Subaru Battery Lawsuit - New Information Outback And Ascent Owners Should Know

I have a 2014 Subaru Outback and I to had issues with my battery constantly discharging after it was replaced by a dealer here in California, claiming the terminals were corroded, but it didn’t seem like the right size it too kept discharging, had to borrow a charger all the time and afraid to go anywhere because the car may not start. Finally I charged battery all day and no problems again. But I won’t go back to that dealer again Kearny Mesa!

I own a 2015 and 2016 Subaru Outback and never had issues with the batteries or anything else for that matter

Made a lot of money off this flaw from Subaru, it’s all models not just two. The Panasonic battery factory is garbage they should be sued also. Took them long enough to notice this now Subaru is using lithium, lets see if it helps

I had 2 batteries drain. One in 2019, then a second in 2020, but was unaware until now of the issue. I've owned Subaru for 30 years, but the garbage they produce now will have me look elsewhere for future vehicles.

My car is 2 years old, 2019 Outback and this has happened three times. The second time they replaced my battery with an upgraded one they say. And the last time they said they found that there was a little green light was not shutting off in my on star. They replaced the switch.

Wead several episodes of battery drain on our 2017 OB Limited. Dealer said multiple times the battery was fine. Dealer performed charging update. No help. We drive a lot of short trips. Finally, I purchased a Duralast battery and SOA paid me for it after my request. Nine months later the Duralast failed and was replaced under warranty. Current Duralast has been fine for about 18 months. The only significant issue we have had with vehicle.

I have a 2015 Outback and have had to replace a drained battery 3 times! But I got all three from AAA. So I'd say it's not only the batteries Sunday dealers used.

Battery problems :
2019 Subaru Outback
The battery died, l had to call the tow service for a jump start. Eventually got it started and l drove to the dealership. They checked the battery and said that it was still under Warranty...however it still has a reading level that would prohibit it from being replaced.
If l would like to replace the battery ,they could , but this would be on me.
The following service, they replaced the battery, because of the low reading.
I have not experienced any issues with battery, to date.
I did purchase a portable battery pack jumper for longer trips, just for back up.
Sometimes it is most inconvenient waiting for tow assistance.
I must say that the dealership was very
willing to sell a new battery.

The only problem I had was when I left a door open and the light drained the battery. I charged the battery and have had no problems since. One problem is that the car turns on things like headlights and who knows what else, when you are starting the car. This puts a large drain on the battery. So I turn off the headlights when I am done driving.

I'm retired. and my 2017 Outback now (April 2021) has only 10,750 miles ---- I have had the battery replaced twice. -=- both times by AAA's mobile service. The AAA person was not surprised by the battery failure. I'd guess that there is some sort of continual drain on the battery from the vehicle's electronics. Is there an aftermarket battery condition meter available?

We have had battery drain problems with our 2019 Ascent due to battery drain caused by the tail gate being left up for extended periods even when the vehicle is shut off. For people who need to have the tailgate open for extended periods like campers or show dog owners this is a known problem that Subaru has failed to correct!

I have a 2021 Outback XT. AAA was out three times in the first four months to jump start the car. The fourth time I had it towed to the dealership and they acknowledged the battery was defective.

I have a 2019 Subaru Ascent and have not had any battery or transmission issues.

Have a 2019 Subaru Outback and the battery went dead at 33K miles. Took it in to local Subaru dealer and they replaced it under warranty with a larger battery. They told me that the batteries up to 2020 models were undersized. The windows stopped working, but the reset is very easy. We’ll see how this one lasts, hopefully for 5 years...

I have a 2018 outback limited and I haven’t had any battery problems but I ado keep having key fob problems. Have changed batteries a number of times. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t. Unlocking back gate and doors.
Any help out there the dealership says there isn’t any problems.

I have a 2017 Outback 3.6R. OEM battery started to become less reliable early 2020 and needed multiple jump starts. Even after a long drive, just a few days without driving was enough to make the battery too weak to start the car. I got an aftermarket battery since I don't trust the OEM now. However, I'm concerned by the offline fuel pump test. I've caught it running way more often than should be needed. Daily tests? Multiple days in a row when I haven't driven? Why? Could this be part of the phantom drain?

Have a 2016 Outback 3.6 and had several episodes of battery draining as the car did not start -during a 15 month period -(Jan 2019 thru March 2020) and had to replace battery twice. AAA told me there was a battery drain coming from somewhere.The dealer tested the car each time and found nothing wrong with the alternator and rest of the entire electrical system —which was extremely frustrating. However in September of 2020, after battery failed again—the dealer once again tested the electrical system and determined that a faulty telematics unit (the size of small TV cable box) inside the dashboard was causing a battery drain. A new unit was ordered from Indiana and I had wait a week for delivery. The dealer gave me a new loaner car till the replacement part arrived. Since the part replacement, my Outback has started with no problem—during the snowy winter of 2020/21 and even when the car wasn’t used for 2 or 3 days.
Bottom line, I was lucky with having a good Subaru technician to determine the cause of my vehicle’s battery drain. I was told that a defective telematics unit is not a common issue. But since that replacement (about 9 months ago), the car is running fine and most important- there are quick and reliable startups. Just hope it stays that way

2015 outback is a lemon. I have had so many problems with the cut corners, to many to list here, but I am on my 5th battery and the cables need to be replaced too along with the battery about once a year. The boulder, CO dealerships have been dishonest and lazy when it comes to addressing repairs.

I have a 2013 forester which I have owned for almost 4 years and have replaced the battery 3 times due to battery drainage. All three time it was replaced by the dealer which I had to pay for the first one.

Driving 2021 Ascent since August. Battery 'died' in a parking lot after short trip from home. Kicked myself thinking I left lights on. For months since I have had weak starts and terrible performance - RPMs jumping all over the place. Been thinking something is wrong with the transmission. Thanks to these posts, now I think I have an electrical problem. Headed to dealer tomorrow.

2016 Subaru Outback at one year battery died and was replaced by AAA with a larger battery (he said Subaru batteries are poor quality and too small)- no problems with that vehicle since (daughter has it). Now 2019 Subaru Outback 24,000 miles battery just died after not using the car for 3 days. Currently on the charger and will discuss at the dealer Thursday. No obvious lights etc. were on with either vehicles.

I have a Subaru Ascent. Use it mainly for travel. Purchased in June 2019. Drove it FL several times between 2019 - January 2021. January 2021 the battery went dead. Called the road service number & they brought a new battery & charged me $199.99. I did get reimbursed after calling & complaining. I had another trip planned in December 2021 & a the day before I would be leaving again a dead battery. I called the dealership & explained that I would be leaving the next morning for FL & was asked to bring the car to the dealership. They said that thought the battery in the fobs were bad & changed them out. While on this trip again - problems but I did have there seemed to be power. I was given what he called a work around & that was to hold the fob next to the starter button & this did work. Stopping at the hotel on the way home (you guessed it) problems & this time I had to use the key to get in but the rest of the way there were no problems. After returning home we were on our way to the store & the sound in the radio just stopped. BTW - this wasn’t our first rodeo with the radio. In between all of this we took it back to the dealership & the reloaded the radio. So by now we have problems with the radio AGAIN, the dead battery, & various other things happening. It is now getting towed tomorrow & they better figure out what is wrong with it or I will be checking into the Lemon law.

2020 Outback . 2 bd battery jumped to many times to mention. Towed twice ! Voted the most dependable car my ass ! It’s a lemon