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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
same issues here. I always knew something wasn’t right about the battery, had around a doze battery boost and 2 out of pocket battery replacement already.
We have the same exact issue with a 2019 Ascent 8 passenger. No automatic/electric tailgate. Subaru kept our car for 3 days and couldn’t find any sign of parasitic draw or anything wrong.
Yet here we are today, after a 20 min highway drive. Stopped at starbucks. Turned car off. Waited 5 minutes. Radio off. Opened door and shut it even to make SURE everything was off. DEAD. Had to jumpstart.
We need a reliable vehicle.
I believe corporate is keeping very hush hush about this issue because a trusted friend in the business wasn’t aware of it ..
In July 2021, I was in a campsite with my family in my Subaru Ascent 2019. On day 1 we arrived at the campsite and unloaded stuff from the trunk and roof of the vehicle. I had to keep the trunk and the doors open for 30 mins to unload camping stuff.
On the following day, I was unable to unlock the car, and had to call road side assistance to give me a boost.
Thought, the issue is resolved. On the check out day, after loading my equipment, the same thing happened. Had to summon roadside assistance again.
Since then I have been weary if leaving the door and trunk open for extended periods.
Obviously the problem still exists in the 2021 outback.
Recently had it 4 days in a row and had it towed to the dealership. They replaced the battery and the car is one year old
Omg. I am not alone. I have a 2019 forester and have had half a dozen tows by Subaru roadside assistance ( which is a joke by the way). This week I’ve had three days straight where battery was dead! And two of them were brand new ! Service department insist nothing is wrong ! Waiting on a Tow truck third day straight !
2019 Subaru Forester under 40k km. Dead every morning. How can they market these as reliable? How is this legal?
Same issue. I have a 2017 Subaru Outback. Went on a 3-week vacation and when we came back the battery was completely dead. Charged it with a trickle charger and when it would start, lots of odd things happened, like the back-up warning alert wouldn’t turn off, the back hatch wouldn’t go all the way down. Brought it to Subaru and they reset the system and everything was OK. A year later went on another vacation and the same thing happened. Completely dead when I came back. Charged it again and again the back up warning alert won’t turn off. Now trying to get an appointment with Subaru to fix the issue. In the meantime I found out this is a systemic problem, but Subaru to my knowledge has no fix.
Ditto to all of the above. We purchased our 2019 Ascent in early 2020 and because of Covid drove it very little. In the Fall of 2021 the problems began with a dead battery so we thought we must have left a door ajar or something on and had it jumped. It wasn’t long before it was dead again so we took it in for service and were told there was nothing wrong – we just hadn’t driven it enough following the jump and should use a charger to be sure the battery was fully charged. Having been significantly involved with vehicles since the mid forties (30 or more vehicles and machines) I was somewhat dubious but followed the Techs instructions. It took over a day to complete the charge and all went well until the first week of January 2022 when it was once again dead. This time Subaru Service diagnosed it as a defective battery and replaced it. This past Wednesday, 5/4/22, It was dead again and we couldn’t even open the doors so I had it towed to Subaru Service. When the tow truck arrived I told him it had a dead battery and he just laughed as he said he has a lot of Subaru tows because of dead batteries and that there is a class action lawsuit because of this. Yesterday with this in mind I talked with the local service manager and demanded that they replace the battery with a reliable brand. He told me it wasn’t the battery and that we just hadn’t driven it over enough distances to keep the battery fully charged – that short trips to the grocery store, etc. were the problem – that it was basically our fault. But, they can install a permanent charging device which we would only have to plug in a couple of times per month in order keep the battery charged. WOW, I would like to sell the car but how does one explain this to a prospective buyer. My thought is that, in addition to the manufacturer, the dealerships also have some culpability because it’s impossible for me to think they aren’t aware of this problem. But, of course they cannot sell these cars if they are honest. It sure seems that knowing it and not disclosing it is tantamount to lying by omission.
I bought my 2017 Subaru Legacy brand new in 2017. I am currently on my 2nd battery. As I type this today my car is DEAD because it wasn’t driven for 3 days. No lights left on, no windows down, no trunk open. Very frustrating and unreliable. When you contact Subaru all I am told is to take it to the dealership to have it looked at, but they are not paying for it because my car is out of warranty. Subaru does not want to take any responsibility for leaving their customers stranded. I have to have a 2nd car just in case my Subaru doesn’t want to start.
MY FRIEND HAS THE SAME PROBLEM WITH HER 2017 SABARU LEGACY SHE IS ON HER 3RD BATTERY SHE BOUGHT IT A YEAR AGO
I have a 2019 Subaru Outback. My electrical problems began in Nov 2021. I thought a door was open, a light was on etc. This continued. I have to put the car on a battery charger multiple times. I keep a battery charger in my car and extension cords near my front door. I began documentation Jan 20, 2022 when I read that this is happening to many people. I had a new battery put in car in Feb 2022. For a little over one month there weren’t any problems. The dead battery issue began again March 15, 2022. Now it is at the point I have begun to have to charge it daily. Before I had the new battery put in, my back hatch would not open when battery would fail, and eventually my passenger window would not open either. I am also a very unhappy Subaru owner and would never have agreed to buy this car if id have known. This is difficult as I live in the country alone and have no other vehicle. I sure hope Subaru makes this right, SOON!!!!
Same battery drainage problems with my Crosstrek. Three batteries, valve work, part in gearshift changed. Nothing helped. Was told they could not reproduce the problem so they couldn’t fix it. That’s crazy! I have problems almost every day. Then it was that I was driving the car too little. I’m tired of being lied to. Don’t know where to turn except trade it in and take a loss. Don’t want to pass this problem onto someone else