2021 Subaru Ascent Electrical Problems

While driving my Subaru Ascent, a check engine warning light appeared on the dashboard. Shortly afterward, I noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. I immediately pulled over and turned the vehicle off. Within moments, flames began coming from under the hood. The fire spread rapidly, and within 5-10 minutes the entire vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. The fire originated from the engine compartment. The vehicle was a total loss. Subaru of America was notified on 12/23/2025, but no follow-up or update on investigation has been responded. The vehicle was always serviced with Subaru. This sudden, traumatizing and catastrophic failure with no prior warning.

NHTSA ID

11712180

Incident

Dec 20, 2025

The transmission on our 2021 Subaru Ascent is slipping and failing to accelerate, RPMs reving, and every issue indicator notification light is on. We took the car to our mechanic, then to the Subaru dealership service dept for diagnosis. A full transmission replacement is required plus associated repairs for a cost of $14,543.98. Service estimate attached. This repair is more than 2/3 of the value of the vehicle. This make/model and transmission type have documented problems and Subaru has previously issued an 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.

NHTSA ID

11710776

Incident

Dec 18, 2025

I bought a 2021 Ascent - Touring , lately there was an ever increasing amount of wind noise. It sounded like it was coming from the sunroof, but I couldn't see anything from the inside that looked out of place and there were no signs of water leaking. I finally looked up on the roof from the outside and the weather stripping along the back of the sunroof was coming out. The glue is thin, and didn't even stick to it anymore.. This is an ongoing issue. There are people people on the Subaru Ascent, Facebook Reddit forms that have said they are having the same issue..

NHTSA ID

11707846

Incident

May 1, 2024

Battery draining. Bought car from dealership preowned with 25k miles. Owned it for 3 weeks and so far -Battery dead, jumped it, good for a day then dead again. -took back to dealership, said bad battery, replaced it, good for a week and a half then dead again -scheduling to go to a subaru dealership for diagnoses Ive read about the DCM on these vehicles trying to connect to 3g towers continously even when the car is off. The 3g towers are no longer in use in the USA. Subaru should have a software update to remedy this issue but have not found that thus far. Just a lawsuit over this issue.

NHTSA ID

11610464

Incident

Aug 10, 2024

Lift gate began malfunctioning going up and down on its ownthen dropped suddenly onto spouse's head. Now the lift gate does not open properly.

NHTSA ID

11594745

Incident

Jun 15, 2024

The vehicle has a parasitic battery draw. I purchased a new gel cell (Redtop) battery, the most powerful one that fits the car, and was reimbursed by Subaru. The car battery still goes totally dead after about one week, even with occasional driving. I have to carry a jump battery in case I am traveling to insure that I can get the car started when I stop.

NHTSA ID

11572635

Incident

Feb 1, 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Ascent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V9070000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and informed her that parts were available. The dealer was called back, and the contact was placed on a waiting list. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11500087

Incident

Dec 11, 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Ascent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V907000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11497152

Incident

Dec 9, 2022

THE MOON ROOF/SUNROOF HAS LEAKED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE DEALER HAS TRIED TO FIX IT ON THREE OCCASIONS. IT CONTINUES TO LEAK- IT LEAKS WATER INTO THE FRONT EYESIGHT CAMERAS CAUSING THEM TO NOT WORK & CUT OFF SPORADICALLY. THE WATER LEAKS INTO THE CAB CAUSING THE HEADLINER TO BE WET, THE FLOORBOARD AND THE ENTIRE CONSOLE AND CUP HOLDERS FILLS UP WITH WATER. I HAVE HAD IT AT THE DEALERSHIP ON THREE OCCASIONS DEC 2012 JAN 2021 NOV 11 2022 AND IT HAS NOW HAPPENED A 4 TH TIME ON NOV 15 2022 AND IS STILL NOT REPAIRED. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MY VEHICLE FOR 34 DAYS. IT HAS LESS THAN 18,000 MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ID

11494417

Incident

Dec 6, 2021

Car would not start in morning. @20,000 miles. Battery dead..not even trying to turn over..Had to get car jumped then all safety features went dead..looked on Subaru sight and it showed every safety feature disabled..I did not drive car till next day to bring to dealer..next day all features fine like nothing happened..Dealer found nothing wrong. Dealer tested battery and showed fully charged..

NHTSA ID

11490453

Incident

Oct 15, 2022

The battery constantly drains when the car is not in use for a very short time. It appears to be an electrical drain. I have already replaced the battery two times and the car has less than 15,000 miles. Apparently this is the same problem as in the 2016 - 2019 class action suit.

NHTSA ID

11489008

Incident

Aug 16, 2022

The battery died after 2 years and 15000 miles. I was with my whole family ( 2 months old, 2 and 4 years old) away from home. I was able to reach the dealership leaving my family in a store and they said that nothing was wrong with the battery. Next day the car wouldn’t start and they finally replaced the battery under my extended warranty. Today I discover that there is a class action settlement for older models of my car. I was advised to write a complain to you. Apparently they didn’t fix the problem with newer models either.

NHTSA ID

11486448

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

The battery went dead even though the car was parked in the garage and had been driven recently. AAA was called to jump start it. The vehicle only has 5k miles on it, so it shouldn’t be having battery problems. We are lucky this happened at home.

NHTSA ID

11458538

Incident

Mar 20, 2022

My mirror on my car has started melting. They told me it was a outside force, from a lighter. I told them it was electrical or something wrong from the inside of the mirror. There are forums recently posted up regarding this and Subaru has ignored them all claiming it is reflective light from the sun. That they can’t do anything about it. Others have replaced their mirrors 3 times now. This is a potential fire hazard and could be unsafe. They are not addressing this as it should be. https://www.thesubaruforums.com/threads/melting-side-view-mirror.12397/

NHTSA ID

11455135

Incident

Feb 25, 2022

After leaving liftgate open for a while, battery was dead. Learned from website that this was known issue for Subaru’s with automated liftgate. As i was camping with no cell signal, it was super difficult to get help and this could lead to the really big issue. This is the known issue for a while and I was shocked to Leane that Subaru did nothing to fix this.

NHTSA ID

11420375

Incident

Jun 5, 2021

AT 1667 MILES ON MY BRAND NEW SUBARU ASCENT THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DRAINED WHILE MY WIFE WAS OUT SHOPPING. THE BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. NO CHARGE TO ME, HOWEVER AT 1667 MILES THAT IS AN ISSUE. THERE IS A DEAD SUBARU ASCENT BATTERY CLUB THAT N FACEBOOK DEDICATED TO THIS ISSUE AND LAWYERS STARTING TO GET READY FOR CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT. VEHICLE WAS PARKED WHEN THIS HAPPENED. DEALER COULDN'T EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED.

NHTSA ID

11395288

Incident

Dec 30, 2020

Mileage

1,667 mi

MY WIFE PARKED THE VEHICLE AND WHEN SHE WENT TO START IT THE BATTERY WAS DEAD AT ONLY 1667 MILES.

NHTSA ID

11389697

Incident

Dec 30, 2020

Mileage

1,667 mi