The battery dies sporadically when the car has been parked for a short time or a day or two. No telling when it will happen, but suddenly the car will not start. Subaru dealer says there's nothing wrong, but obviously there is. This has happened three times already, once in 25- degree weather with a 15-degree wind chill. I have checked all the lights and keep the headlights turned off, as I don't drive at night. So far this has happened only when the car is parked, but what if it happens when I am driving? Date given below is the third incident. The others were in late January and February.
2019 Subaru Impreza electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 19 of 19, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle was purchased new by original owner. Battery died at 5,709 miles and was replaced by dealer. I purchased the vehicle as a CPO. Second battery died at 8,077 miles and was replaced by dealer. Third battery died at 8,836 miles and was replaced by dealer. Old batteries were disposed of by dealerships, surely, and are not available for inspection. Safety concern is chiefly of failure when the vehicle is off, not during driving. Problem has been confirmed at each dealership visit. Note that there are several class-action lawsuits pending against Subaru for prematurely dying batteries. No warning was given by vehicle except for a slightly longer engine start the time before catastrophic draining of battery and failure of engine start. Though anecdotal, non-Subaru technicians feel it's not defective batteries but rather a defective electrical system, specifically the controller area network.
Purchased Impreza Limited 10/31/19. On 1/23/21, car would not start. AAA said battery not good & installed a new battery. On 7/4/21 car would not start; battery jumped by AAA. On 9/10/21 car would not start. AAA said battery not good & installed a new battery again—3rd battery since I purchased car. On 7/22/21 Subaru of Morristown said they checked for parasitic drain, and told me it is “within specs.” They said I don’t drive enough miles. End of July 2021 I (a senior woman) purchased a Battery Tender which I must attach to the battery whenever the car is parked in my garage.
The battery dies after just sitting in my home after a day.
The vehicle was sitting and being started on a weekly basis until recently where we had an issue with the battery needed to be replaced
Since purchasing my vehicle in january of 2019 I have had to have the battery replaced 4 times, each time the car has not been sitting for more than a week, not been exposed to extreme temperatures, not been left with a light on or a door open. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th times this happened I requested that the vehicle be examined to determine whether there was an issue other than the battery at play, subaru has never taken that inquiry seriously and simply replaced the battery only for it to die a few months later.
About 5-6 times my knee has bumped the key during normal driving, turning it in the off position. It has happened while driving straight and while turning. It happens more frequently while accelerating out of a parking lot onto a surface street. It has left me dead stopped in the middle of oncoming traffic or having to coast to the side of the road. It takes several seconds to restart the car because I have to put the car in park to restart it.
Due to the eco friendly soy base parts in subaru vehicles, we have fallen victim to squirrels chewing on the wires underneath the hood causing extensive damage to the vehicle. This has happened twice within 6 months. Subaru stated this would not be covered under warranty and we have been left with the burden of the cost. This is not the first time that someone has reported such a problem, as a class action was filed 11/2017 in hawaii reporting the same issues with rodents and subaru's soy based parts.
After having the car 10 months battery kept dying. Subaru replaced the first battery with a new one exactly one year ago. That battery just died on feb 8 after not being driven for 3 days. I needed to get it jump started. Subaru will not acknowledge this and told me to get a "second opinion." this is a safety issue not a medical condition.
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