george-in-georgia Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I bought the Legacy in late 2015 . Have about 37K on it . I've seen a few previous threads on the relatively short life of the OEM batteries . I'm on vacation in Delaware . Went out to start the car Sat. morning and ...... nothing . No crank at all .Luckily my son had decent jumper cables , and a Ford F150 , and I ran it around for about 30 minutes to maybe charge it up . Attempt to start Sunday morning and no crank again . Called my selling dealer in GA on Monday to get some info on my extended warranty ( since I didn't have any of that paperwork in the car , only all 6 inches of manuals ) . I couldn't get a live person on the phone - so many people hide behind voice mail these days . So then I looked up the closest dealer , about 35 miles away , and called them . Again , couldn't get the service manager on the phone . Thought about calling the Road Service number but I wasn't sure if it carried over after the stated 3/36 . So I called Subaru . Got a helpful customer assistance fellow on the phone . He seemed to think my only outlay would be the $100 deductible on the warranty . Well that's not the case , since it turns out that the battery is not covered under the warranty . I had considered taking it to a local repair shop , figured it would be around $200 for just a battery and labor . They are only open M-F , 8-5 . Quite different than the Atlanta metro area shops . Ultimately I had it towed to the Subaru dealer in Delmar Md . Being in a small town , they are also only open M-F , 8-5 , for service . The car was put on a flatbed , since this is my first 4WD car I didn't think about the expense of that ! The towing is an allowance of $100 and I have the responsibility over that . Was a bit anxious about that . The car was supposed to be " picked up within 90 minutes " by roadside asisstance , but the tow firm called said they were running late with a lot of business on a Monday . No big deal to me . They showed up , towed the car , the dealership called in the afternoon , said the battery had a bad cell and would be $205 of a new one and the car would be finished late in the PM. I picked it up the next day , it was $205 , the towing wasn't even listed on the RO . I guess it was fully covered by Roadside Assistance . All in all , a bit of a learning experience . When I was working I was spoiled by a company car with NO worries about maintenance costs or repairs , or any inconvenience . Subaru was pleasant and helpful , if a bit uninformed . Raodside assistance was great and kept me informed thoughtout the process , and followup . The dealer was efficient and I did pickup through the receptionist at 7pm . The saving grace was having my son and his truck available thoughout . Breaking down is no fun , away from home is even worse . George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoojammyflip Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 $200 for a battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 skip oem battery and go with one made by East Penn their brands that I have used are Dekka Napa Gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gathermewool Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Not as bad as I was expecting as I continued to read, but most chain stores will install your battery for free. As was mentioned, you'd likely get a better battery, too. Lesson learned. '15 FB25 Magnatec 0W-20 + FU filter (70,517 miles) RSB, Fr. Strut Bar, Tint, STI BBS, LED er'where Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammcinnis Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 ... East Penn their brands that I have used are Dekka Napa Gold + Duracell "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." ~ The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeChadash Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Subaru is not customer friendly from my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brisvegas Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Subaru is not customer friendly from my experience. You have made the same comment on a couple of your replies to forum posts. I'm sorry for you if that has been your experience .... but here in Australia the general consensus is that Subaru are one of the better manufacturers in regards to customer service. That certainly has been the case for me and my experiences at my local dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 You have made the same comment on a couple of your replies to forum posts. I'm sorry for you if that has been your experience .... but here in Australia the general consensus is that Subaru are one of the better manufacturers in regards to customer service. That certainly has been the case for me and my experiences at my local dealership. he isn't the only one with that complaint. given the nearly 4 years I have had my Subaru and the issues I have dealt with, I whole hardheartedly agree that they are not customer friendly... Here is a snippit from a case I had I reviewed your concern with the Service Manager at White Bear Subaru. They advised that they have inspected your vehicle and at this time your vehicle is operating as designed. When the temperatures are extremely low, it does take some extra time for the interior temperature of the vehicle to reach a comfortable temperature. At this time there are no recalls or service campaigns affecting your vehicle which would be indicative of a common problem. I will document your concern and pass on your feedback to Product Development to consider when developing future models. Past input from our customers has been helpful in initiating changes to our newer models. The most valued opinion of any business is that of its customers. To: CustDlrServices@subaru.com Subject: (SR #:*-**********) Vehicle Problem 2014 Legacy 2.5i [VIN redacted] 43K miles is taking too long to warm up. On cold days (when temps are down in the low teens) even after 10 miles of highway driving, the heat is very low and the fuel consumption is down in the low 20's on the highway. Took car to local dealer several times over the last 2 years and in a nutshell I was told to let the car sit and warm up before driving it. This is in direct opposition to the owner's manual that states to get in car, start it, wait for warning lights to go out, and to gently drive the car away and it will warm up while being driven (section 7). Letting a modern fuel injected car sit and warm up for 10-15 minutes every day is bad for the car and my fuel budget. operating as designed = we are not going to fix it. mind you it was not operating as designed as I had the thermostat replaced this last winter and what do you know, i have heat in the cabin now. 3 years i put up with that crap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubieN8 Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 ^ How is this not "Customer Friendly"? It's worded well, they addressed your concern and will get your feedback to the right people for future reference... I am glad your thermostat works now, as it seems an aftermarket one works better than the OE. But I wholeheartedly disagree that SOA isn't customer friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 (edited) ^ How is this not "Customer Friendly"? It's worded well, they addressed your concern and will get your feedback to the right people for future reference... I am glad your thermostat works now, as it seems an aftermarket one works better than the OE. But I wholeheartedly disagree that SOA isn't customer friendly. Because it took 3 freaking years to get the problem fixed? Did you miss that part? and S O A was like it was no big deal the car had no heat when it was in the low teens outside for 2 years. do you care to explain in detail how that is customer friendly? I'll wait as flowerly well worded responses don't mean squat when the issue is not being addressed. and I do not use aftermarket t-stat, it was replaced with OEM one. Also will not mention that this issue should haven been addressed under 3/36 and the 5/60K warranties on the car.... Edited August 2, 2019 by YeuEmMaiMai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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