Sayueri Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 (edited) Hello. New to the forum. My father has a 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium. He got it used in late 2018 from a Subaru dealership. It's his daily driver. On Monday, November 2, he was out shopping with my mom. He waited for her in the parking lot with the car off. When he tried to turn the car on, it wouldn't start. He called roadside assistance for a jump. After dropping my mom off at home, he took the car to a Subaru dealership to have it checked out. They told him everything was fine with the car. The battery was still good. He must have left the lights on without noticing and it drained the battery. They could replace the battery if he wanted but it would cost him $200+. He has extended warranty on the car but the battery isn't covered. My dad took their word for it and chose to leave it as is. Fast forward to Friday, November 13. My dad is out shopping with my mom again. He waits for her in parking lot. When he goes to turn on the car, it won't turn on. He calls roadside assistance for a jump. Takes the car to Subaru. Same story. The battery is still good but they'll replace it if he wants. After being told the same thing twice, my dad doesn't believe them and leaves. My dad wants to purchase a new battery for the car but is concerned about his extended warranty. Based on what I've read online, it doesn't sound like purchasing and installing a new battery should affect the warranty. My dad is also concerned about the car needing to be reprogrammed with the installation of a new battery. I'm no car expert but, what I told him, is that if he's really worried about that he could purchase a new battery and see if he can have it installed at the dealership. I've looked at Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, Autozone and Advance Auto Parts to compare prices on batteries that fit his car. The cheapest battery I've found so far is at Costco for $80. My dad's budget is $200 so he's willing to pay more for a good battery. Do you have any recommendations for a battery for a 2017 Subaru Legacy? If he does purchase an aftermarket battery and has it installed by a 3rd party, are there any possible issues that he needs to be aware of? Are his worries about needing to reprogram the car valid? Any help or guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Edited November 14, 2020 by Sayueri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammcinnis Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 (edited) He waited for her in the parking lot with the car off. When he tried to turn the car on, it wouldn't start. Was the key still in the ignition? Did he perhaps have the car in "Accessory" mode, listening to the radio? Did he perhaps have some lights on? Battery capacity and life are two of the most frequent complaints about these cars. A simple Search of this forum will turn up dozens of threads on the topic. Here's one I started: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/gen-6-battery-replacement-info-278179.html?t=278179 (It's not just Subaru, either. With all their electronics, modern cars place high demands on their batteries.) The original equipment batteries in our Legacys are BCI Group 25 (an industry standard specification). Other, higher capacity, standard sizes that are popular "drop in" replacements are BCI Group 24 (not 24F!) and Group 34 (not 34R!). You don't have to do anything special to replace the battery, but the power window controllers will have to be re-initialized afterward. (See the Owners Manual.) Any competent shop can do the replacement, so you don't have to depend on the dealer to perform some Voodoo ritual. Replacing the battery should not affect any extended warranty, but read the fine print first. It might also be worthwhile for your father to invest in an inexpensive "smart" battery charger/maintainer (a.k.a. "battery minder," "battery tender") and use it overnight once a month, which will help to keep the new battery in top condition. Such chargers typically cost less than $50. I've looked at Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, Autozone and Advance Auto Parts to compare prices on batteries that fit his car.Any of those stores can provide you with an appropriate battery, but cheapest is not always the best choice. FWIW, the battery currently in my 2015 Legacy Premium is a Duracell Platinum 24/34 AGM I purchased from Sam's Club. It is a premium battery that has been fully satisfactory so far. YMMV. Edited November 18, 2020 by ammcinnis "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...
Sayueri Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 Was the key still in the ignition? Did he perhaps have the car in "Accessory" mode, listening to the radio? Did he perhaps have some lights on? Thank you for the response. The lights & radio did occur to me as a possibility but my dad doesn't use the radio often. He told me that he turns the car off and reads a book or uses his phone while he waits. From everything I've read online, this does seem like a common issue that all points back to the stock battery. Thanks for the battery recommendation as well. I'll pass that on to my dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE RZA Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 I had issues with my stock battery in my 2015 WRX from day 1. I never bothered to have it warrantied because every time I attempted to make a warranty claim at the dealership they fought me. I kept it for 3 years and just dealt with it, then I got this from Autozone 2 years ago and no issues since. https://www.autozone.com/batteries-starting-and-charging/battery/duralast-platinum-battery-35-agm-group-size-35-650-cca/377104_258019_25698 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammcinnis Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 (edited) Careful! Group 35 is a dangerous battery choice for Gen 6 Legacys, since Group 35 terminal polarity is reversed vs. Group 25, 24, or 34. Connecting a battery with the polarity backwards can ruin your day (and cost thousands). Edited November 15, 2020 by ammcinnis "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...
Sayueri Posted November 18, 2020 Author Share Posted November 18, 2020 the battery currently in my 2015 Legacy Premium is a Duracell 24/34 AGM I purchased from Sam's Club. Is this your battery? After searching around, this is the one I recommended to my dad. If it is your battery, did you get it installed at Sams? https://www.samsclub.com/p/auto-group-24-34agm-36-mo-free/prod9510079?xid=plp_product_14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammcinnis Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 (edited) Is this your battery? ... did you get it installed at Sams? Yes, that's the battery I currently have in both our Legacy and Outback. I installed it myself, but there's no reason Sam's would have any problem installing it for you. Either way, you may have to re-initialize the front window controllers afterwards; see the Owners Manual (~page 2-37) for details. Edited November 18, 2020 by ammcinnis "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...
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