Battery died multiple times 7-8 times within last 1 year Car stopped in the middle of the road while waiting a a crossing. The cars coming behind bumped into each other. The emergency lights also died. The problem has been reproduced multiple times and I have taken the vehicle to ‘Premier Subaru Fremont’ at Fremont , CA location. I have battery failed even after the fix. I do not get any warning lamps or indication that battery is at low level and that I need to stop the car at safe location before the issue happens. It’s very dangerous and the car is completely unreliable.
2020 Subaru Outback electrical complaints
Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 259, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Since we have owned the car since Feb 2020, we have had many dead batteries and the Subaru dealership 100+ miles away has replaced our battery at least 4 times. We live in rural Wyoming and need a reliable car for driving in the winter months when it can get below zero. We have jumped the battery numerous times but sometime the electronics don't work correctly like cruise control, dash warnings, windows, airbags, etc. We are always taking a chance driving it the 100+ miles from our residence to the nearest Subaru dealership in Ogden, UT. Even after driving it over 100 miles the battery will not charge up because it is damaged and we have to get a new battery from the Subaru dealership. We are averaging about 12,000 miles yearly travel; however, sometimes the car is not driven at all for a few days. If we don't drive the car at least every other day, we will have a dead battery. We are afraid one of the cars numerous safety systems won't work after jumping the battery and driving the car. The date 09/29/2021 was the last time we had the battery replaced. We disconnect the battery now so the car doesn't drain the battery. Other dates were 03/17/2021, 06/21/2021, 07/23/2021, and 09/29/2021.
Three times for no apparent reason the battery has drained completely after car was sitting fir a day. Subaru replaced the battery after 2nd time but now it is happening again with new battery.
2020 outback with just over 2,000 miles. Batteries (two) have completely fails twice. Six times we have had to jump these batteries. My wife had to be given a ride home from the “Y” once. I am now on my 3rd battery. Dealer says there is nothing wrong with this car. They say I need to disconnect battery if car is not to be used for a length of time. This is unacceptable, however, there seems to no no recourse.
For the third time this Spring, my 2020 Subaru Outback has failed to start. It appears that something within the electrical system of the car is draining the battery. Each time I have been unable to start the car the car has sat unused for 3-4 days. Fortunately I have not been stranded ... yet. I have had to call road service each time. The car has only 23000 miles on it and the car has been garaged most of the time when not in use. I have sought more information about this defect online and see that I am not alone in experiencing this problem.
Car is 2 years old. Battery has died twice already. Dealership cannot find any issue other than dead battery. Dealer told me that dead batteries in short timeframes is a known issue with this car. Batteries draining for no apparent reason is a safety risk as it indicates a larger problem, namely a possible parasitic drain on the battery and/or faulty electrical components. Dealer cannot replicate the issue in the few days they have had the car for repair. There was no warning of a battery failure. Car was driven earlier in the day with no issue. Tried to start it about 4 hours later and it was dead. Jump started it to take it to dealer for repair a few days later. Opened an incident report with Subaru of America on 5/2/22.
My 2020 Subaru Outback has had starting issues since shortly after I purchased the car on 1/31/2020. If I do not drive the car for more than two or three days the car will not start without a jump. On one occasion the battery was completely drained so that the fob key would not even unlock the car. Not long after I purchased the car I spoke to a mechanic at the Subaru dealership regarding the battery drain issue. He offered me no solutions except to say that there are many computers in the Subaru Outback and together they draw a lot of current. I do not know if I received a defective battery or if there is some electrical defect causing excessive battery drain when the car is off.
Date: March 25, 2022 - While driving to work, the car shut off. The RAB and eye technology features were disabled. The car indicted the battery was drained. The same day I got the car towed to the dealer. I stayed with the vehicle to find out what was wrong. After a two hour inspection, the Bay Ridge Dealer/Mechanics in Brooklyn, New York indicated that I left something on that drained the battery. I said sir "I did not." He said well the battery is ok and there is no indication that anything is wrong. The next day (March 26,2022) when I was about to start the car - the car couldn't start. I had to get it towed to the dealer and am left without a car.
Head unit shuts off while driving with no warning, and no clear cause. All safety features shut off including Eyesight and rear brake assist (shows as off in instrumental panel). It has happened multiple times in the past several months ( at least seven times) Head unit then appears to restart while underway, as if I had just entered and started the vehicle. Contacted dealer who said “the radio sometimes shuts off”. I explained that it was the entire head unit and safety features. It was simply left with them saying they have know of it happening, but no action or follow up was recommended. Time of incident is an estimate. Electronics seem to be slow to start when vehicle is first started. Was not able to get photos while driving.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery would drain with the engine off. The contact had to jump start the vehicle to resume normal operation. The contact also stated that the tailgate would independently open while driving due to a defective latch. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they could not determine the cause of the battery failure; however, the tailgate latch was replaced. Despite the visit to the dealer, the failures persisted. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and offered to provide a cash incentive towards another vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery was drained very quickly, which caused the contact to frequently recharge the battery. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the mechanic could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 720. The consumer stated the vehicle failed to start on two separate occasions.
For the third time in a week I have went out to the garage to find the lift gate up and the battery dead. I talked to the dealers service dept. and they said the fob button had to have been pushed which opened the lift gate and the open lift gate drained the battery. Their recommendation was to make sure the fob button doesn’t get accidentally pushed. I have never had any vehicle with this problem before. Doing an internet search I found that a number of Outback and Ascent owners have had this same problem and it was recommended that it be reported here.
Within 2 months of purchase 2020 Outback the car's Infotainment center has continually malfunctioned including times when the car's backup camera is displayed while the car is in drive and moving forward. Eye-sight constantly disabled as well is infotainment center constantly blacking out and then resetting itself while car is in motion. Constant beepind telling driver to look at road - all especially in inclement weather. Car is unsafe. I have multiple videos showing this but they are too big to upload here.
Car is affected by a known issue with Subaru Outbacks. Almost 100% of the time, when opening the car window(s), they can not be rolled back up. There is a reset function that fails in most instances. This forces the driver to be on the road in driving rain and snow with the driver's window down, creating an extremely dangerous condition.
The Bluetooth hand-free function stopped working. Callers can be heard by the driver, however, the callers can not hear the driver speaking. It failed on both the Subaru calling system and Apple Carplay. It was taken in to the dealer with no resolution. This failure creates a dangerous situation when trying to place or receive calls and violates the legal requirement for hands-free calling.
Issue started when one day my battery was dead. I thought I left the door or light one but that was not it. Dealer visit after dealer visit it’s the same thing. Keep getting the battery replaced with the same OEM. Works for a while and then it’s dead. Luckily I have not been stranded but I have been trying not to drive my Outback to avoid it. All the complaints about this battery is a shame since it’s an excellent vehicle. We need a higher quality replacement instead of spending money for another brand battery when the vehicle is under warranty.
I have a 2020 Subaru outback that I purchased brand new one and a half years ago. It has 31,472 miles on it on December 28, 2021 and then again on January 31, 2021 my car would not start on the battery had to be replaced.
Battery Failure. Auto-start would shut engine off at light and no restart car. Took 3 trips to Subaru to fails their test. Once replaced car is fine now.
my subaru has 12,ooo miles on it and in the past week has died on me. When you try to start the car and depress the brake, the brake locks and you cannot push it anymore, in addition, the battery does not turn over. On the first occasion, we tried to jump start the car but the battery read as normal activity and the car would not start after that. The car just started up for no apparent reason the following day. thankfully we were at home when this happened and we have a 2nd car. The second time, same thing with the brake when we tried to start car and no turnover with the battery but and the car still will not start on the following day but this time it looks like the battery has died. Taking it in to Subaru dealership where supposedly the have never heard of these problems before!
Battery draining and constant jump starting. If the car is not driven for a few days the battery is drained out. This has happened on more then one occasion. The vehicle has only 11,339 miles on it. Take it to the dealer and they claim dome lights were left on. Well a fully charged battery leaving a led dome light on won't drain the battery beyond starting. Of course they do a battery test and nothing is wrong. Well, after you drive it of course it will test good. This issue needs to be looked at or at least addressed in some form
The battery on the vehicle began dying repeatedly. At first, the service provider said there was nothing wrong, however the vehicle died again the next day after inspection. Subaru replaced the battery after I brought it in a second time and the vehicle died again the next day. I brought it in a third time, and It turned out that there was a problem in the electrical system that was draining the battery. Subaru has since fixed the issue but I had heard that lots of other Subaru Outbacks were having the same problem so I wanted to report this.
The car fails to start in cold conditions (~20 degrees F). This behavior started less than 18 months after taking possession of the vehicle and ~6000 miles.
The TomTom navigation system quits unexpectedly while driving and if the Adaptive Cruise Control is on it will stop working and the car will begin to slow down. The computer screen will go black and then a message will come on saying the Navigation System is starting. The system will then reboot. This has been reported to Subaru and Subaru tried to replicate the problem at the dealership, but they were unsuccessful. Subaru Corporate has acknowledged the problem, but offers no solution. Safety was impacted because you suddenly start to slow down and any car following you may not know you are slowing down because the brake lights do not come on.
Battery inexplicably drains overnight. 1st occurrence was on 21 December 2021 and second occurrence on 25 December 2021. Car is stored in garage, located in Ponte Vedra, FL and is used daily. Mileage is 31,000 miles.
The left and the right front windows won't roll up when you push the button to roll up the driver side, it goes up and goes down and doesn't shut at all you have to turn off the car to stop it, super dangerous, and the right passenger window doesn't go down or up at all with the driver control on the door. You know what else is INCREDABLY DANGEROUS? THE LED LIGHTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY RETINA BLINDING! THEY BLIND ME AND I'M IN MY OWN CAR, THE OTHER SUBARU LIGHTS ARE BLINDINGLY HIGH AND SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL!
Battery drains when car sits idle for more than a week. No lights were accidentally left on. Had to jump start the car four times in less than a week. Subaru dealership attempted to tell me the battery was fine but the service advisor noted it was starting up sluggishly. Service did a full charge. Subaru's own website recommends driving the car at least a couple times a month, which is what I've done, but the battery still drains within two weeks. The Subaru dealership further told me that the battery has a memory and "learned" my driving habits (I purchased the car prior to the pandemic) and that is why the battery is not keeping a charge since I'm not driving it as often as they think I should. They also told me that I should disconnect the battery if I have to leave the car at an airport, for example if I go on vacation. That is absurd. The service advisor further told me that the warranty would likely not cover the battery replacement because they believe I'm not driving the car enough. I am concerned that the battery not holding a strong and sufficient charge will cause the car to not be able to restart at a traffic stop if I have not remembered to disengage the fuel-saving feature. While I carry a jump starting kit, I would need to get out in the road and try to hurriedly jump the car. There are several reports online with a parasitic drain where the computer does not go into a sleep mode when the car is off.
The car battery is draining faster than it should. The battery had to be jumped this morning to get me to work. I work 10 miles away from my house and I drive the car around 200 miles a week. I do not use the start stop feature so the battery only starts the car at the beginning of a trip.
My Suburu Outback's battery has gone dead 4 times in a year and a half, the first time at 6 months. I took it to the dealer at a year and a half and they said it didn't show a drain on the battery, the battery was good, and was told I should be sure to start it daily to keep the charge up. After driving 180 miles, the car battery was dead 2 days later. I have never had a car that needed to be turned on daiuly just to keep running. At close to $30,000 purchase price, I would expect dependability. The car is not dependable and is defective.
Parked car, engine fan stated (very fast) and did not stop running until battery died. Could not start the car. One other Outback 2020 owner told me she had the same problem. Jumped battery. Subraru could not find any reason for the fan to go on and drain the battery. Car had under 9,000 miles, under 15 months old.
My wife purchased this car last Dec. It was a demo with only 2811 miles (but the odometer showed 3411 when delivered). As we have 2 other autos, the Subaru is used sparingly and mostly on longer trips. The car now has 7100 miles. Since we owned it we noticed that it was often difficult to start and my wife claims that when cornering, it hesitates like it is going to stall. This week she was visiting a client and the car was TOTALLY dead...no electrical activity at all. No door locks, no lights, no seat adjustment, no driver identification....I thought it was a dead FOB so when I went to pick her up I brought the spare FOB. It did not work either. We live in a rural community and if the car is not able to be operated, there is very little in the way of support at night. The car is now at the dealer. BUT I did some research and realized that this is a frequent occurrence and there are 2 law suits in progress. The remedy that Subaru is telling its dealers is to replace the battery...but it is likely that the battery is the cause of the electrical faults. And there are no recalls even though my wife claims a problem when cornering. Please add my wife's name to your investigation. The car is registered in my wife's name, Caroline Schorr. 205 Foxgrape Hollow Road, Beech Mountain, NC 28604. Thank you...
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