[foresters23432]

Hi, so I left the hatch open to air out after camping the other night and got a dead battery. I turned the light off but apparently according to other threads the hatch draws current for some reason. Anyway, couldn't be jumped, tried charging it with a trickle charge type thing and it says the battery is failed. Seems kinda nuts for a 2 year old car, just gave someone a jump last week and it seemed fine, only thing I can think is I bought it used so maybe it sat on a lot for a long time? Kinda scary because I was just snow camping in the boonies, but anyway I have AAA coming. Should this battery be covered by warranty? Any suggestions on new batteries? I'll prob just take whatever AAA has but would like to upgrade it if possible.
Edit: thanks for the replies, yeah never would have guessed the hatch would draw battery but on the bright side the aaa was able to jump the battery even though the first guy tried over 10x earlier, maybe his charger wasn’t charged. Anyway debating about going to dealer to see if they’ll warrant it or seeing if Costco has a replacement, optima sounds nice but looking at their website they did not appear to have one that fits.
Edit 2: ended up at batteries plus and did a x2power, seems to be working well. 60 mo warranty so fingers crossed

► Edit - Administrator's note - the poster's "update" can be viewed here on post #50 in this thread.

Bobby...

 

[Nasarog]

It can happen. I just took the battery to the dealership and got a replacement (no charge).

 

[FozzieBalou]

Batteries are wear items - sometimes they're good and sometimes they suck...

I replaced my factory OEM battery with another OEM battery when it failed at just under 12 months. When that one failed 2 (3?) years later, I called AAA and had them replace with an AAA branded battery. When it was leaking at the post, I had it replaced by AAA under warranty.

Batteries are pretty much a crap shoot - sometimes you get 7 or 11 and sometime you get snaked...

There are only a handful of battery producers out there - and the rest is all branding. If you're comfortable with AAA coming out - buy theirs and go with it... price was about the same as most other places, warranty was a bit better (membership has privileges) and they install it for you and take away the old one... No need to do the work yourself and then have to take the dead one back to a store...

 

[Kean]

There is a battery drainage prevention function that will turn off some of the lights when the doors / hatch are left open, but there are other systems that apparently still run and there was even a lengthy discussion on the topic within these forums.

Either way, just leave the windows open if you want to air out the interior but next time, try not to leave the hatch or doors open for a sustained period.

 

[hoshie]

My battery in my 18 seems weak. Always has. I want to upgrade, but as others have said it’s a crapshoot...to an extent. Might just go the Costco route. Optima’s here are like 300+...odyssey 400+...can’t justify that.

 

[FozzieBalou]

... and as you have a Limited - eave the sunroof open for the air out, too.

 

[FelineFreddie]

We currently exist in an automotive environment that is basically using the same electrical system in place for the last60+ years ... for electrical loads that it was never envisioned to manage. Sort of like trying to manage the electrical load of a new, modern home using the 60 Amp fuseboxes widely used in homes constructed in 1950.

And until we modernize the electrical systems in non-electrically powered vehicles, shorter battery life is going to be the norm, on average.

Car batteries, especially OEM equipment, have never had the reputation for extremely long life, and the increased electrical loads we have in modern vehicles has only enhanced the visibility of the issue of shortened battery life.

 

[UhOh]

I'll prob just take whatever AAA has but would like to upgrade it if possible.
Edit: Anyway debating about going to dealer to see if they’ll warrant it or seeing if Costco has a replacement, optima sounds nice but looking at their website they did not appear to have one that fits.

If you are the original owner there's a chance of a maybe warranty replacement, but the dealer has to determine that it's 'failed or defective.'

You're driving in snow country so suggest a battery with highest available rated CCA's. My '99 Forester has a group 35 / 640 CCA battery and it starts; if you can fit a group 24 battery - Walmart sells a 700 CCA rating and installs it for free.

 

[SubForest14]

Batteries in FL rarely get past 3 years for daily drivers. I just put a reminder on the phone calendar to replace at that point no matter. Might get 3 years and a week or month but been around long enough to see the basic pattern. My factory Subaru battery died after about 2'ish years on the 2014. Remember they order THOUSANDS of batteries and who knows how old they are in advance. Depending where live you might get a bit longer life in a less harsh climate but for here it's as stated above.

 

[foresters23432]

If you are the original owner there's a chance of a maybe warranty replacement, but the dealer has to determine that it's 'failed or defective.'

You're driving in snow country so suggest a battery with highest available rated CCA's. My '99 Forester has a group 35 / 640 CCA battery and it starts; if you can fit a group 24 battery - Walmart sells a 700 CCA rating and installs it for free.

I ended up with a 24 at 740? From batteries plus.thx

 

[asphaltaddict33]

Subaru batteries are JUNK. End of story. Bought my car new and it was dead 2 weeks later from a 'bad cell', the second lasted one winter before not being able to handle CO mountain temps. I put in an Optima yellowtop 3 years ago and haven't had to even think about the battery since.

 

[foresters23432]

We currently exist in an automotive environment that is basically using the same electrical system in place for the last60+ years ... for electrical loads that it was never envisioned to manage. Sort of like trying to manage the electrical load of a new, modern home using the 60 Amp fuseboxes widely used in homes constructed in 1950.

And until we modernize the electrical systems in non-electrically powered vehicles, shorter battery life is going to be the norm, on average.

Car batteries, especially OEM equipment, have never had the reputation for extremely long life, and the increased electrical loads we have in modern vehicles has only enhanced the visibility of the issue of shortened battery life.

Well said, I was just thinking to myself hmm if I’d just bought an electric car I wouldn’t have to deal with this, interesting times

 

[FozzieBalou]

Well, if you'd bought an electric car (or a plug in hybrid) you'd be dealing with this times 24 (or however many batteries are in the packs)... And it used to be that battery packs were expensive to replace - like well over 10K...

 

[foresters23432]

Well, if you'd bought an electric car (or a plug in hybrid) you'd be dealing with this times 24 (or however many batteries are in the packs)... And it used to be that battery packs were expensive to replace - like well over 10K...

If I have to replace a battery once every 15 years and in the meantime it means I don't need gas that's a win to me. Apparently Subaru is doing an electric car in the next few years, don't know why they haven't offered a hybrid Forester yet...anyway I digress

 

[FelineFreddie]

Well, if you'd bought an electric car (or a plug in hybrid) you'd be dealing with this times 24 (or however many batteries are in the packs)... And it used to be that battery packs were expensive to replace - like well over 10K...

I never meant to suggest there weren’t issues with electric vehicles, but only to point out that there’s a reason electric vehicles aren’t based on 12 volt systems...

If it’s got wheels, it’s gonna have problems sooner or later... regardless of power source.

 

[John L.]

Last year my Subaru battery on my 2017 failed a Mavis load test and of course they wanted to do it for me for nice bucks. It was just out of warranty and these Panasonic garbage were known to fail.
I went to Walmart and got a group 35 640 ampere upgrade on sale, their best with the three year replacement warranty, put it on myself, then sent Subaru Corporate a polite complaint and request for reimbursement. They sent me a great note with full reimbursement check for my battery receipt. And the best pair of free Ray Ban sunglasses for the road I have ever had. Good company.

 

[DragonSubie7]

Batteries fail for a lot of reasons.
Heat destroys them, extreme cold significantly reduces their available power and can crack them if it's REALLY cold and it is discharged, and repeated discharges that are not recharged will cause sulphation that will prevent the lead/acid battery chemistry from working as it should.
Failure to maintain the battery by adding water when needed will also kill it in short order.
These are just facts of battery life.

As noted above, the modern car places a lot of demand on the car to enable the convenience features which require power even when the car is "off".
Those, and other features such as start/stop reduce the ability of the vehicle to recharge its battery.

For a lead acid type battery, the addition of a desulphation system can significantly improve battery life, especially when coupled with an augmented charging system.
A no maintenance battery like an AGM type is a bit more expensive, but will last a lot longer, especially if kept properly charged with an AGM algorithm smart charger.

 

[Da More-ster]

I replaced that wimpy diesel battery from the factory with a group 27f that was interstate branded from Costco. Bumped my CCAs to 700 and was able to fit the larger cell with no issue. The foz cranks noticeably faster and with a full 90 minute reserve capacity I no longer have to worry about accessories or lighting being on for any type of reasonable length. My only regret was not doing it sooner!

 

[OriginalTwoTone]

OEM batteries for all brands in general suck. Doesn't matter the brand I always replace about a year or so in with a good one because I don't want to deal with it later.

 

[Yarameme]

Since the 2019 and newer forester come with A.S.S. function. There is a good chance the oem better is AGM type battery. Just my guess. For many AGM battery, if the battery is drained, it need a special charger to charge it back to life. But, since OP forester is 19 limited, shouldn’t the battery cover under warranty? Check w dealer and see if you can get one replaced.