10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 6 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 14,597 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Multiple battery failures- battery dies repeatedly. Have replaced 4 times already. Last dead battery is today with it having died last week as well. This will be 3rd battery in less than a year.sometimes headlight will dimly flash or there will be a thumping noise that comes from the back, possibly the tailgate. Other times it is dead next day when going to start it after having been driven the previous day. Keys are not kept in car.
- Springfield, IL, USA
The battery is discharging resulting in a dead battery. No doors or hatch are left open and everything is turned off when the car is parked. The car can be jumped and the battery recharged, only to have it discharge again after a few days time. This is the third time it has happened over the past 2 months.
- Plover, WI, USA
The battery on my 2017 Subaru Outback keeps draining and going dead. This is the fourth battery gone dead in four years. Last one only lasted little over three months. We replaced with brand new factory battery at end of May. Today in September 7th. Battery completely dead as I try to start the vehicle. Last time I took the vehicle to a Subaru dealer. They said everything electrical was ok on the car. Technician said the back dome light was on. This time I checked the dome light and it was on off position. I believe there is some kind of elctrical issue with this vehicle that is causing the batteries to die.
- Midland, TX, USA
Battery is draining prematurely.
- Victor, MT, USA
Recurrent battery dead problem; then finally not charging at all ; despite of battery being full dealer always doing things to the system with updates ; and never able to fix the problem
- Reno, NV, USA
This 2017 Outback suddenly lost all electrical power. Even jump starting the vehicle was difficult. Thee service that came to jump the car said they have seen a lot of Subaru's needing to be jumped and this was from a Subaru's roadside service provider. Putting the battery on a charger would not help. I brought the car to the Subaru dealership where we purchased the car. They said the battery was bad and needed to be replaced. They did not check the charging system saying it was definitely the battery. At a cost of $165.78 the battery was replaced. This seemed very odd to me that the battery would already be bad after three years. I did some internet checking and found out there are many people experiencing the same issue. Nothing was left on in the car but it was not being driven everyday as it once had. Seeing how many people are having this issue I was wondering why there has not been a recall for this model and year?
- Gillett, WI, USA
The battery died with less than 30K miles on it. After jump starting and driving the car to recharge the battery, it wouldn't hold a charge. After jumping, the car had multiple features that would not work -- windows would not open, hatch would not open. I had a new battery installed on 4/17/20 (mileage 29,554) and they reset the windows & hatch to function properly. In June, the battery was dead again, and I had to get it serviced again to have the windows & hatch reset (mileage 29,971). Finally, on 8/30, the battery was completely dead, despite showing no indication of low charge or reliability for some time. I could hear a clicking in the hatch that makes me think there is some trigger there draining the battery.
- Chicago, IL, USA
Bought 2017 Subaru Outback in late 2019. In March 2020, after letting the Outback sit in the driveway for three days without driving it, the battery was dead. Jumped it and brought it to the dealership. Dealer replaced battery. In August 2020, Outback sat undriven for four days and the battery is dead. Jumped it, drove it around to recharge the battery, and after leaving the car off for a few hours it will not start again.
- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
Vehicle would not start 8/25/2020. Battery drained and needed to be re-charged. No interior or exterior lights were on. The battery had been replaced two years earlier on 7/19/2018 by Subaru of whitefish, mt. Dealer tested battery on GR8 tester and tested bad. In both cases, vehicle was stationary in the driveway or garage.
- Kalispell, MT, USA
My car battery continues to drain. I was given a new battery despite the car being less than three years old. Three months after the new battery was installed by the dealership, the battery drains overnight to the point the car barely turns over or doesn't start at all. Even after extended periods of driving, the battery barely turns over despite sitting overnight for 12 hours in the driveway in August.
- Palatine, IL, USA
The battery has been replaced twice. The first battery was replaced after only having the car for less than a month and less than 6,000 miles. I'm having to replace the battery again after only 8,000 miles. The vehicle was parked in my driveway and had only been sitting for a day. I've taken the vehicle to two mechanics. The first mechanic determined that the electrical wiring in the doors was faulty. That wiring was replaced. The second mechanic checked the alternator, but said that the system was fine (was not able to recreate the problem or determine any problem).
- Diamondhead, MS, USA
2017 Subaru Outback, consumer writes in regards to safety system malfunction. The consumer requested an investigation an accident believed to be caused by an increasingly higher voltage electrical national power grid and vehicles being produced with a higher degree of computerized control systems without the proper shielding.
- Fort Wayne, IN, USA
The car battery dies very quickly. We bought the vehicle last year, and it only took less than an year before the car started dying for no reason. We replaced the battery, but the car would still drain the battery overnight. We took to our mechanic and he cannot find what is drawing the energy. Now, if we leave the doors open for more than 10 minutes the car will die. It is completely unreliable at this point, and I have had to purchase a travel "jumper" kit in order to not get stranded.
- Redmond, WA, USA
Battery drained
- Patterson, LA, USA
The car dies very quickly. We bought the vehicle brand new, and it only took about a year before the car started dying for no reason. We replaced the battery, but the car would still drain the battery overnight. We took to our mechanic and he cannot find what is drawing the energy. Now, if we leave the doors open for more than 10 minutes the car will die. It is completely unreliable at this point, and I have had to purchase a travel "jumper" kit in order to not get stranded. It seems very random how it will die. It can just be sitting in the garage overnight (from 5 pm to 8 am), with nothing running, no doors open, no lights on, but will be fully drained.
- Gold Beach, OR, USA
The battery does not last long and does not always hold its charge. It has completely lost its charge multiple times from the second day I owned it. In less than a year the car has had a drained battery for no apparent reason. The vehicle has consistently lost its charge while stationary. At some times it is off and will not turn on. Other times it has been on and parked and suddenly turns off. The dealership service department can not determine the reason.
- Tempe, AZ, USA
Battery died in 2019 after owning car for ~2yrs as it failed battery load test. Battery replaced April 2019. In July 2020, the car failed to start (stationary) again requiring a charge / jump. Took car in today on 8/8/20 and it failed battery load test again and battery was replaced again under warranty. This appears to be a common problem with Subaru and Subaru needs to address as this can leave consumers in bad/difficult situations.
- San Francisco, CA, USA
Cannot remove key from ignition once vehicle is turned off and put in park. Reference Subaru service bulletin 16-112-18R.
- Ada, MI, USA
Battery drained while camping 3 nights in a remote location, even though no lights (including interior dome lights) or other accessories (e.g., radio) were used. We did have the power tailgate open at times, which we now understand is badly designed to drain the battery. Dealer (and Subaru Corp) did not provide adequate explanation for why a battery would drain (especially when only 3 months old). Same thing happened while camping a year later, after which we insisted (requiring considerable argument) on a larger battery. But same thing (drained battery, despite no use of aux elect) just happened on another 3-day camping trip this past week. (in all 3 cases, car was parked for 2-3 days with no lights or radio used, but with power tailgate opened at times for access to camping equipment.)
- Madison, WI, USA
- Garden City, ID, USA