Hybrid Forester - Battery Problems

[AndrewForesterXT]

I don't have the Hybrid model but I do have the last turbo (& last fast in UK available it seems) XT Forester. An 2016 plate.

Yesterday I had Halfords around to install my 5th (!) Battery within 6 years of ownership. Every winter it's the same story. Doesn't start after leaving the car for 4-5 days.

I've been driving for over 20 years and never had to change a car Battery EVER before and my driving pattern has been similar with my previous 3 cars at least.

 

The only thing I can think of now is that indeed an after market part that WAS fitted by the dealer were front parking sensors. They are terrible and often beep when starting the car for no reason. Perhaps there is a parasitic draw but I'm really not sure as with a new Battery the car is fine for a year until the next winter rolls around.

A parasitic draw should I think cause similar problems in summer, during which I have even left the car for 10 days at an airport and started fine when picking it up.

 

I get the impression once the car Battery is dead a couple of times in a row, or at least doesn't have enough energy left to start it is game over for the battery and will never charge fully again (whether on long drives or left on a charger).

I recharged it fully last Friday and on Saturday went for a 2 x 40 min drive (yey it started fine then) and had a nice walk in a country park. By Wednesday it was already dead and not starting. We had some bad winds at the beginning of the week but temps were not freezing. The car hasn't iced up for several weeks.

That battery was installed September 2020.

 

This is the last battery I will buy for the XT. If it becomes problematic again I will get another car.

Tesla valued my XT at £16,000 which is more than I would pay for a constantly troublesome not starting car. But Teslas are effing expensive cars and ALSO have 12v batteries. However I am thinking the big advantage with an EV is the lack of big power needed for a start so regardless of what happens it should be more reliable to at least be able to drive.

 

Sure I don't drive much (30K miles over 5 1/2 years), but it should be able to deal with 0-5 degree temps for 4 days after a full charge.

There is no way I would chance leaving this car at an airport during the winter months. Even with this new battery.

 

My experience has been quite terrible battery wise and it seems going by threads here and on the subaruforester.org forum that I'm not the only one OR that these problems have been solved with the newer models.

The OEM 390CA battery was a joke and according to the dealer was fine when it wouldn't start after leaving 2-3 days! I've been replacing the initial battery with 650CA or 550CA models but they don't seem to last much longer after 1 year once I run into a few non starts and then they are done.

A battery tester indicated on the last 650CA model that was replaced yesterday that fully charged had 450CA available. That is still more than the OEM battery (!) so why it still doesn't last 4 days minimum at not even freezing temps I don't know. It seems bizarre. Maybe there is just a gigantic (more than usual) draw on car starts. I don't get it.:

The car, when starts to be fair is excellent. Only the terrible audio quality in the 2016 model really lets it down further.

But the not starting thing is such a big deal, I just don't want another Subaru anymore. It has really put me off.

The only solution IF I were to want to keep this car that I can think (other than driving every 2nd or 3rd day - which is a ridiculous thing to HAVE to do I think) is making my garage more accessible (converting from 2 doors to 1) and putting the car on a battery charger every time I come home with it.

 

----

I just saw the 0-60 acceleration figures on the NEW facelift Hybrid "sport" model. Another bleedin' joke I must say! "Sport" 0-60 in 11.8 sec. Really? And still not much better MPG wise than my XT. Sure, the emissions are less and that makes VED affordable but there is little benefit to the driver with these new models, which is why I never bothered getting a new one. Getting a (costly to the environment) new car just so that my emissions are a bit lower on the few miles I do and be as slow as an old Fiesta seems nonsense.

I thought for a second when I saw "sport" advertised today that things might have improved acceleration wise but definitely not.

So the new e-Boxer has the same problem as my 2016 XT model with problematic batteries, doesn't deliver much more MPG (less than 2MPG as stated) and is as slow as a snail. No chance for £40K.

[Richardw]

On 2/4/2022 at 11:15 PM, AndrewForesterXT said:

I don't have the Hybrid model but I do have the last Turbo (& last fast in UK available it seems) XT Forester. An 2016 plate.

Yesterday I had Halfords around to install my 5th (!) battery within 6 years of ownership. Every winter it's the same story. Doesn't start after leaving the car for 4-5 days.

I've been driving for over 20 years and never had to change a car battery EVER before and my driving pattern has been similar with my previous 3 cars at least.

 

The only thing I can think of now is that indeed an after market part that WAS fitted by the dealer were front parking sensors. They are terrible and often beep when starting the car for no reason. Perhaps there is a parasitic draw but I'm really not sure as with a new battery the car is fine for a year until the next winter rolls around.

A parasitic draw should I think cause similar problems in summer, during which I have even left the car for 10 days at an airport and started fine when picking it up.

 

I get the impression once the car battery is dead a couple of times in a row, or at least doesn't have enough energy left to start it is game over for the battery and will never charge fully again (whether on long drives or left on a charger).

I recharged it fully last Friday and on Saturday went for a 2 x 40 min drive (yey it started fine then) and had a nice walk in a country park. By Wednesday it was already dead and not starting. We had some bad winds at the beginning of the week but temps were not freezing. The car hasn't iced up for several weeks.

That battery was installed September 2020.

 

This is the last battery I will buy for the XT. If it becomes problematic again I will get another car.

Tesla valued my XT at £16,000 which is more than I would pay for a constantly troublesome not starting car. But Teslas are effing expensive cars and ALSO have 12v batteries. However I am thinking the big advantage with an EV is the lack of big power needed for a start so regardless of what happens it should be more reliable to at least be able to drive.

 

Sure I don't drive much (30K miles over 5 1/2 years), but it should be able to deal with 0-5 degree temps for 4 days after a full charge.

There is no way I would chance leaving this car at an airport during the winter months. Even with this new battery.

 

My experience has been quite terrible battery wise and it seems going by threads here and on the subaruforester.org forum that I'm not the only one OR that these problems have been solved with the newer models.

The OEM 390CA battery was a joke and according to the dealer was fine when it wouldn't start after leaving 2-3 days! I've been replacing the initial battery with 650CA or 550CA models but they don't seem to last much longer after 1 year once I run into a few non starts and then they are done.

A battery tester indicated on the last 650CA model that was replaced yesterday that fully charged had 450CA available. That is still more than the OEM battery (!) so why it still doesn't last 4 days minimum at not even freezing temps I don't know. It seems bizarre. Maybe there is just a gigantic (more than usual) draw on car starts. I don't get it.:

The car, when starts to be fair is excellent. Only the terrible audio quality in the 2016 model really lets it down further.

But the not starting thing is such a big deal, I just don't want another Subaru anymore. It has really put me off.

The only solution IF I were to want to keep this car that I can think (other than driving every 2nd or 3rd day - which is a ridiculous thing to HAVE to do I think) is making my garage more accessible (converting from 2 doors to 1) and putting the car on a battery charger every time I come home with it.

 

----

I just saw the 0-60 acceleration figures on the NEW facelift Hybrid "sport" model. Another bleedin' joke I must say! "Sport" 0-60 in 11.8 sec. Really? And still not much better MPG wise than my XT. Sure, the emissions are less and that makes VED affordable but there is little benefit to the driver with these new models, which is why I never bothered getting a new one. Getting a (costly to the environment) new car just so that my emissions are a bit lower on the few miles I do and be as slow as an old Fiesta seems nonsense.

I thought for a second when I saw "sport" advertised today that things might have improved acceleration wise but definitely not.

So the new e-Boxer has the same problem as my 2016 XT model with problematic batteries, doesn't deliver much more MPG (less than 2MPG as stated) and is as slow as a snail. No chance for £40K.

Had a 2018 xt for a year now, just suffered dead Battery after not using for 11 days ! Was hoping Battery was on way out but after reading these threads not so sure 

[Justin Time]

There's a Subaru Battery Drain Lawsuit currently ongoing in the US over these exact same issues some owners are also experiencing in the UK https://www.torquenews.com/1084/subaru-battery-drain-lawsuit-new-claims-now-include-forester-wrx-and-legacy

And also https://www.motorbiscuit.com/dead-batteries-new-subaru-lawsuit-claims-least-five-models-defective-batteries/

[Julian from Warburton]

I am in Victoria, Australia and have a Hybrid Forester S MY2020. I bought it as a Demo model just on 12  months ago.  During this time I have had to call out the RACV 4 times to jump start.  The car is driven most days and I am met with near disbelief that there is a problem by the local Subaru dealership.

[Steveo535]

Hi All

I’m reading this with interest. 
 

I collect my new Forester eboxer a couple of weeks ago and yesterday had a strange issue which I’m wonder if it’s connected to this thread. Unlocked the car putting my hand behind the handle, when I opened the door I heard a chirp got in the car as soon as I attempted to start it the alarm went off. I could not stop it I couldn’t look the car with the fob just had to wait for it to stop. Once it stopped I still could do anything with the fob. 
 

I left for about 20 minutes tried again and I could lock the car with the fob. Reopened the car and it started and was fine and has been ok since. 
 

Unsure what to do the car is only 2 weeks old so I can attempt to reject the car or do I let the dealer attempt to repair the car. Going into dealer today to see what they say. 

[Steveo535]

Just a quick update. 
 

Had the car at the dealers who told me there were lots of fault codes but all related to a dead Battery. They did a Battery test and the Battery was “good” according to their machine. He did admit that when people have had this issue in the past they have changed the Battery and problem solved. 
 

I’m now pushing to get the battery changed. 

[Justin Time]

Sorry to hear you've had this hassle with your new car.  Sadly, Battery issues with some 'modern' Subarus are not unknown, as successful class-action law suites demonstrate in the US.  I wonder how long the car was stored before you bought it.  Whether the rear hatch was left up for extended times without the Battery being disconnected, etc.  Hopefully, the new Battery will sort this and you'll have a great time enjoying your new motor.  I still always drive with the sidelights on, use the karabiner-trick on the hatch lock if open for extended periods, and avoid short journeys.  3 years of ownership so far has avoided issues (hope Im not tempting fate!!!).

All the best. 

[Steveo535]

Hi Justin. 
 

Thanks for your reply. I love the car is comfortable and just the right size for my lifestyle. 
 

I’m still waiting for the dealer to get back to me about changing the Battery. I don’t think they want to change it unless they can claim the cost back from Subaru. 
 

Happy motoring Justin. 

[Vardle]

This problem seems to go on. I have a 2021 E-Boxer and managed to flatten the Battery whilst updating the nav software!.I recharged the Battery and all of the dash lights came up with warning lights. By disconnecting the start Battery for about 1 min and then reconnecting the reset brought everything back to normal.

My question is :- is it feasible to jump start from the 2nd restart Battery under the bonnet which doesn't discharge? If the answer is yes can we fit a paralleling relay/switch between the two to eliminate the jump leads?

[Mr B]

the answer s obviously yes and if Subaru engineers (well Toyota too) been smart they could of incorporated an emergency jump mode to get people out of the jam.
Unfortunately they not even smart enough make a car with acceptable parasitic losses during parked-locked sleep state .
Due to fact you still under warranty any alterations will effect the warranty .
The smartest thing you can do is get rid of this garbage ASAP before it nothing but scrap value .
These vehicles are inept engineering, sloppy computer software, poor quality components, questionable build assenbly and come with a dealership technical support that can't really diagnose real world faults or offer real solutions to known repeat failures & TSB highlighted issues .
Unfortunately I get deal with lot of this garbage and it really is generally pointless misery spending time and money on most of it, they stopped making decent cars about 15 years ago ,
Newer you go the bigger the hassles and bills and worse the reliability & true environmental impact as the vehicles fill waste bins with massive amount of parts prematurely & the whole car is environmental joke to produce and has an appalling short lifespan potential .
A Japanese engineer (Izuzu Diesel projects) once told me if want be environmental buy an older diesel, maintain it sensibly & keep your annual mileage low as sensibly can, no EV or hybrid gets even close to a good vehicle from late 90's to late 2000's for life to death true environmental impact evaluation once you take away the EV marketing BS .
Real environmental solutions don't make money easily but the current marketed environmental wonders will drain your bank account just as good as it drains and ruins the auxiliary batteries  lol .