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Outback 2017 - one week old - would not start

18K views 41 replies 20 participants last post by  Sawyer 
#1 ·
We had an unpleasant surprise earlier today
when we discovered our brand new Subaru Outback 2017 would not start.

When I say it "would not start", it's not just about the engine :
nothing works at all. The car is totally unresponsive to any key / button input,
as if it was completely out of power supply.

We started by blaming ourselves for "probably" forgetting a light on.
That could have killed the battery.
That might be true, we don't know, but the rest of the story doesn't hold up.

We asked a neighbour for help.
Luckily, he had a jump-start, a battery charger and a voltmeter available.

He started verifying battery voltage.
It's ~12.3 V. Should be good.

We then proceeded to jumpstart the car.
Nothing would work. As before, not a single bip or whatever.

We then proceeded with charging the battery "just in case".
The charger was telling us that the battery was full.
Tried again after a few hours of charge nonetheless. Same result, nothing changed.

So the car is totally unresponsive to anything.
Since it's a brand new car barely one week old, we called the reseller, which told us that since it was a day off today, we should call back tomorrow.
We will, but now our entire planning is in jeopardy.

So I'm roaming the forum in search of similar situations, in case it would help.

I noticed 2 main threads for "equivalent" problems :

- One about failing relays. It's supposed to happen in cold situations. I live in California, the weather is very wet these days, but not cold. Besides, the car is in a garage. So I don't think it applies.

- One about failing batteries. This one would look like our problem, except that the battery is measured with good voltage, and we couldn't even jump start the car when we tried. Now maybe there are "protections" which prevent jump start from working, but since it worked for other Outback owners, there is no reason it would be blocked just for us.

I'm short of any other idea. So I'm asking into this forum, should anyone have met a similar fate in the past, which experience could prove useful to help this situation.
 
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#3 ·
It is a key. No "remote start". No button.
Nothing light up at all.
I mean, before even starting the engine, the key trigger several "start levels".
At a minimum, I expect a few lights to start, the multimedia screen to say welcome, the dashboard to light, vent to start, etc.
Here nothing happen at all.

So the next stage is basically useless : trying to turn on the engine.
gear is in P, I tried the break pedal, to no avail. no button react. basically nothing works. at all.
 
#4 ·
If the battery is fully charged and you have zero power to the rest of the car either a battery cable has come loose or you have a blown fusible link.

Call Subaru roadside assistance, have it hauled back to the dealer, get your loaner and enjoy the rest of your day.
 
#7 ·
+1

I think you mentioned your neighbor checked the charge on the battery - maybe its loose on the battery?
Did you check your fuse box?

If you're not comfortable doing that and/because it's only a week old - take it to the dealership. Let them run a full diagnostics test.
 
#5 ·
Are you parked on an incline?
If you can safely unlock the steering column, and then slide the shifter from Park to Neutral then back to Park. Then try to start again.
I'm wondering if 'Maybe' something with the neutral safety switch or ignition switch isn't engaged.

Make sure your foot is on the brake while trying this. If it was me I would allow the car to slightly roll one way or the other before putting the gear shift back to Park.

Be careful.* I would try this. But that's me.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk
 
#8 ·
> Are you parked on an incline?
If you can safely unlock the steering column, and then slide the shifter from Park to Neutral then back to Park. Then try to start again.

We are parked in our garage, so no inclination pb to worry about.
However, since the car doesn't react to anything, it also means I'm unable to change the gear from P.
Seems these new cars are unable to do anything without power supply, and that includes changing gear.

I finally could contact Subaru dealer this morning.
They consider towing the car for investigation.
Even towing worries me a bit, since the car is locked in "P" gear (is there a way to move that into "N"eutral position without power supply ?)
plus we are a single-car family, so it's a pretty big deal if we are left we nothing.
 
#12 ·
You don't have anything now. Ride with tow truck driver to the dealer and pickup a loaner.

Being in park is not an issue. Any tow driver worth his salt will have a set of tow dollies.
 
#9 ·
12.3v is not enough. I worked on many a dead work truck and can tell you 12.6-12.8 is closer what a battery needs to read. 13.5-14.5 when its running. You're at like 65% crank.


Not sure about Subaru (but it should), but Honda has a small gear selector release you stick your key in to change gears on a dead vehicle. Did you check the owners manual before the guy dragged it up the ramp?
 
#25 ·
Conclusion of this little story : it was the battery.
It was drained enough to no longer provide power even just for lights or dashboard.

The really strange part is that we not only tested the battery voltage, we also recharged it several hours long, and we also tried to jump start the car, to no effect.

The repair guy came with a stronger jump start system, and the car restarted.
This was impressive, since we did basically the same test with my neighbor's system the day before.
The repair guy said it was because the car needs "a lot of power" (without being more precise),
implying my neighbor's system may have been too weak.


Went to the retailer.
He said that the voltage was basically meaningless, and only power mattered.
He added that an Outback needs approximately 4000 CCA to start (interestingly, the battery provided is only 3600 CCA ...).
He agreed that the battery provided with the car is a bit weak, but he said that "tests show it is functional", so it was not changed.

I'm now considering to buy my own jump-start system, in case this situation happens again, and maybe consider a new battery ...
 
#27 ·
Conclusion of this little story : it was the battery.
It was drained enough to no longer provide power even just for lights or dashboard.
I'm now considering to buy my own jump-start system, in case this situation happens again, and maybe consider a new battery ...
In your situation I would not hesitate to buy a new battery.

The majority of Outbacks run problem-free for years on the original battery, but many do not, and it's entirely likely that you have one of those.

I changed the battery on our Outback quite recently, the very day after the starter started to show signs of not wanting to turn the engine over briskly in very cold weather. You can get a Group 34 battery with a good warranty and about 800CCA for around $100 if you shop around and take a core charge for the one you have now.
The original is Group 25, but the 34 will fit just fine and you can usually get more bang for the buck in Group 34.

BTW, your CCA numbers are high by a factor of ten, but the person who told you that the stock battery specs are only marginally adequate is correct.
 
#26 ·
Had my 2015 die on me three times. It going in to shop this week but so far dealer has refused to replace battery and tell me it checks ok? This is my last time before I just replace with my own. This car has only 24000 miles and wife does not trust it to go to corner store . Doug
 
#30 ·
I left the tailgate up all night. Battery was so flat no interior or dash lights. Hooked jumper cable up, would click but NOT start. Started the donor car's engine and started. all was good. Surprised I needed to start donor car. :)
 
#32 ·
The dead battery still being connected to its terminals essentially "evens out" the good voltage of the donor battery with the bad voltage of the "dead" battery. Sometimes its enough, other times its not. Had you hooked directly to the cables (unattached to the dead battery) you may have had better results. Once started you were at 14v with the donor battery, enough to cover the voltage deficit in the dead battery
 
#40 ·
Sad to report that I'm a new member in the crappy-battery club. My '17 Limited is only about 6 months old. One morning came out to driveway to find rear hatch open. Couldn't jump start it and had to put my charger on there for a couple hours. Ok, my bad in spite of current draw shut off feature. Then, a week or so ago the car sat for 6 days. Again, dead battery but it only needed about 1/2 hour on the charger. Can't live with that and with guidance from this forum I'm headed to Costco for a Group 34, 800CCA. Reckon there are worse situations where I've blown $82.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#42 ·
Suburu Will nit Start

I doubt that a 2017 Limited will start with Suburu's 390 CCA. My would not. I called Suburu Roadside Assistace 3 times to finally establish a record. Suburu offered me $250 for a new battery but I said no thanks. I have the money but I want car fixed. Long and short....car would not hold charge over night and then start with lights on (Previous car was a Saab with a 700 CCA and lights always came on.) I intend to have a 700 CCA put in car at Suburu's expense no responsibilities.
 
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