Replacing the battery on a 2020 Outback. Should it be this hard?

[mrfarkass]

I drive a 2013 honda civic. Keep it simple. My wife has the 2020 outback. Our first Subaru and overall she likes it.

I'm kinda handy and amazed how frustrating that car can be (sorry if I offend the loyalists... I just don't see why there's the fanaticism).

And side note if it matters... because of all the electronics / want to make sure car is running good and we expect to keep it a while, we paid extra for the 8 year / 120K / zero deductible extended warranty

I was replacing the OEM battery (wife didn't have issues with the battery dying issue / battery settlement) this weekend & took me on and off most of Saturday. I got a battery from Costco.

The issue is the negative terminal. Loosened the clamp and took the connection off the post. Along with the positive. Put in the new battery and connect the negative. I tighten it. and negative strap doesn't tighten enough / connector turns easily around post. Taking the connector off terminal, look at how it works. Not sure how tightening the nut actually would tighten the strap around the terminal?! Googling, I find loads of people talking about this. One person said they read on facebook that someone was told by a dealer that the connector is 'one and done'? Once loosened, you need to replace it?

https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/negative-battery-terminal-replacement.541964/ and many others.

I wind up kluging this - using a hose clamp around the clamp after I took off some of the extra metal on the strap / crap clamp.

I did notice / wonder if the hose clamp can really take the torque to make the tight fit. and part of clamp metal doesn't lay against the terminal.

Car starts / works.... but it's my wife's car, don't want her getting stuck if hose clamp breaks.

some questions

1) Any advice on how to improve the connection if any?
2) I guess I need 29182AA11A ? About $50?!
3) Are there referral codes / discount codes / preferred dealers / websites to get parts?
4) Is this issue of not being able to reclamp the negative a common thing? Or just when you look for something on the web, you will find it / seems like a common issu?
5) Any info on why they made the clamp that way vs a more traditional horizontal screw / bolt arrangement?
6) And am I seeing things correctly? The positive terminal is a) a different design than the negative AND is 2 rings?! I'd think you want as much contact between the clamp and the terminal post? 2 Thin rings of metal?!

And am I wrong? There's a bit of fanaticism for Subaru? Is it waning over recent years? What am I missing?
Some of the issues we've had:
Windshield cracked 2 times from the edge (design issue?)
Calibration of eyesight costs more than the install and material of the new windshield?
Car broke down because of TCV failure (design issue)
Wipers are not the more standard / common clip design / costco michelin wipers don't fit?
Rear wiper is also a more unique connector.

Several other issues / quirks that raise the cost of maintenance, complicating things. Just to keep people having to go to dealer rather than a garage or self repair?

 

[Daniel Renaud]

Wow i have an Outback 2020 premium 5 years now no issue with windshield crack or battery connector i spray the connectors it with silicon . My battery run 24/7 on a charger maintenance computer when i don't use the car this car as 4.2k miles one issue i got it's a ad a flat tire fixed by Subaru dealer. I recently I added a start/stop device so it stay off at ll time now i have a choice on or off cost $99. use a XTool S5 no bad codes and Xtool S150 for tires TPMS sensors they are ok need to change later order some of 4 TS100 Pro TPMS sensors ready to be replace when time come .
I do my maintenance but not the Engine all fluid change like engine oil, differential and Transmission Fluid use Subaru CVTF-III Transmission Fluid SOA427V2610 OEM. don't forget to replace the engine filter and the cabin as well and clean the injectors with liqui moly fuel injector cleaner really work i went from 22 MPG to 29.5 MPG after add in the fuel tank
so far so good I don't use the car much just for food chopping.

 

[Shaggy]

I drive a 2013 honda civic. Keep it simple. My wife has the 2020 outback. Our first Subaru and overall she likes it.

I'm kinda handy and amazed how frustrating that car can be (sorry if I offend the loyalists... I just don't see why there's the fanaticism).

And side note if it matters... because of all the electronics / want to make sure car is running good and we expect to keep it a while, we paid extra for the 8 year / 120K / zero deductible extended warranty

I was replacing the OEM battery (wife didn't have issues with the battery dying issue / battery settlement) this weekend & took me on and off most of Saturday. I got a battery from Costco.

The issue is the negative terminal. Loosened the clamp and took the connection off the post. Along with the positive. Put in the new battery and connect the negative. I tighten it. and negative strap doesn't tighten enough / connector turns easily around post. Taking the connector off terminal, look at how it works. Not sure how tightening the nut actually would tighten the strap around the terminal?! Googling, I find loads of people talking about this. One person said they read on facebook that someone was told by a dealer that the connector is 'one and done'? Once loosened, you need to replace it?

https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/negative-battery-terminal-replacement.541964/ and many others.

I wind up kluging this - using a hose clamp around the clamp after I took off some of the extra metal on the strap / crap clamp.

I did notice / wonder if the hose clamp can really take the torque to make the tight fit. and part of clamp metal doesn't lay against the terminal.


View attachment 3474


Car starts / works.... but it's my wife's car, don't want her getting stuck if hose clamp breaks.

some questions

1) Any advice on how to improve the connection if any?
2) I guess I need 29182AA11A ? About $50?!
3) Are there referral codes / discount codes / preferred dealers / websites to get parts?
4) Is this issue of not being able to reclamp the negative a common thing? Or just when you look for something on the web, you will find it / seems like a common issu?
5) Any info on why they made the clamp that way vs a more traditional horizontal screw / bolt arrangement?
6) And am I seeing things correctly? The positive terminal is a) a different design than the negative AND is 2 rings?! I'd think you want as much contact between the clamp and the terminal post? 2 Thin rings of metal?!

And am I wrong? There's a bit of fanaticism for Subaru? Is it waning over recent years? What am I missing?
Some of the issues we've had:
Windshield cracked 2 times from the edge (design issue?)
Calibration of eyesight costs more than the install and material of the new windshield?
Car broke down because of TCV failure (design issue)
Wipers are not the more standard / common clip design / costco michelin wipers don't fit?
Rear wiper is also a more unique connector.

Several other issues / quirks that raise the cost of maintenance, complicating things. Just to keep people having to go to dealer rather than a garage or self repair?

Did you find a replace you said? Is the $50 part? I would just buy that part and replace that as like you said, you worry if it will become lose when your wife is driving it. Just get it replaced with the new part if you can.

 

[bmart]

I like the idea of your fix, but I would have gone about it slightly differently. Smaller clamp. Trim the long edges sticking out. Put the head of the hose clamp wherever it is easy to get to. If you really wanted to be sure it didn't come loose, you could safety wire it...but you'd need dyke plier to get it off. I don't think that I'd worry about it much even without safety wire. I would make it a bit smoother. Currently, you risk those tabs moving and loosening the connection.

 

[mrfarkass]

I like the idea of your fix, but I would have gone about it slightly differently. Smaller clamp. Trim the long edges sticking out. Put the head of the hose clamp wherever it is easy to get to. If you really wanted to be sure it didn't come loose, you could safety wire it...but you'd need dyke plier to get it off. I don't think that I'd worry about it much even without safety wire. I would make it a bit smoother. Currently, you risk those tabs moving and loosening the connection.

Thanks. Yeah, could clean it up. Just wanted to make sure the car was drivable with the kluge and whether I'd leave this or get the part. I did get the part - $64 inc. tax from local dealer (ordered online for pickup at the dealer... walk up at the counter it would have been $95?!)

Gotta put it in this weekend. Now I'm wondering if the battery terminal (on an interstate costco battery, so industry standard) is going to be too small (was the reason the clamp didn't hold initially - was the clamp damaged or is the post smaller on the new battery) and then I need the shims.

And of course - brought the old battery back to costco for core fee refund before measuring diameter of the old negative post.... I DO cause myself more problems!

AND getting the neg cable to the battery off the old clamp and put it on this new part and not limit current (seems weird - the cable is thick, clamped onto a beefy connector which then bolts onto the clamp / sensor with what seems a limited amount of surface area).

 

[Train Dan]

Count your blessings. A now departed Ford Focus had a battery halfway under the plenum, where only the front three cells could be refilled with electrolyte. Gosh knows how you actually remove it.
Dan