2016 Subaru Outback · symptom sheet

Battery dies or the car will not start

238owner reports
40,475median miles
$200median quote
1involved a crash

Newest report Apr 13, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

309 of the 643 complaints on this car are about the electrical system. 238 of those describe dead battery, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2016 Outback.

Tick what matches of 238 reports

dead after sitting a day or two

needed a jump start

battery replaced more than once

warning lights or messages

the dealer found a drain

115

the dealer found nothing

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the battery (238 reports), the alternator (23 reports), the starter (8 reports) and the module (5 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the electrical system covers the 2016 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

What owners paid

19 of the 238 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $150 to $300.

$150$200$300

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 27,500 and 60,000 miles, from the 110 reports that gave a mileage.

418

1019

4520

12421

3822

923

324

325

226

What owners wrote

“Vehicle only has 42,000 miles and I'm already on my 2nd replacement battery. Continuous battery drain by the Controller Area Network (CAN) causes premature/sudden battery failure. My battery is already groaning on morning starts and the temps are only in the 40s. Subaru needs to correct the problem, not just help pay for replacement batteries. There's no telling where you'll be when the battery dies.”
Filed Oct 20, 2022 · 42,000 miles

“New battery, less than 10K miles completely drained when vehicle was not used for 3 days. Similar problem with previous battery, died with 10minutes or radio use.”
Filed Nov 20, 2021 · 10,000 miles

“I have just had to put my fifth battery in my 2016 Subaru outback. I have experienced a dead battery twice. The first time this happened I was at a remote campsite and had the stock battery in the car. That battery lasted 25k miles. I brought my car to the dealer and they did a software update. Since then I have had two new batteries.”
Filed Oct 19, 2021 · 25,000 miles

“My battery dies often and doesnât seem to hold a charge as long as a typica new car Iâve had to jump it 6 times in the last 8 months- Regarding the side marker lane assist- it has been diagnosed as a loose sensor and had been re adjusted by dealership multiple times but end up failing again a couple weeks later.”
Filed May 27, 2021

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 238 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.