2017 Subaru Outback batteries died twice

Maintenance/Repairs
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21

I also went on a forum and read the same thing. I love my Outback otherwise. Thanks for the input.

22

Any resolution here? I have had the same issue with my 2017 Outback. I live in PA and, for the second time in 3 months, I got back from a 3 hour trip and vacuumed my car out for 15 minutes with the doors open and interior lights on. The battery died. The first time this happened I took it to the dealer and nothing wrong - the charged the battery, wait and see. Just happened again and I’m at 29000 miles. Love the car other than this issue. Any updates would be helpful as I head to the dealer tomorrow. Thanks!

23

That’s because it’s not true.
There is one Subaru factory in The US–in Lafayette, Indiana–and that is where your car was built.

24

Have the charging system checked out by doing a load check on it. Also have the battery tested to check the reserve capacity on it. Simple tests that should give some answers to your questions.

25

Dealer finally found the problem a couple of months ago and the car is running perfectly without battery dying. It was the cheap starter they put on my car when I purchased it. They finally disconnected it and gave me a factory starter free of charge. I also filed a claim with Subaru and they sent me a $500 coupon to use on a trade-in. Love my car but will also look at the 2020 Outback when warranty expires in September.

26

If you purchased your car as a new vehicle, then it came from the factory with a “factory starter”. Is it possible that you are referring to a remote start system?
If so, those problems don’t surprise me, as after-market remote start systems are a frequent source of electrical problems. And, I can tell you from experience that even “factory” remote start systems can produce problems if the installer isn’t properly skilled.

Are you referring to a remote start system?
:thinking:

1 Like
27

If you hang around here a bit, I think you’ll find that any reputation Subaru has for reliability is very overrated.

28

While my first Outback did suffer from the dreaded head gasket issue at ~115k miles, the dealership (or the manufacturer??) came to my rescue with assistance, and they charged me less than $400 to replace both head gaskets. And, that was the only repair that the car needed in the 10 years that I owned it.

My second Outback needed to have one of the belt pulleys replaced at ~90k miles, and that was the only repair that it needed during the 10 years that I owned it.

My current Outback has 95k miles on the odometer, and the only repair that it has needed was the replacement of the windshield washer reservoir, due to a failed fluid level sensor. That was done under warranty, at ~9k miles, and that is the only repair that it has needed since I bought it in late 2010.