2016 Subaru Outback Electrical System

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, her vehicle would fail to start up without warning. The contact had taken her vehicle to the dealer numerous times and had several battery replacements performed; despite each replacement, the failure persisted. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

Replacement battery in under 35,000 mile Subaru discharged while sitting in garage for several weeks. There have been zero earlier problems with electrical system other than the original battery dying after about three years. When jump started the charging system seemed to work and the car started after sitting overnight. We are in a very cold northern environment and if the vehicle will not start it could strand us in an unsafe setting. Coming back to a parked car that may have been left at an airport parking lot to find it would not start would be very inconvenient and expensive to remedy.

Battery dies when parked for a few days or not driven enough. Needs to be jumped several times per week.

In my 2016 Outback, the OEM battery died after 3 years. AAA put in a replacement and gave me a 3 year full replacement warranty. That battery died after 2 years while in a gas station – had to get pushed away from the pump and luckily the guy behind me had jumper cables. That go me home and I got a brand spanking new AAA battery free of charge. One incident – stuff happens. Two? No way. I was at Subaru this morning for an unrelated item and the service guy said that everything electrically was okay. The problem is that if the car sits idle for more than 3 days the computer starts draining the battery and that can cause irreparable harm which can eventually lead to premature failure. SOLUTION: Make sure to run the car at least every three days. REALLY????

This is the 6th time this week the car starts fine in the morning, I stop at a gas station or store come out and its dead! Concerning safety this is a major deal for me as I take care of my mother whom is on oxygen at 2L if this happens with her in the car or by herself,, it could very easily turn into a life or death situation! This issue seems to be a recurring issue as I have replaced the battery already and used AAA more than a few times in the past year. Car was purchased new off the lot in 2016. There is currently less than 35000 miles on the odometer. This is beyond upsetting and a very dangerous situation living in Colorado. Hypothetically if it was below zero peoples lives are 100% at risk due to a issue that I feel is being covered up by subaru. What options do I have? Is this a potentially very serious issue that I should start thinking about getting lawyers involved?

after having the 2916 Subaru outback detailed, the car wouldn't start, apparently if a door is left open for 10 minutes or more the battery drains, Jump started the vehicle and it starts right up

My battery dies intermittently and will not start until I receive a jump start. it seems to occur after day trips in the mountains,, but no emergency lights come on to indicate a low battery while driving. we have had to get an emergency jump start an now must carry around a spare battery charger to jump start my car. I've had the dealership look at this and they find no issues. I've had both my battery and alternator tested and they are still good. I stopped using my phone charger, thinking that may be the issue, but it still happens. I worry I'll be stranded somewhere and the Jumpstart battery won't be able to give me a kick. This has occurred at least 10 times and is increasing in frequency.

BATTERY DRAIN TO ZERO, I CAN'T START THE ENGINE, BATTERY WAS REPLACED 2 YEARS AGO UNDER WARRANTY, AND NOW AGAIN I DO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. WHEN I TRY TO CHARGE THE BATTERY IT SHOWS 100% CHARGED, BUT FOR SOME REASON, I CAN'T START THE ENGINE, SEEMS LIKE DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH BATTER TO START IT.

Battery is dead every morning

New battery, less than 10K miles completely drained when vehicle was not used for 3 days. Similar problem with previous battery, died with 10minutes or radio use.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery had failed on several occasions after starting the vehicle. The contact stated that the battery warning light intermittently flashed during the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to three separate independent mechanics and had the battery replaced however, the failure persisted after each battery replacement. The contact then took the vehicle to a dealer where the technician discovered that the radio was causing an electrical drain on the battery which could render the battery defective. The battery was replaced for a fourth time and the radio was disconnected however, two weeks after the repair, the battery failed again and the vehicle was returned to the dealer where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

REPEATED FAILURE TO START STEMMING FROM A DEAD BATTERY, DESPITE DAILY OR MORE OFTEN TRIPS. WHEN PARKED TEMPORARILY TO PICK UP MY CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL, THE CAR FAILED TO START. RECEIVED A 'JUMP' TO RESTART. WILL MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER TO REPLACE THE BATTERY (OR WHATEVER SERVICE THEY OFFER) FOR THE THIRD BATTERY IN LESS THAN 3 YEARS. BATTERY IS DISCHARGING BEFORE MY EYES; VOLT METER ON THE BATTERY SHOWS A DECREASE OF 0.01VOLTS/PER 10 SECONDS.

KEY INTERMITTENTLY CANNOT BE REMOVED FROM IGNITION. IT IS OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY.

HAVE HAD TO REPLACE BATTERY 4X IN 18 MONTHS. CURRENTLY HAVE ANOTHER DEAD BATTERY THREE DAYS AFTER REPLACING. CAR CANNOT SIT FOR MORE THAN 4-5 DAYS WITHOUT LOSING BATTER CHARGE. SUGGESTED FIX FROM SUBARU: PUT IT ON A TRICKLE CHARGER. MOST RECENT ISSUE: 1/9/2021.

The battery in my car has been replaced 3 times (twice by the dealer and once by me) and the alternator once due to deep discharge, in addition I have had to "jump" the car one or more times. Subaru has paid the cost of all repairs for this issue despite the fact they don't admit there is an issue. In addition to the battery replacement there was an ECM update done this last time to reduce battery drain. There is no warning or indication that a failure is about to occur. This last time I moved the car from my garage to my driveway and 4 hours later, the car would not start and the battery measured 4.25 volts--no lights were left on, doors open, seat heaters on etc. The concern is that it is impossible to tell if the car has drained the battery and it can leave us stranded anywhere we have turned it off. I contacted Subaru of America this last time and they said not even to "jump" it as it would possible loose valuable error codes. I have their roadside assistance and even though I received a call confirming that a flatbed would arrive within 60 mins. it never showed. This car has the potential to leave us stranded anywhere at any time and if locked the key fob does not work and even if I can get in, the car can't be moved due to no power to release the parking break.

Battery dies after car is parked for more than 3 days. Car is available for inspection. I have been stranded/inconvenienced at least 5 times. Problem was solved through AAA, family jumpstart help, etc. Verbally reported to dealer, service writer comment made it sound like it must have been my fault or just the needs of the computer components. No warnings or symptoms.

I have just had to put my fifth battery in my 2016 Subaru outback. I have experienced a dead battery twice. The first time this happened I was at a remote campsite and had the stock battery in the car. That battery lasted 25k miles. I brought my car to the dealer and they did a software update. Since then I have had two new batteries.

For months, there have been incidents of battery drain where the vehicle is unable to be started without a jump charge. I have replaced the battery several times; electrical testing by the dealership does not diagnose any problem.

BATTERY DIES FREQUENTLY WITHOUT OBVIOUS CAUSE, EVEN AFTER REPLACING BATTERY SOONER THAN EXPECTED. IT HAPPENS AFTER DRIVING FOR 30 MINUTES, TURNING IT OFF FOR A SHORT PERIOD LIKE 15-20 MINUTES, THEN TRYING TO RESTART, AS WELL AS AFTER SITTING FOR 8-10 HOURS.

i am about to replace battery in my 2016 subaru outback for the fourth time. obviously an ongoing problem with this vehicle . my wife had to wait 4 hours for subaru roadside assistance to respond with tow. All replacement batteries done by dealerships. No warning signs. .

I drove my car several miles to a ferry without any problems. I turned off the ignition and the car sat on the ferry for less than five minutes. When I tried to start the car, the battery was completely dead. The ferry driver had to return to the island side with just my car, which they pushed off the ferry. My husband came and jump started the battery. The car was driving very jerkily after that for about ten minutes. We immediately took the car to an independent service center technician, who tested the battery and said the battery was fine. We stopped to fill it up, thinking maybe there was air in the fuel tank or something. When we restarted it, the problem was gone. I researched online and discovered that electrical/battery problems are common with Subaru Outbacks. This was/is a safety problem because apparently I could be stranded anywhere. This car has died in the driveway many times in the five years we have owned it. This was the first time it died on a trip. There was no warning message or symptom of any kind - car was driving fine, then completely dead after five minutes of being off.

I HAVE NOW HAD TWO COMPLETE BATTERY DISCHARGES REQUIRING JUMP STARTS WHEN THE HATCH IS OPENED AND CLOSED SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT THE VEHICLE BEING TURNED ON. OVER A PERIOD OF A FEW HOURS WHEN I OPENED AND CLOSED THE TRUNK WITH THE AUTOMATED OPEN/CLOSE ABOUT 4-5 TIMES THE BATTERY COMPLETELY DISCHARGED REQUIRED JUMP START. THE FIRST TIME I BOUGHT A MEW BATTERY FIGURING IT WAS BAD. THE SECOND TIME NOW I KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE BATTERY/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY BOTH TIMES.

PURCHASED JAN 2016. BATTERY DIED 3 TIMES WHILE ON TRIPS & CAR SAT FOR 2 WEEKS. REPLACED BATTERY DEC 2018. BATTERY DIED MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE ON TRIPS WHEN CAR SAT FOR 2+ WEEKS. LAST TIME, CAR SAT FOR 3 WEEKS. CAR WAS STARTED WITH JUMP BUT DIDN'T HOLD CHARGE. REPLACED BATTERY 3RD TIME JAN 2021.

Car has 66,000 miles on it. vin#[XXX]--- HORN DOES NOT WORK IN ANY POSITION. Is available for inspection at any time. Nearest dealer is State Line Subaru - Somerset, MA Have contacted dealer and have received no response. Almost caused an accident by failure of the horn. No warning lights or messages. No indication of problems prior to failure. PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

2016 3.6 Subaru Outback has required battery replacement 4 times. If the battery dies while operating the car a dangerous shutdown of various electrical systems. This has happened twice, one instance no power steering, the next time the braking systems engaged. In both instances I was fortunately at a stop. If this happens while the car is moving especially at a high rate of speed, the results would be catastrophic.