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.
The Subaru starlink system has no controls around transfer of ownership. I only discovered this after receiving a $150 charge 2 months after I traded in the car to a Subaru dealer. Even after trading in the car I was able to unlock, lock, start the car, and track the cars location. This represents a significant safety risk to the consumer and must be addressed immediately.
When I was driving this car one night, every dash light was suddenly activated and remained on -- and as a result all safety features were deactivated. When I was able to do so, I touched the battery cables together to reboot the system. I had to do this 3 times over the course of 4 days. Realizing the problem was chronic, I took the car to the dealership (a 2 hour drive), where a service tech explained the problem 'was caused by a low battery.' This car is only 2 years old. A new car battery should last longer than 2 years. It thus seems to me the battery was defective or the car improperly drained it somehow. More important, there is no warning that a 'low battery' -- one which can easily start a car -- could still deactivate safety features while driving.
Engine shuts off when coasting into a turn when car is moving at less than 5mph. Causes loss of steering. Will restart if gas pedal is pumped. Dealer can find no problem. Does not happen predictably and can not always be replicated. Very dangerous.
Repeated experiences of battery going dead after simply opening and closing doors a few times a day for four days. Engine was not started in this time. All interior light were off and rear hatch remained closed. Safety risk is being stranded in rural locations, at times with no cell service. Local Subaru dealer indicated I needed an authorization code from a battery lawsuit settlement to look into it. Lawsuit doesn-€™t include my vehicle VIN and only reimburses cost for battery replacement and possibly towing, not a repair. Research into the problem has indicated that this -€œparasitic drain -€œ can be remedied by replacing the defective older PRG Module with the effective newer one. This should be covered by the warranty on a two year old car. Local dealer would only refer to the lawsuit for direction. Suspect they are -€œbuying time-€ until warranty expires to avoid doing the appropriate repair. See attached file for example of correct repair from another Subaru owner.
- Morro Bay, CA, USA
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In less than 2 years of owning this car the battery failed putting me in a very dangerous situation. While standing in the middle of the road to make a turn into incoming traffic the car was off because of the auto stop-start system. As I released the brake and tried to accelerate to cross the intersection the car failed to restart automatically and stalled as if the battery did not have enough power. I had to place the car in parking and restart it again in the middle of the road. This happened multiple times. I took the car to the dealer and it was confirmed that the battery was bad and it was replaced. The new battery was good for sometime but lately it feels that it lacks power again, specially to restart when off from the auto start-stop system. This problem is very concerning as it can cause a major accident if unable to restart when expected.
Battery will not hold a charge. Battery frequently needs to be recharged. Bought a portable jumper, to ensure vehicle will start away from home where the battery would otherwise be charged in the garage.
I've owned this car for less than a week and already have to replace a battery that was said to be completely fine. It does not retain charge or replenish when parked.
2nd event - SOY based transmission wiring chewed. TWICE in two years. Car garaged, traps in garage. Our cost: about $1500. Time in shop - 3 months, due to "no parts".
BATTERY DRAINS constantly and car will not start. This has happened several times the past month. I understand that it is an ongoing issue with other Subaru's. This is dangerous and must be fixed. This issue has happened 3 times in 2 weeks. 8/1, 8/13, 8/15/2022
There are various lights on on the dash of the vehicle when nothing is seemingly inherently wrong with the vehicle. I notified the dealership about this issue, the dealership claimed that special parts were ordered but I still have not been notifed of their arrival. This puts my safety at risk due to the fact that I am not sure wether the car actually has an issue, or if it is a mere malfunction. The vechicle is now shaking.
Battery drained, towed to dealership twice within a month battery replaced then failed within 2 weeks everything checked out ok but battery still drained very frustrating
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the battery was continually being drained and needed to be recharged frequently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, a cause for the failure was not determined. The dealer recharged the battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure with electrical system defects which consistently drained the battery. The contact recharged the battery after each time the vehicle was driven. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.
Electrical defect in recent Subarus causes parasitic battery drain when the car is not in use. Our battery drained to the point that the vehicle couldn-€™t start without a jump due to this defect.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle stalled and then went into sleep mode. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle also experienced failures with the electrical system. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,300.
At the time, time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the exhaust or there's still sulferic acid in the car. Every once in awhile I my hair smells like oil.. Whatever it is it makes your head feel heavy. My toddler feels something because during a drive he will say " hot". This puts our safety at risk if we are smelling the exhaust or feeling voltage while driving in the car. Sometimes it smells like fuel I the trunk of the car or acidic
The battery died after less than two years. There is a class action lawsuit related to recent Subarus draining batteries very quickly due to parasitic power drain because of a faulty electrical system. The 2020 Forester was included in the initial lawsuit, but this model was thrown out of the lawsuit by the judge since none of the plaintiffs owned a Forester. However, it is a known issue. Prematurely and unexpectedly dead batteries, as I experienced, can cause motorists to be stranded and face related hazards, as well as to incur unexpected costs. I spent more than $200 to replace my battery long before the minimum expected three-year battery life.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Austin, TX, USA