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
In December 2019, I replaced the battery in the 2016 Outback at the dealership. The unit required 2 jump starts in March 2020 and another jump in February 2021.
The dealership position was that the unit was not driven “enough.”
“Enough” is a word of vague/indefinite/indeterminate meaning.
What is not vague/indefinite or indeterminate has been a user experience of unreliability along with bothersome doubts of safety.
I am going thru all of the above.have 2016 subaru outback Bought it used from dealership in 4-2017.Replaced battery after visits to dealership after charging it to get there on 11-2018.Was told warranty good but nothing wrong with battery that I should foot the bill and replace it anyway.I threatened to call the news media,they replaced.
Just bought another battery feb 2 2021.Was told since they replaced the last one due to warranty,they couldnt do the same for this one.because the one in november was past the 24 months by 3 months.When I said You must have other people complaining the rep said no,none.He said when you use car,you cant drive a mile and expect it to charge.I put 12,000 mi a year on my car.This time my charger wouldnt work and at dealers after I got jumped to go 43 miles,turned off and it was dead
You may want to consider adding the 2019 Forester. Mine has died a number of times, requiring a jump. Dealer says nothing wrong. I bought this car NEW TWO YEARS AGO.
My new ascent 2019 I can attest to all the issues with low battery. I also told dealer about electrical issues. They replaced battery but I’m sure as the others have stated the problems will recur.
wish you could add me – I have a 2019 Forester. Several issues. Now they are saying I jumped the car incorrectly and damaged the system… I’m waiting to hear if they are going to charge me or if it will be taken care of via my lease…
Bought a 2019 Outback in June 2020 with 23,000 miles. It was certified through the dealer and they listed everything they inspected and or replaced. One of the items replaced was the battery which I thought was odd at the time, but I also thought “great one less thing to worry about for a while.” Fast forward only 7 months and 12,000 miles later and my car wouldn’t start today! AAA came and had an extremely difficult time jumping it. Once they did it wouldn’t restart. They ended up putting yet another new battery in it. So I am driving a car not even 2 years old and with less than 36,000 miles on it that is on it’s third battery! I bought a Subaru because of its great reputation and safety. Needless to say I am disappointed. For what it’s worth the AAA tech said they jump more Subaru’s than any other manufacturer by a big margin. Subaru has to be aware of this problem but is either in denial or doesn’t want to resolve it. Either way it’s bad.
I wish they would add the 2019 Forester to the law suit!
2017 Outback and on my third battery and that just died. Fed up with this very unreliable vehicle.
My battery in my 2017 Outback was corroding the wires and I had green and white powder on the top of the battery. I took it to the dealer twice after I had to use AAA to jump start it. Finally, on the 3rd visit, I told the service advisor to replace it. He reluctantly did under my extended warranty but honestly it only had less than 24 K miles on it. I think batteries should last longer than that.
My 2019 Subaru Forester with less than 8,000 miles had to be jump started over 5 times. The battery will not a charge for more than 3-4 Days
surprised to find this poorly addressed by Subaru. our 2016 outback died on PCH, had to call AAA. replaced oem battery out of precaution in 2019. at that first incident. new battery was interstate sold at costco. battery died again in late 2020. bought jump starter at costco . replaced interstate battery under warranty program at costco Dec 2020. now carrying jump starter battery pack and worried about class action results. do i sell the car or keep it hoping subaru does the right thing for consumers and buy back or fix issue?