Eight problems related to starter have been reported for the 2020 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2020 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2020 Outback.
Battery died after leaving unused for just 9 days. Occasionally starter button does not work, retry and it starts.
We just bought this car. Used, less than 7k miles. I haven't even made a payment yet. My wife called me from the turn lane of a busy intersection with hundreds of cars speeding past. She was driving and stopped to turn left at a red light. When she went to go, the car turned off and would not start - although it appeared there was power; radio, lights, all working. A police officer and a passer-by pushed her into a parking lot after 20 minutes. When I arrived, it appeared the battery was not cranking the starter. I had her get jumper cables and yes, it started right up. No indication that the battery was having issues, no warning lights. I turned the auto stop-start off while I drove it to the dealership who couldn't even talk to me because they were to busy. Fortunately, it started up and made it home. Took my son to his baseball game and after sitting for 3 hours, would not start, got a jump. Took it home, let it run a bit, in the morning, would not start. The internet is full of people complaining about Subaru and this exact issue. This sould not be happening in basically a new car.
On 3 occasions the car would not start after being driven. The dashboard lit up, radio worked, but no starter or engine noise. Subaru says there is nothing wrong with the car or battery. This appears to be a common Subaru problem.
On March 1, 2021 vehicle had 4992 miles on it and vehicle would not start. Had to call roadside assistance and have vehicle jumped. Took to dealer, they said battery, alternator and starter, tested good. On March 17th, vehicle had to be jump started. On March 18th, vehicle had to be jump started twice in the same day. On March 19th, vehicle had to be jump started and taken to dealer. Vehicle now has 5192 miles. On March 19, 2021, a case was opened with Subaru of America.
Car had been running fine since purchased new in Aug 2020. I had a normal 6 month service appointment for Monday Feb 8, 2021. On Sunday Feb 7, 2021 car wouldn't start. I called roadside assistance and they came to my home and used a battery starter to jump start the car. I let the car run for 30 minutes to charge the battery. The next day the car started fine so I went to the dealership for the scheduled service appointment. I asked them to check the battery because the car had to be jump started the day before. When the service was complete I was told that the battery checked out fine. Refer to item #5 on attached service report. I drove the car home. On Wednesday Feb 10, 2021 I tried to start the car but it wouldn't start. Roadside assistance came to my home and jump started the car. I drove the car to the dealership to have the service department look for a problem. The drive to the dealership took about 45 minutes. When I got to the dealership I turned the car off and, with the service advisor standing next to the car, tried to start the car. The car wouldn't start. I've since look inline for similar complaints and have found that lawsuits have been filed against Subaru regarding similar complaints. See page #1 of attached magazine article.
The battery is nearly always dead at startup and I have to jump it with a battery starter. The dealer had said there is nothing wrong with the battery on multiple occasions, yet I have to jump the car in grocery store parking lots. The car only has 5300 miles on it, as we don't drive that much.
Bought my car in March 2020, brand new 2020 Outback xt onyx edition 2. 4 turbo, in two month battery start dying after 2-3 days car parked, today July 12 2020 its dead every time I try to start a car, use booster starter to start the car.
After the car had sat for about 10 days, when we went to use it and initially we got a lot of bells and chirps going off along with numerous warning/indicator lights. But the starter would not turn over at all. We went back into the house to get the keys for our other vehicle, but decided to try and start the car a second time. This time the battery was completely dead - no instrument lights came on at all. (at the time the car had a little under 3200 miles total miles on it and was a little over 3 months old). I recharged the battery the next for a few hours and then drove it to the dealer the following day. They kept it for a few days but couldn't find anything wrong with the battery or charging system, and no action was taken by them. (note: I had also discovered a small oil leak at that time, which they fixed at that time) I have since discovered that there is a class action suit against Subaru regarding battery problems on Outback model vehicles. Today [5-11-20] when I went to drive to have a blood test taken I noted that the battery was somewhat low (I. E. : the engine turned over slower than normal).