The battery in my 2018 Subaru Outback has been replaced three times since I purchased it. I am the sole owner. The original battery was replaced within seven months of purchase due to continual battery drainage. The dealership replaced it with the same type of battery and I was not charged. When I went into the dealership expressing concern with the second battery also having to be jump started frequently when the battery was barely two years old, I was told that is the typical life of a battery for the newer electronic vehicles and because the area I live in has excessive heat, that also lowers the battery life. I have had to jump start my vehicle so many times, I stopped taking my vehicle on long trips for fear of being stuck somewhere. In August of 2021, during a cross- states road trip, the battery died mid-trip. I jumped it and had it replaced at my own cost, but not at a dealership. They gave me a 5-year warrenty on the battery. When I took the car into the dealership and had them run diagnostics, they told me that, "Yes, there was some kind of power draw, but then it couldn't be duplicated, so we don't know what the problem is. That will be $117." I think Subaru makes great products and my dealership has wonderful employees, but there is currently a Class Action Suit going on, and I wanted to support those who are filing. Subaru needs to acknowledge and fix the issue. And reimburse me the $117 plus the $169.56 for my third battery.

- Redding, CA, USA

Battery is dying pre-emptively. Have gone through 2 batteries in one month.

- Dunnellon, FL, USA

Subaru Starlink system flickers, selects apps and does all of this without ANY touching. At times, the backup camera is not working. Having a phone connected does not improve the problem.

- Perrysburg, OH, USA

Persistent battery drain. Car was jumped a week ago because it wouldn't start at all. It has been sluggish to start (turns over a couple times before catching) since and had a major error with the rear hatch today despite starting up. Power rear hatch will alarm as open but then cannot be opened with key fob, button in car, or button on hatch. The rear alarm will ring consistently until car has been running for 10 min/reached 60 mph but restarts again at stop lights. It is currently scheduled to be looked at in 4 days, if it is able to be safely driven to the dealership.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

I bought this Outback new back in June of 2018. I just purchased the 3rd battery for it today 8/11/22. I-??ve noticed that the past 2 batteries have been corroded and barely last 1.5-2 years. It sounds like this is an issue with many other owners as well where the battery either doesn-??t fully charge or continues to deplete when the car is off and parked. The battery gets so low and is so corroded that it can-??t get jumped by remote starters and requires a jump from a started car. The shop I took it to to replace the battery said they couldn-??t get a read from their battery checker because the terminals had so much acid on them.

- Denver, CO, USA

Normal vehicle start. While leaving shopping mall parking lot, vehicle suddenly shut down; no electrical, no accelerator, no power steering, no engine. Was able to steer vehicle to safe location out of traffic path. Waited approximately 10 minutes, tried vehicle again, and it started / drove normally. Vehicle inspected afterward by dealer, who found no issues, and returned vehicle with no repairs made. Driver is 86 year old widow, who is terrified of being stranded in an unreliable car.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

The electrical system in our Subaru is draining the battery prematurely, which could cause us to get stranded.

- Moore, OK, USA

The battery loses its charge so that the car will not start if I don-??t drive the car at least once or twice a week. The battery and electric system of the car was checked July 11, 2022 at the Bay Ridge Subaru dealership in Brooklyn, NY and all systems were found to be normal and good, including the battery. The battery is only 1 year old and is under a 30 month warranty. The Subaru service technician said that the car needs to be run for 45 minutes twice a week or this problem will keep happening and will lead to the battery needing replacement much sooner than normal. He also suggested I buy a portable battery jumper or a stronger bigger battery for $500-$750. So he acknowledged that this model has issues with the battery draining. He said the newer Subaru electrical system in Subaru Outbacks was first tested on this car model and year, and that was the cause of the problem, that they hadn-??t figured out an efficient electrical system for the newer Subaru Outbacks by the time they started selling the 2018 Subaru Outback. The system is available to look at upon request. The problem was confirmed by the Subaru dealership service technician. The safety hazard is that I or my family might get stuck somewhere that is remote or dangerous due to weather or temperature with a car that won-??t start. Or if I need to escape a bad situation quickly and my car won-??t start. There were no warnings before the battery died. This has happened 3 times in the past two months. Today is July 11, 2022.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

The car battery will drain completely when the car is not being driven. This has happened to us numerous times while camping leaving us in a remote area with a dead battery and no cell phone service to call for help

- Santa Cruz , CA, USA

Just had to replace the battery for the third time since we bought the car in Dec 2017. This last battery was installed in Aug 2021 and failed Jun 2022. The dealer we take the car for service has not been able to determine why the batteries are failing so often. Fortunately two failed our house but once it failed at a store's parking lot and we had to wait for three hours to get a tow to the dealer. It's always failed parked, never while driving but I'm not sure it can't happen while driving.

- Emory, TX, USA

The battery continually drains due to some electrical leak in the system (particularly when the rear liftgate is left up and the interior lights are on for several hours), requiring jump starting of the vehicle on several occasions. I have had the battery serviced and checked several times, at my expense, with results being the battery was okay. Eventually, I had the battery replaced by a Subaru dealer at my expense.

- Woodland Park, CO, USA

The Battery of the vehicle drains frequently, making the car inoperable. The battery has been replaced three times in four years, much more frequently than i would expect in a relatively new vehicle that was purchased new from a dealership. The battery dies without warning and repeated jump starts don't charge it enough to maintain a change to the nexty operation. Each time the battery stops holding a charge the dealership advises me to simply replace it.

- Kailua, HI, USA

Over the last two-plus years I have found my 2018 Subaru Outback's battery dead or so low that it cannot crank the engine. I have had to replace the battery twice in that time, and have had AAA out at least four times to jump start the car without replacing the battery. Today, after sitting in my garage for about 10 days, the battery was so low that it would not crank over the engine. This is a truly unusual experience in my life. I have left cars at home or at the airport for several weeks while traveling, and had no problem starting the cars upon my return. My Subaru Outback completely drains the battery while parked with the engine off in as little as 7-10 days. It is as if some electrical system or circuit in the car is continuing to use battery power at the same rate as if the engine was running. I am fortunate that I have a 2nd car. If I did not, I would be screwed. Someone needs to look into this, identify the problem, and then require a fix.

- Riverside, CA, USA

Battery spontaneously drains, disengaging all safety features with no warning.

- Columbia , MO, USA

The batteries cannot seem to hold a charge. We have called AAA several times, but the recharging doesn't last, and they say this is a problem with the Outback. In addition, the Subaru dealer has replaced the battery twice. It just failed again. This most recent battery fail stranded my 70 year old husband in another city. I have contacted the dealer again asking for service. There is no warning whatsoever that the battery has drained. This is not a safe situation. The date below is the most recent incident of a drained battery.

- Elk Grove, CA, USA

Electrical issues affected the battery becoming completely drained, unable to unlock doors, or start the car. This issue has become stressful and worrisome as I have a child and pets. I always have my baby with me and am anxious that I can't unlock the doors. I have taken the car to the manufacturer (dealership) for service three times. They've been able to identify the issue, however, the problem has reoccurred (now the third time). Warning panels would suddenly light up with different messages and the car computer did not retain the information in the last two incidents, however, recorded the information in the latest incident. The first time this happened was in December of 2021 (approximately 50,000 miles).

- Oceanside, CA, USA

During a photography trip of May 2021, in a very remote area, the Outback's rear gate was kept opened for my dog for a few hours. When it was time to leave, the battery wouldn't start. Luckily, I had a battery charger. There was nobody present to help in this area and no mobile phone service available. Later in the day, the battery died again, under the same circumstance. We were fortunate to have extra food, water, and blankets if needed to survive the night. I thought maybe the battery was old. I replaced the battery on May 24, 2021 with an Optima 25 battery. This is a better battery than what Subaru installs. This February 2022, we went camping in a remote area of Death Valley with no available services. The fairly new car battery wouldn't start. I used my emergency starter again. This time the rear door and side doors had been opened constantly due to camping activity. It was not possible to disable the lights so as not to drain the battery.

- Downey, CA, USA

Bought the vehicle used from Carmax on 2/14/22, drove 25 miles home and parked in driveway. Next morning battery was dead, put a trickle charger on the battery and the charger detected only 4 volts and would not charge vehicle.

- Folsom, LA, USA

Battery keeps dying in cold weather. I-??ve charged it 3 times in the past 2 weeks fully and double check to make sure no lights are on when I leave the vehicle. The next time I drive again it-??s dead

- Chicago, IL, USA

I parked in my garage for 2 weeks, and I couldn-??t start my car again. I had to jumpstart it. This is the third time it happened. The battery checked out fine. I drove around and now able to start again.

- Costa Mesa , CA, USA