2026 Subaru Trailseeker

ELECTRCAL SYSTEM - Low Battery; DEAD Battery. My Subaru Trailseeker was purchased on 1st June 2026. During the first two months I noticed the comment "Low Battery" as I started the vehicle. (It is possible that I missed some "Low Battery" alerts as these flash on the dash screen momentarily as I press the Start Button). Then on 2nd August 2026 I could not start the vehicle at all and my battery tested DEAD. I jump started the vehicle and recharged the 12V DC Lead battery to 99%. Next morning the battery had drained to 26%. Besides being a pain and a cost, the low battery could cause problems with the various safety alerts in the vehicle. I would not know if the various safety alerts are working or not. I have read many accounts of Trailseeker owners having similar problems so its highly probable that this is a manufactures problem – most likely a parasitic electrical draw.

I purchased my Subaru Trailseeker on July 11, 2026. This past week while on a work trip, I parked my vehicle on Tuesday evening, July 21 at approximately 7 pm and on Friday, July 24 at approximately noon when I attempted to unlock the vehicle with either the Subaru App or the key fob, nothing happened. The doors would not open. I opened the passenger door by using the emergency mechanical key located in the key fob. When I entered the vehicle all screens were black, and the car would not turn on. The vehicle would not function and it was basically a brick. To load my luggage I had to physically crawl around and manually unlock each door. We called our Subaru sales person and he contacted their service department and I was instructed to call for Road Side Assistance. This is our 6th EV and the first time we have had issues of this type with the 12v battery. The road side assistance tech successfully jumped the 12 volt battery and I was able to drive the vehicle. I drove the vehicle around for a couple of miles hoping this would recharge the 12v battery before parking again. I believe Subaru and Toyota are aware of the issue with the 12v batteries in their EVs discharging. This is alarming, and makes the car unreliable. Subaru must address this for safety reasons. This is unacceptable in a brand new vehicle.

On multiple occasions, my vehicle's 12v battery has completely discharged presumably from parasitic drain from connected services communications. The first time the 12v was completely discharged was on 6/10/26 following between 24-48 hours of sitting idle without being driven. It was recharged and the following day had discharged almost completely, giving a warning that it needed to be charged back up. This was after ~24 hours without being driven. I ultimately brought it to the dealership on 6/17/26 where they were unable to replicate the issue initially and cleared the vehicle to be picked up on 6/19/26. Upon my arrival to pick up the car the following day (6/20/26), the 12v battery was dead on the lot. My vehicle then remained at the dealership for continued investigation before ultimately being returned to me after resetting the vehicle software and recharging the battery. At the point that I picked the car back up on 7/15/26, I installed a battery monitor device (Ancel BM200) and since then I have observed a cyclic pattern of voltage decline in a sawtooth pattern that begins 3 hours after turning the vehicle off and continues until the vehicle is driven again. I have also observed - via an outdoor security camera with IR capability at my home - a corresponding constantly repeating cycle during the sawtooth draining pattern where there is an IR light (presumed the driver monitoring camera) that turns on and off every 65 seconds. Although it has not fully discharged again, it is only because I have monitored the voltage and recharged or driven it every time I note the voltage getting too low (<12.0V). I am confident that if I were to allow the vehicle to sit for >24 hours without recharging it, the battery would completely discharge again. My safety and the safety of my family have been put at risk due to the risk of being stranded without the ability to operate the vehicle due to a fully discharged 12v battery in the vehicle.

The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker, Subaru Solterra, and the Toyota Equivalents have a parasitic battery drain issue that will leave you stranded. Something causes the DCM to continue to pull from the battery when the car is off and after a few days will completely drain the 12V Battery System. This can damage the 12V Battery system and poses a safety issue as that is the computer system that maintains the traction battery system along with all the safety features.

I went to start my 2026 Trailseeker and the 12 volt battery was dead. I contacted Subaru Roadside Assistance to jump the vehicle. After they jump started the vehicle I received the following warnings on the dash.."Brake Override Malfunction..Visit Your Dealer".."Braking Power Low..Visit Your Dealer." "Braking Power Low Stop in a Safe Place See Owners Manual." The car was un-drivable as I was unable to release the brake. I disconnected the battery cables and those warnings went away but the EV malfunction light remains on. The car was towed to the dealership and in their possession, the battery was dead again and had to be jumped by them. They said they found nothing wrong with anything. I requested a new battery and they said it would not be approved by Subaru as they found nothing wrong with the battery. I took the car home and connected a battery monitor and found..if I have the Subaru Connect app connected to the car, it drains the battery overnight. If I disconnect the battery, the battery does not drain. I did get a bad battery notification from my battery charger as I charged the battery because I would not be driving it for a couple of days. Subaru was made aware of the bd battery notification and just instructed me to take the car back to the dealership which I don't want to miss another day of work.