There are 3 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2023 Subaru Ascentin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
2023 Subaru Ascent, under manufacturer basic warranty. Factory OEM battery has repeatedly failed. Voltage drops below 11.5V in normal use. Three documented failures in six weeks. SAFETY INCIDENT: Vehicle died on a public street and became completely immobilized. Brake warning light activated. Vehicle would not move even after a jump start. Passengers had to exit in a live traffic lane. A second vehicle was used to transport a replacement battery. The original battery is in my possession and available for inspection. A subsequent failure occurred when the original battery was reinstalled for a manufacturer-required diagnostic. Vehicle again would not start. KNOWN DEFECT: Subaru TSB 07-213-22R (revised 03/28/24) covers the 2023-24 Ascent battery and acknowledges the factory specification as inadequate, directing dealers to replace the battery, tray, cover, and holding rod with higher-capacity parts. This TSB was not proactively applied to my vehicle. The dealer did not identify or disclose it at earlier service visits where the battery concern was reported and "could not be reproduced." No recall or proactive owner notification has been issued. Dealers are not applying the TSB preventively. A complaint is open with Subaru of America Customer Advocacy. The manufacturer has declined to reimburse the out-of-pocket emergency replacement and has required a dealer diagnostic that has been repeatedly blocked by manufacturer/dealer procedural requirements.
The warning lights on the car flashed and the car shut down. I was on the highway. I called 911 and they told me to quickly and safely exit the car. Less than a minute later, the engine combusted and the car was engulfed in flames.
Only 3500 miles on new 2023 Subaru ASCENT and it won"t start. I have had to give it a boost four times already, anytime I need to use it. I check to make sure there are no lights left on. Just staying parked from one day to the next and it won"t start. I have an appointment at the dealer service dept. at 1:45 pm o June 5th, 2023, for them to hopefully resolve the problem. I'll have to give it boost to start the car and drive 125 miles to the dealer. Hope the car makes it there. On your website, the 2019, 2020and 2021 models had a recall for the battery draining because of faulty wiring. We would think the manufacture Sabaru would have taken care of this problem on the newer models.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026