issue. All issues occurred with no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms. Only Subaru Dealer service has inspected and replaced/ recharged the batteries. Dealer service claimed they could not reproduce the problem once they replaced or recharged the batteries.

Filed Aug 4, 2021 · Electrical · 42,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start which resulted in the battery needing to be replaced. The contact stated that the check battery message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

Filed Apr 18, 2021 · Electrical · 7,000 miles · VA

I've had repeated problems with the 12v battery in my 2019 subaru crosstrek hybrid. The vehicle has some sort of electrical "leakage" issue that drains the battery after sitting for a few days. When this happens, the vehicle is completely inoperative; car will not start, you cannot even unlock the doors. In 18 months of ownership, the car has stranded me several times. One incident just required a jump start, but during the latest incident the car was completely dead and had to be towed on a flat bed truck to the dealer for a new battery and other repairs. In all of these cases, all accessories, lights, or anything else that could drain power was off when the car was parked. Unfortunately, there is something in the car that is drawing power when it is off and drains the battery within days.

Filed Dec 21, 2020 · Electrical · 2,000 miles · NJ

For the third time, the battery on this car needs to go back for service - the car is housed in a garage on our property and is turned on every 3-4 days. This morning and twice before the car doesn't start. In the previous 2 times the car was completely dead and I had to jump start it and take it to the dealer where they said they replaced the battery. This morning when trying to start the car, the lights were flashing but the engine did not turn over. The same thing happened with our last subaru a 2015 subaru impreza. We feel the car should not need to be started every day nor should we need to put on a trickle charger as suggested by jeff at paul miller subaru who I understand is the service manager there in parsippany, nj where we bought the car. The car was parked inside the garage. Also whenever we were able to turn on the car, the radio comes on immediately. I think something else is draining the battery and is probably a design defect. We last started the car and drove it on wednesday evening. The had this problem yesterday.

Filed Oct 23, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 19,100 miles · CA

All elextrical was diabeled, no s drive, no response to key fob, could not take car out of park, check engine light on. Car was workig when parked at store, came out and the car would not start and kept giving me error mesages. The ybrid batter was good and I finally was able to use the hybrid mode to get the car to the dealership.

Filed Aug 7, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 773 miles · WA

While driving down interstate highway, lots of warning lights suddenly appeared on dashboard. Car would only brake, not accelerate. After safely pulling off to side of road, car engine would not start. I was initially told the ECM (compuer) failed, but now it's an engine problem. Nearly 2 weeks later, car is still in the shop.