2 weeks after purchasing the vehicle, the battery was described as, "completely dead." 1 year later, again, the car would not start and aaa reported the battery as, "completely dead, " and could not find anything on in the car. A new battery was placed in the car and 24 hours later, aaa reported the battery as, "completely dead, " as the car would not start. I have gone through 3 brand new batteries in 2 years, yet the car continues to drain the battery for no apparent reason. Upon research I found there is a class action lawsuit against Subaru for Outback vehicles from 2016-2020 due to this exact problem, yet Subaru, "refuses to fix the problem."

- Oceanside, CA, USA

I"ve had several experiences of the battery draining on my 2017 Outback. Most of the time it was after not using the car for a couple days. Recently, my Outback was completely dead after being garaged for three days at a hospital while I gave birth to my baby. The car is always garaged. I?ve replaced the battery once already since purchasing the car and am once again experiencing another dead battery which will need to be replaced. It"S pretty unacceptable for a car 3 year old car to have burned through 2 batteries and needing a third. VIN [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Brookfield, IL, USA

Battery has been replaced 4 times. Dealership replaces battery, and it's dead within 3-4 months. Or they recharge, and again, dead in a few months.

- Quincy, MA, USA

The contract called on behalf of his father who owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery was replaced on several occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to miller hill Subaru (4710 miller trunk hwy, duluth, mn 55811) where the failure was diagnosed as a faulty battery, remote starter, sensor and rear liftgate. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Iron, MN, USA

Original battery failed about 30 months after car purchased (new car). There was no warning-just dead after parked in garage overnight. Purchased new duracell battery from sams club on 1-24-20. Replacement battery was dead after parked overnight in garage on 12-24-20. Battery failed in 11 months. No previous warning, weather was normal both instancies.

- Rock Hill, SC, USA

I'm on my 4th battery in 3 years. Battery has gone dead multiple times, leaving me stranded in difficult and potentially dangerous situations. Cannot open lift gate to access the cargo area where I keep my road safety reflectors, flashlight, tire pump, etc. Stranded in dark parking lot 1 time. As a result of the reliability concerns I have had to buy a portable charging unit to have in the car at all times. I have also had to purchase a new battery for a car that only has 27K miles on it. There are instances of many similar problems resulting in a class action lawsuit against Subaru. This not only impacts the reliability and safety, it also impacts the resale value.

- Mt Juliet, TN, USA

Multiple times the tailgate has spontaneously opened when we were not in the vehicle. Aside from issues like running the battery down, inclement weather damaging the interior and the theft of contents of the car are issues. Thus far, the car has not been in motion when it happened, but there was a least one incident reported where a vehicle was in motion when this happened (see attached complaints of other owners.)this is not a case of accidentally activating the key fob - it has happened when the car was turned off and someone was sitting in the passenger seat. The only key was in a purse in the back seat. The passenger witnessed the car tailgate just spontaneously opening. It has happened when we returned to the car after being at an appointment, while staying at a motel, and when the car was packed for a trip the night before. We are very concerned this could happen when the car is in motion, creating a deadly hazard for other vehicles. We have found this problem reported by numerous owners of this model. The local dealer initially dismissed the problem as a case of accidentally pressing the key. We disputed this and they kept the car for two days to see if it would happen and it did not. Sometimes it is two months between incidents. This is a serious problem and safety hazard that Subaru needs to acknowledge and correct, perhaps necessitating a recall. There does not seem to be any conversation among service departments that have received similar complaints. It's just a single isolated case as far as our local dealer is concerned. I am submitting a document that shows multiple complaints (and not all) that other Subaru owners have been reporting for years.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

Battery intermittantly discharges nessitating recharging. I replaced it with a new one thinking perhaps the oem (2yrs old) was faulty. Then I read that this is a known problem with this year/model Subaru.

- North East, MD, USA

We bought this vehicle new. Our battery has been drained prematurely numerous times and we had to replace the factory battery quickly after purchasing it. We have been stranded numerous times with the car being unable to start at all. Majority of times this occurred, we had left on the accessories less than 5min. While waiting in our car before the entire battery was drained. On one occasion, the battery drained with no explanation. We contacted our local dealership for service and they said there is nothing that can be done about this. This issues is unlike any other car we have ever had. It is common to leave accessories on for a small amount of time without draining the whole battery. Especially in a new car. After becoming frustrated with the dealership's response, we looked online and saw this is a known issue for Subaru Outbacks from our year. Apparently the electrical system is flawed. We plan to trade in this vehicle as it is not reliable and we have been stranded so many times it is not a safe car to own. The car should be recalled or at least have a fix available.

- Portland, OR, USA

On December 7, 2020, at approximately 1200 hours, I returned to my 2017 Subaru Outback after a brief shopping trip. The battery was unable to start the vehicle. I had to use a portable battery starter to start the vehicle. The drive from my residence to the store was approximately 20 minutes long. The first thing I noticed upon starting up my vehicle was it drew hard from the battery, almost not starting. I am not new to this issue, as it has occurred several times over the past 4.5 years of owning this vehicle. The battery that came with my vehicle, purchased in July of 2016, was replaced under warranty at 808 miles. The battery was replaced again approximately 2 years later, suffering from the same issues. The battery would work okay at best, then start to draw hard on the battery, then die completely. When tested, all of the batteries were supposedly suffering from a bad cell. 3 batteries were replaced under warranty. The current battery was purchased just outside of warranty in 2019, as the last warranty battery was in 2017. This battery is supposedly a newer, updated model with more cca. I do not leave lights on in the car, or any electronics plugged in due to this consistent issue. This recurring issue has lead to a lack of trust in the vehicle starting, having stranded my family several times. To combat this issue, I keep a portable battery charger and jumper cables in the vehicle.

- La Center, WA, USA

2017 Subaru Outback, constantly dead battery. I've had the car due on me multiple times. It cannot hold a charge. Dec 5th it happened again and had to call tow company to jump it so I could take to the dealership. This is a recurring problem. This car has just 16,000 miles.

- Bozeman, MT, USA

Car battery will not hold a charge. I had to replace the original battery twice now. Original battery died March, 2019 ' I had my mechanic replace that with a new battery (battery replacement 1). Battery replacement 1 died February, 2020; battery replacement 2 (another new battery) was installed. Battery replacement 2 died November, 2020; battery replacement 3 (another new battery) was installed by Subaru.

- Painesville, OH, USA

I purchased my used Subaru Outback from carmax. It has been working fine for a period of time. However, now I find my car constantly dead and have had to purchase a charger and leave on my car every other day or I find my vehicle is completely dead and the battery is drained. It happens if I do not drive me vehicle for 48 hours. I also have an interlock device on my vehicle (put on after the battery issue began) and had my battery checked at an auto parts store who said it was fine. When I purchased my car from carmax the vehicle was dead in the lot so I was not able to test drive it. Carmax replaced the battery to ensure it wasn't a battery issue. This was likely a temporary fix which is why the issue didn't occur immediately. I took the car into carmax and they checked the battery and found it to be working fine. I replaced the battery clip on the negative terminal, which they said was a little bit loose and I paid for the repair. The issue is still persisting. Since I have found there is a class action lawsuit against Subaru for this issue. Carmax says I need to get Subaru to fix it, if there is an issue. When it dies I usually have to go to the interlock mechanic and he has to reset it. This is causing significant issues with me getting to work and planning an upcoming move I am making in the next month. The interlock device can read whenever I turn the car on and how many times it has died and I can get this documentation if needed later as well.

- Chesterfield, VA, USA

Our 2017 Outback has problems with the battery discharging. The car wouldn't start in February 2020. Since we had a long trip planned, we replaced the battery. That seemed to work for a while, but the car seemed to struggle with starting some mornings. I noted that the battery was only at 11.5 volts after sitting overnight. We took it to the dealer and they performed $130 "parasitic battery drain test", but it didn't show any problems. I investigated the problem on the internet and discovered that there is a recall to reprogram the car to solve the problem. The dealer wasn't aware of it and thanked us for bringing it to his attention (and to be "generous" he wasn't going to charge us for the recall!). we thought that the problem might be solved. If we don't drive the vehicle for 3 or 4 days, the battery is dead, under 11 volts. So, it is a ritual for us to have to charge the battery if it hasn't been driven in a couple of days. We also carry a spare 12V battery in the vehicle along with jumper cables. Even after the vehicle has been parked for several hours, there is randomly a "fan noise" near the rear axle. I believe that this is the "parasitic drain" in action. There are lawsuits filed over similar complaints. I do have a cell phone video that has the sound documented, but it looks like I can't upload it. It continues to be a problem.

- Butte, MT, USA

Battery died at 22928 miles and less than 2 years. Dealer replaced, but 18 months later, and several jump starts, we took it back to the dealer. Now, out of warranty, we spent $673 to replace a defective circuit board that was draining the battery.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

Battery has died at least 5 times. Enough to where I bought my own jump start battery. The first time I had to jump it was just over a year old, so I brought it into Subaru and they replaced the battery free of charge. From that point on when the battery died I had it jumped by a tow. Nearing the end of my lease the vehicles battery was date December of 2018. I attempted to have it jumped this morning, 11/7/2020, and I was told it was completely dead this time. While I was attempting to have roadside assistance jump the vehicle, I heard the tail gate trying to engage and then it failed to start. It seems like the tailgate was draining the battery trying to open or close, but it wasn't used when I got home.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

Ascent dead battery issue. Parasitic power draw that drains battery significantly when parked or short use. Subaru tested but would not acknowledge the fault. I know need to use a trickle charger all the time when parked. 2 batteries impacted in the 8 month covid19 timeframe and in under 36K mile use. Neither replaced by Subaru.

- Edmonds, WA, USA

Battery issues are non stop! battery dies all the time. We had a new 2016 Outback previously, that had to be towed because it would just die. We traded it in for a new 2017 Outback and it's even worse. Battery has been replaced (not sure how many times), and issue is still the same. Leaves us stuck/stranded in random places, and back hatch will sometimes beep non stop even though it's completely closed. We have to keep an emergency jump kit with us constantly. The back hatch won't open when battery is dead/low, which is crazy that there isn't some type of override to this. I have seen countless battery issues for this vehicle and I'm beyond shocked that this hasn't been fixed/addressed by Subaru. We are fed up with the battery drain, and do everything we can so we can (hopefully) proactively start our vehicle (have all interior lights off, radio off, air off - all systems possible turned off). Even that doesn't always work. We spend extra money on gas just to recharge the car by driving it more miles than we want to. I'm gonna be done with Subaru after this.

- Omaha, NE, USA

Keys frequently get stuck in the ignition due to an electrical malfunction that causes the steering column to be unable to detect when the car is put into park. The entire gearshifterhad to be replaced to resolve the issue. This is a frequent complaint for this make and model and it seems numerous complaints have been filed.

- Seattle, WA, USA

Premature battery failure. Replaced twice in last 14 months. Does not hold charge properly. Seems to be either underpowered or has unidentified drain on battery.

- Nashville, TN, USA