A Subaru class action lawsuit alleges certain vehicles have defective electrical systems which cause premature car battery failures.
The Subaru class action lawsuit targets the Subaru Outback (2016-19 model years) and Subaru Ascent (2019-20).
According to the Subaru class action lawsuit, plaintiff Dustin Dalen purchased a new 2017 Outback in March 2017 from a dealership in Oregon.
The original battery reportedly failed in April 2018 with only 12,000 miles on it, stranding Dalen’s wife and two children at a park. When he took the vehicle to the dealership for inspection, the technician could not diagnose the problem, the filing states.
“From then on, Mr. Dalen was required to regularly charge the battery at home to keep it from failing again,” according to the Subaru class action lawsuit.
It did fail again during a business trip to Seattle, where Dalen had to hire an Uber late at night to take him to buy a portable charger and cables so he could jump-start his vehicle and drive home the next morning, the Subaru class action lawsuit states.
During a February 2020 oil change at the dealership, techs reportedly discovered that his battery – which at this point had less than 36,000 miles on it – had low voltage, and they replaced it.
According to the Subaru class action lawsuit, sport-utility vehicle batteries usually have a lifespan of four to six years.
Dalen’s Outback and other vehicles targeted in the Subaru class action lawsuit allegedly have a specific defect that makes this a recurring problem.
“The Defect arises from Subaru’s decision to install batteries with insufficient capacity to power the Class Vehicles’ electrical components when the vehicle is turned off,” reads the Subaru class action lawsuit.
“Absent a repair to the vehicle that reduces the demand on the battery, drivers whose batteries are replaced with the same battery are substantially certain to experience the Defect again.”
The plaintiff also claims the company has known about the issue for at least three years.
“That Defendant has long known about the Defect is clear based on a related service bulletin in 2017 specifically describing the Defect, and by the large numbers of consumer complaints, including those made to Defendant’s authorized dealers,” the Subaru class action lawsuit states.
Complaints going back as far as 2016 cite the same issue, with some vehicle owners and lessees reporting they had to purchase portable chargers to avoid being stranded multiple times. One person claimed to being stranded “five times, including once in a remote part of Canada.”
And yet, according to the Subaru class action lawsuit: “After three years of mounting complaints about the Defect in Outbacks, Subaru knew about the Defect before it launched the Ascent, which was new to Subaru’s lineup for the 2019 model year.”
The alleged defect may also be present in the upcoming Outback model, according to the filing.
“An internal report dated April 26, 2019, from Subaru’s Quality Improvement Committee noted that Subaru was already concerned with battery failure problems in the 2020 Outback, which was set to enter production in the summer,” states the Subaru class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff says no reasonable person would expect this kind of problem from a new vehicle, nor would they knowingly choose to buy or lease a vehicle with a defect that would render it inoperable, posing a serious safety risk.
“Subaru had a duty to disclose the true quality and reliability of the Class Vehicles because the knowledge of the Defect and its details were known and/or accessible only to Subaru; Subaru had superior knowledge and access to the relevant facts; and Subaru knew the facts were not known to, or reasonably discoverable by, Plaintiff and Class Members,” according to the Subaru class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff is suing for breach of warranty (both express and implied, under federal law); breach of written warranty (under Oregon state law); fraudulent concealment; unjust enrichment; and violation of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act.
Dalen is demanding a jury trial to stop Subaru from continuing its alleged illegal practices and to order Subaru either to institute a recall or free replacement program, or to buy back the defective vehicles. The plaintiff also seeks punitive damages and restitution for related expenses and court costs.
The Subaru owner is represented by Bradley K. King, Tina Wolfson and Ruhandy Glezakos of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC.
The Subaru Battery Class Action Lawsuit is Amy Burd, et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-03095, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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123 thoughts onSubaru Class Action Alleges Battery Defect
I bought a 2017 Subaru outback less than a year ago with 56,000 km on it in Southern Alberta. It is now sitting in my driveway undrivable because the battery drains completely overnight every night! I cannot trust this car to even go to work in case it is dead when I come out of work at 11 o’clock at night. I also live in the country half an hour out of town and cannot get stranded at that time of night. They tried to tell me it was the battery but the batteries been checked by two reliable sources that say it charges but some thing is draining it. Even Subaru said it is probably the navigation system and they want five to $7000 to fix the hub this problem with the car relates to nothing I have done and seems to be a well known defect of Subaru . I don’t feel I should be paying for some thing they’ve known about for a long time and has nothing to do with the consumer, but has everything to do with “their” electronics design or something similar….
Hi. My name is Penny Miller. I bought a 2017 Subaru Outback a couple years back, The battery has continuously drained dead off and on ever since. I bought a new battery in January thinking it was the battery. However it has still drained dead at least a half dozen times since the new one was put in (and is currently dead). Then I received an email about Subaru being sued for this problem. I can’t keep being inconvenienced with a dead battery.
I have a 2019 Forester and have replaced the battery already once. I believe I will need to replace it again very soon. Symptoms are occurring lately of the battery dying again. I paid like hundreds of dollars for new battery.
I’ve been stranded several times over the years with my 2015 Outback Subaru. I’ve needed to get jump started in remote areas and needed to wait several hours for help. It didn’t help to replace the battery. It continued to die and I just couldn’t trust my Subaru to be able to restart when I stopped the car.
I have a 2019 Subaru Outback, and twice I have had a dead battery. Once in a parking lot at Home Depot, and second was in the mountains. The first incident the battery took a charge and the car started right up. The second incident I was stranded in the mountains for well over 3 hrs., I tried jumping the battery, it didn’t work, I even put in a new battery and nothing. I had to call for a tow. After sitting there and the tow truck finally showed up, well after dark. The car magically started; I tried several different times before that. I was lucky that I had family around or I would have been stranded by myself up in mountains with no cell service, not an ideal situation.
This happened to me too. I have an 2019 Outback with 50k miles and have been stranded a least 8-10 times now and once was at night in the middle of no where. So dangerous.
I have a 2019 Outback that has died several times. I reported it to my local Subaru and was blown off by the service department, along with a few other issues. I’m 81 and must have reliable transportation
My 2020 Forester has less than 2000 miles on it and has had to be towed to the dealership twice already because the battery died while car was sitting in my driveway. The Forster needs to be included in this lawsuit! PLEASE HELP!!
My 2019 Forester has the same problem and the battery is frequently dead. How do we get the Forester included in this lawsuit? Anyone have ideas?
Constant dead battery after 2 days without using. 2017 Forester
can anyone point me in the right direction to file a claim for a 2020 Outback with 11,000 miles and have had to replace the battery due to draining. You leave it parked a few day and no start.
My 2020 Subaru Forester has died repeatedly (12+ times first 18 months) from dead battery since I bought it new in Aug 2020. It even died this week on me when I pulled over into a parking lot for 5 minutes to answer an email. I have to carry a portable charger.
I am tired of taking it in and being told “nothing is wrong”.
I have driven cars for 50 years and never had anything like this. So frustrating and dangerous. Problems like this make customers flee from that brand FOREVER. It was my first and last Subaru.
Not sure what to do since I usually keep cars for 10 years- but this one is so unreliable. I cannot even it sell it in good conscience.
Everyone make sure you report your problem to NHTSA in addition to Big Subaru US.