[dkandpal]

Hey guys, my 2022 Crosstrek Limited was completely dead all of a sudden a few days ago. I mean, fob not working, no sound, light, basically no electronics. I called the subaru roadside assitance and they jump started it and towed it to the nearest Subaru dealership. I got a call from the service guy at the dealership saying that my battery did fail and that it would need to be replaced which would be covered by my warranty to which I agreed. Here's the issue, it's been in the shop for 3 days and they're not giving me an ETA. The service guy told me that they get batteries delivered twice a day, but haven't been able to get the one specific to my car. In fact, he keeps insisting that there's not ETA for its delivery and that they've charged my original battery a bit and not sure how long it'll last, but yeah, basically I can pick it up if I want and they'll let me know when the battery arrives. I don't really need the car immediately and have told them to keep it for a day or two or more and see if they get the battery delivered, but the service guy's insistence on there being no ETA every time we talk makes me think he doesn't think it's gonna be delivered soon. Not quite sure how to proceed. I am neither a car guy nor someone who's been in this situation before, this is my first car ever.

 

[kr_xv]

Jusk ask your dealer to swap the battery with the one on their parking lot, and they can keep the new battery... to save a lot of troubles.

 

[Montanan]

Welcome to the forum!

If the dealership keeps putting you off, I'd suggest putting in a polite call to Subaru of America ... they might be able to grease the wheels a little bit. At the very least, you should be entitled to a loaner car while yours is waiting at the dealership.

 

[Arthur]

As Montanan said, you can contact SOA and explain to them what your situation is and they might be able to pull some strings to fix this situation because they're not handling it in a good way from a customer service point of view.

If there's another Subaru dealer nearby, you could go there instead because you're not restricted to just one dealer for warranty matters.

Have you asked if they can source the battery from another dealership that has it in stock?

 

[dkandpal]

As Montanan said, you can contact SOA and explain to them what your situation is and they might be able to pull some strings to fix this situation because they're not handling it in a good way from a customer service point of view.

If there's another Subaru dealer nearby, you could go there instead because you're not restricted to just one dealer for warranty matters.

Have you asked if they can source the battery from another dealership that has it in stock?

No I haven't. I'll give that a try. Thanks.

 

[AFCMRET]

This seems to be becoming the norm, unfortunately. With the as of late "unpleasantness" and the "supply chain issues" more and more "service" departments are falling back on that excuse for not performing even the most simple and mundane tasks. Sure, there is a pinch of salt to be had with that statement.

With that said, the OEM batteries do not have the best of track records. Mine lasted just under 3 years before it collapsed.

Put a line item in your car maintenance budget for a battery replacement in 2 or 3 years. AGM has a good track record and is what I use.

To the "ask the dealer to swap a battery"...I've never seen that, ever. But worth a try.

Either way, this doesn't hunt with the way the dealer is putting this off. Run up the flag. No excuse for this today.

Oh, and welcome to the forums-tons and good information here and lots of good, knowledgeable folks!

 

[AstroKats]

Yeah, our OEM battery only lasted a year. I replaced it with an Odyssey Extreme AGM. Probably overkill but a small price to pay for peace of mind up in the snow in the mountains.

 

[sheldon]

Just curious, if they jumped started your car, why did they have to tow it to the dealer?

 

[dkandpal]

Just curious, if they jumped started your car, why did they have to tow it to the dealer?

Well, because it was in warranty, I thought might as well get it checked and replaced if it's bad, so I asked them to tow it. The service guy called me the next day confirming that the battery failed their inspection which makes me think I did the right thing, didn't know it was gonna be such an ordeal though.

 

[AstroKats]

Well, because it was in warranty, I thought might as well get it checked and replaced if it's bad, so I asked them to tow it. The service guy called me the next day confirming that the battery failed their inspection which makes me think I did the right thing, didn't know it was gonna be such an ordeal though.

The problem, though, is that they can only replace it with another crappy OEM battery...

 

[sheldon]

Well, because it was in warranty, I thought might as well get it checked and replaced if it's bad, so I asked them to tow it. The service guy called me the next day confirming that the battery failed their inspection which makes me think I did the right thing, didn't know it was gonna be such an ordeal though.

But why didn't just drive it to the dealeship after it was jumped started?

 

[dkandpal]

The problem, though, is that they can only replace it with another crappy OEM battery...

Yeah, I had no idea Subarus came with a crappy battery. I wonder if they’ll offer me a refund, even a partial one, if I install an AGM battery from an auto parts like everyone seems to be suggesting.

 

[dkandpal]

But why didn't just drive it to the dealeship after it was jumped started?

It was after 9pm, dealership was closed at that time anyway. I thought of letting them tow it instead of me trying to drive it the next day and the car not starting again. I can still go and pick it up, they’ve charged the battery a bit for now, but there’s no saying how long it’ll last.

 

[AstroKats]

Yeah, I had no idea Subarus came with a crappy battery. I wonder if they’ll offer me a refund, even a partial one, if I install an AGM battery from an auto parts like everyone seems to be suggesting.

It's worth asking, and escalating to Subaru if they say no, and you're still under warranty. As has been noted in other threads, the OEM battery may have been abused before you took delivery of the car, even if "brand new".

As for buying a better one, lots of people here have bought better tires than the OEM, costing hundreds of dollars, probably over a thousand dollars. Yet, there's a reluctance to spend far less to buy a better battery...

 

[Montanan]

Yeah, I had no idea Subarus came with a crappy battery. I wonder if they’ll offer me a refund, even a partial one, if I install an AGM battery from an auto parts like everyone seems to be suggesting.

To be clear, not everyone is suggesting that; there's just a little bit of ... fanaticism on the subject that surfaces here regularly. And it's a mischaracterization to call Subaru batteries "crappy" -- they're just typical OEM batteries.

Subaru is very unlikely to help you pay for a third-party battery. I would accept the free replacement from Subaru with the knowledge that if you don't mistreat it, it will serve you well. A few years down the road, you can decide how much you want to spend for your next battery, but with a free battery in the offing now, you might as well hold onto your money till then.

 

[sheldon]

To be clear, not everyone is suggesting that; there's just a little bit of ... fanaticism on the subject that surfaces here regularly. And it's a mischaracterization to call Subaru batteries "crappy" -- they're just typical OEM batteries.

Subaru is very unlikely to help you pay for a third-party battery. I would accept the free replacement from Subaru with the knowledge that if you don't mistreat it, it will serve you well. A few years down the road, you can decide how much you want to spend for your next battery, but with a free battery in the offing now, you might as well hold onto your money till then.

But if Subaru doesn't have a battery for him and no idea when it will be available, then maybe they should help him out with a non-OEM one.

 

[AstroKats]

But if Subaru doesn't have a battery for him and no idea when it will be available, then maybe they should help him out with a non-OEM one.

Exactly, the OP is saying the dealer can't replace the OEM battery under warranty. I would use that as an excuse to get a better one and ask Subaru to pay for it.

 

[serotta]

I don't think it's so much that Subaru provided crappy batteries. They are just a bit undersized as far as CCA.
The stock Crosstrek battery has a Group 35 with 550 CCA.
I replace mine with a Group 35 with 640 CCA, better battery for our colder climate.

 

[AstroKats]

I don't think it's so much that Subaru provided crappy batteries. They are just a bit undersized as far as CCA.
The stock Crosstrek battery has a Group 35 with 550 CCA.
I replace mine with a Group 35 with 640 CCA, better battery for our colder climate.

Perhaps trimming weight everywhere possible to meet emission requirements?

 

[AFCMRET]

I can say with relative confidence your dealer nor SOA will put forth a third party battery. When my XV was in for the "sway bar torque check" recall the tech (who pistol whipped the torque check-mud still on the bolt heads-another story, another beer) noted in bold capital letters in the service order: "high concern: after market battery installed" Service "advisor" then tried the "your warranty will be void if you don't install a Subaru battery". Keep pushing on them-squeaky wheels get the oil, they want to make a warranty case out of it, they should, at a minimum, put you in a loaner for the duration-at a minimum!