Repeated dead battery 2015 Subaru Outback

There are several threads here on CG's regarding this issue. You might want to look at them.

Good Luck! Subaru does not want to acknowledge there is an issue with parasitic drain. I've had it 6 times in 20 months. Car has been at two different dealerships for almost 6 total weeks - no resolution. Case opened with Subaru America - also not much help.

Brand new 20019 Outback. Had it for 2 weeks. Sitting in the garage looking so pretty with a dead battery. Trying to charge it up now even though we're painfully aware that our 2018 Outback had the same problem.

Brand new 2019 Subaru Outback has a dead battery AGAIN after sitting all weekend. Less than 2000 miles on it. Wish I could go back in time and not buy it.

Dealerships don't seem to want to record (in writing) these parasitic drains and therefore there will be no record of them. I advise everyone who is experiencing this repeated, blatant flaw in the electrical system to open a case with Subaru America. I opened one and yes, you get the run around and no I didn't get resolution BUT at least there is now a record of the problem! Don't accept this - unreliability puts your personal safety at risk!

Subi3522 you are absolutely right. I am going to look up the Subaru America address and file a formal complaint in writing and certified. And I am making an appointment with my local Subaru dealer to look for a "Parasitic Battery Drain" - I am going to try get them to put that in writing. The other important thing is a formal complaint with NHTSA - here is the link. Everybody file there so they can't hide it: https://www- odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Our 2018 Outback with 25k miles just had its 3rd dead battery event. After the second I talked to the shop at our dealer and was advised that running sequential short trips....like a day filled with errands and multiple start/stops will drain the battery. And that it takes a 20 minute plus drive to fully charge the battery. I bought a TACKLIFE jump start battery after the second event and it worked great to get started this time. I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these. There are several brands available for about $75-$100.

"...was advised that running sequential short trips....like a day filled with errands and multiple start/stops will drain the battery." Ridiculous. (1) It takes less than "a day" of errands for the problem to occur. (2) "a day filled with errands and multiple start/stops" is a PERFECT DESCRIPTION of the typical American car owning parent's life. Subaru either needs to build cars that can handle reasonable requiremets, or WARN CONSUMERS that its cars are unable to cope with them.

Jcjc1956 is exactly right..... It's ridiculous! Come on Subaru of America step up and be the Brand you used to be!

I put a group 34 800 CCA battery in my 2015 Outback from Costco ($95.00), fit fine. No problems since. Used a setting saver to switch them (about 18 dollars on Amazon) and all setting etc work fine.

I have left my 2015 outback at the airport twice for 5 days, both times it has died with no explanation. This really sucks not to be able to leave this vehicle.

Had my car sit in the driveway for almost 3 days. The car started up like a charm. Fast forward one month later I'm driving around running errands. Pull up to a store, turn the car off, go inside. I am back in less than 10 minutes, and the battery is dead. It makes no sense.

Once the original battery is 2 years old it probably needs to be replaced.

At the 30k mile service visit I asked that the dealership check any thing that might contribute to the "dead battery syndrome". Reviewing the work done the agent said they had made some software mods as the battery recharge logic was set wrong and the battery wasn't fully charging. That was 2 months ago and no dead battery since then.

As I have previously mentioned in this forum they replaced my entire CPU which did not resolve the problem. Then they replaced the entire dash cluster ($$$) which so far is working! I had rental cars for almost two months which Subaru of America paid for because my case was open for so long. The dash cluster was a major expense but cost me nothing because I had this case open.

i just talked with Subaru America about the dead battery issues - i have a 2016 subaru outback and on my 3rd battery. they said no record of any issues with battery problems or recalls, the person i spoke to (Jim) was condescending and said if i wanted to put a larger battery in, i could do it if i wanted - and that since the current battery is still working he couldn't help.

With our 2014 Outback we replace the OEM battery with a new, from Costco, group 25 battery. After several dead battery events we again replace the battery with a Costco group 34 which has near to twice the amperage storage of the OEM battery. So far so good. The group 34 fit the car without a problem. Andy in Astoria, Or.

It sounds like this problem is not the battery. We have had it in our subaru and our toyota matrix which both have after market remote start fobs...like having a tv that is plugged in and ready for a remote to fire it up. One solution to parasitic drain would be a master switch on the positive lead at the battery, a pain to open the hood to park extended periods, but it would work. Or you can just disconnect the battery. You'd have to use the key to open the door. Sounds like making sure the hatchback is closed after using the key fob to open the doors is a good idea. And filing a case with Subaru.

Having same problem with my Subaru. The Subaru dealer said I did not have a parasitic drain and battery and alternator are good. I’ve put 1200 miles on it in four months. They said I had to drive it more or turn it on every three days and let it run 30 minutes. Ridiculous.

The last word in your post is exactly right, "ridiculous"! If you accept that as an answer you're part of the problem and not part of the solution so please follow up with Subaru of America and don't accept ridiculous answers.

in addition, the next time you take it to the dealer make them let it sit for 3 days before they start it up and then check for parasitic drain.

The battery is not the issue. I have a 2016 legacy that is on its second battery at the dealers recommendation after multiple dead battery events. I finally got a charging system meter (you plug it into the cigarette lighter jack). Being an Electrical Engineer, by training i go for the root cause and not just the obvious. Evidently the charging is controlled by the car computer and operates intermittently (an energy saving feature they don't tell you about in the manual). After starting the car, the charging system charges the battery for about two minutes and they goes into an on-off mode unless you put on the lights or run the heater fan full out. If you make a lot of short trips and don't use your headlights, running lights or heater, the battery will discharge. When I checked the level of charge in my Legacy it was under 25% and the car has been in daily use. You can order a Charging System tester that plugs into the lighter plug for about $12 on Amazon, so try one on your cars for giggles and grins. I passed this info on to Subaru and got one of their typical BS answers. " I should drive it more frequently". I have two recommendations; drop a charge into the battery every couple of weeks using an external battery charger, or turn on your head lights or parking lights when you drive during the day time. Sounds crazy but it fools the charging system into continuously charging the battery. For those of you that get a charging system meter, you are not charging when the voltage measured is around 12.5 volts and on charge when the voltage is up at 14.3 volts or above. The way Subaru designed the charger system programming makes no sense. If you are not going to charge continuously with the engine running (the way they used to operate before things got green) you need to monitor battery charge level (easy way is to monitor battery voltage and keep it at around 13 volts). Evidently this point was missed by the "Love" people at Subaru. Oh, by the way, automotive batteries are not Deep Cycle batteries like are used for trolling motors. They don't like deep cycling and being operated at the discharge end of the charging cycle, so forget about getting 4 to 6 years of reliable operation out of that battery regardless of where you buy it; OEM or NTB. Hope this helps and reduces the number of perfectly good batteries going to the scrap dealers for recycling and negatively impacting the carbon footprint of your treasured Subarus.

Excellent information, thanks from all of us Subaru owners. if you read back far enough in this thread you will see that I indeed had my CPU completely switched out, unfortunately it did not solve the problem. However the next thing they did was replace the entire dash cluster. That has solved the problem for almost a year now. My problem went on for so long I'll probably never stop following this thread so thanks again for your in-depth detail. Bottom line, it is NOT the battery and it is NOT about driving it more often, which is ridiculous. My case with Subaru was open for many months but they paid for my rental car and they paid for all the repairs. Hang in there people!

Had the same problem with the default intermittent charge issue on my 2015 Outback. Also the battery is not charged under 30 MPH, a problem for me because I drive short distances in the city. After an event, my dealer set everything so it charges fully all the time.

Apparently there is a class action lawsuit about this issue. Could help you! I have a 2012 with what seems like the same problem, but looks like the lawsuit only covers 2016-2020 Outbacks. Don't want to the post kicked, so just find the lawsuit by googling. Best luck to you all!

I have a 2006 that just started having these problems. The third alternator just went out in the last two years. I'm wondering if I had a part replaced in the charging system that is something the newer ones already had which is causing the problem.

Hi guys, I just run into this problem with my 2015 outback. Few questions: Charging System tester from Amazon - Could @Guru3V1T26 please post the url? What type of battery should I get from Costco for 2.5L outback 2015? Thanks!

There has to be a hack that can be done to make the battery charge if the motor is running. Some type of alteration to the alternator leads would do the trick as the alternator will charge as long as it is spinning while the engine is running unless you had a clutch on it like an ac compressor.

Loads of great feedback on this, 2015 outback purchase myself and starting to dislike the idea of having made the purchase. I just put a brand new Costco battery in it and wish I’d saw this information prior. Brand new battery is dead now and I need to figure it out also. I really like the alternator hack idea but laugh and cringe that one would have to do this to what is basically a new car and also that a company would let and alternator run it life away without fully utilizing the power generated from it. Power system also goes nuts with power outages also and need resetting and I forgot what they told me last time. This car will probably be my next trade in, I should have got an Acura MDX like my wife, maybe I should consider electric on my next purchase hmmm. I also do not like one major computer system controlling everything. If it goes bad it gonna be a fortune to fix long term. I was wondering if the power drain is to let the car report on you continuously. Yet it sounds more like a computer charging problem now. Ugh

I had the same problem with my 2015 Outback,, I knew the Service Tech and was told that Subaru has the system set up to charge when your driving above 45 mph, driving in traffic at 25 will not charge the battery,,,he did some computer changes and no more problem, still have the original battery...just throwing this out there...

2015 Ouback same issue not sure if today is my 3rd or 4th battery. I am referring it again to the dealer and Subaru Canada

My 2015 Outback has this issue and I'm on my 5th battery!! I can't believe Subaru has done nothing about this!!! I will be submitting a claim with Subaru of America. Thank you for this thread.

I’m sorry if this answer seems rudimentary, but If you’ve had several mysterious battery ‘deaths’, read on… On the 2015 Outback there is a dome light in the very back of the car. I had no idea it was even there, and we’ve had the car for seven years. My daughter was stranded after getting into our 2015 Outback and finding it was DEAD. No lights, no sounds, no life. She was able to get it jumpstarted and drive it 40 miles to our home. Despite the battery being only 18 months old, I concluded it must be the problem. I changed same, and everything appeared normal. I checked to make sure no lights were on, etc. Two days later, it was completely dead again. I thought I’d done my due diligence, and took it to our local mechanic. Apparently, the aft dome light had been left ON. No one had turned it on, but the design of said light is idiotic. It sits fairly low, and the switch moves fore/aft. It is EASY to hit it with a box if you are loading or unloading things. It is very difficult to see from the front seats, even in the rear view mirror. Check it if you have problems with your battery. If you drive your car every day, it may not be a problem for several days/weeks.

Well my 2017 Legacy died AGAIN! Took it to the dealership and they just put in the 4th battery. I kept telling the service advisor that this can not be right. There is something wrong here. When I got home I did some digging and found that there is a class action lawsuit against Suburu in the US & Canada for these very same problems that all of us are experiencing. So I am sure that the dealerships can not acknowledge that there is a problem. I honestly do not feel confident driving this car on long trips let a lone around town for fear of when it will just not start again. We should not have to buy chargers and testers. We all bought a Suburu because they were supposed to be reliable cars. I looked up the law firm that is spear heading the class action suit and sent an e-mail today.

My 2015 Subaru Outback is now on it’s 5th battery. Last 3 were $200+ high amperage batteries. The back dome light is easy to accidentally flip on when loading or unloading cargo. Guaranteed dead battery if left for a day or more. Now I’m seeing battery failures more often, without any obvious light on or other power drain. Bonus annoyance is being unable to reset my clock (manual says take it to a dealer!) every time the battery dies. Am now considering disconnecting the battery if the car will be sitting for more than a couple of days. Crazy. If a software update or system configuration change can improve charging that is something I’d like to do. Can anyone share specifics so I can instruct the Subaru service team accordingly?

Just an update on my dead battery for my 2013 subaru. Recent posts are still talking about the same problem. It is now been over 2 years since they replaced my entire dash cluster and I have not had one dead battery. If you read back in this thread I went through a lot of different fixes with Subaru of America before replacing the dash cluster finally worked. Good luck.