2026 Subaru Trailseeker

Since owning the vehicle at the end of April 2026, there has been a phantom drain on the accessory system that causes the 12-volt battery to drop below the minimum operating voltage, requiring a jump start in order to get the vehicle to operate. The first event happened within weeks of owning the vehicle and after leaving the car turned off, including all lights, and doors locked for around 72 hours. Even after a jump start and getting the 12-volt battery charged up a bit, the drain caused the battery to require a jump-start soon after. There was enough voltage in the 12-volt battery to unlock the vehicle via the key fob and attempt to get the vehicle into READY mode, before cutting out. The dealer ran tests on the 12-volt battery to find no issues. The second event happened a few weeks after the first event, but the drain had depleted the battery enough that the driver-side door had to be unlocked using the physical key. A jump start as required. The third event, in which the vehicle had been off for less than 24 hours, had the 12-volt battery was badly depleted requiring a jump start. Immediately drove the vehicle to dealer to have them investigate. They had the vehicle for 3 weeks with a Subaru tech investigating the issue, but said that a software update would be required and I could not use the SubaruConnect app nor able to have profiles configured.

NHTSA ID

11759488

Incident

May 8, 2026

When not driven in multiple days in a row the 12V battery will be dead, requiring a jump. If driven regularly the battery remains charged. If 12V is extremely low driver assist sensors are offline until battery voltage is restored. The connected app will push error codes to mobile device, of invalid conditions when battery is near death. Some messages included stating doors open, windows are open, doors unlocked; all of which were not true. Dealership inspection after second dead battery in a month, resulted in no electrical drain found and 12V was healthy. No lights or other devices were left on to drain the battery. Two times in three months of ownership is too high. Being an EV if 12V fails while driving it could result in inability to drive the car.

NHTSA ID

11759259

Incident

Jul 26, 2026

I bought a new trailseeker mid July 2026 and after owning the car for less than 4 weeks with about 400miles on the odometer I came out to a dead car after not driving the car for 2.5 days. The car had been parked with the windows up, doors locked, unplugged from charger, and charger port door closed. The traction battery SoC was over 60%. I had to use the mechanical key to get into my car and had to jump the 12v battery. After jumping the 12v battery, the car began to function normally. I have since deregister the car from all connected services to avoid any parasitic drain from connected services, as all connected services, except for AT&T hotspot, were active at the time of the battery dying. No third party apps were connected to the car, only Subaru Connect.

NHTSA ID

11758401

Incident

Aug 13, 2026

I have had the Trailseeker for about 7 weeks and have noticed low battery messages and on one occasion when I hadn't driven it for 3 days the car was completely unresponsive until I put the 12 V batter on a charger. I have a Level 2 charger at home for the traction battery. I do use the Subaru Connect add to check on the Level2 charging progress.

NHTSA ID

11757872

Incident

Aug 16, 2026

12 Volt battery dies frequently leading to the vehicle becoming inoperable. Subaru has so far provided little information regarding a permanent fix other than to discontinue all use of mobile apps that connect to the vehicle and to move any key fobs away from the vehicle as far as possible. The issue occurs on average one a month from my experience, and requires the car to get towed back into service.

NHTSA ID

11757695

Incident

Jul 25, 2026

I purchased a new 2026 Subaru Trailseeker on 06/22/2026. On 07/30/2026, the vehicle became completely inoperable because of a discharged 12V battery. The vehicle would not enter READY mode. Pressing the brake pedal and the START button had no effect. The interior lights would not turn on, and the vehicle was completely without power. Before the vehicle was jump-started, I measured the 12V battery voltage at 7.4 volts. Roadside assistance was required to jump-start the vehicle. After the jump start, the vehicle immediately entered READY mode and became operational again. I then monitored the battery voltage and recorded the following readings after overnight parking: * 12.25 V * 12.03 V * 12.11 V * 12.27 V * 12.48 V The vehicle was taken to an authorized Subaru dealership for warranty service. The dealership kept the vehicle for several days, performed battery testing, checked for parasitic current draw, and consulted an EV field engineer. The battery test report showed: * Battery voltage: 12.06 V * State of charge: 50% * Rated battery capacity: 45 Ah * Available capacity: 41 Ah (90%) * Test result: “Good - Recharge” The dealership reported that no abnormal parasitic draw was found and that the battery passed testing. However, the vehicle had already experienced a complete loss of electrical power and required a jump start. At the time of this complaint, the odometer reading is 1,562 miles. I am submitting this complaint because a complete loss of electrical power in a new electric vehicle creates a potential safety concern. The vehicle became completely inoperable without any warning.

NHTSA ID

11757653

Incident

Jul 30, 2026

The 12V battery drains and is out of charge on my 2026 Trailseeker when it is parked over several days. I am unable to rely on the car to start after multiple days of being parked in the garage.

NHTSA ID

11757311

Incident

Aug 16, 2026

Since buying the vehicle, the 12-volt battery has been consistently losing charge unless I connect it to a trickle charger. I took the vehicle to the dealer for evaluation, but after testing they told me they found nothing wrong with the charging system. Despite that, the problem continues. At present, the battery state of charge is below 20 percent, which is very concerning on a newly purchased vehicle. I am worried about the reliability of the vehicle and the risk of the 12-volt battery failing unexpectedly. I would appreciate it if Subaru could open a case, review this issue, and advise me on the next steps. If needed, I can provide additional details such as dealer visit information, dates, and battery monitoring data.

NHTSA ID

11756432

Incident

Aug 11, 2026

This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or frequent jump-starts.This is an revised version of the original bulletin.

This Bulletin provided diagnostic procedure information to be followed when addressing Dark Current / Parasitic Draw concerns on Subaru EV vehicles.

This Service Information Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during diagnosis of Infotainment concerns. (This is an revised version of the original bulletin.)

This Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during diagnosis of Infotainment concerns. (This is an revised version of the original bulletin.)

This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files for the Plug-in Control Module and the High Level Communication Module.

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