charging battery

Charge up the battery or jump start it. Your car probably lost all the codes to various devices so you may need to take a trip to your Subaru dealer. Page 9-12 of your owners manual.

I see in my manual 'Drainage prevention function' but that only shuts off some interior lights--if the door is open for a couple of days the battery will still run down. What about the computers? Will they need to be reset by a Subaru dealer?

I did charge battery over night. However, after three stops it was hard to start it after my 4th stop. How fast and how long do you need to drive to make sure the battery is topped off. I drove about 25 min at from 45-25mph---is that enough? Yes, I think the computer stuff is off--my radio stations were not there, the clock was the wrong time, and from the drivers controls I couldn't raise the passenger window (the two back windows, the driver still had control). Does all this have to do with the computer shutting down and not re booting correctly?

My 2015 Foresters battery was getting weak after 2 years. My wife ran down the battery to the point it needed a jump start and it did not lose radio settings but the ECU did lose memory and had to re-learn her driving habits.

A dead battery will cause the windows to lose their settings which requires re-programming. Maybe this video will help you DIY --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSaS3OmCg3s

Oy oy oy...much ado about nothing! No, you did NOT fully recharge the battery in just a moderate around-town run. Either just fully charge it with any charger or drive a good hour at speed to nearly-full status. You'll have to reset radio stations, etc., but should NOT need a tow to a dealer! Note that accidentally running the battery down isn't something a dealer is obligated to cover...except as good will of course. There IS a chance that you have a defective new battery...but unlikely.

Just had this issue on my '17 Forester- slow starting for the past month or so. Today I had to get the battery jumped and drove it straight to the dealership. They did an ECM update and changed out the battery. I was told they see it often. All covered under warranty.

My 2017 Outback acted up several times, needing a jump start. Subaru deal installed a "short trip battery reprogram", the wording chosen to put a positive spin on a design mistake by Subaru. The dealer failed to check the battery. A week later with another failure to start, I used a battery hydrometer to measure the charge in each cell. Two cells were bad. Back to the dealer for a new battery under warranty. Hopefully, it's fixed.

Interesting that every 2014 I buy has a good original battery, while every 2016 has already had a new one installed! Bad lead from China?

Well, my THREE WEEK OLD '19 Outback has a DEAD BATTERY!!! EFFING phantom loads? Why has Subaru not FIXED this?!

Wow. But before you waste your time at the dealer try running it on the highway for an hour to fully charge, and take it from there. It's possible that your Subie sat on a lot for several weeks unused, and was jump-started to deliver to you, and hasn't recovered full charge in the meantime. But if a long high speed run doesn't result in a several week static ability I'd complain. Most '17s I see have original batteries, so they do last a couple of years.

I would like to take battery out and charge on my work bench. 2019 Outback 4 cyl. No turbo. Left back hatch open all day at home. Are there any tricks to take battery out and reinstall?

Leaving the hatch open didn't drain the battery, but maybe the coupled interior roof light did! No tricks to battery removal at all, but I'd just charge in situ...if your extension cord is long enough...and you're not buried in snow!

We have a 2016 Crosstrek with this problem that Subaru denies exists. I read another helpful post here and followed the advice and wanted to report results for everyone else. Its not the battery. Its not the alternator. Its a faulty design but there is an easy FREE fix. I bought a $10 charging meter that you plug into the cigarette lighter that displays voltage while driving. Under 12.5v is draining the battery from the electrical system draw and above that is charging it. For the first few miles of driving the system is charging at around 14v but then it drops to under 12.5v. Repeated short trips would mean not enough charge is being added to offset what is being drained. Our battery died three times over the two years since we bought the car, I replaced it with a brand new Interstate battery and it happened a week later. Subaru set it up this way to eek out a slightly higher amount of MPG since charging the battery means engaging the alternator/belts and makes the engine work a little harder. Hard to believe they would trade this for potentially becoming stranded but they did and now they play dumb. The fix is easy. Turn on your headlights all the time. Not "auto" but ON. This forces the system to keep charging the battery, the same as the rest of the reliable cars on the road do with or without their lights on. Even Subaru knows headlight and taillight electrical draw would kill the battery so the lights on signals to the ECU to keep charging the battery. It doesn't work with just the parking lights. It does also work with the heat/fan/a/c on high instead of the lights but that's a bit impractical for my taste. With the headlights on, the system is charging near 14v all the time and I could read it on the meter. Turn the headlights/fan/a/c off and the charging voltage dropped. We bought this Subaru after being owners of a series of Toyota's. Great safety ratings and high marks for reliability on the Subaru. Since then we have had the shifter adjusted during the warranty period but not covered, and this recurring battery killing problem they won't admit exists or tell people how to fix. If Subaru recalled or even admitted the problem I would give them some credit but denying this problem that hundreds have documented is ridiculous. Good car, not a good company. There's even a class action lawsuit out there. We will never buy a Subaru again. Having my family stranded from a brand new dead battery once is enough for me.

Wow! I just bought a 2016. Thank your the information. I have read many reviews about this very problem and I was told the Subaru batteries themselves are just not good enough to supply enough power all the power need of the car. Apparently, many people have installed high performance batteries and did not have any problems at all so that is what I was planning to do once this one expired.

Lidia, any good battery will suffice. Again, I recommend the Interstate 25 at COSTCO for $80 or for VERY deep winters the 34 for $90. Nothing fancy.