2015 Impreza with under 100 miles won't start!

bonita2010

My 2015 impreza w/under 100 miles would not start. It turned over but the engine would not engage. The dealership told me the electronics in the car drains the battery and I had to start my car every day. Sounds like garbage to me. I did not drive it for one day and it would not start and it is summer time. What's going to happen in the winter? I have a 1998 Honda with 218K miles that is very reliable but it is not AWD. I cannot believe Subaru would have such fantastic ratings on safety and all weather AWD and be cheap on this problem if it is one. I need a reliable car and that is why I bought a Subaru to get around in all weather conditions and be safe. What good is it if the car won't start? Reminds me of a Nissan I had years ago that would break down frequently when I drove it. I got rid of it at 34K and 3 fuel pumps later. Please does anyone have any insight about this problem with Subaru?

saedave

Perhaps that dealer's service department should be identified so their unhelpful service response can be avoided by others.

jfl

Sounds like bs to me too. Did it turn over strongly or weakly? Did you have it towed or did you jump start to get to the dealer?

explorerx4

Did you bring it in to the service department? Check to make sure the battery terminal connections are tight.

bonita2010

My husband suggested that maybe I put my foot on the gas pedal when I tried to start it. I have been careful not to put my foot on the pedal when I start the car now and have had no further problems with the car starting. The dealership where I bought the car sent a note to the manufacturer for the record should I have this problem again. Thanks for all the comments.

thecardoc3

Stepping on the throttle during cranking is a signal to the PCM that you think the engine has flooded with fuel, so it shuts the injectors off to clear excess fuel from the engine. When you release the throttle the PCM turns the injectors back on to then allow the car to try to start. If you mistakenly push on the throttle for a normal start, you will get a no-start because the engine won't get fuel.

If this is what happened there would have been no-way for the techs to know that. Commanding clear flood mode doesn't generate a trouble code or historical data snapshot of any kind because it is a normal operation. A dealers statement that they didn't find anything wrong when trying to investigate this would be right. Notice how quickly some wanted to throw them under the bus. This does make a good example of how techs get treated and that works towards good people leaving the trade and why its hard to find people talented enough, and willing to work hard enough to replace them.

dcm61

thecardoc3 said:

A dealers statement that they didn't find anything wrong when trying to investigate this would be right. Notice how quickly some wanted to throw them under the bus. This does make a good example of how techs get treated and that works towards good people leaving the trade and why its hard to find people talented enough, and willing to work hard enough to replace them.

Did you miss this in the OP?

"The dealership told me the electronics in the car drains the battery and I had to start my car every day."

thecardoc3

Nope. But that is in contradiction to the statement about hitting the throttle which would produce a cranks but won't start complaint. The battery being drained would cause a no-start, won't crank, and you would have to jump start the car.

tamarack3

I have a very similar problem. Bought a brand new Impreza about two months ago and it currently has about 300 miles on it. Needless to say, I don't drive it much but when I do, I never had a problem until just now.

Last weekend, it suddenly wouldn't start anymore and the battery appeared to be completely dead. I had to call Roadside Assistance to jump start it. Actually, they had to jump start it twice: After the first time, I let the car run for quite a while, then shut it off and it once again wouldn't start. They jump started it a second time, I let it run for several minutes, shut it off, and then it started again twice. That was four days ago.

Tonight, I tried to start the car and it is completely dead, again. I have a service appointment this weekend, sounds like I'll need to call Roadside Assistance again t jump start it just so I can get it to the dealership.

Did you ever figure out what the problem is with yours? Yes, I only drive it every few days, but then I only drove it every few days the first two months I had it and that was no problem.

thecardoc3

Once a battery is depleted it takes all night on a charger to bring it back to full charge. Just running the car for a while might put enough energy back into the battery to make the car be able to start, but it would still be significantly undercharged.

raybear

It sounds like a battery issue. If the car sat for a long time it can just kill the battery completely. I'm not saying it happened under your watch, it may have occurred when the dealer had it on his lot. You probably need a new battery.

Mr_Shiftright

Perhaps but the dealer still blamed the owner. The dealer (as the story goes) did not merely say they checked the car and found nothing wrong. The dealer came up with the preposterous story that not starting a car for one day drains the battery.

The correct answer from the dealer should have been: "We checked for a parasitic drain, and we checked the charging system, and everything seems to be up to factory specification. Please call us immediately if the problem recurs and we'll have the car promptly towed in for you so we can examine it while it is still inoperative. We may also want you to come in and show us how you start the car".

thecardoc3 said:

Nope. But that is in contradiction to the statement about hitting the throttle which would produce a cranks but won't start complaint. The battery being drained would cause a no-start, won't crank, and you would have to jump start the car.

thecardoc3

Mr_Shiftright said:

Perhaps but the dealer still blamed the owner. The dealer (as the story goes) did not merely say they checked the car and found nothing wrong. The dealer came up with the preposterous story that not starting a car for one day drains the battery.

Is that what someone at the dealer said, or is it the customers interpretation of what they said? That does make a difference here.

Mr_Shiftright said:

The correct answer from the dealer should have been: "We checked for a parasitic drain, and we checked the charging system, and everything seems to be up to factory specification. Please call us immediately if the problem recurs and we'll have the car promptly towed in for you so we can examine it while it is still inoperative. We may also want you to come in and show us how you start the car".

"We may also want you to come in and show us how you start the car".
How many different ways do you think that simple statement could be represented? How about this one "The dealer told me that I don't know how to start my car....."

The OP also followed up with this comment. "My husband suggested that maybe I put my foot on the gas pedal when I tried to start it. I have been careful not to put my foot on the pedal when I start the car now and have had no further problems with the car starting."

"IF" the OP was holding the throttle to the floor when attempting to start the engine it isn't that much of a stretch to envision the engine getting cranked until the battery was dead, because it won't start if someone does that. The end result is everyone online is forced to guess without any details to support their perspective on what is really going on.

carboy21

Does Subaru still use the wet cell batteries instead of the sealed AGM batteries ? My 2010 Forester had the old style wet cell battery where you had to top the water up every time.

claude17

PLEASE CHECK THE CCA ON YOUR BATTERY, I have found my was under!!! standard 390 instead of over 600....