Electrical system problems causing battery drain. After jumping the battery observed flickering, eyesight system turning on and off while driving. Rear lift gate won-??t open

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

Car would not start or turn over. Battery was dead. I called Subaru and a person came over to jump my vehicle. I left it running for 30 minutes to recharge the battery. This happened two times in the last few years but I never reported it to Subaru, and had my neighbor hook his car up for a jump. Also note the GPS has locked up several times in the past and not worked until I shut the car off and restarted everything. I just kept getting the arrow going in the circle.

- Bolingbrook, IL, USA

My 2019 Outback has had 2 incidents where the battery was dead without an explanation. There are 24000 miles on it. The most recent incident occurred less than a week after the dealer serviced the vehicle. The service included a battery test and I was told it tested good. The car was parked in my home garage, and from all indications, no lights were left on, doors/tailgates open etc. This was confirmed when the Subaru STARLINK roadside assistance provider came to jump the vehicle. Immediately after the vehicle was started, I took it to the dealer and requested a battery check. They showed the battery was good but deeply discharged, so left it on a charger for over an hour while I waited. In speaking to the service representative at the Subaru dealer, I was told that on new cars, alternators no longer charge a battery, but simply maintain the existing charge level. They claimed that a light or something of that nature was left on, a door left open, etc. I am certain this was not the case, as I keep all interior light switches in the off position, and once the vehicle was charged, no lights were on. Also, no doors were open or ajar when this happened. I requested they check the electrical system to diagnose the cause of the battery drain, but they explained this would not be covered under warranty since the battery had tested ok. The dealer recommended that I keep a trickle charger on it when parked at home to prevent recurrences. I don-??t feel this is an acceptable solution for a vehicle that is merely two years old with minimal miles and fully under warranty. While I was inconvenienced by this and had to arrange a ride to an appointment as a result, it did not create an immediate safety issue (this time). A similar set of circumstances occurred in late March of 2021 when I was out of town visiting a family member. At that time, I also was not able to determine a cause. Since that was the first occurrence, it didn-??t create the same level of concern.

- Des Moines, IA, USA

Had to charge battery 3 times in order to start the vehicle. Took to dealer and they put in a new battery at no charge. Concerned the battery will need to be replaced in the future. Appears to be an electrical drain especially using the tailgate. Dealer said they did a hard reset whatever that means.

- Huntley, IL, USA

Unknown... My battery has need a jump several time without any electricals left on. The dealer did check it out and found nothing wrong. I also have lights that go on intermittently n the dash saying that certain things are not working. ie front crash detection, blind spot warning and lane departure.

- Brewster, , NY, USA

Bought with 11,258 mi. Battery already replaced, receipt in glove compartment. Hard to start, keeping on battery charger now when parked in garage.

- Bluefield, VA, USA

Battery failed at 2 years and 30000 miles. No notification. Leaving me and my dog in a parking lot for 2 hours in 94 degree heat.

- El Dorado, AR, USA

Battery will not hold a charge even after replaced 3 times by the factory

- San Clemente, CA, USA

Battery failed prematurely. Vehicle purchased in December 2018. Battery totally failed in February 2021 with only 22,576 miles on car. Battery charged at repair shop. Battery failed again and was replaced on March 15, 2021. Battery failed again on April 29, 2021. Subaru of Oregon in Medford service representative replaced the battery again. He said the battery put in on March 15 was faulty. Had that battery tested at independent repair shop. The tests showed nothing was wrong with the previous battery. On June 15 had to recharge the battery again. Concerned about being stranded due to battery failure. The Outback must have an electrical issue that is draining the battery (per class action law suit Amy Burd, et al, v. Subaru of America Case No 1:20-cv-03095, US District Court, District of New Jersey) Subaru of Medford denies problem

- Grants Pass, OR, USA

The battery died, 2 times in approximately 2 weeks with no lights left on or doors open. This has occurred at least one other time.

- Queensbury , NY, USA

Car was purchased 2/25/19. At 6,824 miles (10/28/19), our car began to no turn on. After a 3-4 times of jumping it, the battery stopped responding to the jump. Subaru had to tow it from our house because the battery was totally done and they couldn't even start it. Subaru said that the battery was defective (or might have a larger issue with the electrical system in their words). They replaced the battery and it began working again (7,000 miles - 11/4/19). Now, at 13,808 miles (6/16/21) - we've had 2 more instances in the past 2 weeks of the car not starting. In addition, the passenger side window no longer operates from the driver side door. We are confident that these issues are not being caused by lights left on, etc. We are taking it in again for another inspection. I have come to understand that this may be a design flaw with the electrical system including the 2019 Outback model.

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

Parasitic battery drain frequently causes my battery to die after only hours parked. I often have to jumpstart the car in the morning.

- Willard, UT, USA

The battery in our brand new 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK kept on being drained after moderate usage. Twice it was from leaving the hatch up for a couple of hours, once we were driving out in the country and parked to look at the scenery briefly and the battery died leaving us stuck out in the middle of nowhere. It didn't feel safe to be out there as night was approaching and we were waiting for a tow truck. All in all had to call SUBARU Roadside Assistance and have the battery jumped on three or four separate occasions. Because of this we bought a portable battery charger to keep in the car at all times because we were afraid of getting stuck with a dead battery. We ended up needing to use that battery charger on about 3 different occasions. Eventually the electrical system started acting very erratic with spontaneous alarms, loud chirping sounds and door locks so we took it in to Southern Oregon SUBARU who replaced the battery for us. Changing the battery seemed to fix all of the problems. That was in February 2021. The battery had a 30 month warranty. This week on June 1, 2021 we came back from vacation where we had left the SUBARU safely parked in our driveway. It would not start when we returned. We only have 1 vehicle so this was very inconvenient for us. The battery was dead. We tried to charge it with our battery charger but the battery was just too dead to take a charge. So, we had one night without a vehicle. We called SUBARU roadside assistance and they sent out a tow truck driver who could not get the battery jumped because it was so dead it just would not start. That was our second night without a vehicle. The next afternoon SUBARU roadside service sent out another towbtruck driver who had a more powerful battery charger and he was able to get the battery to start. We drove the SUBARU OUTBACK to Southern Oregon SUBARU and they are working on it now.

- Ashland, OR, USA

Repeated incidences of battery going dead on 2019 Subaru Outback. After 5 times of having to jump the battery to start vehicle, I had to purchase a Battery Booster to keep in the car. At first visit to my Subaru Dealership, a completely dead battery was found and replaced under warranty. Battery continued to die, sometimes after being in the garage for up to one week [when a boost was required], and once after a 76 mile highway trip, it was dead again after one full day parked. There have been 2-3 occasions when it seems to be related to operation of the liftgate. Liftgate becomes inoperative and must be manually opened and recycled and battery jumped for engine start. A second visit to the Dealership determined all in working condition after a full diagnostic check. Car is working normally at this time, one week after Dealership checkout. As this seems to be a frequent issue with other Subaru owners, I am carrying my Battery Booster on board at all times. This seems to be a known issue [by Subaru] for 2017-2019 models. Otherwise, I love the Outback, but this annoying issue is disconcerting, to say the least.

- Cranford, NJ, USA

1. System failed. We purchased this car on 6/2/20, with a mileage of 6,174 miles. We are retired and don't drive much; for shorter distances we mostly rode our bicycles. In our recent living environment we can park cars outside in spaces, and in a large underground parking garage. While we did not drive much, I still needed to work on bicycles using tools stored in the rear trunk compartment, with the trunk lid in open position. What I did not know was that even the mere open car trunk was run electrically, though the large electronic dashboard gave a clue of a rather massive reliance on functions run electronically; after a mere 2-3 days of not driving we were made rudely aware that keeping the trunk lid open for any amount of time was a recipe for not being able to use the car when most needed; I should add here that the many Subaru drivers in our complex did not seem to have that problem as they are all "professional" drivers. We called our designated towing service and had to wait for over 3 hours for a rep to show up. Not having bought a car in years we were amazed how quickly the tow driver pulled out an electronic gadget and started the car. It immediately bought one like that, an electronic jump starter. SAFETY. Had my wife had to find transportation to an urgent appointment it would have become a safety problem. PROBLEM CONFIRMATION. No, it has not, except by me, as any greater than fleeting use of electricity in this car is a recipe for disaster. COMPONENT INSPECTED. Yes. After 2 more battery outages I took the car to the dealer and explained the problem (which had little impact on the employee). I had the battery checked, it was fine and working as designed. On 9/25/21, after another battery outage I took the car to the dealer again; again everything was operating as designed. SYMPTOMS OF THE PROBLEM. No. ASSESSMENT. I concluded I needed to keep the car RUNNING when using any function more than 5 minutes. This car is a computer on wheels.

- Boulder, CO, USA

My battery has gone dead twice in the past 2 weeks leaving me stranded and needing to find someone to come jump start my car.

- Marlboro, MA, USA

Car battery has failed no less than three times. Upon failure, car is completely inoperable. Used Subaru roadside assistance to jump the car. The battery has drained on more than one occasion. No inspections. No warnings or prior symptoms before the dead battery. Available for inspection upon request.

- Arlington, VA, USA

The battery completely drained after only 30 minutes of turning car off. We had to have a service call.

- Earlville, IL, USA

Continued drain on the battery when the vehicle is shut off. Battery dead and had to be replaced. Vehicle was approximately 1.5 years old.

- Rhinelander, WI, USA

Apx Apr 25, 2021 noticed cracked windshield in am when starting car for work. Crack was in middle of windshield. Car parked in driveway overnight. Notified insurance company, told me to have it fixed at safelite auto glass wo# 388826. Also noticed my accessory power outlet was not functional, (instrument panel)called dealer, made appointment to have it repaired. Also noticed

- Westfield, MA, USA