NHTSA complaint #11462225

Owner complaint summary

Rear tailgate fails to open consistently making it impossible to enter or exit the vehicle from the rear, through the rear tail gate door (the 5th door). Nine times we have brought vehicle back to authorized Subaru dealerships over the last two years of ownership in Hanover Ma-Planet Subaru; San Francisco -Serramonte Subaru and lastly in San Diego- Kearny Mesa. The rear tail gate does not open consistently while pressing the open button on either of the key fobs or from trying the driver's side interior release button or while attempting to use the hatch release button at the exterior rear of the vehicle. Many times we have tried all three standard methods to open the rear tail gate but with no success making this rear tail gate feature on this mid size SUV useless. This problem has been verified at Planet Subaru, Hanover, Ma and at Serramonte Subaru S.F. Could not duplicate it at our last appointment in Kearny Mesa San Diego in 2022 but it still continues to be a real problem. On multiple occasions, the car battery had been inadvertently drained because the rear tail gate did not close completely and the dash warning light confirmed this to be the case. Subaru adjusted the closing mechanism/replaced it and this seems to have solved the closure issue but not the opening function of the tailgate. The problem surfaced soon after our initial purchase of vehicle in July of 2020. Car is available for inspection.