2015 Subaru Outback Electrical System

There is some kind of electrical malfunction or drainage that the battery drains even when car is turned off. Replacement of new battery results in the same problem after a few days

Battery drain over night, dead battery in the morning. Alternator output normal, terminal post clean and battery will charge with external charger. Battery is less than 2 year old

On four occasions over the past five months my car needed a jump start for no apparent reason. I had a new Subaru battery installed last July, and a check up at a Subaru dealer last month which found no problems with the battery or alternator. I recently read about a battery drainage problem that other owners of this model have been experiencing as well.

Our car has electrical / battery problems. It frequently will not start on its own. We have to jump start the battery about once a month, sometimes more frequently. The primary driver commutes 120 miles at least once a week (60 miles each way), thus we should not have issues with battery drain, but we do. We replaced the battery 1 year ago and the problem still remains. The battery also drains quite quickly, for example, last week we had the back lift gate open for 15 - 20 minutes while we were in and out of the house packing up the car with all the things I needed for a work event. When we were ready to go, the car wouldn't start. This has happened to us multiple times camping in the past. Because we have had so many problems with our car starting, we keep a small battery generator charged and in the car so we can jumpstart our car if needed. Without this device, we would have been stranded in the back country tens of miles away from civilization with no cell service and no ability to get home. We've started keeping all the lights off inside the car to see if that helps, It hasn't, even with no lights on inside the car the battery has drained while packing up our car for a trip. The dealership replaced the battery in 2020 and said that was the problem, they have not looked for "parasitic drain" despite our complaints. There is no warning when this will happen, no lights appear or messages. This has been an ongoing problem that started in 2019 that continues to this day. Our safety has been put at risk multiple times with this problem by potentially leaving us completely stranded in the woods, at night in urban environments, and has prevented us from getting to work on time. I've read on numerous forums that this has been a problem with the CANs systems in this model. Please investigate.

2015 SUBARU OUTBACK -AND NOW ON MY 4TH BATTERY. ONE INSTANCE, I GOT STUCK IN A SMALL TOWN IN NH AND HAD TO GET A BATTERY THAT WAS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD AND BATTERY GUARANTEED FOR 5 YEARS. DIDN'T KNOW I HAD TO BRING IT BACK TO THE MECHANIC BACK HOME SO I ENDED UP PAYING FOR ANOTHER BATTERY. 8 MONTHS LATER BATTERY DIED AGAIN. SUBARU SAID TO BRING IT IN AND THEY WILL CHECK IT OUT. IT IS NOT WARRANTED AND IT COULD TAKE 2 HRS TO 10 AND I WOULD PAY FOR LABOR. THEY NEED TO PAY AND FIX A VERY WELL KNOWN PROBLEM. IT HAS HAPPENED TO FRIENDS WHO OWN SUV,S, WAGONS AND SEDANS..

This car has repeatedly drained the battery when completely off. I have replaced the battery thinking it was a faulty battery, only to have this occur repeatedly with a new battery. I am certain the doors are shut, lights are off, car is off and locked and nothing I have left on is in anyway draining the battery. I have even experienced this when driving the car for an hour, parking it for 30 minutes and coming back to a dead battery. The battery drops to 5v and car won’t start. The battery does charge and holds 13.5v. This is not an error with the battery as I have replaced the battery.

I have had to change my car battery three times in four years. A couple times it seemed like my battery went bad soon after having service on my car even though my battery tested okay and given a green symbol. The last date I had to replace the battery is below.

THE FOURTH BATTERY HAS DIED SINCE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED IN 2015. IT WILL NOT TAKE A CHARGE. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED WITH THE SAME BATTERY EACH TIME AND SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE CAR HAVING ANY ELECTRICAL ISSUES.

I have to replace my battery 1-2 x year, possibly due to Parasitic draw. No lights have been left on, nor anything electrical when the car is shut off. Between batteries, I often have to jump my car to start it. I have been stranded places and I am in constant fear my car will not start.

My 2015 Subaru Outback has continually experienced random battery drain. I have replaced the battery 3 times since purchasing the car from a dealership in 2017. In all cases, there was no advanced warning indicating that the battery was low, the car had been driven regularly with an average amount of mileage and no lights were left on nor was there extreme weather. Most recently (11/7/2021) the tailgate was up with the car off for 30-45 minutes. It was jump started, we made it home and the next morning it had zero power. That last battery was purchased in April of 2021. The car is regularly maintained by the dealer and/or a certified mechanic.

My vehicle was purchased in September 2014. Approximately the night of March 9, 2017 my daughter apparently turned on a dome light, which remained on the rest of the night. My car had approximately 45k miles on it. The next day I attempted to start the car, nothing happened. The battery was so dead that even connecting to another vehicle for 20 minutes resulted in no change. I purchased a new battery on 3/10/2017. On 7/10/2021 with approximately 100,000 miles I was at an airport for pickup. I turned my car off upon arrival and waited for 30 - 40 minutes with the key in the ignition. I think that resulted in some lights remaining on. When I attempted to start my car to depart the airport it gave an indication of attempting to start but there was not enough power to facilitate the action. I needed to briefly connect my car to another for enough power to start the vehicle, which has run apparently fine since. Now I have to be vigilant to ensure no internal lights are on for more than a few minutes regardless of situation. Recently I read this article, https://www.motorbiscuit.com/dead-batteries-new-subaru-lawsuit-claims-least-five-models-defective-batteries/, which seems to be the situation I am in. It seems that two batteries in a period of 7 years and approximately 102,000 miles seems a bit excessive. A non-technical analysis leads me to think either Subaru is not putting an adequate power supply in at least their Outbacks, maybe other models based on at least the linked article, or something is wrong with the electrical management system resulting in drains on the battery resulting in significantly shorter battery life than found on other vehicles, which results in additional cost to consumers to replace batteries assuming they die at a convenient time and other costs are not incurred.

Bought this car used with low miles in 2019 from a Subaru dealership. We have had intermittent issues dating back to late 2019, where returning to the car find that the battery is dead when we went to start it. It usually happens when the vehicle was left for 4 hours or more, although not always. After reading several reports of the same issue, we are going to try a new, larger battery.

I have a parasitic drain on my battery and I have replaced the battery 3 times. It seems my battery is not the issue, but I am constantly stranded on the road and the dealership just replaces the battery. This last replacement I did at a separate shop on 5/10/2021 because my battery needed to be replaced and I thought putting in a different battery would help. Today (7/21/2021), my car will not start again. This shouldn't happen with a new battery and I don't think it's right that Subaru is not doing anything about this issue. It started happening within the first 3 years I owned this vehicle, when it was under warranty. Their solution was to replace the battery and not actually fix the real issue. This is not okay. I drive this car regularly and there is no reason why my battery should die constantly.

On 4 occasions the car battery has unexpectedly gone so low that it could not be started. On the second occasion (January 2022) the battery was replaced. On the third occasion (July 14, 2021) the battery was again replaced. On the fourth occasion (July 18, 2021) the battery was completely dead. It was necessary to use a mechanical key to enter the vehicle so that the hood could be raised. The battery has been recharged and a report will be made to the dealer for the second time tomorrow.

1. My battery failed, so I replaced it. I didn’t keep the failed one. 2. Problem started while driving w/ a handicapped, elderly passenger in remote rural area at night. Help at least 1/2-hr. away. No open garages. Frightening. 3. AAA confirmed. 4. AAA inspected. 5. My Check Engine light came on, Cruise Control stopped working. Pulled over, ck’d manual, nothing noted about battery, no Battery warning light. Car started up, drove home very slowly, stopping occasionally. Next morning, car wouldn’t start, called AAA to take to mechanic (charge $150 to check system). There was no previous warning that battery was losing power. AAA found battery problem. No engine problem. Replaced. No more lights. Very disappointed that much worry could have been avoided.

With a relatively new battery, my car would not start. I had the rear lift gate open, but lights turned off, for about an hour while packing for a trip and when I went to start the car it was completely dead and I had to jump it to get it started again. This also happened a few months prior while leaving the tailgate up for about 30 minutes to get some things out of the car. Both times the only lights that were on were the mirror lights when I approached the car

In my 2015 Subaru Outback the battery is drained below 50% charge if the vehicle is not driven for a week. It takes daily trips to keep it charged up. The first dead battery was replaced by Subaru after 19 months under warranty. That battery lasted just over two years and it went dead too, while we were away on vacation. I replaced that battery at my expense. My safety is a concern because, if an emergency arose, I don’t know if the vehicle will start. I’ve only involved Subaru when the OEM battery died so soon after buying the car. There is/were/are no warning lights or gauges to inform me of impending battery failure. As a side note, my son owns a Subaru Forester, and because he works at home, there are days he goes without driving it, and between trips his battery is constantly self-draining, too. Very frustrating!

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact attempted to jump start the battery with a battery charger however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the battery would drain periodically. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced four times in a six-year period. The local dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the next available appointment was on the 29th of May. The contact replaced the battery himself. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,784.

Cannot remove key after shutting down engine and put in "Park". Found many similar incidents on https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/key-stuck-in-ignition.495265/

The vehicle EATS batteries on a frequent basis. We are currently on the 4th HIGH QUALITY battery for the vehicle. We live in a rural area so we do not have short frequent trips that would impact a battery. We have had the dealer (Redding Subaru) check the system and they cannot find out why it goes through a battery every 12-16 months. All equipment on the vehicle is stock and none of our driving/storage conditions would impact a vehicle battery. Our previous Subaru's did not have this issue and our current Toyota vehicle is on only its 3rd battery in over 12 years of service. There is obviously some "vampire" issue constantly draining the battery

BATTERY LOSES CHARGE AND WILL NOT START AUTO. BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND THE PROBLEM CONTINUES, ALTHOUGH NOT ALL THE TIME.

PARASITIC BATTERY FAILURES: MULTIPLE EVENTS BETWEEN JULY 2018 AND JANUARY 2021. BATTERY & ALTERNATOR WERE CONSISTENTLY FOUND TO BE WORKING CORRECTLY. BATTERY WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES. ONE EVENT HAD EXCESSIVE BATTERY PERCOLATION. THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY AN AFTER-MARKET HUM SPEED & LOCATION MONITORING DEVICE PLACED IN JANUARY 2018 AND PARTIALLY REMOVED IN OCTOBER 2020. WE DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THE HUM ATTACHMENT TO THE OBDII PORT. THE PROBLEM WAS FINALLY FIXED WHEN AN ASTUTE MECHANIC RECOGNIZED THAT THE FAILURES WERE LIKELY DUE TO THE REMAINING HUM PART ATTACHED TO THE OBDII PORT. LOGICAL IT WOULD DRAW DOWN THE OUTBACK UNDERSIZED BATTERY, WHICH IS WELL DOCUMENTED. SO: ADVICE TO OWNERS: DO NOT ATTACH AFTER-MARKET DEVICES TO YOUR OUTBACK. REMOVE CONNECTIONS LIKE PHONE JACKS AS NEEDED WHEN THE CAR IS PARKED. AND, IF YOU HAVE AN UNEXPLAINED DEAD BATTERY PROBLEM, CHECK THE OBDII PORT & REMOVE ANY FOREIGN DEVICES OR HAVE YOUR MECHANIC DO SO.

CAR PURCHASED NEW 2/25/2015. THE BATTERY DIED 4/27/2016 AT 9890 MILES AND REPLACED UNDER WARRANTEE BY SUBARU. THE BATTERY DIED AGAIN ON 9/11/2018 AT 35067 MILES AND WAS AGAIN REPLACED BY SUBARU, THOUGH NOT UNDER WARRANTY. SUBARU OBVIOUSLY AGREES THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM. THE BATTERY IS AGAIN SHOWING SIGNS OF WEEKNESS IN 2021, AND I AM WORRIED IT WILL DIE YET AGAIN.

OUR CAR HAS 80K MILES ON IT AND IS ABOUT 6.25 YEARS OLD. WE ARE ON THE 3RD BATTERY. THERE APPEARS TO BE A PENDING LAWSUIT, SO ADDING MY INFORMATION TO THE DATABASE. I HAVE ALL THE SERVICER RECORDS OF WHEN THE BATTERIES WERE REPLACED.

MULTIPLE DEAD BATTERY ISSUES (APPROX 10 OVER 3 YEAR PERIOD); NO PROVOKING EPISODES (NO LEFT IN COLD FOR PROLONGED TIME; NO LIGHTS ON