Subaru Outback Battery Drain

50

Asked by SubBug Nov 18, 2019 at 11:50 AM about the 2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 2015 Subaru Outback is on its 4th battery.  They always blame the
battery. Then they replace it. It's not like I live in a very cold climate (Atlanta,
GA), but it's usually the winter when the battery has to be replaced.  I've read
some of the other questions related to the Outback, and it sounds like this is
not an unusual problem. And no, I don't leave the lights on. I even unplug the
phone cord!

2 Answers

You need a higher capacity battery. The stock battery simply does not have enough juice. Try Optima, I installed one on my 15 Forester and now the wife no longer complains about a weak battery.

2 people found this helpful.
50

When the almost new battery died a couple weeks ago and left me stranded, I took the car to my local shop which is part of the NAPA AutoCare network. They evaluated it at no charge, and told me about a Subaru Service Bulletin for 2015-2016 Legacies and Outbacks. There is reprogramming which optimizes the ECM for battery charging. I had to take it to the Subaru dealer, at that point. Why Subaru hadn't helped me with this previously, I do not know. This seems to have fixed the problem.

1 people found this helpful.

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