This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Bought 2017 Subaru Outback in late 2019. In March 2020, after letting the Outback sit in the driveway for three days without driving it, the battery was dead. Jumped it and brought it to the dealership. Dealer replaced battery. In August 2020, Outback sat undriven for four days and the battery is dead. Jumped it, drove it around to recharge the battery, and after leaving the car off for a few hours it will not start again.
Vehicle would not start 8/25/2020. Battery drained and needed to be re-charged. No interior or exterior lights were on. The battery had been replaced two years earlier on 7/19/2018 by Subaru of whitefish, mt. Dealer tested battery on GR8 tester and tested bad. In both cases, vehicle was stationary in the driveway or garage.
My car battery continues to drain. I was given a new battery despite the car being less than three years old. Three months after the new battery was installed by the dealership, the battery drains overnight to the point the car barely turns over or doesn't start at all. Even after extended periods of driving, the battery barely turns over despite sitting overnight for 12 hours in the driveway in August.
The battery has been replaced twice. The first battery was replaced after only having the car for less than a month and less than 6,000 miles. I'm having to replace the battery again after only 8,000 miles. The vehicle was parked in my driveway and had only been sitting for a day. I've taken the vehicle to two mechanics. The first mechanic determined that the electrical wiring in the doors was faulty. That wiring was replaced. The second mechanic checked the alternator, but said that the system was fine (was not able to recreate the problem or determine any problem).
2017 Subaru Outback, consumer writes in regards to safety system malfunction. The consumer requested an investigation an accident believed to be caused by an increasingly higher voltage electrical national power grid and vehicles being produced with a higher degree of computerized control systems without the proper shielding.
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA
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The car battery dies very quickly. We bought the vehicle last year, and it only took less than an year before the car started dying for no reason. We replaced the battery, but the car would still drain the battery overnight. We took to our mechanic and he cannot find what is drawing the energy. Now, if we leave the doors open for more than 10 minutes the car will die. It is completely unreliable at this point, and I have had to purchase a travel "jumper" kit in order to not get stranded.
The car dies very quickly. We bought the vehicle brand new, and it only took about a year before the car started dying for no reason. We replaced the battery, but the car would still drain the battery overnight. We took to our mechanic and he cannot find what is drawing the energy. Now, if we leave the doors open for more than 10 minutes the car will die. It is completely unreliable at this point, and I have had to purchase a travel "jumper" kit in order to not get stranded. It seems very random how it will die. It can just be sitting in the garage overnight (from 5 pm to 8 am), with nothing running, no doors open, no lights on, but will be fully drained.
The battery does not last long and does not always hold its charge. It has completely lost its charge multiple times from the second day I owned it. In less than a year the car has had a drained battery for no apparent reason. The vehicle has consistently lost its charge while stationary. At some times it is off and will not turn on. Other times it has been on and parked and suddenly turns off. The dealership service department can not determine the reason.
Battery died in 2019 after owning car for ~2yrs as it failed battery load test. Battery replaced April 2019. In July 2020, the car failed to start (stationary) again requiring a charge / jump. Took car in today on 8/8/20 and it failed battery load test again and battery was replaced again under warranty. This appears to be a common problem with Subaru and Subaru needs to address as this can leave consumers in bad/difficult situations.
Battery drained while camping 3 nights in a remote location, even though no lights (including interior dome lights) or other accessories (e.g., radio) were used. We did have the power tailgate open at times, which we now understand is badly designed to drain the battery. Dealer (and Subaru Corp) did not provide adequate explanation for why a battery would drain (especially when only 3 months old). Same thing happened while camping a year later, after which we insisted (requiring considerable argument) on a larger battery. But same thing (drained battery, despite no use of aux elect) just happened on another 3-day camping trip this past week. (in all 3 cases, car was parked for 2-3 days with no lights or radio used, but with power tailgate opened at times for access to camping equipment.)
The Subaru has left me stranded twice now with battery failure. There is no cause for the battery failure. It happens sporadically and is horribly inconvenient. Once, I was alone in a parking lot at night (a woman) with no cell phone. Another time it was 100 degrees outside. And, most recently I had my grandchild with me and we were stranded for an hour. It has 50,000 miles on it. The vehicle was stationary with nothing left on.
2017 Outback, experienced a faulty battery took to dealer in December 2019 and was replaced at Subaru of glendale. 7/18/2020 dead battery issue again with the second new battery. Have to get it jumped Monday to go to the dealer again, car has aprox. 25,000 miles+- can't check exact miles because no power. Called Subaru roadside today waited 3 hours and the service no showed.
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. Roadside assistance was contacted and the vehicle was jump started. The contact stated that the battery was replaced twice. The vehicle was taken to Liberty Subaru located at 55 kinderkamack rd, emerson, NJ 07630, (201) 261-0900, where she had the battery replaced both times. The vehicle was repaired, but continued to experience the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 9,000.
Our pre-owned 2017 Subaru Outback's battery died a few days after we had purchased the car at the dealership with 41,000 miles, March 2020. We tested the battery and it needed to be replaced, which we did ourselves. When we called our dealership where he purchased the car, the dealer told us they could not change the battery. The car didn't give us any more problems until this morning when we found the battery dead again. The vehicle has been used on regular bases and it was parked overnight and we are certain that we didn't leave anything open.
Battery drains repeatedly, sometimes twice in a day. Also rear gate has twice been open in the morning after locking car at night and storing fob well away from vehicle. Lastly, car no longer charges my iphone and has 'blown' two charging cables, one brand new.
When the car is in park and I try to remove the key it will not release. Have to turn the car back on back up, put it in drive and accelerate forward, sometimes several times before the key will release.
The battery has weakened. I would drive to charge it. Today the battery was completely dead and the car had to be jump started to take to the dealer. They checked the battery and said that they found no problems, however the passenger window still does not work with the control. I have less than 23,000 miles on the car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA