Subaru Forester battery

My 2014 Forester is now 3 years old so I thought it might be a good time to replace the battery. I was very surprised to see that the OEM battery was only 290 CCA. Two years ago in Feb. it had a little trouble starting in -15F one morning and my wifes  Civic battery totally failed at 3 years, so I figured lets play it safe. Got  sears with 550 CCA, all set for a few years at least.

Note- part of the reason my wifes Civic battery failed was the strange defaults they had for charging. If no heavy load was turned on (like headlights, seat heater, etc.) the alternator provided only 12.3 volts or so. Only when you turned on the headlights (not the daytime driving lights) did the voltage kick up to 14.3 or so. So, for a couple years the battery limped along at a partial charge (little night driving and works close to home)until one winter days it said "I don't wanna start this car no more".  I checked the voltages again today and see that it now charges with the headlights off- I think the dealer must have done an update.

Three years on a battery seems short to me.  I've kept my last three cars 6 years and have only replaced one battery. It was in a honda, and there was a recall related to something in the alternator (I think) killing the batteries early. Maybe that is related to your issue.

I used to believe a battery was good for 5 years, and they generally were; but now think the oem batteries are cheaper and for a small cost a big problem is avoided (assuming it chooses to die in the middle of nowhere).

Where you located?  I part out subarus and have several batteries laying around.  I'm in NJ.  You can have one for free.

Thanks for the offer, but I am up in Rochester and happily cranking 550 CCA!

I've replaced the battery twice in my 2012 VW. Good grief. Can't wait to take advantage of the TDI settlement on that turd. It has been nice to drive and GREAT MPG. But maintenance issues like that drive me nuts and that is one of many not to mention the emissions thing...

My most recent battery, after two duds in four years, I told em' gimme as many CCA as they have available for my vehicle!

What are you gonna go with, riverc0il?

We've really loved and had good luck with our TDI.  We will probably wind up with a CRV.  Nothing in our price range feels quite as nice to drive.  Damn false bill of goods!!!!

witch hobble wrote

What are you gonna go with, riverc0il?

We've really loved and had good luck with our TDI.  We will probably wind up with a CRV.  Nothing in our price range feels quite as nice to drive.  Damn false bill of goods!!!!

The TDI is a great car to drive, that is for sure! I'll miss the performance and fuel efficiency. But I am not pursuing the fix (if it ever gets approved) since fixing the emissions issue will probably bring the performance and MPG back down to reality. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is...

As far as a replacement, I'm less than satisfied with my options. I LOVE the wagon design but apparently America still hasn't come around that hatchbacks SUCK for cargo capacity (horizontal floor space is less than a sedan because hatchbacks have their asses cropped, though vertical storage space is more but floor space is what is most important for most folks). Most hatches also have ass for visibility because of sloping roofs and smaller windows. Good grief.

The only wagons available are from VW (um, no) and luxury brands (also, no). Regardless of price, the wagon segment has really bad fuel economy in general. Same for crossovers and SUVs (definitely no!).

So I am kinda stuck looking at hatches even though there are a lot of compromises. On the short list are the Civic Hatch, Cruze Hatch, and Mazda3 Hatch with Honda probably in the lead out of those considerations. Looking forward to looking at the new Subaru Impreza Hatch... MPG is finally on par with the class. AWD has never been important, a good set of snows is all I really need. But it looks like it has the best hatch access and visibility, AWD doesn't hurt the proposition.

Also awaiting to see what the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid and Kia Niro look like. Both look to battle the Prius for top MPG billing while also having a better look and design, though not as good of a company reputation. Niro looks a bit too crossover-ish for my eye, while the Ioniq looks to have a sedan like footprint while also having a hatch so is perhaps the more interesting of the two for me.

My partner's lease is up next month and she is crossover crazy with the CRV on her shortlist and I'd be happy with that choice for her needs and for Honda and the CRV's rep. That means space isn't as much of an issue for me anymore (she currently has a Corolla to my SportWagen so I currently have the hauling capacity for the household which I don't need to worry about so much any more).

Basically, it might all come down to which car can best fit a pair of 186cm skis or a road bike with tires still on in the boot. As long as a hatch has at least that much flat floor space and also has good MPG, I'll drive it. While the TDI performance has been a lot of fun... the "driving fun" issue is not a factor at all, I bought the TDI for practical reasons and the performance was just a bonus.

Yeah. We are not interested in "the fix".  And in a consumer society, I feel my only source of revenge is not buying another VW. So that's out.  We also can't afford a bump up to the luxury market for a wagon. We need to be able to transport kids, 2 dogs and some gear.  So our replacement really needs to be a grocery hauler of some sort.  Hatchbacks are too small at this point in our lives.

Not a fan of the Outback eh?

I had a Toyota Venza.  Good car - lots of space, good gas mileage, features, etc.  In the end I wanted something with AWD.

Back to the original topic, battery life. I have owned several Toyotas over the past yrs and always keep them for at least 8-10 yrs. My latest 04 Tacoma had the original battery in it until March of 2014 before it finally died. Vehs always left outdoors yr round, never had a Toyota battery that didn't last at least 8 yrs. 3 years on any battery would be, IMO a defective one.

The Outback is a Crossover/SUV, not a wagon (used to be a wagon, not anymore). It also has crap for fuel economy. And is stupid overpriced. I'll look at a 2017 Impreza but an Outback is not even close to being on the drawing board. But I will hand it to Subaru, they knew what they were doing when the redesigned that thing. But they changed everything I once liked about the previous generation. Again, Subaru knew what they were doing because I am not typical of the USA car buying market.

riverc0il wrote

The Outback is a Crossover/SUV, not a wagon (used to be a wagon, not anymore)

Interesting. Must be Edmunds, Car and Drive, KBB, Consumer Reports, etc are all wrong then.  They classify the Outback as a wagon,  but what the heck would they know.