I'd recommend a battery made by East Penn. Their house brand is Deka and they rebrand under NAPA Gold, SuperStart Extreme, and Duracell.

The last NAPA battery I put in has a 75 month warranty.

I think I paid $80

The battery issue is discussed at length on outback and forester forums. Its a common problem, and if you hop over there you can research what batteries people are putting in the Outbacks. Seems like the favorites were yellow top deep cycle types.

Thank you everyone. Sigforum never disappoints!

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:

Actually, the voltage drops too low when cranking. Battery is weak and should be replaced now before it leaves him stranded.

Are you sure the voltage drop isn't just because it's only a 355CCA battery to begin with? It put out 373CCA in the test. If it had say a 500CCA battery, the voltage wouldn't drop nearly as much.

Maybe. But either way 10.19V is too low to begin with. Like others stated earlier, Subaru sourced a battery that’s too weak. Not to mention it also causes more stress on the starter motor.

I always try to buy a battery with the most CCA’s I can get that will still fit in the battery tray.

I also get the largest battery that will fit. I make the battery tray larger if possible, pull out the tape measure and see what I can make fit...

Replaced the Battery in my 2012 with a Bosch AGM

Have you noticed any "electrical" odor in the car?

I'm talking about that acrid smell you get when something arcs.

Reason I ask is I had similar symptoms in a 2009 GMC Sierra that ended up being the alternator. I didn't know this was a symptom of a failing alternator until after the fact. It wasn't a strong smell, subtle, and usually when the engine had been really working like a long drive in hilly country.

Mine tested fine, and so did the battery, like yours. If I used too much juice without the engine running though it would drop the battery just enough to not start, just like yours.

Ultimately I was driving it on a sub zero day where it started fine, but when it downshifted to climb a hill while driving it just died.

We have a 2017 Forester...had to replace the battery before we even had it 2 years. We do love the car though.

Any update? Is it better now? What happened?

I have a 2017 4 cylinder. Last Summer a friend riding with me, opened his door for ventilation, while I went into a store. I was gone no more than 10 minutes and when I returned, the car did not want to start. Fortunately, it eventually did but when I mentioned it to my Subaru salesman, he confided that over the previous Winter, they had replaced 17 batteries under warranty. I replaced mine with an Interstate from Costco for less than $80. Why a company like Subaru puts such a lame battery in a car, popular with people in colder climates, is a mystery.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
Any update? Is it better now? What happened?

Sorry! The car has been starting fine ever since, however, as a preventive measure I plan to replace it very soon.

Well we had a cold snap last night and the Subbie was slow to start.

So off the WalMart to buy Consumer Reports 86 rated EverStart battery. 4 hour wait to install so I brought it home, installed, and took the old one back to get the refund on the core charge.

What a difference! The stock battery, a group 25 with 356cca, and the replacement a Maxx24F with 725cca, and very fast to start now.

After the install the only issue was the drivers side window would not operate from using the drivers side control and the auto up/down feature did not work.

Google to the rescue with the suggestion of taking window down 1/2 way, hold to go up, and after all the way up hold the up button for 1-2 seconds. Drivers side fixed. Then did the same using the passenger control and it's fixed too.

Ready for winter!

East Penn/ Deka to the rescue.

You did good. I have used their Maxx batteries for a long time and usually get 7 years of use and then sometimes use them on the lawn tractor for several more years.

I only had one with a bad cell and it was replaced the first year.

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
The stock battery, a group 25 with 356cca...

Wow, that's a serious POS Subaru OEM battery right there....Shocking low CCA!

My wife's 4 yr old outback wouldn't start this morning either. I had just spent maybe 5 minutes with the key on (in the garage so engine off) reconnecting her bluetooth after an Apple update. I jumped it and it was fine for the rest of the day. I couldn't believe that was enough to drain the battery, but after reading this...

Thanks for all the stories. Guess its time for a new one for me also.

 
I just replaced a small 12v battery on a riding mower. I was puzzled because the battery kept a full charge on a Battery Tender (open circuit voltage reading of 12.7+). Then I put a battery load tester on it and found the internal resistance was almost 50 mΩ. Sulfated or something. It would power a radio or other low draw 12v item, but the internal resistance prevented it from delivering the high amperage needed for the starter. Solenoid and starter were both good. So I replaced the battery and all is well.

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Thank you everyone. Sigforum never disappoints!

I have to contradict this statement. Because scanning all of hte replies I did not see one single post suggesting CLEANING THE TERMINALS AND CABLE ENDS. Which has been a major cause for failures to crank since about 1910's when starter motors first started to appear.

quote:

Originally posted by ranger312:
My wife's 4 yr old outback wouldn't start this morning either. I had just spent maybe 5 minutes with the key on (in the garage so engine off) reconnecting her bluetooth after an Apple update. I jumped it and it was fine for the rest of the day. I couldn't believe that was enough to drain the battery, but after reading this...

Thanks for all the stories. Guess its time for a new one for me also.

If you get the everstart battery the only "issue" is the posts are on the backside of the battery so you have to "stretch" the cables to reach the post.

Also you have to reset the auto up/down feature of the front windows like I stated in my prior post. Either way, easy peasy.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Thank you everyone. Sigforum never disappoints!

I have to contradict this statement. Because scanning all of hte replies I did not see one single post suggesting CLEANING THE TERMINALS AND CABLE ENDS. Which has been a major cause for failures to crank since about 1910's when starter motors first started to appear.

Sorry, I should have stated that in my original post. They were clean as a whistle, and to ensure my new battery terminals stay the same, I followed the tried and true method of petroleum jelly on the posts before the reinstall.