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

Battery continues to die. We have had our vehicle for a year and had to get to replace our battery 3 times including today! Multiple jumpstarts. Even had it die from leaving out trunk open once. How does that make sense?

- Winona, MN, USA

Battery continues to drain prematurely. It's been an issue since the very beginning of out ownership in June 2018. We replaced the battery after it would not hold a charge for more than two days. The replacement battery still wouldn't last for more than a day or two. Now in the cold weather it won't even last a day. Two days ago, I went in the grocery store for about 45 minutes and the battery was dead. I can't go anywhere without my portable jump starter.

- Rosburg, WA, USA

Battery loses charge overnight for no reason. New battery placed in vehicle and same issue still present.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Battery is draining over time. Vehicle is now on 3rd battery in 3 years! Dealer replaced original battery during 2nd year and claimed it under warranty. Now that battery has failed and a different brand of battery has been installed (Dec 2021). Unknown cause of battery drain.

- West Lafayette, IN, USA

We have a 2018 Subaru Outback with 87,000. As of yesterday our car is now on its third battery. The original battery lasted about a two years, then we purchased one from Autozone, that battery only lasted 15 months. There is obviously an issue with the electrical system on these cars causing the battery to have a shortened life span. With so many electronics in the car it seems the battery may be to small, it is only a 25 series battery. It could possibly be there are issues with the electrical system cause constant drain. We do know that the car showed no real signs of battery failure before the battery is dead. No slow starting, dim headlights, etc. Both batteries were working well, until all of a sudden they did not. I have read online where this seems to be a real problem with these cars from 2016 to 2019 and possibly the 2020 models.

- Sherwood, AR, USA

Battery will not hold charge

- Mclean, VA, USA

A week ago, drove 5 miles to get a hamburger. While the car was parked I listened to the radio. When my husband returned with our food 8 minutes later, the car would not start. The battery was dead. This happened again today (11/19/21) when we drove 4 miles and parked. I left the key in the ignition for barely 3 minutes before removing it, but the battery was dead when I tried to start it again a few minutes later. Both instances we used a portable battery charger after having the same problem happen during the summer. Today my husband took the car in to have the battery checked, but it is within normal range (12.2 volts). Aside from the battery problem, the oil lamp also comes on a lot-??after getting a complete oil changed which should last us 6k miles or so, the oil warning light comes on after 1,500 or 2k miles, forcing us to add a quart of oil which we always have in the car now.

- Salem, OR, USA