2019 Subaru Ascent

I BOUGHT MY 2019 ASCENT BRAND NEW IN SUMMER OF 2018. I WAS DRIVING YESTERDAY AND HAD MY 3 YR OLD SON WITH ME. WE STOPPED TO GET ICE CREAM AND SAT IN CAR TO EAT IT. I TURNED CAR ON ENOUGH TO PUT WINDOWS DOWN (NO MORE THAN 3-4 MINUTES AT MOST) AND TURNED OFF. WHEN I WENT TO START CAR WHEN FINISHED ICE CREAM ABOUT 10 MIN LATER MY CAR WOULDN'T START AND COMPLETELY LOCKED UP. COULDN'T EVEN PUT IN NEUTRAL OR TURN THE WHEEL. I CALLED AAA AND THE CAME AND TOLD MY MY BATTERY HEALTH WAS ONLY 30% AND HAD A ZERO CHARGE. HE CHANGED THE BATTERY FOR ME AND WE WERE ON OUR WAY BUT WE WERE LUCKY TO BE IN AN AREA WITH HELP. NOT ALWAYS THE CASE FOR PHONE RECEPTION IN SOME AREAS. THIS CAR IS NOT EVEN 3 YRS OLD. HAD IT BEEN SUMMER IT COULD HAVE GOTTEN EXTREMELY HOT AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR MY SELF AND MY SON. IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED ESPECIALLY SINCE WE DID NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. I HAVE MUCH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE AND IT IS WELL TAKEN CARE OF WITH REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND KEPT IN AN ATTACHED GARAGE.

THE BATTERY IN MY 2019 SUBARU ASCENT DIED TWICE WHILE PARKED IN MY GARAGE AND WE HAD TO CALL AAA TO JUMP START THE CAR. AFTER THE SECOND TIME I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY. THE TECHNICIAN TOLD ME TO LOCK THE CAR EVEN WHEN IT’S IN THE GARAGE SO THAT THE SECURITY SYSTEM WOULD STOP EXCESSIVE BATTERY USE. I’VE READ THAT OTHER SUBARU OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THIS ISSUE OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM I EXPECT I WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE ISSUES WITH THE BATTERY AND NEXT TIME THE VEHICLE MAY BE OUT OF WARRANTY AND I WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR MYSELF.

MY CAR STARTED TO HAVE BATTERY ISSUES EITHER LAST YEAR OR EARLY THIS YEAR. THE BATTERY ISSUES ARE GETTING WORSE. AT THE VERY BEGINNING, THE BATTERY DIED AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS NOT DRIVING; WHICH WAS SHOCKING BECAUSE IT IS A FAIRLY NEW CAR. TODAY THE BATTERY DIED JUST OVERNIGHT; I WAS DRIVING TO WORK YESTERDAY AND WE WERE ABOUT TO DRIVE TO HERSHEY PARK TODAY:( THERE ALREADY HAVE BEEN SEVERAL TIMES OF ROADSIDE SERVICE FOR THE JUMP START WHEN THE MILLAGE WAS LESS THAN 20000. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE BATTERY DRAINS DUE TO THE ELECTRONIC DESIGN. HE SUGGESTED I DRIVE THE CAR EVERYDAY JUST TO CHARGE THE BATTERY. REALLY!?

THE BATTERY IN OUR CAR WAS DEAD AFTER ACCIDENTALLY LEAVING THE TAILGATE DOOR OPEN FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS. WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS ENOUGH TO DO IT BUT JUM STARTED IT AND IT WAS OK FOR A DAY BUT THEN WOULDN'T START REGULARLY WITHOUT LEAVING ANY DOORS OPEN. WE TOOK IT INTO SUBARU AND ULTIMATELY HAD THE BATTER CHANGED EVEN THOUGH THEY TOLD US IT WASN'T THE BATTERY. THE BATTERY WAS DEAD AGAIN TODAY WHEN WE WENT TO USE IT. WE MAYBE LEFT THE TAILGATE OPEN FOR 30 MINUTES A FEW DAYS AGO UNLOADING GROCERIES. THAT SEEMS A LITTLE EXTREME. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN OUR DRIVEWAY BUT IT HAPPENED AT A PARKING GARAGE BEFORE TOO LEAVING ME TO NEED TO GET A RIDE.

I ALREADY REPLACED THE BATTERY IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS AND LESS THAN 25000 MILES.I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE BATTERY LEVEL IS LESS THAN 12V WHEN I DON'T USE THE CAR FOR AROUND 5 DAYS. TO PREVENT THE BATTERY DRAIN I'VE BEEN CHARGING IT EVERY WEEK OR LESS. I HAVE ALSO AVOIDED USING THE TRUNK BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO DRAIN THE BATTERY FASTER. PARKING THE CAR FOR A DAY AND USING THE TRUNK SEVERAL TIMES DOES BRING THE BATTERY LEVEL TO LESS THAN 12V.

EVEN THOUGH I DRIVE MY 2019 ASCENT REGULARLY, I HAD TO JUMP START MY BATTERY TWICE LAST YEAR WITHIN A SPACE OF 1 MONTH. THE DEALER TOLD ME NOTHING WAS WRONG. ON MARCH 28, 2021, HAVING DRIVEN 500 MILES FROM MY HOME IN CA TO SCOTTSDALE AZ, MY BATTERY COMPLETELY DIED AND AAA TOLD ME HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH SUBARU BATTERIES & I HAD TO PURCHASE A NEW ONE AT A COST OF $207. MY SUV BOUGHT IN JULY 2019 HAS A LITTLE OVER 8,000 MILES AND WHEN I CONTACTED SUBARU, THEY BASICALLY BLAMED VARIOUS THINGS AND SUGGESTED I TAKE IT TO A DEALER.

THE CAR BATTERY KEEPS DYING. THE FIRST BATTERY DIED A LITTLE AFTER A YEAR. THE SECOND CAR BATTERY DIED TWO MONTHS AND FEW DAYS LATER. I DRIVE THE CAR A FEW TIMES A WEEK. I'VE NEVER HAD A DIFFERENT CAR DIE UNDER THE SAME DRIVING CONDITIONS. WHEN I JUMP START THE CAR AFTER THE BATTERY DIES, THE ELECTRONICS IN THE CAR DO NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. WHEN I QUICKLY STEER THE STEERING WHEEL, EYESIGHT, POWER STEERING, AND OTHER VARIOUS ELECTRONICS RAPIDLY TURN ON AND OFF. THIS SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THE BATTERY CANNOT BE CHARGED, AND SUFFICIENTLY POWER THE VEHICLE, WHILE THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING AND CAUSES UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. AFTER RECEIVING THE NEW BATTERY, THESE ISSUES WERE MITIGATED UNTIL THE NEW BATTERY DIED TWO MONTHS LATER AND THE SAME BEHAVIOR IS HAPPENING AGAIN. THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT THIS ISSUE, THEY SAID THE BATTERY WAS FAULTY AND REPLACED IT WITH A NEW BATTERY UNDER WARRANTY. I'M STILL WAITING FOR MY NEXT SERVICE APPOINTMENT TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.