This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Battery randomly failed on 1/5/22. Had it jumped, kept it on for an hour. When I went to start the car on 1/6/22 the battery is dead again. 7,000 miles on the car, no signs of any issue prior to the failure. My safety was at risk because it was freezing outside. I attempted to contact subaru's roadside assistance per their 3 year 36K mile warranty but when calling the automated message said there are significant delays in call times and to submit the issue online. I tried submitting online but the online submittal process was not working. I ended up having it jumped through my insurer, though now I have to figure out how to get a new battery. I saw where Subaru 2020 ascent OEM batteries are part of a class action, so probably going to avoid taking it to the dealer for a replacement.
When packing the car for a trip, if any of the doors are left open for a period of 15 minutes to 20 minutes the battery will drain. I am unable to start the car. This has happened three times. I have mentioned this to the dealer who remarked that I am not driving the car enough to keep the battery charged. On one occasion it happened after driving for over three hours (148) miles.
The rear liftgate on our 2020 Subaru Ascent opened on its own during the night of 12/18/21, resulting in a drained battery. The tech dispatched by Subaru roadside assistance stated that there is a software problem resulting in these doors falsly detecting an obstruction and opening the liftgate, which results in a drained battery. The Subaru dealer stated that they could not replicate the problem and did nothing about it. Several days later on 12/23/21, the battery failed again. The tech dispatched by Subaru jumpstarted the car, but noted that the battery was producing only 8 volts of power.
This is the second time I've had a dead battery problem with my 2020 Subaru Ascent. The first time was 4/2021 and they replaced the battery. The second time is today - dead battery, could not charge or jump start. Tow truck coming to take it to a Subaru dealer.
- La Jolla, CA, USA
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The care continues to drain power resulting in dead battery. We have had continuous issues since purchasing the vehicle. The Dealer even installed a higher quality battery and due to Subaru admitting tot the problem. However this has not resolved the issue. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times at a factory dealer. We can't be in and out of the care while parked for 45 minutes. Subaru markets the vehicles for camping and recreation vehicles, but the vehicle is useless in these scenarios. Furthermore, there is great potential now in the winter session that we could become stranded in the vehicle. Also note that with a dead battery the rear hatch is in operable. The manual release is not easy to get to.
I purchased this car new, and it has less or about 20.000mile. I am using it daily. Yesterday suddenly the sound system stop playing. Neither the radio, the CD player, or the car play. Just the sound. Today, the battery died, but all the buttons will flickering and would not stop. My husband had to remove the battery cables so to stop. I also have notice in the past that the frond windows will close in a slower pace than normal. I saw here that there is a class action about this issue. Very disappointed, if this issue will not resolved I am driving my kids daily and I cannot have this happening in the middle of a road or while it is feeezing outside.
Several times my 2020 Subaru Ascent has failed to start and required a jump. I have taken my vehicle into the Subaru dealers 3 times for this problem. Every time they tell me something was left on that drained the battery when the vehicle was turned off. One time they replaced the battery but same issue occurred after the battery was replaced. Another time they replaced the radio but same problem occurred after replacing with a new radio. The last time they told me the WiFi was turned on. We don't even have a Wifi account for this vehicle which is needed to use the WiFi. Each time the dealers reset electrical components and computer chips they said needed to be reset. This vehicle is a daily driver so does not sit long between starts. I brought the vehicle in October of 2020 when it had 5K miles on it and to date only has 16K now. Now I have to purchase and carry a portable vehicle jump starter as this vehicle's battery is not reliable. I have read that other owner's have the same problem. Why can this not be fixed/resolved without costly repairs to the owner. I am worried that when the Dealer warranty runs out, I am going to face unnecessary costly repairs. Please assist and advise. Thanks.
I was taking my kids to school. On the way, we stopped at an intersection. The car all the sudden stopped while it was in the Drive gear. The electric part of the car turned on but the engine didn-€™t. A police officer and a towing company came to the rescue to make sure our car didn-€™t get hit. However this was a quite scary process for our kids and myself. If could have happened in the middle of the intersection or on a highway and we could have been hit. The towing company couldn-€™t put the gear in the neutral and suggested an issue with TCM.They had to get a different towing track and took it to the dealer.
Bought vehicle new in October 2019, now has 20,000 miles. Started having issues a couple months ago with not starting and needing to jump start. I can tell it is getting harder to start on its own as time goes by. Its going to the dealer this week for a new battery. One or two times the hatch may have been open for a short period as described in some of these posts. For those reading this, there is a class action law suit pending right now out of New Jersey for this issue against Subaru.
We purchased our 2020 Subaru Accent on 8/9/2020. On 6/9/2021, our family took a day trip to Petaluma and stopped at a park to let our toddlers play. When we returned to our vehicle in the parking lot, the ignition would not turn on the vehicle. AAA Roadside Assistance was called to the scene and the technician found no issues with the battery. He was able to get our car to start, but only by randomly placing the shift to Neutral, then turning on the ignition. We were advised to bring our vehicle in for repair, brining the car to the dealership of original purchase at Elk Grove Subaru. Following diagnostics, they stated there was an issue with the shifter, identifying "fluid leakage" and it was cleaned out. Although we have a new car warranty, they charged us for the labor out of the warranty, citing -€œcustomer at fault-€ claiming fluid leakage caused the issue from a spilled beverage. We do not recall any beverage being spilled in our vehicle near that area. On 7/21/21, the same issue for a second time with the ignition not turning on happened once again. My husband and I were stranded in summer heat with my 2 year old son, my 1 year old daughter, and I was 30 weeks pregnant at that time. A THIRD occurrence, same issues, on 8/14/21. Our car is barely a year old. Subaru replaced the entire shifter this time, and so far no recurring issues. I thought of safety concerns if this was to happen to someone else, perhaps stranded on a busy road susceptible to oncoming traffic, or a secluded area that would pose risk of serious safety issues, or perhaps worse. One occurrence is an isolated incident, however three or more points to a significant pattern and worth investigating for a recall of this part. We took to the internet to see if anyone has experienced the same issue with this make and model and we found one video of a couple with an identical experience with the ignition randomly stopping working to start the vehicle. https://youtu.be/g--VICP26hg
My battery drains with only the slightest mistake in leaving the hatch open for an hour. It has happened so many times we had to replace the battery after 1 year. I was stranded somewhere because of it.
Leaving my lift gate open for even a short amount of time drains the battery. Even after charging the battery manually my battery went completely dead after one year and three months.
The battery has died 2 times on me and the tech was unable to find a reason why the battery would die; I did not leave lights on or have any thing draining the battery. There is a well known issue with the electrical system in this car and it needs to be replaced.
While parked, for no reason, the battery discharged to the point the car would not start and I could not open the tail gate. The car had been driven for 2 hours the day before. The car was parked at a campground with the tail gate open for a few hours but the other doors were not open. In the evening I closed the tail gate. The next morning about 10:00 am I tried to drive off and the battery was dead and other electronic devises would not work (door locks, electric tailgate etc.) This could have been very serious as I had a hard time locating help to jump start the car. If I had needed to drive for an emergency as if my wife had a medical issue the car's malfunction would have been very serious! This problem has been reported on the internet for Subaru Ascents and I feel it is a safety defect and Subaru should be required to fix it. I do not trust this car. It is a 2020 Ascent with about 10,000 miles.
Battery on 2020 Subaru Ascent with 4000 miles has drained in a short time ( a week) twice. Left my wife and I stranded in Utah mountains in winter. Found someone who jumped it for us. Thought it was a one time issue. Just occurred again after 9 days of not driving it. Had to call the Subaru assistance line to get help. Functioning again after the jump. We are in our 70"s and this issue could leave us or anyone else in a bad situation if help is not close by.
My car continues to not start after periods of non use. 2020 Subaru Ascent cannot jump car battery on our own.... rather we have to rely on roadside assistance and their battery jumping tools. Car has been at dealer 2 times for repair for the issue. And will be needing to be serviced again this week. For the 1st repair... car was unstartable and disabled to the point of having to be towed on a flat bed. Dealer replaced the main fuse blown. I was unable to lock car while waiting for service putting inside of car and contents at risk. Was without car for a week. For the 2nd repair.... car was able to be jumped by roadside and we drove the car for service at the dealer. Dealer replaced the battery same day. A week ago... I got stranded in a parking lot at closing time at dusk. Now... now I'm stuck at home unable to start vehicle.... with a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning. Roadside has jumped my car 6 to 7 times since I started my lease. Car has @2,100 miles on it. Looks like this is an issue for other owners when googled and no permanent fix is being offered. This makes the car unreliable and creates potential for unsafe environment for me the driver and my passengers which includes youth under the age of 18. Plus... this is 10+ interactions for exposure to covid in public.
The car experienced battery drain within one year of ownership, requiring replacement. The first sign of a problem was the absence of sound from the stereo while the car was operating. The very next morning the car did not power on, with replacement of the battery resolving all issues. The car is kept locked and powered off in a garage at all times.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Nashville, TN, USA