Electronic controls and a dead battery

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When we were shopping for our 2019 Forester, I observed this new features: an electronic parking brake. I asked how it works if the battery is dead, and pointed out that something like this--a lock on the wheels that exists solely for safety's sake--ought to be purely mechanical. I can't remember what they told me, but it must have good enough, and/or I assumed that this was all worked out by people who know better than me.

Well, the other day, my wife left the inside light on, and when I tried to move her car to get mine out and go to work the next morning, I found her battery almost completely dead. It was in a weird state, with panel lights flashing like crazy, beeps and ding sounds, etc. What was odd is I couldn't get it into neutral so I could push it out. Somehow, turning the key and pushing the pedals or whatever else I thought it wanted, I managed to get it into neutral and push it out. When I pushed it back in (so it wouldn't block the common driveway of our parking lot), naturally I tried to put it in park and/or set the parking brake, but I could do neither! I had to leave it there, prone to roll away! I'd have jumped it with my other car, but it's an Impreza, and I didn't think its battery was up to jumping the Forester.

I found out later the shifter has some controls designed to prevent you from putting it in park or neutral when it thinks you shouldn't. Some of its decision-making even involves a timer! I don't know why. To bypass this, you can get a screwdriver, pop off a small cover to a hole, then push a button inside that hole and hold it while you shift to the desired gear.

It's dumb enough I need to keep tools on hand to operate my vehicle, but the parking brake doesn't seem to have a manual workaround at all. How is this acceptable? Is it even legal? I suppose I could keep wheel chocks in the car, but, really, is this an improvement? I'm thinking of demanding the dealer install a manual brake, at Subaru's expense, given that, the way it is currently, it's patently unsafe. I mean, what if somehow the battery dies while I'm in the car on a hill, and I can't shift it into park or set the e-brake? What am I supposed to do? Hold the brake pedal while I call 911?

And I just saw a post from someone else on here, saying his car decided to set the electronic parking brake while he was driving!

I'm interested in anyone's thoughts.
 

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