Wilmac
my 2019 Forester XT ( 6,800mls) first died in a local car park a week after it’s first service. The dealers (now apparently standard) response was a faulty battery, even though this was tested as part of the service and passed? The 60ah Panasonic battery was replaced with a Varta 100ah battery last July and of course this initially lasted longer during the summer months. For the past 5 months I have been charging and running the car to boost the voltage which I check regularly, and, if left, within 3 to 4 days the voltage has dropped from 12.57v to around 11 volts, I.e., close to full discharge. One day a couple of weeks ago, it “died” in the drive. Subaru Assist (the AA) came and decided there was a parasitic drain, so the dealer had the car for a full week in February and declared after “extensive” testing that they could find no fault. I have had it back for 10 days and the battery discharge is as bad as ever. I am an Electrical technician who has worked with batteries all my working life and this is not a battery issue, this is a Subaru software or hardware issue and if you check the Outback forum you will see the same issue there, with confused owners being fobbed off with a battery change.
Our Fiat 500 has also been parked up for longer than the Subaru and starts first time, every time. Someone at Subaru needs to admit there is a problem as regardless of the waffle, no car should need a charger attached every few days or be so unreliable you can’t leave home without a back-up battery. This is my 4th Subaru and the first to give me these problems.
