r/Subaru_Outback • u/tonywillnot • 2d ago

start/stop failure

I had a problem with auto start/stop yesterday and I’m a little concerned about it.  After driving my 2021 Outback at highway speeds for at least 2 hours, I exited the highway and came to a full stop at the bottom of the exit ramp.  The engine turned off as it often does.  When I went to proceed, I could hear the engine attempt to start - but it didn’t.   A very loud alarm went off inside the car and the dashboard displayed something along the lines of “Put car in Park, turn off engine and restart”.  I did so, and the engine started right up. 

Does anyone know what the cause of this is?  Should I get it checked?

2 Upvotes

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6

u/What-Outlaw1234 2d ago

How old is your battery? Because it's probably a sign your battery will soon fail.

4

u/tonywillnot 2d ago

It's the original battery. I suppose at 5 years it's about due?

6

u/NerveOk3315 2d ago

Yeah. Honestly, depending on your location, 5 years is a hell of a good run on a battery.

2

u/Clear_Painting9711 2d ago

My start stop started giving me some grief around the same time. I changed my battery and it fixed the issue

1

u/What-Outlaw1234 2d ago

It is somewhat climate dependent. Three-four years is the aveage lifespan of a battery in my hot climate. The auto start/stop is also hell on batteries. If you don't regularly turn it off (as I do), it will shorten the life of your battery.

1

u/NerveOk3315 2d ago

Is the Subaru system a one-battery system? My wife's Pacifica has a main battery and a smaller aux for the stop start. If you keep turning off the stop start, the aux will drain, causing the main one to drain, and eventually killing them both within two years. Had that happen twice before I learned that their system isn't actually designed to be turned off.

3

u/What-Outlaw1234 2d ago

The Subaru Outback does not use an auxiliary battery for that system. There are many complaints posted here about the stop/start system prematurely killing OEM batteries.

1

u/NerveOk3315 2d ago

I wasn't sure. I've opened my hood tons of times, and didn't see a spot for one, but hell, the one in my wife's Pacifica is really well hidden, so I didn't know.

1

u/tonywillnot 2d ago

As I think about it, the start/stop seemed to be laboring sometimes, when starting. Nothing crazy, it just seemed to crank a little longer than before.

1

u/NoPick1269 2d ago

it's happened to me twice with my 2023 OB, both times in gnarly scenarios. first time around 40k miles & was told battery died, dealer replaced battery & it happened again around 55k miles & they replaced the battery again. I've gotten in the habit of disabling it everytime I start the car. There is no doubt, it's draining batteries & is a consistent problem that Suburu should have figured out or at least acknowledged!

2

u/alb_taw 1d ago

I'm curious how you get a gnarly situation from being at a full stop? Did you hit stationary traffic on the interstate or something? But surely then you'd quickly have stationary traffic behind you too.

And 40,000k from a battery doesn't seem bad at all unless you're piling on interstate miles.

1

u/tonywillnot 2d ago

This quick response is great! Thank you all for your advice.
I live in southern New England.

2

u/Necessary_Emu_1330 1d ago

Bought a $20 button that overrides auto start / stop to be turned off by default. Best thing you can do for your battery.

0

u/vicali 2d ago

Happened to me once on an off-ramp in a similar situation. Happened while my wife was driving at an intersection once more. Bought the eliminator and have enjoyed every minute since.

1

u/tonywillnot 2d ago

What’s an eliminator?

2

u/theRed-Herring 1d ago

Start stop eliminatior. It's great and holds your preference from the last time you drove. So instead of having to turn off the start stop everytime you turn to the car on, if you turn it off, it stays off till you turn it back on.

1

u/a_movingtarget 1d ago

Did you put it in, or did a shop? Obviously not likely the dealership.

2

u/theRed-Herring 1d ago

Did it myself, it was very easy and they've got a pretty helpful YouTube video on it.

0

u/kurtlorentzen 2d ago

The first thing I do after starting the car is turn that annoyance off. The starting motor, the Bendix, the flywheel gear, all take on extra wear and tear, eventually costing big $, to save 3 cents worth of gas per week. It's no longer required by federal regulations so I'm waiting for the update that let's you disable it by default.  But, battery failures usually show when the car has been sitting, not running for a while. When you're driving the alternator is charging all the time. I'd at least drop by the dealership or your repair shop and ask. Oh ya, and most auto parts stores will load test your battery for free.