2026 Subaru Trailseeker Electrical Problems

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2026 Subaru Trailseeker owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

I went to start my 2026 Trailseeker and the 12 volt battery was dead. I contacted Subaru Roadside Assistance to jump the vehicle. After they jump started the vehicle I received the following warnings on the dash.."Brake Override Malfunction..Visit Your Dealer".."Braking Power Low..Visit Your Dealer." "Braking Power Low Stop in a Safe Place See Owners Manual." The car was un-drivable as I was unable to release the brake. I disconnected the battery cables and those warnings went away but the EV malfunction light remains on. The car was towed to the dealership and in their possession, the battery was dead again and had to be jumped by them. They said they found nothing wrong with anything. I requested a new battery and they said it would not be approved by Subaru as they found nothing wrong with the battery. …

I purchased my Subaru Trailseeker on July 11, 2026. This past week while on a work trip, I parked my vehicle on Tuesday evening, July 21 at approximately 7 pm and on Friday, July 24 at approximately noon when I attempted to unlock the vehicle with either the Subaru App or the key fob, nothing happened. The doors would not open. I opened the passenger door by using the emergency mechanical key located in the key fob. When I entered the vehicle all screens were black, and the car would not turn on. The vehicle would not function and it was basically a brick. To load my luggage I had to physically crawl around and manually unlock each door. We called our Subaru sales person and he contacted their service department and I was instructed to call for Road Side Assistance. This is our 6th EV and the first time we have had issues of this type with the 12v battery. …

Since owning the vehicle at the end of April 2026, there has been a phantom drain on the accessory system that causes the 12-volt battery to drop below the minimum operating voltage, requiring a jump start in order to get the vehicle to operate. The first event happened within weeks of owning the vehicle and after leaving the car turned off, including all lights, and doors locked for around 72 hours. Even after a jump start and getting the 12-volt battery charged up a bit, the drain caused the battery to require a jump-start soon after. There was enough voltage in the 12-volt battery to unlock the vehicle via the key fob and attempt to get the vehicle into READY mode, before cutting out. The dealer ran tests on the 12-volt battery to find no issues. …

ELECTRCAL SYSTEM - Low Battery; DEAD Battery. My Subaru Trailseeker was purchased on 1st June 2026. During the first two months I noticed the comment "Low Battery" as I started the vehicle. (It is possible that I missed some "Low Battery" alerts as these flash on the dash screen momentarily as I press the Start Button). Then on 2nd August 2026 I could not start the vehicle at all and my battery tested DEAD. I jump started the vehicle and recharged the 12V DC Lead battery to 99%. Next morning the battery had drained to 26%. Besides being a pain and a cost, the low battery could cause problems with the various safety alerts in the vehicle. I would not know if the various safety alerts are working or not. I have read many accounts of Trailseeker owners having similar problems so its highly probable that this is a manufactures problem - most likely a parasitic electrical draw.

We purchased the 2026 Subaru Trailseeker Limited in April, 2026. We have used it regularly (every few days since purchase). I experienced a display of "Low Battery", on the heads up display prior to charging. Once the traction battery recharged I did not see the warning. I subsequently installed a ANCEL BM200 battery monitor after hearing of parasitic drain on the 12 volt battery resulting in inability to start. Since monitoring, I have measured said drain and continued to operate the vehicle almost daily to recharge the 12 volt battery and compensate for the drain. I have no third-party apps interfacing with the DCM that I am aware of. I have to leave the car unattended for two weeks, and have installed a trickle charger to minimize permanent damage to the undersized 12 volt battery. This is unacceptable.

I bought a new trailseeker mid July 2026 and after owning the car for less than 4 weeks with about 400miles on the odometer I came out to a dead car after not driving the car for 2.5 days. The car had been parked with the windows up, doors locked, unplugged from charger, and charger port door closed. The traction battery SoC was over 60%. I had to use the mechanical key to get into my car and had to jump the 12v battery. After jumping the 12v battery, the car began to function normally. I have since deregister the car from all connected services to avoid any parasitic drain from connected services, as all connected services, except for AT&T hotspot, were active at the time of the battery dying. No third party apps were connected to the car, only Subaru Connect.

When not driven in multiple days in a row the 12V battery will be dead, requiring a jump. If driven regularly the battery remains charged. If 12V is extremely low driver assist sensors are offline until battery voltage is restored. The connected app will push error codes to mobile device, of invalid conditions when battery is near death. Some messages included stating doors open, windows are open, doors unlocked; all of which were not true. Dealership inspection after second dead battery in a month, resulted in no electrical drain found and 12V was healthy. No lights or other devices were left on to drain the battery. Two times in three months of ownership is too high. Being an EV if 12V fails while driving it could result in inability to drive the car.

The 12v Lead Acid Battery is draining prematurely solely due to the first party Subaru Connected services application. My vehicle does not have any 3rd party applications, and yet every night there is a sawtooth drain occurring on the battery bringing it from 12.4v down to 11.7v. The vehicle is pinging/uploading or transmitting data at an excessive rate every night - [redacted] It is further evidenced by the driver monitor alert activating multiple times in the middle of the night. With this rate of drain, the 12v battery would die within 48-72 hours without being recharged by the traction battery when the vehicle is operating.

Since buying the vehicle, the 12-volt battery has been consistently losing charge unless I connect it to a trickle charger. I took the vehicle to the dealer for evaluation, but after testing they told me they found nothing wrong with the charging system. Despite that, the problem continues. At present, the battery state of charge is below 20 percent, which is very concerning on a newly purchased vehicle. I am worried about the reliability of the vehicle and the risk of the 12-volt battery failing unexpectedly. I would appreciate it if Subaru could open a case, review this issue, and advise me on the next steps. If needed, I can provide additional details such as dealer visit information, dates, and battery monitoring data.

I purchased this vehicle in April 2026. Using it vehicle normally results in the 12V battery becoming discharged leaving the car unable to start with me stranded. This has happened 3 times. Jump starts are successful and keeping the car active partially recharges the 12V battery. A dealer has replaced the 12V battery under warranty, but this has not fixed the problem. I'm now taking steps to keep my 12V battery charged by using a trickle charger most nights. This should not be needed with a new vehicle!

Electrical complaints in other Trailseeker years