A woman just bought a Subaru in February and it’s already doing something weird.
Most car owners can relate to the exasperation and frustration of TikTok creator Krystal (@krys.sal), who discusses the problem in a new clip that’s been viewed more than 200,000 times.
What we know is that her Subaru is having what seems to be its second battery-related freak out since its purchase in February, though there’s no clarifying information on the year, make or mileage to indicate if the vehicle is well into its usable life, or newer and exhibiting some lemon-ish tendencies.
Subaru’s bad batteries…
Battery drain appears to be such a widespread problem for a variety of Subaru models from 2015 through 2020 that the company reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit over the problem, which never had a root cause or widespread solution identified. For any Subaru owners or enthusiasts who need to know, the eligible models covered in the settlement were:
- 2015-2020 Subaru Outback
- 2015-2020 Subaru Forester
- 2015-2020 Subaru Legacy
- 2015-2020 Subaru WRX
- 2019-2020 Subaru Ascent
Examining the issue somewhat further, the good folks at the Autopian have sleuthed out that the “parasitic” drain could be traced to a problem with the vehicles’ DCM fuse, which malfunctions by “continually trying to access the cellular network due to deterioration of the internal memory.”
Complaints piling up
No telling if that bad fuse is the culprit behind Krystal’s battery issues, but at least it’s a starting place to investigate. And if not, the battery maladies associated with Subaru appear to be so widespread and varied. There are LOTS and LOTS of online forum threads on the matter.
Commenters were happy to put on their driveway mechanic hats and try to diagnose what’s going wrong with Krystal’s Subaru.
“Battery clamps aren’t connected all the way or the ground wire is loose,” wrote one Subaru technician. “But 100% could be a lot of [expletive], lol.”
Another joked that the vehicle was trying to send her a helpful warning. They wrote, “(It’s) Morse code and it’s saying: Trade me for a Toyota.”
And plenty of staunch Subaru supporters called the brand one of the most reliable they’d ever owned.
“My first Subaru lasted me 13 years. My current one is four years old and I’ve have zero issues. It’s probably something simple. They are great cars,” wrote one proud owner.
@krys.sal @Subaru of America, Inc. please tell me what the issue is😭 can’t even leave my house to fix it #carissues #battery? ♬ original sound – Krystal sal
The Daily Dot reached out to Krystal via direct message, and to Subaru via email.
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