Slow to crank in cold weather

wolfzr2 said:

'11 with OEM battery. Slow to crank in 15F weather. Checked battery quick n dirty with a multimeter.

12.6V resting
14.6 with engine running.

Battery would appear to be ok, is this just due to extreme cold? I would figure with the thin synthetic oil we run in these it would not be as sluggish....

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Take it in to Autozone/Advance and get it checked. Voltages seem OK but that's not always the whole story. Now I have the 08 and replaced my original battery at 90+K miles even though it was fine. Never had your issue.

wolfzr2 said:

12.6V resting
14.6 with engine running.

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The 12.6V number means the battery doesn't have any shorted cells. Good.

The 14.6V number means the charging system is doing its thing. Good.

Now, the next test is to measure the battery voltage while the engine is being cranked. Much lower than 9.0V and I'd suspect a weak battery. Seems early to be worn out but this does sometimes happen. Also check the battery and chassis ground connections for corrosion.

As the man ^^ says, a car repair facility can check the battery under load (the only true test of a battery).

I'll swing by Advance next week. After letting it run for about 10 minutes it cranks fine, even an hour or 2 later. Do you guys find that you still have to add distilled water to these batteries? I see the fluid level markings on mine, but can't really tell where the level IS...

All connections looks clean as a whistle BTW.

Swung by advance on my lunch break...Battery is reading 12.85v with 382 CCA.

Whats the rating on these things?

I believe 400-440 cca. Next time try and turn the key to the on position for 3-5 sec then start it. But regardless, the first week I had my car I put a 700 cca battery in. Subaru always puts small batteries in for some reason. If recommend a durralast gold or something from advanced auto parts with more like 500-700 cca. I had a couple rough starts with mine the first week, like people are commenting on. After the new battery I've never had a slow start

It's just the oil thickening up if its just slow. At anything below 20-25 here in alaska my car tends to be extra slow and it'll hickup like it's going to start and then revert back to turning by starter a second and then pickup fully.

Edit: And that's on a new battery with 500cca.

I put on an oilpan warmer and now I have no hesitation even near the 0 deg mark.

I have the same issue with my 2013. I bought the car exactly one year ago and the battery will barely start the car when it's this cold. I noticed slow cranking even in warmer temps too (~35 degrees).

A bit of advice, next time you do have to buy a battery get one with 500 to 550 cca, IF there is one available for your vehicle with that amount of cca.

The little extra you pay will give you piece of mind when the weather turns bitterly cold like it is now.

When I had my Ford Escape, Ford offered two or three batteries for the Escape. I only put one battery in that vehicle in the 10 years I owned it. The original battery lasted 7 years, it was a 100 month battery. I replaced it the winter of its 100th month, but who knows, it may of lasted through that winter and beyond. The battery I bought for it was the same OEM battery that came with the vehicle. Didn't have the vehicle long enough to see how long it would of lasted.

This sounds like a cop-out, but the last several Subarus I've had were all like that. Just a design issue, I guess. Never failed to start, though!

My '09's OEM battery has always seemed slow in cold weather--altho the engine always fires up w/out a problem. I do plug in the battery warmer overnight if the temps are below 20F. (My vehicle is parked outside.)

I grabbed a trickle charger as well, since the car sits for days at a time now. ( I work from home )