Since we bought our Subaru Crosstrek (used) a year and a half ago, it has needed to be jump started at least eight times. The most recent episode required twenty minutes of charging before the car would start. The maintenance guy at our co-op, whose truck was charging our car’s battery and who loves my mom (because they like to chat about gardening and plumbing and all kinds of things I don’t understand), insisted that we take it back to the service center for a diagnosis. Again.
The last time we’d gone to have the car checked, for the same problem, they told us that the car and the battery were fine, and the problem was that we were probably leaving a light on in the car without realizing it, or that we weren’t driving the car frequently enough, so if we were more careful and made sure to start the car at least every other day, the car would be fine.
The next time after that when the car wouldn’t start, we called Triple A, and the service guy told us that what we really needed was a new battery, because the one that came with the car was now too old to hold a charge, and luckily, he could sell us one on the spot. He also told us that we could get a battery charger of our own, so we wouldn’t have to call for help the next time. So, we bought the battery from him, and ordered the car charger online, and hoped for the best.
And, not many weeks later, we had the chance to use the new battery charger, and then again, but then it didn’t work, and we had to have the car charged by our maintenance man at the Co-op.
So, there we were, back at the service center, not feeling especially hopeful and worrying that we would be told there was no real problem, again, or if there was a problem, there would be no solution and we’d have to get another car. But this time, either the service team did a more thorough work up on the car, or the guy who came out to explain the work to us was better at his job, because he actually made sense. He told us that: 1) our new battery was too small for the car, and each time the car had been jump started the battery had worn out even more, so now it was barely able to hold a charge, and 2) all of the electronics in the car were fine, but cars like this, with a lot of computer elements, drain the battery more than older cars and need to be driven at least 20 to 30 miles per week to keep the battery charged (mileage rather than frequency was what mattered, he said).
We asked a lot of questions to make sure we understood the situation, and to make sure he understood that we’d been told something different at the previous visit, and we agreed to buy a new (full-sized) battery, and to put the car on an exercise regimen.
From what I understand now, the reason we’d never had these problems before was: 1) we used to have two people driving the car and therefore it got enough mileage without effort, and 2) our previous cars didn’t have anywhere near as many electronics, and therefore they didn’t wear out the battery as quickly.
I don’t understand why it took a year and a half for someone to tell us all of this, and I’m crossing my fingers that we’re on the right track now, and we won’t need a jump start someday soon, though I’m keeping the charger in the car, just in case.
I’m also thinking I should buy, or make, a special exercise journal for the car, with colored highlighters and happy face stickers, to keep the car on track with its new exercise routine. And I’m wondering if cars require treats for learning new behaviors, like people and dogs do. I mean, not chocolate, or chicken treats, of course, but…something. More importantly, I myself will need some hefty rewards for all of the extra driving I will have to do. Ideally, the car would be able to go out for drives on its own, or maybe there could be a special gym filled with car treadmills that we could send the car to once a week. Because I really hate driving, and even extra chocolate wouldn’t be enough to make me happy about all of this. I may have to plan trips to distant specialty food stores, for more exotic, high value treats, to keep myself on track. But, if this actually works, and I don’t have to jump start for months at a time, it will be worth all of the extra effort. So, here’s hoping this problem is finally behind us. Fingers, paws, and wheels crossed.
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rachelmankowitz 
Oy is right! I had a similar problem with my old car and it turned out to be an alternator and that fixed the problem. There’s really no excuse for the AAA guy to sell you a battery that’s not the correct size for your Crosstrek. Cars do thrive with treats for exercise and I’d suggest good music (loud is good!) and then they also really like the seated car dance with (and this isn’t optional!) rhythmic tapping on the steering wheel. Do that and your Crosstrek will thank you forever!
Here’s hoping the car likes my playlist!
I believe it will. I have it on good authority that cars don’t care as much for the playlist as they do for the dancing of their driver!
What an awful saga. As I was reading I was assuming the fault might be an intermittent difficult to detect short circuit.
I hope the problem doesn’t continue.
So far so good! Thank you!
The advice you finally were given was on target. When you drive, the alternator charges the battery. After a jump start, you need to drive the car so the alternator, which runs when the engine is running, can put more ‘juice’ in the battery. If you ever need to jump your battery again, be sure and take a nice drive. Regular drives are even better.
I love to drive, so that’s not an issue for me, but there have been times when an old battery has just given up the ghost and had to be replaced. At many auto places, they’ll check your battery for free, to see how it’s holding its charge and what its capacity is.
Good advice. Thank you!
I love the idea of a car treadmill! Definitely you should look into that. I am worried some of those service people might have been trying to pad their business a little. I know cars are meant to be driven, but every other day? Hmm. I have a fairly new car (7 years old) and it often goes up to two weeks and never leaves the garage and I never had a problem with it. Good luck. I’ll cross a few things here for luck for you too.
Thank you!
it seems the more they improve things (electronics) the more issues they don’t explain. Hope the new ‘regimen’ works!
Progress is in the eye of the beholder, as always.
Wow, thank you for telling us about this! I try to drive as little as possible because of fuel costs, but maybe now I have an excuse to go out. (Do you have and secrets for keeping the tires inflated?)
Good luck with the new “exercise” routine! 😆
The tires may have to be the next mystery they explain to me, but so far we’re okay. Luckily the car gets good gas mileage, so far, even with all of the stop/start driving I do.
My father gave me similar advice. It is not only the electrical system that degrades from being seldom used, but other componants like the engine lubrication and coolent systems, too. Regarding car treats, I spoil the car with a bonus car wash or extra carpet and seat vacuuming–which also prolongs the life of a vehicle. I remember dad telling me he had to take his Buick out on the highway every so often to “blow the cobwebs” out of the car.
Vacuuming sounds like a great idea, that I will probably put off endlessly. I remember going to the car wash when I was a kid, and sitting inside the car as it went through all the brushes. That was crazy fun!
Car washes are amazing.
WordPress is giving me a hard time trying to post. Anyway, I am glad it all got figured out, but I wish you could get a refund from AAA. That is pretty crummy of them to sell you the wrong size battery.
It kind of felt like he was giving us the hard sell at the time, but we were desperate, so we went along with it. Live and learn.
Yikes! I hope this new approach does the trick for you.
Me too. Thank you!
Definitely need to drive to recharge the battery but it’s not great if you don’t have anywhere to go or don’t like driving. I’m not someone who just drives around for no reason so I understand the dilemma. I hope the problem is now solved.
Fingers crossed!
Keeping the charge up is especially important in winter. Not only does the cold sap the charge, but a battery with low charge is more prone to freeze. If it freezes, that’s bad.
So interesting! My preference would be to hibernate through the winter, but clearly the car’s health is taking precedence.
What a rigamarole you had to go through to finally get good advice. Fingers crossed that the car battery now behaves.
Here’s hoping I don’t have to visit the service center for a while now. I mean, they don’t even have donuts.
Fingers crossed 🤞
That does not sound like typical Subaru behavior. Good luck!
Ha! I was definitely expecting my Subaru to be better behaved, it’s true.
OY! Sigh… and LOL – you took that saga and made me laugh! It’s incredible the difference that the right person who takes the time to explain things can make. who knew a car needed mileage rather than minutes!!!! Good luck – Vickie
There are so many people who don’t know how to listen, or how to explain the knowledge they have, and they just get impatient and snotty when I don’t understand. It’s a relief whenever I come across someone who makes the effort to be clear.
Geez what an unessesary hassle
Ahhhh, car troubles. As I understand it, the usual suspect on battery drain if a car is not driven for a long time is that the car is constantly looking for the key. This is even worse on our Prius. We bought a batter tender which keeps the charge topped up when the car is parked and we bought a portable power pack to use to boost the car. Best to be prepared. Happy Sunday Rachel. Allan
Great ideas! Thank you!
Cars can be temperamental. My old Ford Anglia was kept in a garage but if it was raining, she wouldn’t start….. EVER.
Hubby and I bought two new Suzuki Altos in 2004. Same colour, same mileage, same dealer, same day.
His was forever playing up and broke down twice, mine ran sweet as a nut. We put both in P/X less than a year later against a new Peugeot 206 which I had for over 10 years.
We have a Dacia Duster now, a duel fuel being LPG and petrol. No way would we have an electric car where we live as there is no infrastructure here and we cannot afford ££££thousands to have a charging port put on our drive, especially as we are not staying here.
The car gets a good run two or three times a week as we are miles from anywhere decent to shop, vet, or any medical appointments. We have just had a full service and the performance is vastly improved.
Hope you can get into a routine and have many happy days of motoring ahead.
As soon as I read “Ford Anglia” I pictured the flying car in Harry Potter. I think I’d drive more if my car could fly.
I called her Gladys. No reason why, it just stuck!
Our 2 cars don’t really get used enough, and when they do it is mostly short trips with heater/lights/wipers usually on. As a result we have had to have two new batteries in both cars over the last 5 years.
Best wishes, Pete.
Interesting! I wonder if they will ever figure out how to build a car that conforms to the kind of driving people actually do.
How expensive and infuriating! The extra electronics story rings true because we recently had to replace the battery on our car sooner than we expected, and we were given the same explanation. I agree that both you and your car need some indulging. Best of luck!
Thank you!
Oh, Rachel, you make me laugh! I do hope driving it more does the trick.
Me too. Thank you!
I had a very similar experience w/ Subaru.
Interesting!
Car repair is like Voodoo to me. I have no idea what’s going on underneath that hood!
Me neither!
Do You need a jump-start ❓{battery…alternator…voltage regulator}
This made me smile ear to ear!
HAVE A GOOD VALENTINE’S DAY
You too!
Rachel, I keep my fingers crossed that you won’t have more problems with the car. Happy driving!
Yeah, I’m thinkin’ the special exercise journal for the car, with colored highlighters and happy face stickers would certainly be an idea, plus it would look pretty, depending on how many highlighters and how many colors you deem necessary.
Have you named the car by the way? Would be so much more personal in the car’s journey ya know, if people could relate to, say, a Marty or a Constance or a whoever. HeHe.
Love the post, as always, Rachel. Cheers.
I’ll have to think of a name for the car, now!
Well my former 7 year ride was named BB, he was teal and boxy (a Scion) so I thought TB, Teal Box, initially, but well, TB, “Tuberculosis”? Yeah, that wouldn’t work, a bit awkward, but he was close enough to Blue to go with Blue Box, “BB” instead.
But my “new” 12 year old ride is “Lilly”, she just seems a Lilly plus she has an old man CD player and is a stick shift. We have been getting along famously. 🙂
I would be very angry at Triple A and go after a refund since their technician was unable to determine the type of battery needed for the car. Also . . . now this is just if you are the kind of person who doesn’t mind people borrowing their car . . .is there a neighbor who may need the use of a car? Perhaps they could use yours? That way they could have access to a car and you would have your car driven without you having to do it. Kinda like a car share thing. I personally am not the type of person that could do that, but there are a lot of people who are (the type) and who do (share cars).
Interesting idea!
The distant specialty stores are a great idea. That will keep both you and the car happy. You may have to find a way to finance that plan though. Thanks for the chuckles!
Thank you!
HaHaHa! Love your sense of humor! I had a similar experience with my Chevy truck years ago. Because I lived in the Nevada desert at the time, it was especially bad – 48 miles from the nearest town! I had been a single mom for 7 1/2 years. When I married a lovely man I had met in church, he investigated and found a little weird thing wired into the truck under the dashboard on the passenger’s side. Not even an expert at the Chevy dealership could identify what it was or why it was there – but after my Tom removed it, we continued driving that truck for the next 10 years with no battery changes. Hope your problem is sorted now. If not – feel around and look for weird things stuck on the car somewhere!
I need a car detective too!