2019 Subaru Outback

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.

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.

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 MY

THE CAR REPEATEDLY DRAINS THE BATTERY FOR NO OBVIOUS REASON, LEAVING US STRANDED WITH A VEHICLE THAT CANNOT EVEN BE JUMPED TO START. THE BATTERY IS SO DEAD I CAN'T EVEN GET THE DOORS OPEN. IT HAS STRANDED ME AT HOME, AND VARIOUS TIMES WHEN I'VE BEEN OUT DOING ERRANDS. IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN YOU'RE A SINGLE WOMAN STRANDED SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK. I'VE HAD TO CALL SUBARU SERVICE TO JUMP THE CAR ONCE, HAVE JUMPED IT THREE TIMES MYSELF AT HOME, ONCE AT THE GROCERY STORE, AND HAVE HAD TO PLACE A TOTALLY DEAD BATTERY ON THE CHARGER AT HOME SIX TIMES. IT WAS ALREADY TAKEN IN FOR REPAIR TWICE TO THE DEALER IN SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA,AND THEY "FOUND NOTHING WRONG". BUT, NOW IT'S COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DEAD IN MY DRIVEWAY AGAIN, AFTER JUST DRIVING IT ON THE FREEWAY FOR TWO HOURS FOUR DAYS AGO.

BATTERY DRAIN. PURCHASED 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK IN NOVEMBER 2018. IN OCTOBER 2020 (23 MONTHS) IT FAILED TO START AFTER STAYING OVERNIGHT AT REST STOP IN MIDDLE OF LONG DRIVE. CHECKED BY DEALER AFTER TRIP --"BATTERY OK. NO PROBLEMS." OVER NEXT 5 MONTHS OF INFREQUENT SHORT TRIPS, OUTBACK FAILED TO START MULTIPLE TIMES. MEASURED CURRENT DRAIN WHEN VEHICLE OFF WAS FOUND TO BE WITHIN SUBARU ALLOWABLE (<70 MILLIAMPS) BUT ONLY AFTER 15-20 MINUTES AFTER EVERYTHING HAD BEEN TURNED OFF. CURRENT DRAIN DURING THE 15-20 MINUTES WAS AS HIGH AS 2 AMPS. ANY ACTIVITY (E.G., OPENING A DOOR, SETTING ALARM) RE-INITIATED THE 15-20 MINUTES OF HIGH CURRENT DRAIN. PHONED DEALER: ONLY SOLUTION (WITHIN WARRANTY PERIOD) WAS REPLACEMENT WITH SAME OEM BATTERY. DECIDED TO REPLACE WITH MORE ROBUST, NON-SUBARU BATTERY, SINCE MY EXPERIENCE AND REPORTS OF OTHERS INDICATED OEM BATTERY WOULD BE INSUFFICIENT TO HANDLE AMOUNT OF DRAIN. PURCHASED OPTIMA RED25 BATTERY FROM AUTO PARTS STORE ON 6 APRIL 2021 FOR $199.99. I BELIEVE THAT SUBARU NEEDS TO CORRECT THE ISSUE OF CURRENT DRAIN (PREFERABLY) AND/OR EQUIP THE OUTBACK WITH AN ADEQUATE BATTERY WITH MORE RESERVE POWER. SINCE MY ORIGINAL BATTERY FAILED UNDER WARRANTY, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE REIMBURSED FOR MY EXPENSE OF $199.99.

THREE TIMES IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS MY BATTERY DIED AND REQUIRED EMERGENCY ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. AFTER THE FIRST TIME, THE CAR ONLY HAD ABOUT 5,000 MILES ON IT, I CALLED SUBARU AND THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY UNDER WARRANTY. SINCE THEN THE NEW BATTERY HAS DIED TWICE. ONLINE SEARCHES RECENTLY HAVE REVEALED WIDE SPREAD PROBLEMS WITH THE SUBARU OUTBACK'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM RESULTING IN REPEATED BATTERY FAILURE. AT THIS TIME THE ONLY OUTCOME FROM THIS HAS BEEN THE BATTERY FAILURE, BUT IF THERE ARE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM PROBLEMS I'M CONCERNED THAT MORE SERIOUS PROBLEMS, LIKE A FIRE, COULD ARISE. FORTUNATELY EACH TIME THE BATTERY DIED THE CAR WAS IN THE GARAGE AT HOME. THE CAR IS DRIVEN REGULARLY, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, FOR NOT LESS THAN THIRTY MINUTES, SO I AM CONCERNED THAT THERE IS, INDEED, A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CAUSING THE BATTERY TO NOT RECHARGE, OR CREATING A DRAIN ON THE BATTERY WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IDLE.