Parasitic battery failures: multiple events between july 2018 and january 2021. Battery & alternator were consistently found to be working correctly. Battery was replaced three times. One event had excessive battery percolation. The problem was caused by an after-market hum speed & location monitoring device placed in january 2018 and partially removed in october 2020. We did not know about the hum attachment to the obdii port. The problem was finally fixed when an astute mechanic recognized that the failures were likely due to the remaining hum part attached to the obdii port. Logical it would draw down the outback undersized battery, which is well documented. So: advice to owners: do not attach after-market devices to your outback. Remove connections like phone jacks as needed when the car is parked. And, if you have an unexplained dead battery problem, check the obdii port & remove any foreign devices or have your mechanic do so.
2015 Subaru Outback electrical complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 127, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Battery discharging/not properly charging. Replaced with new battery in 2017 at dealer's recommendation. New battery continues to not store charge/discharge, including when the car is parked at a store or a parking for brief periods of time. This poses serious safety concerns, as I have no idea when and where my car would not start. This has occurred in excess of 20 times in the last 3 years, and I am forced to frequently replace the battery and to always have a jump starter in the car.
Multiple dead battery issues (approx 10 over 3 year period); no provoking episodes (no left in cold for prolonged time; no lights on
Electrical problems have caused the battery to fail several times in four years. The car was purchased on june 5, 2015. Car failed to start on 9/30/16 and the main relay was replaced by the dealer. The battery was replaced three times by the dealer: on 12/5/16, 2/8/17, and 1/30/19 (including a software update on 1/30/19 to "increase battery life.") the latest battery (84 mo. 490cca) has failed recently on three occasions: 9/29/20 (twice) and 10/21/20, each requiring a jump start. On 9/29/20 the car was jump started, driven for twenty minutes, sat with the engine off for 30 minutes and driven five minutes more, was gassed up (engine off), driven five minutes, sat with the engine off for ten minutes and then required another jump start. The dealer has performed battery performance tests (some failed, some passed) but to the best of my knowledge has not checked components for failure to shut off, which could lead to battery drain. As instructed, I keep the key fob away from the car when not in use, so this appears to not be a factor.
Vehicle will not start/crank. Battery is brand new, all electronics function and light up, yet when ignition is turned the engine doesn't turn over. Vehicle is in the shop for the third time in 3 weeks. A new wiring harness was installed but failed to resolve the issue. Vehicle has been showing codes for the cam & crank sensors, including code p0340, yet all sensors have tested as operational. I'll post an update as soon as I hear from dealer.
Original owner, purchased new 2015 subaru outback limited in early 2015. We have replaced battery four times and have had to jump start the vehicle ~ 25 times since purchase. There is clearly a parasitic electrical drain on the battery that is widely discussed in online forums by fellow owners but not acknowledged by subaru or its dealers (presumably to mitigate liability risks and avoid repair costs). We have attempted to have local subaru service dealers address the issue but they give us bs answers like "you don't drive the car enough", "you must have left lights on", or "these newer cars have so many new electrical features that it is typical for batteries to die" .... All of which are clearly bs and an attempt to deflect responsibility for a flawed electrical design that consistently drains all batteries. Moreover, part of the flaw is a system that was designed to only recharge the battery under certain higher speed driving conditions ... Which are rarely achieved when driving shorter distances at lower speeds in city applications. Even when driving the car regularly, multiple times per week the batteries all eventually die well short of their intended life needlessly requiring jump-starting, trickle-charging to top off battery and/or replacement (we are on 4th battery for this vehicle). Subaru should show its "love" by standing behind their products and accepting responsibility to fix design problems that are affecting so many customers.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru outback. The contact stated that the back-up camera view was blocked by the sunlight. The contact stated that the glare was evident whether the sun roof was opened or closed. The glare prevented the driver to see clearly what was behind the vehicle. The dealer subaru of san bernardino (645 auto center dr, san bernardino, ca 92408 (877) 501-8065) was made aware of the issue but offered no solution to the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Battery suddenly went dead shortly after driving when it should be charged. After investigating, I found that the ecu cycles the alternator off and on to try to increase fuel mileage. This has twice resulted in battery failure, not starting and leaving me stranded. I've had to buy new batteries twice in five years.
Consistent battery issues on start up; upon a mechanic looking at battery, the battery is fully charged/ok - but there appears to be possible connection issue? It appears to be a known issue. Is there a fix for this?
Vehicle is equipped with subaru's "eye sight" system, which provides pre-collision braking and is involved with lane departure warning. The eye sight system in my car is intermittently inoperative while the car is in motion. Sometimes, the system begins working again, then turns off, turns on, etc. If eye sight is inoperative as the car comes to a full stop, the inoperative warning message usually disappears, but the message returns shortly after the car begins moving again. This has been happening every time the car is in motion for three weeks.
2015 subaru outback battery fails to hold a charge. I was advised in january 2020 by the subaru dealership to replace the battery, which I did. The problem is now recurring and the car battery will not hold a charge over night. The dealership claims it does not know what the issue is. The car has become completely unreliable.
2015 subaru outback 3.6l mileage-58969. All lights flashing on dashboard, then some stop but many stay flashing.
I have had to replace my stock subaru battery from the dealer now four times. I drive it for work everyday and every so often it will not start up one morning. I do not leave my lights on, dome lights, or any other electrical components. It was stationary and would always happen the next morning, the battery would be drained and the dealership would replace just the battery as their fix. Months later, it would only happen again on a brand new battery from the dealer.
Battery discharges when not driven frequently. Subaru tech suggested purchasing larger battery as oem is not adequate. Date of event is est.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru outback . The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 69,000.
My car has a dead battery. I just replaced the battery in november 2018 and it is already dead. This also happened in november 2018 and when I brought it to the dealer they said everything was fine with the battery and they could not find anything wrong. The car runs for a few days and then the car battery dies again. I have the battery swapped out for one with a higher cca. This battery I bought in november 2018 has no power as of february 2020 which is too short of a lifespan. There must be something in the car draining the battery and subaru does not want to fix it.
I've had my 2015 outback for 3 years now (2020 now) I have had to replace the battery every year. The first year I believed it was time for a new battery, within 6 months my car died while I was driving into a parking lot. The entire electrical system shut down and I had to manually move it. My mechanic took apart my engine and discovered loose seals that had allowed many parts to rust over including broken brackets and a torque converter. Warranty won't cover any rust but did cover the $84 broken seal. I spent close to $3,000 on repairs and a new battery then. I was initially quoted from the dealership $6k. It has been 11 months and I left my car alone for 3 days and the battery is completely dead once again.
We have owned the vehicle since may 2015 and had a dead battery 4 times with no apparent reason. We have replaced the battery each time. Subaru doesn't seem to admit there is an issue.
This is approximately the 5th time I have had to have my battery jumped within the last two years. No visual drain (no lights left on for example) is suspected. Vehicle had been in use on various trips prior to car not starting. I have key fob and couldn't even open the back hatch to get tools out of car. When car was fairly new, had problem where key fob could not start the car (happened three times) but felt that was an elusive key fob problem. Now I am not sure what problem is but I am suspecting there is some sort of short or system drain on battery that has surfaced. Vehicle was in driveway, parking lot and in parking space on street when these lapses occurred. Reading online about numerous similar problems with dead battery and suspicious electrical drainage of batteries. Most recent problem happened 11/29 and again 12/4. Car was in garage (not used) between 11/29 and 12/4.
A supposed gas cap seal caused 20 icons to flash constantly upon my dash. The car had been sitting in a parking garage for two days prior to the incident
Vehicle would not start. After jumping the battery vehicle started, aaa performed roadside testing and determined the battery and alternator are working properly and are sufficiently charged. Car would not start for unexplained reasons. Previous service history leads me to believe there is an ongoing electrical issue with this vehicle. Previously the airbag light would frequently illuminate. Dealership stated it was due to electrical interference and that nothing was wrong.
When vehicle is left for two days or more (such as in my garage or at a remote trail head parking lot) the battery completely drains. This has happened three or four times and no lights or anything like that was left turned on. Battery has been checked at auto parts store and no problems and it recharges to a full charge.
Safety issue: car horn does not work (no sound) when driving straight ahead and steering wheel is straight. For horn to work I must turn the steering wheel either to the right to the 2:00 o'clock position and beyond or to the left to the 10:00 o'clock position and beyond.
Hello, my windshield broke about 6 months after purchasing the vehicle. I don't know how or why. It was just broken one morning when I went out to my car. I figured a rock or something hit it. There was no recall at the time and so I had it replaced with a oem windshield. My second windshield just broke a couple of weeks ago while changing my wipers you can see where the ceramic wiper heater delaminated inside of the windshield. It turned bright red. I have owned alot of cars and never seen a windshield that is so fragile. I have changed many, many wiper blades and I know what a quality windshield is. I set the wiper blade holder down on the windshield gently and it cracked, the crack grew across the windshield in a day or so. Ridiculous. These windshields run about 500 bucks and should be better quality. I also have electrical problems where my car clock will not set... Currently. It took them 3 years to figure out the steering retaining pin was broken even though I was complaining about it since I bought the car. The rear gate stopped opening and they had to replace the struts on a 3 year old car. There is something wrong with the front end but my dealer said "wait until it gets worse" can you believe that? Thanks,
My vehicle has had repeated dead battery problems. In feb the dealer said I needed a new battery and charged me $174. On 5/20/19 my battery was dead. I had it jumped and then drove over 40 miles. On 5/22/19 it was dead again. The dealer said I don't drive enough. Many others have clearly had the same problem. I think I have a lemon.
The car would stall when coasting to a stop light or stop sign a few times and have been back to the dealer and can't replicated the problem. This is a dangerous situation and can cause an unsafe and huge accident with my family. The car would die while in drive and sometimes can't be restarted. It's happening again and afraid to drive the car since the dealer will say nothing is wrong with the car. It looks like it's related to idle being low or the CVT acting up when taking the foot off the gas pedal and try to accelerate from a dead stop or coasting to a stop. This happened a few times during factory warranty window.
I have had 3 radios replaced in my 2015 outback, since 12-8-17 problems include , navigation going out, the siriusxm going out, now the replacement unit( both remanufactured) has a 'chirp' sound coming out of it when driving down the road on all channels. Very distracting as you look down at the dash to check for warnings, taking your eyes off the road.this replacement unit is less than a week old( replaced on 7-26-18. Subaru customer service contacted 8-1-18. First noticed on 7-29-17.
My car was parked at a pier. Got into car and would not start. Did not seem like a battery issue, however, as it sounded as if it would start to turn over, but then just clicked off. Then I pushed the button to the driver's seat window and it got stuck half way up, but the other windows were okay at that time. Then the wheel locked up and the break would not budge. Then after trying to turn the car on again, the other windows stopped working. Each time before trying to start it again, I waited a few minutes. Then after trying to start the car again, all the locks froze and we were stuck inside the vehicle! Inside locks and lever did not work! Luckily, the driver's seat window was stuck half way down, so I took my manual key out of the access key, and stuck my hand and arm out the window to open the car from the outside. It was also luck that my friend was with me, as she had to pull the inside knob at the same time (as I could not reach it) so I could open the door. Then 2 men walked by and offered their assistance. Where able to jump start the car and get it going. The problem still was not solved, however, as now my parking break was stuck on and I could not turn it off. Then I inadvertently turned the car off, and it miraculously turned right back on and all software deficiencies were cleared so I was able to drive home. This all happened over a period of 5 hours, during which time I had called aaa for a tow, my ex-husband for a ride (as aaa would not allow my dog to ride in the tow truck) and I was 1hr 20 min from home which as the evening crept in, was slowly becoming an unsafe area and we were getting more and more scared. What if I had been alone? What if my window was not half way down? What if I had broken down in an unsafe place from the get go? This car is unsafe to drive!
Battery periodically goes dead overnight
The infotainment system freezes up about every other day and this has been happening again for the last month. Rear backup camera stays on at times. Screen freezes and hard knob controls of infotainment system will not work when touch screen is frozen. This is the second module that has been installed due to these issues and problems continue.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2015 Subaru Outback?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history