2017 Subaru Outback Electrical System Problems

Since purchasing this Subaru in 2017 there has been multiple incidents where the car battery drains overnight. Causing the car not to start due to a dead battery.

Subaru was not willing to cover the cost to replace their faulty gear shifter. My key gets stuck in the ignition. This problem has been confirmed by a dealership. No warnings happen, it gets stuck. This is a safety issue because I have to leave my keys in my car (unlocked) and come back for them when the car decides to recognize that it is in park. This is a know issue and Subaru wiped its hands of me and said deal with it by yourself.

I'm the original owner, purchased May 2017, and have had to replace the battery five times. Online research indicates that the root cause is phantom draining caused by the DCM apparently searching for a no longer existent 3G signal. Subaru has not addressed the issue directly and has instead issued a technical service bulletin to AAA affiliates to advise their customers to go to dealerships for larger batteries, group 47, with higher cold cranking amps which will also require new battery trays, hold downs and an adjustment to the car's computer. My dealership in Carlsbad, CA informed me the cost might exceed $650 and would not be covered by Subaru. I strongly believe this is an issue that Subaru must address on their dime.

Repeatedly DEAD BATTERY Caused by a parasitic drain from a faulty DCM fuse, and an alternator programmed from the factory to NOT fully charge the battery.

I drive 2.5miles to work, Tuesday [XXX], I was turning into the parking lot and my car just cut off. I couldn't use flashers, restart it, put it in park or anything else. I called my husband to come help. I thought maybe the battery cable might have come loose. It was dead. I couldn't get out, if I let my foot off the brake it would roll backwards, going into the road and I didn't want it to hurt anyone. It started smoking from the drivers front side of engine. I called my husband back and said please hurry. It took approximately 7 minutes for him to arrive. I was on the phone about the smoke when he drove up behind me. He told me to get out of the car it's on fire. He tapped my bumper to keep my car from rolling backwards. I jumped out, called 911.He had sandbags in the back of his truck. He put them under the back tires so it couldn't roll into the traffic. A lady stopped that had a fire extinguisher and [XXX] attempted to put the fire out. It was getting quite large. We couldn't open the hood, he could only spray it in the wheel area up front. He had to get back the fire was getting big. The car then exploded. It was so loud, fire and smoke. I went into work and asked to be let off for that day. I smelled like smoke and my lungs hurt. I inhaled so much smoke. My daughter got me a breathing treatment setup to help with breathing. The fire department came and put the fire out. They were so kind. No police showed up, so we only have a fire department report. The tow truck showed up and took my car away. When we got home we notified our insurance agent. :engine failed, if I had been on a busy street I would have been hit. The car just stopped where it was. Yes our insurance adjuster said it could be looked at by anyone. :Yes my safety and the ones around me were put at risk. My lungs are still suffering. :no it's not been reproduced by anyone I know of. :no, there was no indications that pointed at something being wrong. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My battery continues to die leaving me stranded every winter for the past several years. It is a known issue I believe with the wiring/ fuse for the trunk hatch door. Subaru only offers a new battery - so every year I replace the battery and then end up stranded somewhere again.

was at a stop in the middle lane going to turn left, got hit straight head on by a driver driving in the middle lane. his air bags deployed, none of mine deployed. the front end and drivers side of the subaru was impacted

Battery drain kept on happening. The nth time after buying 2 batteries and getting battery recharge 2x, Subaru sent me a letter of notice of possible problems with car keeps on finding radio or gps signal thus drains the battery. Brought car to Subaru then they changed the signal unit and gave me a new battery as well.

Cannot remove the car key when engine is off and transmission is in Park. Safety concern because I cannot leave the car with the key in the ignition.

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Auto Cruise Control feature failed to function properly. The contact stated that the Auto Cruise Control feature only operated as needed 35% of the time. Additionally, the contact stated that the Lane Keep Assist message was displayed while attempting to use the Cruise Control feature. There was no warning light illuminated. The was taken to the dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that a software update was completed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

On multiple occasions, the battery has gone dead after car was garaged for over a week and car would not start. No lights were left on or doors left ajar. There is some hidden drain on the battery. Also, the battery is not charged sufficiently while idling such as when traffic is stopped for an accident or construction and the battery will die leaving the vehicle stranded. The battery has been replaced, same events continue to occur.

After the car is shifted into park and the key is turned it does not shut off. The key remains stuck in the ingition.

The back lift gate is closed according to the dash display, but the computer detects that the lift gate is NOT closed resulting in a battery drain. The indication that I get is when I start driving I get a beeping noise. I reset the hatch by pressing the hatch button manually. It opens and closes but when you restart the car you get a hesitation as if the battery is dead. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me in the last month and the 3rd time in the past 5 months this year. April 19th I had to jump my car because the battery was dead. I took it to a mechanic and they checked the battery and they advised the battery is fine. It happened again on May 11th, where I put something in the trunk, I closed the trunk it was closed no indication that it was not. The car drove fine. I started the car and again the battery hesitation, when I started driving I received the same beeping, I had to get out the car and manually open the hatch to reset it. The computer needs to be adjusted to detect when the lift gate is actually closed. Having the lift gate not closed but no indication for the drive is a safety problem.

Car regularly has electrical issues. Have replaced battery multiple times over 5 year period. Replaced again last week and already having problems. Power window failure, electrical restarts while driving. Don't feel safe with this car. Bought new from dealer.

I think recall work was not done, but says it was done (or is not open). Does it say when and where recall work was done? This car has a parasitic battery drain, 3 batteries in 3 years, required 2 jump starts, 1 call to AAA. There is a recall for such an issue, but I do not believe it was fixed and done. It showed NO open recalls, and just last week I had brake work for a recall done.

The battery goes completely dead I have gone thru three battery s I only have 18000 miles on this car and it has left me on the road more than once with dead battery.... the dealer has said nothing wrong OMG....I EVEN bought a $300 battery....and subaru will not fix this known problem I see on the internet that I am not alone with this problem. I am afraid this car will go dead while I am driving and cause a safety issue DO SOMETHING PLEASE..I see there is a class action lawsuit but have not received any notices and now all the time to respond has expired ....REALLY.. PLEASE HELP..this car was not cheap it was over $34,000...and subaru just lies and goes around the problem..

11/06/23: During a routine oil change at the dealer a multipoint vehicle inspection was conducted. The inspection revealed an upper oil pan leak. The repair involved removing the engine and replacing various components (gasket, O-Rings and etc.). The vehicle was well maintained and had only 43,492 miles on it. The oil leak potentially could have caused an engine compartment fire (my opinion). Subaru paid $1,500 of the repair. A vehicle with only 43,492 should not have this type of issue. There was also a transmission leak detected that was covered by extended warranty. I was unable to upload any files on your system.

The eyesight system not functioning and at this point has not been repaired and is available for inspection. Warning notices were intermittent with warning sound’s coming on each time. Eventually the warnings came on nearly all the time. I was alone in the dark and very nervous. no other injury Yes the vehicle was taken to dealer, also I took photos as it continued to intermittently occur. Yes there were warning notices that alerted me. Note: dealer states non OEM windshield is cause , however windshield has been in vehicle fo nearly 2.5 years with no issue. Other electrical issue has occurred since eyesight issue.

Vehicle is equipped with a Starlink system and this system no longer functions due to the Subaru Data Communication Module (DCM) that only has a 3G connection module system, since 3G was fazed out the Starlink doesn't function. Since the DCM is always on the car try's to connect to a cell tower that doesn't exist, the car continues to try and connect and eventually runs the battery completely dead leaving the owner stranded. I had to have the battery replaced on 9/15/23. I have contacted Subaru of America by email with no response as of this date.

Vehicle battery needed to be charged over 27 times because it is stone dead. Was told over a year ago vehicle needed a DCM module but there were non a viable..As of 9/5/2023 this module is still unavailable vehicle has only 8,800 miles. Cannot drive vehicle anywhere and be assured it will start and get you back home.Dealership have replaced battery 3 times. This vehicle needs to be recalled.