2016 Forester Touring -Battery Drain

[KayakME]

I have 2016 Forester that has gone through 5 batteries in 3 years. Has had new starter, wiring harness and alternator checked good. Two local Subaru dealerships have run the service bulletin I got for the Starlink module drain and they say it doesn’t meet the requirements for replacement, only drawing 40.3 not the 70 required. We pulled the fuse which seems to fix it but can’t go without that as it controls radio too and we are try to sell now. If it sits for 3 days or more battery is dead. I am at a loss of what to do next. Don’t want to sell as someone did to us. Any suggestions as to what else it could be. I still believe it’s the module with the bulletin but. No one will fix it. Frustrating as we have owned Subarus for many years.

 

[Dick Foster]

As a last gasp you could install a tender charger and plug it in when you park for long periods. A tender charger is just a low Amp output battery charger that keeps the battery topped up. I installed one in my tractor, plugged in my rock crawler and both of my backup generators have them. Be sure to get one that's designed for the type of battery thats in your car. Regular flooded cell lead acid batteries and AGMs are a bit different.

 

[bmart]

Are you dealing with a local shop or Subaru corporate? I'd use the latter.

 

[chasfish]

I have 2016 Forester that has gone through 5 batteries in 3 years. Has had new starter, wiring harness and alternator checked good. Two local Subaru dealerships have run the service bulletin I got for the Starlink module drain and they say it doesn’t meet the requirements for replacement, only drawing 40.3 not the 70 required. We pulled the fuse which seems to fix it but can’t go without that as it controls radio too and we are try to sell now. If it sits for 3 days or more battery is dead. I am at a loss of what to do next. Don’t want to sell as someone did to us. Any suggestions as to what else it could be. I still believe it’s the module with the bulletin but. No one will fix it. Frustrating as we have owned Subarus for many years.

I have 2016 Forester that has gone through 5 batteries in 3 years. Has had new starter, wiring harness and alternator checked good. Two local Subaru dealerships have run the service bulletin I got for the Starlink module drain and they say it doesn’t meet the requirements for replacement, only drawing 40.3 not the 70 required. We pulled the fuse which seems to fix it but can’t go without that as it controls radio too and we are try to sell now. If it sits for 3 days or more battery is dead. I am at a loss of what to do next. Don’t want to sell as someone did to us. Any suggestions as to what else it could be. I still believe it’s the module with the bulletin but. No one will fix it. Frustrating as we have owned Subarus for many years.

I have 2016 Forester that has gone through 5 batteries in 3 years. Has had new starter, wiring harness and alternator checked good. Two local Subaru dealerships have run the service bulletin I got for the Starlink module drain and they say it doesn’t meet the requirements for replacement, only drawing 40.3 not the 70 required. We pulled the fuse which seems to fix it but can’t go without that as it controls radio too and we are try to sell now. If it sits for 3 days or more battery is dead. I am at a loss of what to do next. Don’t want to sell as someone did to us. Any suggestions as to what else it could be. I still believe it’s the module with the bulletin but. No one will fix it. Frustrating as we have owned Subarus for many years.

 

[chasfish]

Check the battery sensor. I think it’s on one of the battery terminals, probably the positive. I’ve read where that sensor is likely cause of battery drain. At the time of my reading about it people were having trouble getting the oem part. Maybe fixed by now. Good luck

Chuck
Reading pa

 

[Howard264]

I had the same problem. Turns out it was a problem with the computer coding.

 

[mbmaniac]

I had a similar issue with my 2017 Outback Touring. It turns out the DCM (Digital Control Module) was drawing three times the amount of current than it was supposed to causing my battery to die after a couple of days. Once the DCM was replaced, I no longer experienced battery draining issues but also Bluetooth for my phone worked much better. It turn out the Gen 1 DCM uses 3G support when the Gen 2 now supports 5G which makes my calls clear again. I hope this helps.

 

[chasfish]

I had the same problem. Turns out it was a problem with the computer coding.

How on earth did you figure that out??

 

[Howard264]

How on earth did you figure that out??

I didn't. One of the techs at the dealer did, after a couple of visits there where I got various answers that didn't make sense.

 

[chasfish]

I didn't. One of the techs at the dealer did, after a couple of visits there where I got various answers that didn't make sense.

That’s one sharp tech!!

 

[Daniel Renaud]

I have 2016 Forester that has gone through 5 batteries in 3 years. Has had new starter, wiring harness and alternator checked good. Two local Subaru dealerships have run the service bulletin I got for the Starlink module drain and they say it doesn’t meet the requirements for replacement, only drawing 40.3 not the 70 required. We pulled the fuse which seems to fix it but can’t go without that as it controls radio too and we are try to sell now. If it sits for 3 days or more battery is dead. I am at a loss of what to do next. Don’t want to sell as someone did to us. Any suggestions as to what else it could be. I still believe it’s the module with the bulletin but. No one will fix it. Frustrating as we have owned Subarus for many years.

I have an Outback 2020 I don't use the car much just for foods shopping use the car every two weeks I add a Battery saver 12v you plug it on the positive and negative poles plug to a 120V outlet of course it convert to 12volts you can get on amazon about 100 buck it's clean the battery and charge 24/7 it's four years i have the car still on my original battery work well I test it with a battery tester no issues since 2020 good luck!

 

[Dick Foster]

I have an Outback 2020 I don't use the car much just for foods shopping use the car every two weeks I add a Battery saver 12v you plug it on the positive and negative poles plug to a 120V outlet of course it convert to 12volts you can get on amazon about 100 buck it's clean the battery and charge 24/7 it's four years i have the car still on my original battery work well I test it with a battery tester no issues since 2020 good luck!

Exactly!
BTW You can find tender chargers from most autoparts sources for less than $100. They are intended just for keeping battery charge topped up, not charging a fully depleted battery. The most important bit is getting one that's matched to the battery chemistry of the target battery.

 

[Einsteiger]

I have not had any issues....yet...with our 2022 Crosstrek Ltd, but with the electronics that are always on, this is going to be a constant bit of paranoia that Subaru owners should not have to deal with.

I had an '06 Mini Cooper S that had no battery or electrical issues, but before we sold it, the car would often sit outside for a week or two. I installed a great little onboard tender from NOCO. Wired in and the AC plug ran out through the grill - kind of like a block heater. Worked great and I let it go with the car. I may get another for the Crosstrek to see if I can avoid battery failure.

Amazon.com

The other thing that has been interesting about all of the different issues that I read about on this and other forums is that all roads seem to lead back to the dealer. A lot of independent shops shy away from them. I'm really glad that I bought the extended warranty and maintenance packages. So far it's been money well spent.

 

[Dick Foster]

I have not had any issues....yet...with our 2022 Crosstrek Ltd, but with the electronics that are always on, this is going to be a constant bit of paranoia that Subaru owners should not have to deal with.

I had an '06 Mini Cooper S that had no battery or electrical issues, but before we sold it, the car would often sit outside for a week or two. I installed a great little onboard tender from NOCO. Wired in and the AC plug ran out through the grill - kind of like a block heater. Worked great and I let it go with the car. I may get another for the Crosstrek to see if I can avoid battery failure.

Amazon.com

The other thing that has been interesting about all of the different issues that I read about on this and other forums is that all roads seem to lead back to the dealer. A lot of independent shops shy away from them. I'm really glad that I bought the extended warranty and maintenance packages. So far it's been money well spent.

Looks just right for peace of mind.

 

[KSS]

I've had drainage issues with my 2014 Forester. I chalked it up to me accidentally leaving one of the dome lights on or I left the lift door open. However, I've never had a vehicle where I've had to think so much about the battery. It seems like Subaru should have more sophisticated programming to extend the battery life, much like our cellphones do. My vehicle is older and I can only imagine how this is more of an issue now with all the new electronic/computer gizmos that put in cars now! The battery tender is a good idea. With the price of batteries now it's good, cleap insurance IF you remember to use it.

 

[KayakME]

Thank you everyone. We are still at a loss and the battery tender is a good idea but was hoping to fix it so I can sell it with a conscious as most likely it will be a single mom or college student at the price point. For us, the battery tender was not an option for all of the time as we are off grid many times through the year. We unhooked the battery through the winter so that we could figure it out this spring and sell in the next month. We will see how many days it takes to drain now. Plan to go fuse by fuse to see if we can figure it out. The local dealerships nor corporate offered NO solutions. I have owned 7 subarus and my current may be my last due to the lack of help on this one.

 

[bmart]

It seems like the dead battery thing is affecting a lot of Subaru owners. Why not just put a switch in that line and turn it off when you get out of the car, and back on when you get in?

 

[chasfish]

Don’t get the Starlink feature and make sure the battery sensor works right. These are possible causes of drained Subaru batteries. IMHO.

 

[KayakME]

Are you dealing with a local shop or Subaru corporate? I'd use the latter.

I have tried two dealerships and Subaru Corporate. No solution other than a gift card for 200$ which is no help at all. The last dealer who supposedly did the test called after 20 minutes and said there was no draw. The bulletin states waiting up to 55 minutes to insure that something else does not kick in. I just want it reprogramed or something that will allow us to be able to sell it. We have been sitting on the car for a year in September with absolutely no answers. So very frustrating. I just can't believe they cannot find a draw if I have gone through 5 batteries and if it sits for 3 days it is dead again. I asked for the reports and neither has them of the draw test, only telling me my battery is bad. The battery was less than a month old the first time and a few months old the second time.

 

[Dick Foster]

As stated above, it's likely the Starlink trying to phone home with an obsolete, now dead and extint AT&T phone service. There's info about it all over the web.