2019 SUBARU ASCENT Complaints

HAS A DEFECTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CAUSING THE BATTERY TO DRAIN PREMATURELY. JUST HAD THE NEW SUBARU BATTERY TESTED AND CHARGED AT ADVANCE AUTO PARTS AND IT WAS BROUGHT UP TO ALMOST A FULL CHARGE. AFTER 4 DAYS OF SHORT TRIPS, BATTERY IS DEAD AGAIN.

THE ENGINE KEEPS STUTTERING WHEN DRIVING AND SLOWING DOWN TO STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. COUPLE OF TIMES, IT SHOULD SHUT DOWN AND I HAVE TO RESTART THE CAR. I DO ENSURE THE CAR IS WARMED UP TO A MINIMUM OF 7-10 MINUTES BEFORE STARTING. IT ONLY STARTED RECENTLY BUT I AM WORRIED THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN MORE AND SUDDENLY STOP WHEN DRIVING AND ME GETTING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT.

DEAD BATTERY MULTIPLE TIMES, DEALER SHIP HAS REPLACED THE BATTERY BUT CONTINUES TO HAVE ISSUES AND LEFT STRANDED EACH TIME THIS OCCURS, ONE TIME ON 12-17-2020 IN THE MOUNTAINS IN FREEZING COLD WEATHER WITH A CHILD, NO HEAT BECAUSE OF DEAD BATTERY. THIS ISSUE CANN OCCURING WHEN THE BACK TAILGATE IS OPEN FOR 10 MINUTES. SUBARU IS NOT GOING TO LOOK INTO THE PROBLEM EVEN THOU THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS OCCURING ON SUBARU OUTBACKS AND THE ASCENT MODELS. THIS IS A REAL SAFETY CONCERN SINCE MY WIFE DRIVES THIS CAR MAINLY AND HAS HAD TO CALL FOR HELP TO GET THE CAR STARTED. I WILL BE BRINGING IT BACK TO THE DEALER ONCE AGAIN. THEY WILL END UP REPLACING THE BATTERY AGAIN BUT THE FACT THAT IF YOUR CAR IS TURNED OFF AND DOORS ARE OPEN FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THE DRAW COMING OFF THE BATTERY IS NOT ENOUGH TO START THE CAR AGAIN LEAVING YOU ONCE AGAIN STRANDED.

THE CAR CAUGHT FIRE WHILE SITTING IN THE DRIVEWAY (STATIONARY). THE CAR WAS HAVING ELECTRICAL/BATTERY ISSUES IN THE MORNING. I CHARGED THE BATTERY, THEN STARTED THE CAR AND LEFT IT RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY, WHEN I CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE, THE ENGINE OF THE CAR WAS ON FIRE. I CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PUT THE FIRE. THE FIRE MARSHAL DETERMINED THAT AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE IGNITED THE ENGINE. AFTER POSTING THE PHOTOS OF THE FIRE ON FACEBOOK, WE RECEIVED MULTIPLE COMMENTS THAT OTHER PEOPLE'S SUBARU'S HAVE HAD BATTERY/ELECTRICAL ISSUES. THE INSURANCE COMPANY STATED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE A SPECIALIST EXAMINE THE VEHICLE TO HELP DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE.

SEVERAL TIMES, WHEN TRYING TO CLOSE THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW, THE FRONT PASSENGER WINDOW AND THE SUNROOF, THE WINDOW DID NOT CLOSE COMPLETELY AND SUBSEQUENTLY RE-OPENED. IT HAPPENED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AS WELL AS STATIONARY.

AT ONLY 17.6K MILES, THE BATTERY IN MY 2019 SUBARU ASCENT WAS COMPLETELY DRAINED OVERNIGHT, FOR NO LOGICAL REASON. I CALLED SUBARU ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE TO GIVE ME A JUMP AND I LET IT RUN FOR 33 MINUTES THEN TOOK IT FOR A 10 MIN DRIVE. THE BATTERY WAS DEAD AGAIN THE NEXT MORNING. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY OVERNIGHT AND UNTIL THE 10 MIN DRIVE. DURING THIS TIME THE TAILGATE WOULD PERSISTENTLY BEEP, TRYING TO OPEN.

WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF DRIVING IT OFF THE LOT. I WAS JUST DRIVING IT AND I NOTICED A SMALL CRACK...AND THEN WITHIN A FEW DAYS THE CRACK WENT THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE WINDSHIELD.

ON 4 OCCASSIONS THE LIFTGATE OF THIS SUV WAS LEFT UP FOR 45 MINUTES TO 1.5 HOURS WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND STATIONARY. ON EACH TIME THE BATTERY DISCHARGED TO A POINT THE CAR WOULD NOT START. FORTUNATELY WE HAD CELL SERVICE AND COULD SUMMOND HELP, BUT THIS COULD OCCUR WHERE THERE IS NO CELL SERVICE AND LEAVE US COMPLETELY STRANDED. AFTER THE FIRST 3 TIMNES WHICH HAPPENED IN RAPID SUCCESSION I TOOK THE SUBARU ASCENT TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE BATTERY HAD A WEAK CELL AND THEY REPLACED IT WITHOUT CHARGE. THE REPAIR INVOICE IS ATTACHED. BUT THEY NEVER TOLD ME THAT LEAVING THE LIFTGATE UP MORE THAN 30 MINUTES WOULD CAUSE THIS PROBLEM AND LEAVE ME STRANDED. THEN WHEN THE PROBLE OCCURRED AGAIN I WENT ONLINE AND DISCOVERED THIS IS A WIDELY-KNOWN DEFECT IN THE SUBARU ASCENT AND OTHER SUBARU MODELS THAT HAS STRANDED THOUSANDS OF OWNERS. OWNERS TAKE THEIR SUVS ON CAMPING OR FISHING TRIPS AND TAILGATING AT EVENTS WHERE THEY LEAVE THE LIFTGATE UP WITHOUT REALIZING THE CAR IS UNLIKELY TO START WHEN THEY WANT TO LEAVE. BUT SUBARU IS REFUSING TO CONSIDER A FIX AND RECALL THESE SUVS. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANOTHER VEHICLE WITH THIS DEFECT OR PROBLEM. MANY OWNERS ARE SPENDING $250 OR MORE FOR AFTER-MARKET BATTERIES THAT ARE MUCH STRONGER THAN THE WEAK BATTERIES THAT SUBARU PROVIDES. WHILE THIS DOES NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND SUCH OWNERS CAN STILL BE STRANDED, AT LEAST WITH A STRONGER BATTERY THE CHANCES IT WILL START ARE MUCH BETTER. SUPPOSEDLY THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED IN NEW JERSEY AGAINST SUBARU OVER THIS ISSUE, BUT THAT WILL ONLY REWARD THE ATTORNEYS INVOLVED WITH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND PROBABLY NET ME $20 IN 5 YEARS. PLEASE CONSIDER FORCING SUBARU TO FIND A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM AND RECALL AND FIX ALL SUBARU ASCENTS STILL ON THE ROAD.

MY WINDSHIELD HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY OBJECTS FROM THE ROADWAY TWICE AND HAS HAD TO BE REPLACED EACH TIME. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS IN APRIL 2019, WHEN A CHUNK OF ICE FLEW OFF A VEHICLE AHEAD OF MINE AND NEARLY SHATTERED THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. THIS WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED. THE REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD WAS IMPACTED BY A SMALL ROAD ROCK WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE IN DECEMBER 2020, RESULTING IN A GOLF BALL-SIZED PUNCTURE DOWN TO THE ADHESIVE SHEET. EVEN THE SAFELITE TECH REMARKED AT THE LEVEL OF DAMAGE AND WAS UNABLE TO SALVAGE THE WINDSHIELD. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A ROAD ROCK CAUSE THAT MUCH DAMAGE TO A WINDSHIELD, AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S EVER BEEN A VEHICLE I'VE OWNED THAT HASN'T TAKEN A ROCK AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER. IT'S UNAVOIDABLE. WHAT IS NOT UNAVOIDABLE IS THE CLEARLY DEFECTIVE NATURE OF THESE WINDSHIELDS. I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE BEHIND THE WHEEL. THAT WINDSHIELD WILL PROTECT NOTHING IN A HIGH-IMPACT SITUATION.

THE VEHICLE HAS HAD A DEAD BATTERY ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS IN THE PAST YEAR INCLUDING THIS MORNING (12/04/2020), AND THE VEHICLE IS STILL LESS THAN TWO YEARS OLD, AND ONLY HAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000 MILES.