10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,909 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #31

Aug 072020

Outback

  • 7,500 miles
My radar detector rereads battery voltage and when U was driving down the highway, I noticed the battery voltage dropped from 14.4V to 12V when ever the accelerator pedal was depressed. Turning on the headlights, wipers or heater while depressing the accelerator will cause to voltage to go back to 14.4V. I do have videos showing this issue. I noticed a lot of people on line that do a lot of city driving are complaining about dead batteries. My results shows that the charging system has an issue, since the battery voltage should never go to 12V with the engine running. The video was taken with my celll phone with the extension of.mov and therefore I can't upload it using this app.

- Rindge, NH, USA

problem #30

Aug 042020

Outback

  • 179 miles
Electrical issues, flickering interior and exterior lights, unable to unlock/ lock doors. Car won't start, dead battery

- Vernon Hills, IL, USA

problem #29

Aug 032020

Outback

  • miles
Battery died and did not respond to a jump. Had been driven maybe 2 or 3 days a week for short distances (20 miles rt) due to quarantine. Dealership has not been helpful in resolving the issue, despite the warranty on the battery.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #28

Jul 132020

Outback

  • 765 miles
Our 2020 Subaru Outback, with fewer than 800 miles, failed to start four times (6/1, 7/1, 7/10, & 7/13). During these incidents, interior and exterior lights flashed, the dashboard produced a clicking sound, the doors would not lock, and the tailgate became inoperative. Roadside assistance successfully jump-started the car each time and took it to two different dealers for diagnostic testing -- one in seattle and one in Tacoma. Two roadside assistance service providers said their most frequent service calls requiring a jump-start were for "late model Subaru. One service technician said he received more than 100 such requests during the past three months. The Tacoma dealer filed am urfca report with Subaru headquarters after the third incident. During the fourth incident, the battery failed while the vehicle was at the Tacoma dealer, who replaced the battery on July 13, 2020. After recharging the battery, it took a few days of being parked before the battery failed. During this last incident, I intentionally left the vehicle with the dealer over a weekend, which was long enough for the recently charged battery to drain enough to fail to start the car. When I picked up the car, the service advisor told me these cars need to be driven at least 30 minutes per trip to sufficiently recharge the battery. We've owned five Subaru Outbacks, and have not received this advice before, nor did the dealer's sales representative call this to our attention when we purchased the 2020 Outback. Our lifestyle, coupled with the covid-19 virus, only requires one or two trips per month lasting more than 30 minutes. The car sits in the garage for two to three days without being started. We always lock the vehicle, turn off all lights, close the tailgate, and keep the key fob in the house, which is more than 500 feet from the detached garage.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

problem #27

Jun 292020

Outback

  • 75 miles
We bought this car. 06/25/2020 and in the first four days the car needed to be jumped three times. The dealership had us bring it in and gave us a new battery. So far everything is working well.this happened in the mornings after sitting the night

- Columbus, NJ, USA

problem #26

Jul 202020

Outback

  • 900 miles
After owning my 2020 Subaru Outback for just over a month with 1700 miles on it I've had to jump start my car now 6 times. I work 7 miles from home and drive a lot of short trips. I see Subaru has a electrical issue with the battery going dead with my name concern I work for a dealer that has the Subaru dealer and I will call them tomorrow to find out what they will do besides just replace my battery. Today I had to jump to drive to work. Jump to go out at lunch. Jump to leave work and when I got home I tried to restart and it didn't start again so I know what I will be doing in the morning.

- Belleville, NY, USA

problem #25

Jul 032020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 9,580 miles
After not being used for 10 days the battery was completely drained on July 3, 2020. Towed to the dealer on July 5 problem could not be diagnosed, charged battery returned car July 9, 2020. Car sat not used until July 18 and same dead battery issued recurred.

- Waterloo, NY, USA

problem #24

Jul 122020

Outback

  • 5,500 miles
Bought my car in March 2020, brand new 2020 Outback xt onyx edition 2.4 turbo, in two month battery start dying after 2-3 days car parked, today July 12 2020 its dead every time I try to start a car, use booster starter to start the car.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #23

Jul 082020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 1,750 miles
After battery died 2 times this week and I had to jump start it, I took it to the dealer. They could not find anything wrong with car or battery. They charged the battery and told me to drive it more. The next day (today 7/11/2020) I made a short trip with it and it was fine. Several hours later I wanted to use the car again and it would not start until I jumped it. I will be contacting the dealer again on Monday.

- Ocala, NJ, USA

problem #22

Jul 092020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 450 miles
5 months after purchasing this new vehicle, the battery has died three times. On two occasion it was sitting in my garage having been driven a short distance within the past 72 hrs. On one occasions it was dead 48 hrs after being jumped and drive. Today it was jumped again and driven to maita Subaru in sacramento, ca. After waiting for 15 minutes in the service driveway, waiting to be served, the car battery was found to be dead by service techs.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

problem #21

Jul 032020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 1,326 miles
With slightly more than 1300 miles on the odometer, and after the car was sitting for about a week, the battery was drained so that nothing appeared on the screens, the rear gate would not function, and no green light appeared to show that the car was ready to start. When the ignition button was pressed, nothing happened. Using a brand new 5 amp battery charger, after 20 hours it shows the battery to be only 25% charged.

- Sheep Ranch, CA, USA

problem #20

Jun 292020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 2,755 miles
For 2 weeks in a row, our 2020 Subaru (mileage 2,845) failed to start, after not having been driven for 40+ hours, because the battery had drained. In both instances, the car was stationary, parked in our driveway, more or less on level ground. Each time we had to call for roadside assistance to charge the battery. Last Monday (6/29/2020), we took the car to the dealership where we had purchased the car, autonation hunt valley Subaru (cockeysville, Maryland). While there, the technician told us, "not that we like to blame the victim, but..." he indicated that we had probably left a door ajar or made some other human error. The dealership service garage tested the battery and it was healthy (please see attached battery and electrical system analysis). We decided to leave the car there for its 6-month servicing, and drove it away that evening, expecting that the issue was resolved. The invoice and full description of the check up service is attached. To our surprise, this morning (07/06/2020) we encountered the very same issue again, and again we had to call up a roadside assistance service to charge the battery for us. At this point, we are unsure how to proceed, and would appreciate any guidance from the NHTSA.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #19

Jul 022020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 335 miles
Vehicle would not start. Lights were flashing and giving systems not working. Headlights flashed continuously. It was in the garage but couldn't get tailgate open. Turned out issue was battery for the ignition. Subaru emergency arranged towing and told me they would bring it back to me. Then when I requested they said it would be $168 to bring it back. It is a week old and 335 miles on it and they were going to charge me to return it to me.

- Marseilles, IL, USA

problem #18

Apr 282020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 1,600 miles
I purchased this vehicle in February, 2020. After driving it less than 1500 miles, the battery died, requiring a jump start. Less than 2 weeks later, and having been driven almost daily, it went dead again. This is a known problem that Subaru has to address. When I spoke with the service department at carlsen Subaru, redwood city, ca, they claimed to know nothing about it. They offered to inspect the car, but would only replace the battery with another, equivalent battery.

- Menlo Park, CA, USA

problem #17

Jun 272020

Outback

  • 3,800 miles
3 times in the past month, my battery has been dead for no reason. My car only has 3800 miles. My car was parked in my garage.

- Coraopolis, PA, USA

problem #16

Jun 272020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 3,800 miles
New Subaru Outback only has 3800 miles on it. Drove it yesterday. This morning, tried to start the stationary car and the battery was completely dead. Needed to jump the car.

- Norfolk, VA, USA

problem #15

Jan 022019

Outback 4-cyl

  • 131 miles
Battery drained when vehicle parked without any lights or other electric load causing dead battery. This happened 2X, first time was on the 3rd day of brand new car ownership. 2nd time 6 months later. No-start condition leaves women primary driver in a vulnerable position of being stranded while away from home. Apparently there may be a class action lawsuit pending for similar failures to other Subaru owners.

- Stormville, NY, USA

problem #14

Jun 262020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 8,000 miles
Our seven month old 2020 Outback battery has died three times. Our latest dead battery revealed extremely concerning statistics according to our aaa service technician.

- Wilsonville, OR, USA

problem #13

Jun 202020

Outback

  • 178 miles
With only 170 miles on the odometer, I went to start my Outback and it would not start. Had roadside assistance come and jump the car, which resulted in the car starting. I then parked it in my garage overnight. When I went to start it in the morning, the battery was completely dead and I could not even unlock the doors with the remote. I drink 10 miles round trip on an average day to/from work and had the car for a total of 4 days before this happened.

- Seatac, WA, USA

problem #12

Jun 112020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 100 miles
We bought the car new and the battery has fully drained three times since the purchase a month ago. We took it in to be evaluated and were told the battery was fine. We now have had to jumpstart this car three times and it has less than 200 miles on it.

- Somerville, MA, USA

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