Five problems related to starter have been reported for the 2016 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2016 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2016 Outback.
The battery barley starts the car. We have had to replace the battery two times. We have to carry a battery starter pack with use, because it will not start some times. So we have to jump it. We do not trust the car to start. The battery has good clean connections, it just seems to loose it charge when it sitting.
Battery dies when parked in garage, sometimes only after sitting overnight. Careful to be sure no lights are left on or doors ajar. I'm now on my third battery in 4 years. Replaced oem battery with up sized group 34 to increase cca and reserve capacity. Also purchased a lithium ion jump starter to carry around in case of dead battery. The upsized battery began failing again after 2 years. Replaced with upsized agm battery. Can't trust the car to safely transport my wife and grandchildren anymore.
In June 2020 I complained that my battery drained to the point where car would not start a few times causing me to charge the battery. I took car to my Subaru dealer and they told me the battery was ok and alternator was charging. I insisted the battery be replaced and it was. Throughout the rest of 2020 and into 2021 I still experience battery draining. I try to drive the car every week so the battery will not go dead. The battery does seem low as the starter motor sounds like it turns slower than usual. Due to covid-19, I have not brought the car back to Subaru yet to have the car evaluated. I am raising the complaint here because I am seeing online that others are having the same issue.
Battery died after driving 10 miles and parking for an hour. Couldn't move shift lever or release electronic parking brake. Someone finally jumped the car for me y and I immediately bought a new battery (battery $151. 19 and jumper cables 26. 99 at pepboys, dbpower jumpstarter 74. 59 at amazon). 3 months later the same thing happened after being in the garage overnight. No lights were left on or any obvious source of electrical drain. I could have been stranded somewhere.
Dead battery. Three times my car has failed to start and the battery when tested with a load tester says,"bad battery". After boosting and running for a few minutes it tests "ok" and the alternator and starter test ok. Upon the 3rd time it malfunction I had it taken to the //dealer on a roll deck. The dealer can not find the problem and just charges the battery and says it is ok. "it is not ok when it happens @ 25,00 km. And 32,000 km and 40,000 km. The battery has less cranking amps then my riding lawnmower, but the dealer says that is what Subaru recommends . What can I do to get them to treat the cause, not the symptoms? each time it happened I was lucky to be close to help.