Subaru Battery Lawsuit - New Information Outback And Ascent Owners Should Know
Torque News covered the Subaru drained battery lawsuit one year ago when the news first broke. The class-action lawsuit alleges 2016-2020 Subaru Outback and 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent SUVs have electrical problems causing the battery to drain. Torque News reported recently, multiple lawsuits were filed, and they have been consolidated into a new class-action titled, In regard Subaru Battery Drain Products Liability Litigation.
Attorneys Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP told Torque News a new ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey largely denied Subaru's motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' consolidated class action complaint.
photo credit: Competition Subaru
Subaru made the motion to dismiss the case recently, saying the battery drain lawsuit "is a classic vague and inconsistent 'shotgun' pleading that 'asserts multiple claims against multiple defendants without specifying which of the defendants are responsible for which acts or omissions, or which of the defendants the claim is brought against."
The attorney's report says the court dismissed some claims and found plaintiffs "stated numerous viable claims under state consumer protection statutes, common law, and for breaches of warranty." The court's new ruling allows the Subaru case to proceed into discovery.
photo credit: Competition Subaru
The lawsuit contends Subaru has known about the problem since 2017 and issued a technical service bulletin addressing potential battery discharging after repeated periods of short-trip-driving resulting in a dead battery. The lawsuit says if owners of Outback and Ascent models take their vehicle in for diagnosis of the problem, dealers replace the old battery with the same OEM battery "and is thus a temporary fix only."
What should 2016-2020 Subaru Outback and 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent owners do if you have experienced the same battery issues? You should first report a problem to the NHTSA.
If you are a 2015-2020 Subaru Outback or 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent owner or lessee who has experienced battery drain problems and would like more information, you can contact lawyers Benjamin F. Johns and Alex M. Kashurba here.
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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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Photo credit: main image Competition Subaru