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In the Subaru battery drain class-action lawsuit, Torque News recently reported a new ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that largely denied Subaru's motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' consolidated class action complaint. The class-action lawsuit alleges 2015-2020 Subaru Outback and 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent SUVs have electrical problems causing the battery to drain.
The lawsuit also includes 2015-2020 Subaru Forester, 2015-2020 Subaru Legacy, and 2015-2020 Subaru WRX models. A recent ruling by New Jersey Court Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez says multiple claims against Subaru of America related to Subaru Forester and Legacy models are dismissed. The judge did not dismiss claims related to the 2015-2020 Subaru WRX models.
Subaru argued those vehicles should not be included in the battery class action lawsuit because none of the plaintiffs owned or leased Foresters or Legacy vehicles. The judge agreed and ruled none of the plaintiffs could have been harmed by a Subaru model they never owned or leased.
Subaru battery drain lawsuit background
The plaintiffs allege that the 2015-2020 Subaru Outback, 2015-2020 Subaru Forester, 2015-2020 Subaru Legacy, 2015-2020 Subaru WRX, and 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent suffer from a common defect which causes the vehicles' batteries to drain quickly and which renders their cars inoperable.
The Subaru class vehicles above contain the same electrical system called a Controller Area Network ("CAN"), through which the vehicles' "components like electronic units, microcontrollers, devices, sensors, and actuators communicate."
When the vehicle is in use, the CAN system in the car relies on an electrical current to be operated as intended. When the vehicle is not being driven, the CAN system should enter a sleep mode in which it stops drawing significant electrical current.
However, plaintiffs allege the CANs in the class vehicles do not enter sleep mode when the car turns off, resulting in a "parasitic battery drain." Causes of this parasitic battery drain include "software errors."
Plaintiffs claim that replacing batteries in their Subaru vehicles does not ensure that owners can operate their cars. The plaintiffs also allege that vehicle batteries are not designed to be continually drained down to low volumes of power. The defect, therefore, makes it necessary to replace the battery in their cars far more often than is typical with other, non-defective vehicles. Owners say they must replace their batteries frequently as a result.
What should 2015-2020 Subaru Outback, 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent, and 2015-2020 Subaru WRX owners do if you have experienced the same battery issues? You should first report a problem to the NHTSA. If you would like more information, you can contact lawyers Benjamin F. Johns and Alex M. Kashurba here.
The 2015-2020 Subaru Outback, 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent, and 2015-2020 Subaru WRX models are still included in the Subaru battery drain lawsuit. Claims against Subaru of America related to Subaru Forester and Legacy models are dismissed.
You Might Also Like: Huge Subaru Forester And Crosstrek Recall Starts This Week - What You Should Know
Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Comments
THE BATTERY ISSUE WOULDN'T
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THE BATTERY ISSUE WOULDN'T DETER ME FROM BUYING ANOTHER CROSSTREK, THE SPORTIER LOOK TURNS ME OFF. ORANGE TRIM, I DONT WANT TO DRIVE A TONKA TOY.
I feel somewhat vindicated
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I feel somewhat vindicated after coming across this article. I bought my 2015 Subaru Forester used 2 yrs ago, and was so happy with it, thought it would be safe and dependable for me. About 6 mos. later, that all changed when I had my 1st dead battery incident and had to call for a tow. Repairs ran around $750 and included a new battery. I’ve lost track of how many dead battery episodes I’ve had since then. The mechanic had me thinking I was doing something wrong. He even told me I wasn’t driving it enough! I’m 74, live alone and haven’t exactly been going on road trips this past year!! I bought a Halo Bolt, which has been a godsend. But I can’t help feeling like one unlucky grandma to have such an unacceptably unpredictable car!!!
Awww. Did your break line
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In reply to I feel somewhat vindicated by Chris Fredericks (not verified)
Awww. Did your break line fail and cause a terrible accident?
Where's my violin....
I also have a 2015 but I
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In reply to I feel somewhat vindicated by Chris Fredericks (not verified)
I also have a 2015 but I bought mine new. Not that it matters because I;ve had 3 batteries so far and now the switch for power windows and locks aren't working. I;m told I need a new switch. Since the warranty has expired I have to pay for it myself and have no idea what its going to cost. Anyway I have loved my Crosstrek all these years but I don't think they last so i;m trading it in for a Toyota or Mazda.
C'mon cry babies! It's not
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It's not like the break line failed. No vehicle is perfect. Life isn't perfect. Grow up. Subaru is still the best bang for your buck.
Obviously you don’t get into
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In reply to C'mon cry babies! It's not by Patricia (not verified)
Obviously you don’t get into YOUR vehicle with fingers crossed that THIS time it will start. I don’t accept your definition of a dependable car being one that the brakes don’t fail and get you into a terrible accident. Battery drain may be violin worthy to you, but it’s much more than a mild inconvenience to me.
- Get the largest AGM battery
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- Get the largest AGM battery that will fit your vehicle
- Keep your receipt
- Write a respectful letter to Subaru Customer Service (not the dealer) asking them if they will reimburse some of the costs associated with keeping your vehicle safe and keeping you from being stranded or stuck in an intersection (if you have auto stop-start)
- You may be surprised
I have a 2018 legacy with 19
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I have a 2018 legacy with 19,000 miles that left me stranded with a dead battery all of a sudden.Great warranty .7yrs 70,000 miles, dealer replaced after calling AAA.Am I going to keep replacing every year?My dealer said they did not hear about any battery issues.
Our 2019 Legacy battery was
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In reply to I have a 2018 legacy with 19 by Don hill (not verified)
Our 2019 Legacy battery was dying if we didn’t start the car in 2 days. The 3rd day the battery was dead. We left the car at Colonial Subaru in Danbury CT for two days. They said there was a terrible drain on the battery and they had to replace the DCM. This is exactly the problem that the class-action law suit is about.
And as I was picking up my car after the repair was made there was a woman just bringing in her car describing that her car battery was dying after 2days.
All of this occurred in January 22.
My 2017 Subaru Forester also
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My 2017 Subaru Forester also exhibits the. battery drain problem. I only have 56,000 miles on my car and I just replaced the battery for the second time (3 batteries during the life of the car so far) I just replaced the battery last Tuesday (7/6/21) when it didn't start on my way to a doctor's appt. and needed a jump from my husband's car. I went to the dealership and asked why does this keep happening? I was told that it sometimes depends on if you don't drive your car long distances. Sounded like a weird response. I would like to submit my evidence as part of this lawsuit. Please contact me.
Follow the links at the end
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In reply to My 2017 Subaru Forester also by Julie Gautreaux (not verified)
Follow the links at the end of the article. No one from this site is going to contact you.
I still love my Crosstrek
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In reply to Follow the links at the end by jg (not verified)
I still love my Crosstrek though. LOL All my cars had issues but this one is great on gas and easy to drive.
I no longer leave the daytime
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I no longer leave the daytime running lights on after reading it drains the battery.
Brand new 2021 Outback I've
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Brand new 2021 Outback I've had less than 3 months battery completely died twice this week.
I still maintain the best
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In reply to Brand new 2021 Outback I've by Ann (not verified)
I still maintain the best solution is to go get the largest AGM battery of your choice (Batteries Plus has X2 AGM batteries made by Northstar with a 60 month warranty and I upsized to a Group 24 for my 2018 Outback) then write a letter to Subaru (subaru.com -> customer-support.html -> Email Us) explaining that you see there are multiple Tech Service Bulletins at nhtsa.gov about the car electronics causing the vehicle batteries to die so after being stranded a couple times you replaced the battery out of safety concerns so the stop/start system would not leave you stuck in the middle on an intersection. Subaru reimbursed me over $600 for replacing my 2019 Forester and 2018 Outback batteries after they died within a week of each other in November 2020. I have had absolutely no issues since then.
If you do decide to go with the X2 battery, please see my extensive review of the sizing issues with their battery posts (review by Jeff on the page below - direct links don't seem to work...).
SLI24AGMDP X2Power AGM Group 24 Car and Truck Battery
batteriesplus.com / productdetails / SLI24AGMDP
I have had Subaru replace my
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I have had Subaru replace my 2017 wrx battery 3 times, I only got the problem to stop when I got an optima battery, which I assume just masks it because it’s the most expensive battery you can get, I was just thinking this recently I’m amazed to see this is a lawsuit now
Well, took my 2015 Outback
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In reply to I have had Subaru replace my by Stephen salera (not verified)
Well, took my 2015 Outback into the dealer for my battery drain.
They said they have a new $12,000 machine that can find a parasitic drain.
I've been checking my car out off and on for about a month.
I disconnected the ALT over night to eliminate it as a source, still dead battery.
Removed the radio to eliminate it as a source.
Removed the trailer light kit to eliminate it as a source.
I tested the Alt, (14.3 volts).
Load-tested the 2 year old NAPA battery, passed with flying colors.
Well an hour after I dropped it off, I got a call.
They said the alt was ONLY putting out 16 volts.
I said only? isn't that rather high?
He said these late model cars have a much higher demand now, (this is the service writer relaying what the tech told him).
I mentioned it is still a 12 volt system and he didn't seem to understand what that meant.
They wanted $950 to replace the Alt and battery and that was the only problem with the car.
I mentioned my note I left with him stated I had disconnected the Alt, but battery still went down.
His reply was the fault is in the Alt.
So, I picked my car up, ($140).
He went on to say the alt being shorted out and that it shorted out the battery.
When I got home tested the Alt and it is now putting out 16 volts.
I can only assume their $12,000 machine somehow fried the regulator.
I also tested the battery and son-of-a-gun, it test just fine,
Loaded it down 3 times, still passed. next morning it still passed, (I had removed the NEG cable).
So, now I have to replace the Alt, (ouch! spendy!).
I think I'll opt for a used one.
I will update when I get the Alt installed and take it back to the dealership for the Parasitic battery drain and see if they can fry this Alt.
Well, took my 2015 Outback
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Well, took my 2015 Outback into the dealer for my battery drain.
They said they have a new $12,000 machine that can find a parasitic drain.
I've been checking my car out off and on for about a month.
I disconnected the ALT over night to eliminate it as a source, still dead battery.
Removed the radio to eliminate it as a source.
Removed the trailer light kit to eliminate it as a source.
I tested the Alt last week, (14.3 volts).
Load-tested the 2 year old NAPA battery at the same time, passed with flying colors.
Well an hour after I dropped it off, I got a call.
They said the alt was ONLY putting out 16 volts.
I said only? isn't that rather high?
He said these late model cars have a much higher demand now, (this is the service writer relaying what the tech told him).
I mentioned it is still a 12 volt system and he didn't seem to understand what that meant.
They wanted $950 to replace the Alt and battery and that was the only problem with the car.
I mentioned my note I left with him stated I had disconnected the Alt, but battery still went down.
His reply was the fault is in the Alt.
So, I picked my car up, ($140).
He went on to say the alt being shorted out and that it shorted out the battery.
When I got home tested the Alt and it is now putting out 16 volts.
I can only assume their $12,000 machine somehow fried the regulator.
I also tested the battery and son-of-a-gun, it tests just fine,
Loaded it down 3 times, still passed. next morning it still passed, (I had removed the NEG cable).
So, now I have to replace the Alt, (ouch! spendy!).
I think I'll opt for a used one.
I will update when I get the Alt installed and take it back to the dealership for the Parasitic battery drain and see if they can fry this Alt.
I have a 2021 Forester Sport
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I have a 2021 Forester Sport with 7446 miles on it. I bought a Subaru for their supposed reliability and while not an off-roader, I do travel on dirt roads far from the nearest help.
I am on my 4th experience with a dead battery. The first three times, Subaru charged the battery and at the last servicing, Subaru could/would not deal with the real problem but did give me a new battery. This battery (1120 miles on it) died last night but fortunately, I will try again to get the problem addressed by Subaru but have little faith in them fixing the parasitic drain problem (CAN?).
I would point out something I find particularly distressing about this problem. With a dead battery, at least on my car, all the doors lock themselves and even if you can get in with a key, you cannot release the emergency brake or get the car out of gear meaning a tow truck operator will have a challenge in getting you to a shop. This happened to me.
I now always carry a battery booster.
I just purchased a 2021
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I just purchased a 2021 Legacy, my battery died at a gas station with 702 miles on it, I've had the car for 2 months. In fact, I'm picking it up today from the dealer, with a new battery. I'm concerned after reading all of this that this won't fix the problem. I was told to keep my key 30 feet away from my vehicle. I was planning on turning off the driver monitoring system, I figured that must drain the battery. I see that the 2021 was not included in this lawsuit, but I'm debating whether I should report my issue.
You've got a new vehicle
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In reply to I just purchased a 2021 by M. Stoetzer (not verified)
You've got a new vehicle under warranty, and you should let the dealer at least have a couple cracks at fixing the issue before you get nervous or attempt to fix it yourself. Without the documentation of what the dealer did, you won't have any ammunition for future actions or litigation. Above all else, don't accept anything a "service advisor" says regarding you modifying your behavior to accommodate flaws in vehicle design. Subaru customer support is also VERY accommodating and you should tell them (not the dealer) your story to ensure you are getting the best response from the manufacturer (dealers don't necessarily have what's best for you in mind, they have a business to run).
Ultimately, in my opinion, you should end up with a very good Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery with a 60 month guarantee (I like Northstar, which is also the Batteries Plus X2 manufacturer). Subaru reimbursed me for 2 of these after I had 2 cars (2019 and 2018) both have the batteries die within a week of each other. That was almost a year ago and I haven't had any issues since then. The electronics pull A LOT of power -- all the time. An easy way to visualize this is to loosen one of your battery posts and tap it to see the ridiculously large spark it makes. The car is designed to go into a couple power-saving modes after a while (which probably why the dealer was telling you to keep the key fob 30 feet away), but even in those modes it pulls a large amount of power (I wish I had specifics, but I don't) and the batteries they started buying are not made with the "deep cycle" requirements needed to last under the constant drain. There are also numerous Subaru TSBs you can reason the NHTSA site that shows they are aware of the tailgate modules not letting the internal network go to sleep and contributing significantly to draining the battery. I recently had both my vehicles in for recall work and tried to have the dealer address the power drain with new tailgate software or hardware, but they were absolutely clueless and told me that it was probably the rubber mat in the back getting jammed under the tailgate that was causing the problem. I naturally told them that may be an issue if the door didn't close, but would have no effect on battery drain -- blank stares was all I got back (from 2 different "service advisors" on different days).
Suddenly the passenger seat
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Suddenly the passenger seat alert thingy goes off then stops when I break. My bag is small so I dont know why it got so sensitive.
I purchased a new 2021
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I purchased a new 2021 Forester Touring in April 2021 and have had my battery die twice in the past two days with only 11,000 miles on it. Appt with dealer on Monday-I’m sure they will just replace the battery. Ugg. The tech that responded to jump the battery told me about the lawsuit and also mentioned that the models manufactured in Japan do not have this issue, only the American made ones are problematic. Has anyone else heard of this?
Our 2019 Legacy battery was
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In reply to I purchased a new 2021 by Heather (not verified)
Our 2019 Legacy battery was dying if we didn’t start the car in 2 days. The 3rd day the battery was dead. We left the car at Colonial Subaru in Danbury CT for two days. They said there was a terrible drain on the battery and they had to replace the DCM. This is exactly the problem that the class-action law suit is about.
And as I was picking up my car after the repair was made there was a woman just bringing in her car describing that her car battery was dying after 2days.
All of this occurred in January 22.
Our '15 FORESTER also had a
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Our '15 FORESTER also had a sensor on the passenger seat that would set off warnings regarding the airbag and/or seatbelt. The dealership wanted us to pay over $1000.00 USD for a whole new seat, saying that we must have spilled soda on it because had corrosion on the sensor. We never had liquid in the car, it was still new. About a month later, there was a recall to change the seat for that same corrosion problem in all those seats. Pretty shady imo. Now she, (a senior citizen), is out there, window down, with a drained battery in the rain.
Not Suburu's fault, but a week after we bought the car, she got hit in the back end, and a few months after that, a random act of violence, the car was hit with a handfull of bullets from a fully automatic smg, smashing windows, windshield and hitting the fender, bumper, and both rear tires. The HOA refuses to admit that their neglect in enforcing fire lane restrictions played a role when the target, was parked in the fire lane and put us in the line of fire. Next door to me, had bullets flying through their home too. (thanks)
Holy crap time to move!!!
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Holy crap time to move!!! Anyway, my 15 Crosstrek was backed into and after that was about when the sensor began going off.
Also, has anyone else experienced fogging inside?
My drivers side and back window fog up after rain and humidity.
It's a comfortable ride and great on gas but I'm not getting another Crosstrek.
We had a battery drain issue
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We had a battery drain issue today and the ONLY thing that I can think of is that I opened the drivers side door BEFORE I turned the ignition off after arriving at our destination. An hour later, the car battery had been drained to 8.8 volts and would not start our 2017 Forester. We got a jump and drove home, turned off the car, waited a minute, put the key back in the ignition, turned it to start and it indicated 12.5 volts and started the vehicle. I am a software engineer and this sounds very much like a software bug that has not been mitigated.
I have a 2016 Legacy with
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I have a 2016 Legacy with just over 50,000 miles. This past year I have had to jump it at least 3 times. Battery was checked out and was fine, in fact it’s new. Wondering what’s going on, then I googled it and found this site which make things much clearer. However I was not pleased to see the class action dropping the legacy problem. This is potentially a serious issue that can leave one stranded.
I have 2021 Outback and just
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I have 2021 Outback and just experienced my first battery drain after returning from 10 day trip. I was advised I should purchased a trickle charger when away…haha what good will that do me when parked away from home. Any suggestions?
We just started (6 weeks ago
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We just started (6 weeks ago)having a problem with our 2019 Legacy. If we don't start it every two days on the third day it needs to be jumped. It was due for service in December so I mentioned the problem to Colonial Subaru in Danbury, CT and they told me that the battery was fine. I wish I was aware of this issue with Subaru batteries because I would have been more aggressive about them investigating the problem further and maybe keeping the car two or three days and letting it die on them there,
I am bringing it this week to do just that, leaving it for three days and taking a courtesy car loaner from them