Did a vehicle’s enhancements kill a Subaru?

John Paul, aka “the Car Doctor,’’ answers readers’ car-related questions.

By John Paul

September 3, 2015

4 minutes to read

Q. Dismayed; disappointed; disgruntled. These are the feelings engendered by coming home from a two week trip only to find that the battery in our one month old Subaru Forester had died while we were away. The April issue of a consumer magazine convinced us that all the new safety and navigation technology innovations in the 2015 models would make it worth our while to replace our 2007 Forester. But no reviewer mentioned that all those enhancements would drain the battery even when the car wasn’t driven. When we took the car back to Subaru, we were told it was our fault for leaving the car for two weeks. Subaru service also suggested we get a trickle charger and keep the car plugged in when we’re a way for an extended period of time. I Googled “Subaru battery drainage issue’’ and discovered that the problem was not unique to our vehicle, nor even only to Subaru. Apparently Hondas and Fords are similarly afflicted. These facts were further substantiated by the AAA technician who came to recharge our battery. She fields many calls similar to ours. A setting comparable to airplane mode on a phone that shuts down some of the background functions would be a wise and welcome fix. What is not clear why there’s so little written about this issue in the automotive press. My husband and I feel doubly burned by Subaru for its inept engineering and by the consumer gurus who should know better.

A. Today’s vehicles have higher electrical demands than ever and over time the batteries can become discharged. I don’t believe the problem is specific to Subaru but a result of high electrical demand of today’s vehicles. Most vehicles do have systems which allow power hungry accessories to go into a “sleep’’ mode to prevent battery drain. Also if your car has keyless-start the key-fob needs to be at least 10 feet away from the car for the car’s electrical system to go into the sleep mode. Leaving your car in the garage with the keys nearby will guarantee a dead battery. Subaru like most manufacturers has very specific procedure to test for “dark-current’’ or parasitic drain. The maximum allowable current drain is 70 milliamps. Even at the maximum allowable parasitic draw by my calculation battery should be able to start the car even after sitting idle for three weeks. One possible issue with your car was the battery was never fully charged. It is critical that a battery needs to be fully charged before putting it in service. If the battery was slightly discharged and much of your driving is very short trips this could be part of the cause of the dead battery. Readers are you have a problem with your new Subaru, let me know. Email me.

Q. I had always owned a four-wheel-drive truck but now own a two-wheel drive Honda Odyssey. I really like the vehicle but after last winter because of where I drive I feel the need for AWD. I am trying to decide between a Canyon/Colorado or AWD Sienna. Are they about equal in bad weather?

A. Both of these vehicles perform quite well in winter weather, in fact the Canyon and Sienna both won their categories in the New England Motor Press Winter Vehicle awards. Before you consider purchasing a new vehicle, have you thought about snow tires? I have found that winter vehicle performance can be improved dramatically with four snow tires.

Q. My son recently purchased a 2013 Toyota Sienna from a reputable GMC dealer. After he got the car home he looked at all the paperwork. The official looking odometer printout had 22,505. The car’s odometer had 21,980 miles on it. I fooled with adjusting the trip meter on the car and the mileage was correct. He called the dealer, told them of the problem. They basically said ‘no big deal’. Is it a big deal? It is only a difference of 500 miles. Or, is something fishy going on?

A. The problem could be as simple as someone writing down the incorrect mileage. You did say that the selling dealer was very reputable. It has been my experience that any reputable dealer will never take a chance with ruining their reputation with odometer fraud.

Q. I just purchased a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek and just after I picked it up we had that really bad hail storm. The roof alone has 90 golf ball sized dents. I received the estimate and they want to replace the outer roof panel and the hood. What are your thoughts on this and how do you think it will affect the value of my new car?

A. In theory if the car is put back into the same condition as it was before the hail damage the value of the car shouldn’t change. The outcome of repair really depends on the skill of the body shop and the quality of the repaint. One option you might consider is “paintless’’ dent removal. Technicians use specialized tools to manipulate the dents from the inside out. I recently had one small parking lot dent in my wife’s new Volkswagen removed using this method and it came out perfect. The company I used was Dent Concepts (there are many others) and they have a fully equipped tractor trailer that follows hail storms repairing damaged vehicles.