2020 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

On May 27, 2021, my 2020 Outback would not start after driving approx. 20-25 min. and being shut off approx. 15-20 min. I called my dealer, they sent technician & loaner car. He was able to start the car with a battery booster after trying several other things. My husband & I drove directly to the dealer, approx. 30 min., to have battery checked out. They did a Battery and Electrical System Analysis which came back with a "Good Battery". The next 2 days, no problems. On May 30, 2021, the car would not start 2 different times at our home. My husband used the battery booster both times to start. On June 1, 2021 I sched. an appt. for 6/2 with dealer to find problem. I checked in at 12:53, out at 4:15. It took 3 hrs. 22 min. to decide that the battery had failed and replaced.

Car driven regularly 6 days a week. Battery completely drained overnight and needed replacement.

Our car would not start. Lots of clicking and lights on the dash. It was parked in the garage and was driven the day before. Car has around 900 miles on it. I ordered a 1.5 amp charger/maintainer online. AAA came the following day, diagnosed it as a low charge on the battery and jump started it. I let it sit for 1 hour. Battery charger/maintainer arrived and it has been charging all night and all this morning. I researched online and found out this battery has been an issue with Subaru since 2017 and a service bulletin was put out. See link: https://www.torquenews.com/1084/subaru-hit-new-lawsuit-over-outback-wagon-dead-battery-issue?page=2 We researched more on the internet and now need to make sure we take extra precautions as to how far we drive, where we drive to etc.

Electrical issues started August 15, 2020 when car would not start. Requested jump without positive results and after sitting for 3 hours in a parking lot, it started. Took to dealership and they found nothing wrong. Fast forward to 2021, driving on Interstate at 65mph and again at 70mph when radio turns off by itself, then front driver monitoring system light comes on, the side collision prevention light comes on, the RAB light comes on and another warning light that I was unable to catch. Lasts a few seconds then goes off. The next morning after the car sat for approximately 16 hours, it would not start. Dealership stated it was the battery and replaced battery on May 6, 2021. It sat at dealership 2 days and would not start when went to pick it up. They stated dome light left on, charged battery and gave it back to me. Third time when warning lights came on, took in and they stated they couldn’t find anything thus couldn’t fix something they couldn’t find and gave it back to me (May 19, 2021). Now on May 28, 2021 same issue, dead in driveway. Car has 22,285 miles on it.

I purchased a 2020 Subaru Outback XT in March 2020 (approximately 14 months of driving at the time of this submission). The vehicle currently has almost 15k miles on it. I recently had my fourth (4th!) windshield installed. The first replacement windshield was installed after a pebble the size of a grain of rice (I saw kicked up by a truck in front of me) hit the windshield and caused a large lateral crack the propagated. The vehicle had approximately 1500 miles at the point. The first replacement (OEM) cracked after hitting another pebble on the highway. I did not see the size this time because it was on the part of the windshield obstructed by the side posts on the outside of the windshield. The crack propagated horizontally across the entire windshield. This occurred at approximately 8K miles. The second replacement (aftermarket made to OEM specs) cracked after hitting a bug! A picture taken immediately after bug impact is attached below. The crack propagated in a Y-formation and needed replacement. Although cicadas have recently begun coming out, this was not an overly large bug. It was approximately the size of a lightning bug, as I saw it hit. I also drive a VW Golf with 50k miles (over 5 years) and have never had a windshield issue.

Windshield cracked while on the freeway. I don't think anything hit it, we were driving at 75 MPH when we heard a crack, and instantly a crack went from the bottom left side of the windshield in an upward direction almost all the way across the center of the glass. The glass at the bottom left side where the crack started is broken deeply into the glass and may be all the way through. We are concerned that if a large rock hit the windshield it would break apart and fall into the car. I brought the car to the Subaru dealer we purchased the car from. The service manager looked at it and instantly said, rock hit, not covered and wouldn't talk to us after that. The car has less than 10,000 miles.

The electronic controls black out while driving the entire center screen and electronics shut down disabling the warning lights and I think also the electronic systems that function to control the safety warnings and functionality. This has been a problem on an ongoing basis since the purchase of the vehicle. This has been "repaired" multiple times by the dealer under the direction of Subaru. There was a recall earlier this year that was supposed to correct the problem it added some functionality, but primarily this recall reprogramming of the electronics was supposed to correct the blacking out of electronics and the disabling of the safety systems. The recall reprogramming has not corrected the problem. When I complained to Subaru they suggested that I take a video of the failure when it happened. I explained that this was not possible because I was driving at 70 MPH when it happened and could not just grab my phone and start a video while driving on I-95. Last week I was able to get a video of the failure as it happened while my wife was driving and I was a passenger. The entire panel blacked out and she pulled to the side of the road and I took a video of the 4 minutes the system was out. I will attach this video to this report. In addition there is an additional problem that occurred related to the lane keep assist function. There are four options to configure this function they are: 1> OFF 2> Warning Buzzer Only 3> Lane Keep function Only 4> All Functions. My understanding of the operation of this system has one function that shuts the system Off that is obviously the OFF function. #2 although only a buzzer has the system on, #3 has the functionality working but no warning buzzer (my preferred choice) and #4 that has all functions operating both warning buzzer and lane keep functions. My concern is that if you use #3 the system shows a warning light on the dash that shows the system if OFF. I have video of the electronics but don't know how to upload it.

Battery dead when parked in garage at home. No lights or other systems were left on. Had to jump start, drove several miles to recharge. Next time tried to start, battery was dead again. This happened 3 or 4 times (eg: 3 or 4 different days), before finally brought to dealership to have battery replaced under warranty. It is at the shop now, so I have no documentation as of yet. Moderate weather in the 50s-80s outside, so weather not a factor. Car has about 8500 miles on it. I hear this is known problem with Subaru outbacks. Glad battery was dead in garage. at home, and I was not stranded somewhere remote, unsafe or in bad weather

Battery problem. There was no risk at this point but having these kinds of battery problems could result in not being able to start your car in unsafe conditions, cold weather, etc. After sitting and listening to SiriusXM Radio and charging my iphone with the engine off for approximately 10 minutes my car would not start. It cranked a bit and then the display lights all started flashing. Other attempts to start resulted in just the lights flickering. I called the service center and was told that leaving the accessories on for more than 5-10 minutes could result in a dead battery. There was no indication of the problem until this happened for the first time. I have a neighbor with an older Forester who also has problems with battery draining even while the car is off.

UNKNOWN - I was pulling away from my parking spot at work and heard a "pop" sound. I looked up and the windshield cracked right at the top in the middle where the rear view mirror is located. I am familiar with this issue as it also happened to my 2012 Subaru Outback. It is quite unsettling because you don't know when/if it will spread even further. Everything about Subaru's are great except for the cheap windshield.