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A number of Subaru vehicles have defective electrical systems that are draining consumers’ car batteries, time, and money, and the company has done little to remedy the issue, a new Subaru class action lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit was filed in Ontario by lead Plaintiff Steven Scott and adds to a number of other lawsuits the company is facing for the same issue. Scott alleges that his 2016 Subaru Outback, which he bought in British Columbia in 2017, started suffering from electrical problems at only 6,560 kilometers.
According to the class action lawsuit, Scott was unable to close the passenger window from the driver’s console and the battery would drain after leaving the tailgate open for 15 minutes. The power lift tail gate also failed to function, he says.
In June 2019, Scott’s vehicle wouldn’t start so he had it towed to a dealer where the technician gave the battery a boost and told him he needed a new battery. He then purchased a new battery and battery charger, but he has since had to charge the battery twice and had to use a spare battery on numerous occasions.
“Since purchasing the vehicle, the Plaintiff has incurred approximately $500 in out-of-pocket expenses and significant time in dealing with issues related to the Electrical Defect, hereinafter defined. The presence of the Electrical Defect has caused the Plaintiff significant anxiety,” the claim reads.
“This class action concerns the life threatening, negligent, and dangerous design, production, and manufacture of defective electrical components in the Class Vehicles,” the claim reads.
Those vehicles include 2015-2019 Subaru Outback, 2015-2019 Subaru WRX, 2015-2019 Subaru Forester, 2015-2019 Subaru Legacy, and 2019 Subaru Ascent.
The claim adds that had Scott known about the defect suffered by the vehicles, which causes “parasitic battery drain,” he would not have purchased his Outback.
Dealerships typically tell customers the batteries simply need to be recharged as a way to evade warranty obligations, Scott alleges in the claim.
The electrical issues with the vehicles have diminished resale values because Subaru refuses to issue recalls and repair the alleged defects, Scott says, and on top of that Subaru has not offered to reimburse owners for expenses related to the battery problems.
“Subaru has not only failed to disclose to consumers that the Class Vehicles were predisposed to the Electrical Defect and would therefore suffer from premature battery failure, but it also failed to disclose that the Defect would diminish the intrinsic and resale value of the Vehicles,” the claim reads.
It adds that Subaru’s conduct in marketing and selling the vehicles breaches its warranties and violates Ontario law.
“Subaru has and will continue to benefit from its unlawful conduct. It will continue to sell more vehicles, at a higher price, and will continue to avoid its warranty obligations. This will inevitably harm consumers at both the point of sale and as the batteries in their vehicles begin to fail.”
Scott wants to represent a nationwide Class of Subaru owners in Canada. He is seeking certification of the Class, damages, legal fees and costs, interest, and a jury trial.
Do you own any of the affected Subaru vehicles? Let us know your experience in the comments section!
Scott is represented by McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP.
The Subaru Battery Class Action Lawsuit is Steven Scott, v. Subaru Canada, Inc., et al., Case No. CV-21-00001058-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
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40 thoughts onSubaru Hit With Another Class Action for Alleged Electrical Defect
I am here to tell you that this problem isn’t new. I purchased a new 2012 Forester in 2012 in Pennsylvania and I have had recurring battery issues ever since. I was repeatedly stranded. My dealer always told me that there wasn’t a problem. Battery replacement never done by Subaru ( “not their problem” )
While I’m sure I can’t join the lawsuit I wish ALL of us could make it clear how many of us have been affected!
Ideas??
Facebook group?
I bought a brand new Imprezza sport model last October 2020, the battery was replaced after 4 months, and then 4 months later, that battery died. Subaru then charged the 2nd battery. I am about to reach the 4 month mark again, so need to take my car back to Subaru to have the battery tested.
Service reps have given me several reasons for why the battery “might” be draining, some service reps have contradicted other service reps as to why it might be draining. They’re telling me it’s happening a lot during Covid becasuse people aren’t driving their cars as much. BS. My Honda wasn’t driven much during the beginning of Covid and it had an old battery in it and started every time.
I’m sick of running back and forth, I live 30 minutes from a Subaru dealership, so this is costing me time and money for gas. I’m surprized the Impreza isn’t listed here. Do I have a lemon or the same battery draining issue I wonder.
my subaru dealer,, the area service rep and subaru-canada are ALL Clueless and don’t give a damn
I have a 2016 Forester with similar battery issues. Replaced the battery 1 year ago, 2 months later had to replace the starter (warranty luckily). Everything has been great until late last night when I needed to pick up my son and the car was dead. Did not respond to a jump start. Car had been used steadily through last few weeks, not dead from lack of use.
I will be checking into class action case, would not have bought it if I knew the concern.
I’m interested in joining the class action lawsuit against 2018 Subaru WRX Airbag malfunction.This March 5th 2021 my son had an accident and the car was t-boned but none of the airbags deployed .I did call Subaru dealer in Modesto and talk to the manager asking if they had a recall on this model car but they replied that there was no recall-so I hung up.The manager called me after a week and was trying to get more information but I did not answer so he left message that he will send me e-mail and would like me to give him the listed information-but I didn’t reply.
Bought a 2016 Forester in March 2016 battery failed November 2018 at 27000 km and was replaced at my expense. Still have this car. Replacement battery was from CarQuest and I have had no further issues
My son bought a 2020 Forester March 2020. Battery had to be deep charged by the dealer numerous times as well as my son having to jump start almost every time the car was used (due to Covid the car was only used every 4 or 5 days). The dealer replaced the battery under warranty April 2021, 4800 km , but he always has a portable jump starter in the car just in case.
Please sign me up for the pending class action!
I have a 2017 Forester and had my battery fail on multiple occasions. The dealer telling me it just needs a charge. That only worked for about a day. I replaced the battery and it so far has seemed to fix the problem
I’m interested in joining the class action. Last winter I had a problem starting my 2017 Outback which was parked in my garage. I had to hook up a trickle charger I had borrowed.
During the pandemic my wife and I would take our 2014 Impreza and 2017 Outback’s for long rides in the country to keep our batteries maintained. Therefore my problem is not related to my car sitting for long periods of time.
I purchased a Noco GB70 Boost Jump Starter and a Noco 5 Battery Charger Maintainer to play it safe. I hooked the maintainer up to each car for about a week while using the other car. No problems since that one time. I was thinking of replacing my battery before this coming winter to play it safe.
I took delivery of my 2017 Outback in November 2016. That means my car was only 4 years old when I encountered problems with only about 40,000 ks on it. I understand batteries don’t last like they used to last with all the electronics. That is why AGM batteries are now being used in cars.
I heard that Subaru had replaced many batteries under warranty on certain models because they were weak. Not enough cold cranking power. I don’t believe that is the problem after reading this article. I think Subaru now uses AGM batteries.
I’ll keep an eye on this class action lawsuit.
I bought a 2017 Outback in March of 2017. When we were programming the bluetooth , the battery died. I had driven it approximately 20 kms.
The company replaced the battery saying it was weak.
In the Winter of 2018, the battery died again.
The company said I hadn’t driven it enough. I should drive it more often and to buy a trickle charger.
The problem persisted. We again bought another battery in the cold winter of 2020.
In February of 2021, with temperature of minus 37′ the vehicle went in security mode.
We couldn’t even open the doors.
We had it towed to Subaru on Feb. 10th o 2021.
It sat there until July 29/21.
Many things were changed and tested with no success.
They were unable to get it started until an expert from Ontario was sent to Saskatoon.
He found the problem in the fusebox.
The vehicle has 16,400 kms.
The Saskatoon dealership gave us a loaner for the almost 6 months they were trying to fix the problem.
171 days is a long time to find the problem.
We are seniors and need a vehicle to be reliable even in cold weather.
Hi folks.
Re: The Subaru Battery Class Action Lawsuit is Steven Scott, v. Subaru Canada, Inc., et al., Case No. CV-21-00001058-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
We would like to join in the class action. We have a 2019 Outback that failed twice this winter. The first time, the battery died while my wife was in the country on a hike. Outside temperature was -5C. She came home to get me with a friend. I went back and we had to get the car boosted. We drove directly to the dealership in Brampton, where we were told the battery checked out fine. We were told to let them tow the car next time. One month later, it died in our driveway. We had it towed. Again, no problem with the battery. They suggested we take the car on a long drive every three days or so. Patently ridiculous! The service manager admitted that there were some technical papers on this issue, but no recall. While they paid for our tow and Uber, the car was scratched by the towing company. We have lost 7 – 8 hours of time, so far. And huge inconvenience. And not knowing if our car will die on another freezing day. We are both seniors and need to rely on our vehicle.
How do we join this class action? I have a 2017 Forester (purchased in Ontario) and my battery died suddenly as I was driving down the highway about 2 years ago. My emergency lights flickered in and out, and it was dark so I wasn’t visible to other cars till the very last second (I actually thought I was going to die!). Long story short, the dealer replaced the battery and I haven’t had an issue since, but how does a battery die while the car is moving??? I’ve always found it very odd, that there was more to the story than the dealer let on.