general problems of the 2022 Subaru Outback - part 2

Battery dies or runs so low the vehicle won’t start, if a door/hatchback is left open just a short time with the engine turned off. Or if the key fob is in the cab more than a few minutes with the engine off, or the accessory function is used more than a few minutes with the engine off. I bought the car on July 21st 2022. On July 26st 2022 I was driving it on a Jeep road and pulled over and stopped for 10-15 minutes, car/engine turned off. When I returned the car wouldn’t start. I tried to start it repeatedly. It appeared to be a low battery. I may have left the door ajar but don’t believe so. I did sit in the car a few minutes with the engine off. My phone was plugged in to the car and I used it for a few minutes. I possibly could have left the key fob in the car but don’t think so. About 15 minutes later, after exiting the vehicle, I got back in and it started. I researched online and found this has been a problem with Subaru Outbacks. Lawsuits have been filed. I called the dealership and talked to the salesman and he said he had no idea why my car hadn’t started. Which I find hard to believe. If this had happened a few miles further out in the desert and I was gone from the car longer and the battery completely failed it would have been a life threatening situation. It was a 100 degree day and phone reception was spotty. I’m 67 and had water but a 6 mile walk back to civilization wouldn’t have been easy. I’ve read that many Outback owners carry a jump-start device-battery. I’ll get one, they’re cheap. But still the dealerships and Subaru should inform/warn customers of this issue before they buy or leave the premises. I wouldn’t have bought the car if I knew. Subaru’s are marketed as outdoor friendly and this model, the wilderness, supposedly designed just fit that. How many people are being stranded in dangerous situations? leaving the hatchback open while camping as they unload the car engine off-dead battery. I’ve heardrumors online of a software fix.

1. Front windshield cracks easily instead of chipping. Appears to be under pressure in a strange way and it cracks then starts to delaminate. I had 2 windshields replaced within 30 days. Water also starts to enter the crack and it impacts the wiper blades when in use. 2. Center info-tainment system in underpowered to the degree that touch response is laggy to the degree to be dangerous. With all the climate controls, radio, gps, and other controls now on the touch screen this slowness is dangerous to the point that should warrant a recall. I've had a system update done and this did not fix the slow touch response. It appears to be underpowered hardware.

Main wiring harness / main electrical system malfunction, causing all dash lights to consistently be on. Which in turn prevents all of the adas functions to no longer work. Vehicle has now been in 2 accidents which could have been prevented by these safety features. Vehicle had had main harness replaced at dealers cost at dealership , and one at cost of insurance, problem remains unfixed/unfixable. Vehicle is specifically 2022 Subaru Outback onxy xt.

On or about April 28, 2022, while traveling on route 95 north (an interstate highway) utilizing the factory gps system which is in the center console, the entire console went blank. I immediately grew concerned the vehicle steering or acceleration was about to fail and pulled over on the shoulder of the interstate. I turned off the vehicle and restarted it, yet the screen remained blank, which meant I could not control the heat, defroster, air conditioning, gps, radio, the usb ports, the telephone connections, and etcetera; all were inoperable. As I continued to drive the screen remained blank or blacked out. I pulled into a rest area and waited 20 minutes with the vehicle turned off, and when I restarted the vehicle, it operated normally. On April 29, 2022, vehicle mileage 10,389, I took my 2022 Outback to Subaru, while at the dealership the dealership diagnosed the problem as follows: a new center console cockpit control unit assembly-navigation and display assembly was ordered. I was told the dealership would contact me when the part arrived. I did not hear from the dealership and on June 27, 2022, vehicle mileage 16,282, I returned to Subaru for the third (3rd) time, and I informed them the problem with the center console continued. I was advised that additional testing was needed. According to the service records a miscellaneous check for the latest software was completed, issue was not resolved, the console failed to accept the updates and a new console was ordered. No warning lamps, codes or errors were noticed, the screen goes blank and the driver wonders what will occur next. In this model, 2022 Outback xt limited, the screen is over 12 inches tall and is the predominant electrical system in the vehicle. The problem was replicated by the dealership on 5 service visits, it is available for inspection, although the concern occurs daily it is intermitent. After 6 visits the problem has not been repaired/rectified.

We have a brand new 2022 Subaru Outback premium we parked it in our indoor garage for 1 week. We left no lights on, etc. We came back and could not start the car. The dashboard lit up, a lot of flashing icons, the radio and lights came on. We called service they charged battery fully, we drove car for over an hour. Parked in garage. Today, next morning, same thing had it towed to local dealer. They said would replace battery, no charge (of course) I checked on line and saw an article about this issue affecting many Subaru owners, that Subaru is well aware, and has not solved the issue. So people have to replace battery fairly often. I can not rely on this car. I am going to join the class action lawsuit now.

Battery completely died on a nearly brand new car overnight, after being parked for less than 48h at temperatures around 5°f. Took it to a dealer who claims that the led dome light was left on, draining the battery. However, the dome light is an led light rated at about 100ma @ 13v, and the battery is rated over 100 amp-hours (DE-rated to 45% at ~0°f, so a single dome light by itself should take around ~450 hours to drain a fully-charged battery. It seems like even brand new Subaru Outback 2022s are affected by major parasitic drain battery issues.

In September 2026, after a jump start, my vehicle's battery emitted a strong sulfur/rotten-egg odor, indicating overheating and overcharging. I was advised to shut it off immediately. The vehicle is now undrivable and parked, and I am concerned it presents a fire risk. This is the latest failure of a chronic electrical defect documented in the dealer's own repair orders since early ownership: •? ?March 16, 2023 (4,985 mi): vehicle needed a jump start. Dealer tested the battery, said it passed, and blamed my driving habits. •? ?may 16, 2023 (5,503 mi): vehicle again needed a boost. Battery failed the dealer's test and was replaced under warranty; dealer cited Subaru bulletin 07-213-22r. •? ?August 4-8, 2025 (15,188 mi): vehicle again needed a boost. Battery failed the dealer's dca8000 test (low cca) and was replaced a second time. A dark-current draw test found the telematics data communication module (dcm) causing a parasitic draw (code b2a0c); the dcm was replaced. When I arrived to collect the vehicle after being told it was repaired, it would not start in the dealer's own shop. Subaru paid for the dcm repair as one-time goodwill while stating it was not covered by warranty. These repair orders understate the frequency: throughout ownership the vehicle needed a jump start roughly 80-90% of the times I used it, even the day after being driven, and I used roadside assistance several times. I believe this matches the known parasitic battery drain defect on 2021-2022 Subaru vehicles (control modules, including the dcm, failing to enter low-power sleep mode), the subject of pending class action litigation (taylor v. Subaru of America, no. 2:26-cv-4935) and Subaru technical service bulletins. My dealer replaced the implicated module, the problem recurred, and the vehicle has now had an overcharging event that left it undrivable.

Car is suffering from "parasitic drain". Car is brand new with only a little over 200miles on it. Dealer has had to tow in the car twice already. Battery has been replaced. Car has so far been doa 3 times in driveway with a weeks' time.

I've experienced problems with the center infotainment screen about 2 months after purchasing a 2022 Outback wilderness edition. It seems to happen when I use apple carplay (as this is the only way I listen to music and must plug in my phone using the usb to start carplay). The infotainment screen has a long lag time to respond to clicks on the center screen, will freeze, and crash the system suddenly. The most extreme effect of this is that when the infotainment screen crashes/freezes, the eyesight safety features of the car such as lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning, forward crash warning also stop working. I'll see all of the dashboard signals and notifications on the dashboard screen indicating the features are disabled. Additionally, I'm unable to control the ac when the screen crash happens. This happens while the vehicle is in operation and the vehicle user manual doesn't provide any troubleshoot options. Sometimes the screen will remain on after I've turned the car off. I can only hope the screen will shut off and restart after I've completely shut the car off to "fix this". There have been many times I've had to keep driving without the eyesight safety features or ac when the screen crashes. I've tried to update the infotainment screen myself with the supposedly "over the air" updates Subaru offers. It says my system is up to date even though I've found online Subaru service bulletins saying there are new software versions released. At my first six month dealer service, I asked about released updates and the service manager denied the newest updates can be installed on my car (which is still less than a year old). I brought my vehicle to another Subaru dealership with this issue and they said they are aware of it. The service manager also said that the software update only fixes about 20% of vehicles that have this issue and a full replacement of the center screen unit is likely needed. Why has the NHTSA not directed Subaru to issue a recall?.

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle would independently accelerate without warning. The contact would be forced to place the vehicle into neutral to stop the acceleration. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and recently became more frequent. The contact also stated that an abnormal grinding noise would emit from the vehicle when the vehicle would independently accelerate. The contact called the dealer and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer kept the vehicle for almost two weeks and was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 700. The VIN was not available.

2022 Subaru Outback is new as of June 2021. 2 times I have had to get a jump start. No light were left on and doors and hatchback closed.

Vehicle was purhased in early June 2021. Vehicle was being operated on state highway route 55 at milepost 46. 7, in elk township, gloucester county. Traffic was heavy, with southbound transient traffic traveling to new jersey shore points. Vehicle simultaneously lost power and began to display several error/warning messages on dashboard at approximately 13:52 hours. Vehicle was pulled to the right shoulder of the roadway and I began to smell something burning. As I removed personal effects from vehicle I exited and saw smoke coming from the passenger's side wheel well. I walked back approximately 100 feet and called 911, by time a dispatcher came answered, the engine compartment of the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames. No modifications of any kind were done to the vehicle since its purchase. I was the sole occupant of the vehicle and not injured. The vehicle is fully insured and payments are current. It's mileage at the time of the incident are 3,042. That information along with the error messages were provided through the Subaru starlink app.