Subaru Ascent Electrical problems by year

Driver's door still would not unlock. •Passenger door could be opened. •Used the interior passenger-door lock/unlock switch, which successfully unlocked the driver's door and the rest of the vehicle. •Entered vehicle, started it normally, drove home and parked it in the garage. Second occurrence - later the same day •Opened rear hatch, loaded items and closed hatch. •Driver's door was already unlocked; entered vehicle. •Vehicle would not start. •Pressing START/STOP produced no dashboard lights and no apparent electrical activity. •Left vehicle and went inside house for several minutes. •Upon returning, the vehicle had spontaneously entered an energized accessory/ignition state without anyone operating the START/STOP button. •Lights, ventilation fan and other accessories were operating. Engine was not running. •Vehicle would not start. •START/STOP button would not turn the electrical/accessory systems off. •Approximately 40 minutes later, the vehicle remained electrically powered and still could neither be started nor shut down. •The negative 12-volt battery terminal was disconnected as the only available means of shutting the vehicle down. The dealer been unable to assess the cause of the issue and suggested driving the vehicle until the problem reoccurs

fixed it. The issue only resolved after I purchased yet another cable at my own expense, with zero meaningful help from Subaru. When I filed a formal complaint, I received a response with an appointment confirmation left entirely blank (no retailer, date, or time), which I was told was "intentional" so I could fill in my own details, shifting all scheduling and diagnostic responsibility back onto me. When I requested compensation for hours spent troubleshooting a defect that was never mine to fix, I was told plainly that no compensation exists. Shortly after, my key fob began requiring near-direct contact with the door and push-start button to register, despite a confirmed correct, brand-new battery, ruling out the simplest cause. This is a second unexplained electrical issue on the same vehicle in a short span. Subaru's support has been dismissive and apathetic throughout, repeatedly redirecting responsibility back to me as the consumer rather than taking ownership of manufacturer-level defects.

occurred at higher speed or in traffic. The vehicle has since been inspected twice: once by the selling dealer's service department, and once by the manufacturer's own field specialists, including a full diagnostic scan, a road test, and a physical inspection of interior wiring, including the footwell area near where the incident occurred. Both inspections found no electrical faults, no damaged wiring, and no diagnostic trouble codes related to the concern. The vehicle's Event Data Recorder (airbag control module) was also downloaded and showed no recorded event for the date of the incident. Despite these findings, the cause of the injury has not been identified, and the problem has not been reproduced. I have continued driving the vehicle since and remain concerned this could happen again, since no cause has been confirmed or ruled out. The vehicle is available for further inspection if needed.

can render the car powerless on roads and highways making operation dangerous. I have my car parked in front of the house with the battery and electrical connectors unplugged. This problem is covered by one or more recalls and safety campaigns, but subaru refuses to fix mine and other peoples that I found on Facebook. Someone online listed a $6500.00 repair estimate. They just had it repossessed instead. This part causes the pressure differences that cause the jerky ride and is specifically alluded to in the recall, plus subaru even changed the part because it was defective.

fluid then migrated through the wiring and into the bulkhead harness. The dealership advised that the fluid contamination had affected multiple parts of the vehicle's electrical system and recommended replacement of the transmission wiring harness, engine wiring harness, bulkhead harness, Engine Control Module (ECM), Transmission Control Module (TCM), and related components. Because the wiring harnesses are routed throughout the engine compartment and vehicle, the repair also requires extensive disassembly of the vehicle, including disconnecting and removing numerous engine compartment components to access and replace the contaminated harnesses. The estimated repair cost was approximately $12,000. I also have video documentation of the dealership technician performing the inspection and explaining the transmission fluid contamination and migration through the wiring system. I am willing to provide the video, the dealership's written diagnosis, repair estimate, photographs, and any additional supporting documentation upon request. My vehicle falls within the published VIN range associated with Subaru recall WUV-07, which involved the CVT hydraulic pressure sensor harness and transmission hydraulic pressure system. That recall was later superseded by WRK-21. I understand that the published recall addresses electrical resistance and transmission hydraulic pressure readings rather than transmission fluid leakage. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

service department three times and they can't duplicate the problem. They have had it since June 6th and drove it 30 miles in 20 days. I don't think they drove it long enough to duplicate the problem. It usually happens after about 15/20 minutes of driving. Typically that is about how long before the brakes will spontaneously brake.

vehicle drifted to a rolling stop, the main display indicated to turn off the vehicle and it was forced into park to stop it and then the ignition control button was pushed. The car was restarted and moved off the road. Subsequent restarts and terminations occurred without issue. No fault code was generated or captured by the vehicle computer and the dealer could not reproduce the problem.

inspection. A subsequent failure occurred when the original battery was reinstalled for a manufacturer-required diagnostic. Vehicle again would not start. KNOWN DEFECT: Subaru TSB 07-213-22R (revised 03/28/24) covers the 2023-24 Ascent battery and acknowledges the factory specification as inadequate, directing dealers to replace the battery, tray, cover, and holding rod with higher-capacity parts. This TSB was not proactively applied to my vehicle. The dealer did not identify or disclose it at earlier service visits where the battery concern was reported and "could not be reproduced." No recall or proactive owner notification has been issued. Dealers are not applying the TSB preventively. A complaint is open with Subaru of America Customer Advocacy. The manufacturer has declined to reimburse the out-of-pocket emergency replacement and has required a dealer diagnostic that has been repeatedly blocked by manufacturer/dealer procedural requirements.

extended warranty on other model years for this same transmission issue. We are trying to communicate with the Subaru customer service but have had limited response due to the holidays and have not had a resolution yet in the past month.