Subaru Outback electrical problems

I am the original owner of a 2017 Subaru Outback Limited. There is an undiagnosed drain on the electrical system that causes the car not to start. The first time I replaced the battery, but two months later the car wouldn't start after being left in the garage over the weekend. I had to call AAA to jump the car. The Subaru dealership couldn't find any issues with the electrical system or the battery. A month later, I drove it to work and the car wouldn't start when I got in it to go home and had to be jumped to start. About three weeks later we made a six-hour road trip, parked the car at the hotel and not only would it not start in the morning, it was so dead that the back hatch wouldn't open so I could get the jumper cables out of the spare tire compartment. Fortunately a good samaritan in the parking lot had cables and jump started the car. If I park the car Friday night and don't drive it Saturday it won't start Sunday. I had to buy a battery charger for the garage so that I can jump it if it won't start. When I know I am not going to drive for more than a day, I now disconnect the battery cables so it will start when I drive it next. Ridiculous for a four year-old car with 63,000 miles.

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.

For the past four years the car has insufficiently charged the battery. On two occasions the car would not start and had to be jumped. At first I attributed it to something I may have done like leaving an interior light on, but after the second incident I found out that other owners of the same car were having similar problems. I called the dealer and they said it might help to install a higher CCA rated battery.I replaced the original battery in 2018 with a higher rated Interstate CCA battery. That battery was also over time not being charged sufficiently and I took it back to the Firestone dealer who installed another Interstate Brand battery replacing it in 2020 under warranty. I called the dealership again and they said there was no reported issues with Subaru Outbacks insufficiently charging and that I just had to drive the car more frequently. So far the car has failed to start on 5 occasions, stranding either myself or my wife, twice in unsafe situations. I now routinely have to charge the battery in my garage about once a month to keep it operational, even after driving the car frequently. On 5/3/2021 I took the car back to the dealer for some service work. I asked again if there was any fix for the charging issue. They tested the battery and recorded that it "came up as deeply discharged". They said there was "No abnormal draw found ---vehicle charging normally."

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.

On May 27, 2021, my 2020 Outback would not start after driving approx. 20-25 min. and being shut off approx. 15-20 min. I called my dealer, they sent technician & loaner car. He was able to start the car with a battery booster after trying several other things. My husband & I drove directly to the dealer, approx. 30 min., to have battery checked out. They did a Battery and Electrical System Analysis which came back with a "Good Battery". The next 2 days, no problems. On May 30, 2021, the car would not start 2 different times at our home. My husband used the battery booster both times to start. On June 1, 2021 I sched. an appt. for 6/2 with dealer to find problem. I checked in at 12:53, out at 4:15. It took 3 hrs. 22 min. to decide that the battery had failed and replaced.

The issue I am reporting is an issue with the electrical system that is causing battery to drain to dear overnight. This past Sunday I experienced a completely dead battery without any warning lamps or messages and no prior symptoms to indicate battery was not charging. After replacing the battery the next day, the car started with no problem. However, the next morning that brand new battery was dead. After jump-starting and allowing to run for a period of time to recharge the battery, I turn the car off and restarted several times. Once again, the next morning the battery was completely dead. Upon replacement of the newest battery, I checked the vehicle to ensure that nothing was left on that would cause the battery to drain overnight. There appears to be some type of "parasitic drain" within the electrical system that is causing this rapid battery drain. Luckily, this did not take place while my family and I were traveling which would have potentially placed us in a position which would have put our safety at risk. After researching information regarding this on the internet, it appears to be a known problem with my year and model vehicle.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery had fully drained and was recharged two times. There was no warning light illuminated. The third time the vehicle was towed to an unknown mechanic and was diagnosed with needing the battery to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Subaru was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 832.

I have had multiple issues over the years with the battery 2017 Subaru Outback keeping a charge and I have required a jump multiple times. My latest issue is over the last 3-4 months I have required a jump and while researching the issue, I came across Chimicles action lawsuit for the same problem I've been having. Please include my information in any database where information is being collected. Feel free to reach out to me if more information is needed.

3 years after the vehicle purchase the OEM battery died. Replaced it with a well reviewed local brand. It is almost 3 years since the replacement battery and the Subaru service rep said the battery is dying. I fear there is something wrong with the electrical system which damages the batteries over 3 years. I will be replacing the battery again, but what if 3 years later this one dies too? What if, because of the age of the car, the battery dies earlier? When I am on a road trip with family? I feel it is related to https://www.torquenews.com/1084/subaru-battery-lawsuit-new-information-outback-and-ascent-owners-should-know