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.
Battery's keep discharging. In dealership for the second time with dead battery. Last battery is only 1.3 mets old. Dealership says to have car towed and not charge battery so they can troubleshoot problem. Read about the class action lawsuit and to contact nthsa.
Battery on vehicle is constantly and consistently losing charge. Just replaced 2nd replacement battery. Vehicle has less the 5000 miles. Dealership installed remote starter that they stated was causing excess draw on battery so in November they disconnected it. Three months later, they just replaced 2nd battery.
Woke up this morning and the rear door was open and the car wouldn't start. This is the second time the battery failed for seemingly no reason and the 1st time the rear door was open. Car was parked and hadn't been started for a couple of days.
Vehicle has been dead on 4+ occasions. Stationary, in garage. Vehicle is driven as little as once per week at times but the battery or electric draw has caused the car to fail in as little as a couple days or even trunk being open for 15-20min. I've had to tow this vehicle 3times for service. Dealer is brushing this off without responsibility. Saying the car has to be driven for more than 20minutes to receive full charge. Also, the vehicle has a number of electronics that require the vehicle to be driven more. They refuse to replace the battery unless it checks bad. The issue is an electrical draw. Most likely seems related to the rear hatch. Battery should be replaced with a larger capacity and these vehicles should be recalled and diagnosed for electrical draw failures.
Battery dead with no explanation. Cold outside (17 deg F), car not driven for 2 days before attempting to start. Car was driven for about 4 hours on Friday, would not start on Monday.
We had an oncology appointment, parked as normal. After the visit about 90 minutes later, we attempt to drive home and the car wouldn't start, horn won't blow and we're presently awaiting a jump from aaa. The car was undriveable as no systems worked without the battery.
We have had several battery issues. Now something is causing the key fob to stop working, dome lights won't turn on and tire pressure sensors don't work. It's been fixed once by Subaru and broke again within a week. They said it had to do with a fuse in the computer biu or something but the car is unsafe and Subaru won't do anything about it. The has had problems since we bought it brand new. Currently has 29K but started having problems with the battery within weeks of purchase.
Tailgate has opened, on its own, on 4 separate occasions. In 2 instances it had remained open and unnoticed long enough to kill the battery and required tow service to charge it. I first reported this to my Subaru dealer in spring 2020. In all 4 cases the car was parked in the garage when it happened, most recently on christmas eve to christmas morning, and again just 5 days later.
My 2019 Outback (bought in Sept 2019) has been experiencing dead battery issues. I have had to jump start it twice in the last few months. I am only driving primarily one time per week due to covid, but I don't feel that I should have these issues with a new car/batttery. Reading that others experience the same issues as I do. I just drove on Wednesday and purposefully drove an extra time (total drive time was probably 25 minutes, stopping once) and on Saturday the battery was dead again. I don't want to keep experiencing this. Was going to change my battery but I don't know that it will solve the problem from what I am reading. I want to report it so that it can be investigated and potentially fixed.
Since we purchased the car 6 months ago we would find the doors unlocked and occasionally the trunk gate ajar. The gate was found ajar this morning, and had apparently been so all night, and the battery is now dead. This seems like a serious malfunction of the electrical system in the car. The trunk opening at random has drained our battery and may lead to further issues in the future.
The vehicle has less than 12000 miles on it. Battery keeps dying. We carry a jumper cable and a battery charger all the time. Dealer refused to change the battery in June 2020 (in fort collins, Colorado), dealer simply charged the battery. We don't know if it is an alternator problem, a battery problem, or other electrical systems components that keep draining battery when the vehicle is parked. This had made the car most unreliable. This is an ongoing problem, persisting for over the past 8 months.
Vehicle will not start on numerous occasions. We replaced the battery, but problem continues. Several attempts to get problem corrected by dealership service department have failed. Problem has occurred for more that 5 months now.
Since purchasing used, June 2020, the electrical system drained the battery dead. Battery was replaced the first time but it has occurred a second time since.
My 2019 Subaru Outback battery has died multiple times on me. I previously had a 2017 Subaru Outback and had no issues at all with the battery. The first time the battery died, my neighbor was able to jump start the battery. It has happened 4 more times and had to contact Subaru roadside assistance to get my battery jumpstarted. It seems that the electrical problem is with the liftgate. A couple of times I've come out to start my car and the liftgate is up, battery is dead. The liftgate also mysteriously opened on me once during a roadtrip to gatlinburg with my vehicle locked. Other times when the liftgate is closed and battery is dead, after jumpstarting, I can hear the car try to pull the tailgate tight like it thought the tailgate was open. The last time that I had my battery jumped, I was outside the car. As soon as the charger was connected to the battery, all the interior lights and radio came on. (instrument panel, dome lights, etc.) all the doors were shut, and I had not pushed a button to get this to occur. That, to me, definitely points out an electrical issue. From what I've seen on the internet, it seems that Subaru has an issue where the computer continually sends a request to the tailgate to ensure that it is closed. This seems to be what is killing the battery. There have been campers stranded with a dead battery due to tailgate open and tent attached to the car. This seems to contradict Subaru Outback's build for outdoor adventure. I've contacted romain Subaru in evansville multiple times about this issue, and they can't even find my name in their records, claiming that my VIN belongs to someone else. It's really odd because I've purchased 3 vehicles from them. I've yet to get them to address the issue. I don't want them to replace the battery since this will not resolve the issue.
Subaru Outback 2019 is under warranty - purchased 4-6-2019 12/3/2020 car which is in the garage would not start. Battery was dead/drained, indicator light was on. Went back out and tried it again and just clicks would not start. 2. called service department and they recommended that I call roadside assistance to jump and start the battery got car started, let it run for 40 minutes. They did not check the alternator but we asked them to. Turned the car off after 40 minutes and put the car back in the garage.- 12/4/2020 - morning - car started, went to my destination. Returned home, turned off the car noticed clicking sounds for 5 min which I had never heard before. 12/4/2020. Called car service department: They recommended to bring the car to check the battery etc. Which I did.. note: Between Dec 4 and Dec 13 have been driving the car regularly. Dec. 13, 2020 - Sunday - 2nd time car would not start drove car to grocery store. Came out of store.. car would not start. Called roadside assist. Jump start my car. After jump start car, I drove car at least 1/2 hr to 45 min and came home, left the car running in the driveway for at least 45 mi. Came home and set up an appoint at service dealership for 11:30 on December 14. Dec. 14, 2020 - Monday -drove home from dealership, continued to drive car for a F about 25 miles. Arrived home - turned the car off for a period of time. When I tried to start car to park it in the garage, car started but the starter motor was very sluggish at the onset. Dec 16, 2020 - tried to start the car which is in the garage and it would not start, totally dead..no lights. Send attached letter to manager of service. No response yet.
Since purchasing car new in 08/19, I have been stranded with a dead battery 10 times in 12,000 miles. This is due to 4 things: 1. a poorly designed key fob with a hypersensitive button that opens the hatch unintentionally which kills battery; 2. computer modules that remain fully 'on', drawing at least 3.6 amps (much more if interior lights are on) when hatch is open and/or door is open or ajar without mitigation from a timer as long as key fob is detected. So if I open hatch for day use activity, the the battery dies unless I find a way to deactivate the fob. If the unintentionally bump the hatch button while car is in secure garage, hatch is open and battery is dead next morning; 3. after an unintended hatch opening resulting in a dead battery, manually closing the hatch, jumping the battery, and driving results in a loud, continuous alarm with no dash light identification in the car for one minute or until car comes to a complete stop, then alarm resumes causing great anxiety and distraction! ; and 4. these problems and what you must do to combat them are not revealed in the owner's manual nor in the sales and purchase process which I find very deceptive! dealer service department is either not informed or not forthcoming until backed into a corner by specific questions. Subaru of America has been contacted but will not respond. They claim 'operator error'. I claim design defect. I have to carry my own jump start battery behind the driver's seat because cargo area is not accessible with a dead battery, and I must treat my key fob like a hand grenade in order to keep from being stranded. I cannot trust this car, nor do I have my wife drive it anymore.
I purchased this pre-owned (by the dealership) 2019 Outback bought from ramsey Subaru, NJ in May 2020 with 3366 total mileage. In the 6 months since we purchased the vehicle, it has failed to start twice, once requiring towing to the dealer service center and once requiring a jump start. I am now quite concerned about wife and kids being stranded.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Forest, VA, USA