2019 SUBARU ASCENT Complaints

BATTERY DIES REGULARLY - DEALER HAS REPLACED THE BATTERY THREE TIMES ALREADY. NO LIGHTS ARE ON, NO CLEAR REASON WHY THE BATTERY SLOWLY AND CONSISTENTLY DRAINS OVER TIME. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, BUT CHILD AND PET HAVE BEEN LOCKED INSIDE, AND IT HAS HAPPENED IN REMOTE LOCATIONS. ALSO, WITH ELECTRICAL PARKING BRAKE, IT CAN'T BE RELEASED FOR TOWING WHEN THE BATTERY DIES. STRANDED IN THE WOODS WITH A KID TRAPPED IN THE CAR AND NO MEANS OF JUMPING IT IS VERY DANGEROUS.

I HAVE ABOUT 7000 MILES AND MY BATTERY HAS BEEN DIEING AND NEEDING A JUMP START. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER IN APRIL AND NO ISSUES WERE REPORTED BY THE DEALERSHIP. THE PROBLEM HAPPENED 2 DAYS BACK AND AGAIN I HAD TO JUMPSTART AND DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR 5 MINUTES. BUT THE CAR WOULD AGAIN NOT START 30 MINUTES LATER AND NEEDED YET ANOTHER JUMP START. I HAVE A FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER AND THE BATTERY PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE COMMON IN MANY SUBARUS AS ASSESSED BY ONLINE FORUMS.

AT ABOUT 13,000 MILES THE VEHICLE SHOWED SYMPTOMS OF WARPED FRONT ROTORS. THEY WERE MACHINED SMOOTH. AT 21,000 MILES THE SYMPTOMS RETURNED AND THIS TIME THEY FRONT ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE NOW HAS 32,000 MILES AND IS PRESENTING WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS. THE SYMPTOMS ARE: SHAKING WHEN BRAKING AND A NOTICEABLY DELAYED STOPPING TIME.

BATTERY FREQUENTLY DIES OVERNIGHT. I'LL GET IN THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING TO TAKE MY KIDS TO SCHOOL AND GO TO WORK AND BATTERY IS DEAD FOR NO REASON. NO LIGHTS LEFT ON OR DOORS OPEN. VEHICLE IS STATIONARY. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 6 TIMES OVER 2 YEARS.

I BOUGHT THE CAR IN OCT 2018. FROM THAT TIME UNTIL TO END OF 2019 I HAD A COUPLE OF CASES OF BATTERY DISCHARGE THAT I DID NOT TAKE SERIOUSLY THINKING THAT IT WAS ME LEFT LIGHTS ON OVERNIGHT OR KIND OF. 12/29/2019 THE CAR DID NOT START AT A GROCERY SHOP. I HAD TO CALL UBER FOR MY FAMILY AND SPEND 3 HOURS IN THE COLD CAR IN FREEZING TEMPERATURE WAITING FOR THE ROADSIDE ASSIST SERVICE. EVENTUALLY THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY DID NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BUT CHANGED THE BATTERY. AFTER THAT I BOUGHT A JUMP STARTER THAT I HAD TO USE IT MANY TIMES DURING 2020. IN OCT 2020 WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT THE BATTERY WAS DEAD IN THE MORNING JUST ANOTHER TIME I GOT THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN. THAY TESTED EVERYTHING AND SAID THAT THE CAR AND THE BATTERY ARE OK. I FIND THE SITUATION UNACCEPTABLE. IT'S NOT A MINOR. JUST IMAGINE THAT YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WITH KIDS ON BOARD OUT OF REACH OF CELLULAR NETWORK IN A DEAD CAR. IF THE TEMPERATURE IS FREEZING YOU ARE IN A SERIOUS TROUBLE. RECENTLY I'VE FOUND OUT THAT IT'S NOT MY CAR ONLY. A FRIEND OF MINE OWNS OUTBACK 2017 THAT HAS A SIMILAR PROBLEM. THE INTERNET IS FULL OF STORIES ABOUT DEAD BATTERIES IN OUTBACKS AND ASSENTS. IT'S SAD THAT SUBARU DOESN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM. THEY MUST INVESTIGATE AND OPEN A RECALL TO FIX IT.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS ASCENT'S WINDSHIELD HAS CRACKED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. THE FIRST TIME WAS WITHIN 60 DAYS OF PURCHASE; IT WAS REPLACED WITH A OEM WINDSHIELD BY SUBARU. THERE WAS NO OBSERVED OBJECT IMPACT IN EITHER CASE. THE ATTACHED PHOTO IS OF THE SECOND CRACK WHICH WAS NOTICED TODAY.

WHEN ACCELERATING THE CAR LURCHES AND HESITATES, THERE IS ALSO A LOW GROWLING NOISE FROM THE RIGHT SIDE. THIS HAPPENS MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPEEDS, IN NEIGHBORHOOD DRIVING, UNDER 30 MILES HOUR. THE CAR HAS ALREADY HAD A NEW TRANSMISSION AS WE WERE TOLD THIS WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE ISSUE CONTINUED AND WAS BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP. THE OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS FROM THE DEALERSHIP IS WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND WE CANNOT FIX IT. PLEASE DRIVE AS NORMAL. THIS ISSUE HAS BENE ONGOING WITH THE CAR FOR MONTHS.

MY FUEL PUMP WAS REPLACED (ACCORDING TO THE DEALER) BASED ON THE MOST RECENT RECALL. HOWEVER NOW IT IDLES AND RUNS ROUGH JUST A SHORT TIME AFTER THIS SERVICE. I RECENTLY READ THERE IS ANOTHER LAWSUIT OR ISSUE WITH THIS FUEL PUMP AND THE SYMPTOMS ARE THE SAME.

4 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING MY ASCENT I WAS ON THE FREEWAY AND A PASSING VEHICLE THREW UP A ROCK AND HIT THE WINDSHIELD. IT WAS SO SMALL THAT NORMALLY IT COULD HAVE BEEN FIXED BUT INSTEAD IT BROKE THE WINDSHIELD FROM THE DRIVER SIDE VIEW ALL THE WAY OVER TO THE PASSENGER SIDE. THE WHOLE WINDSHIELD HAD TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF $1200 FOR THE WINDSHIELD AND HAD TO BE RE-CALIBRATED AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR AN ADDITIONAL COST OF $300. HERE I AM A YEAR LATER AND THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. EXACT SAME SPOT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WHERE A TINY ROCK FLEW UP AND AGAIN CRACKED THE WINDSHIELD FROM THE DRIVER SIDE ALL THE WAY OVER TO THE PASSENGER SIDE. THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECT IN THE GLASS MANUFACTURER THAT SUBARU IS USING FOR THEIR VEHICLES AND ITS A COSTLY ONE

HATCH LEFT OPEN OVER NIGHT, PARKED IN GARAGE. NEXT MORNING FOUND BATTERY WAS DRAINED AND UNABLE TO START ENGINE.