NHTSA complaint #11613104

Owner complaint summary

We had dealt with a parasitic battery drain issue related to the DCM, which was improperly addressed by Johnson Subaru of Cary. The dealership bypassed the problem, which was not what we requested or expected. While they have stated they will replace the DCM once parts become available, this is unacceptable, given that we paid for this part with the initial purchase. If they follow through with the replacement, that would resolve one issue, but their initial response seemed like an attempt to avoid responsibility. After the DCM was replaced, a new issue arose: the radio head unit became inoperable, experiencing severe malfunctions. The seems like it could also be related to the replacement of the DCM bypass. The head unit changes radio stations and screens on its own, making it inoperable to control or even shut off. This is clearly a safety concern, particularly since the delamination and malfunctioning unit registers random touches, which could cause changes to any of the settings. The head unit serves as the primary control interface, and this unpredictability is highly distracting—especially with a [XXX] using the vehicle. Subaru of America has offered $1,000 towards the replacement, but this is insufficient, considering the widespread nature of this issue across many models. The quote from the dealer is 1415.00 and the 1000.00 will not cover the cost. This problem should be addressed through a recall, as safety is a major concern. Additionally, we incurred unrecovered battery costs from the DCM issue and had to purchase a jump-start kit after being stranded multiple times. Subaru's delay in addressing these issues with a recall is troubling, and their offer of $1,000 suggests they acknowledge responsibility, but this issue requires a formal recall rather than piecemeal compensation. The head unit failure has been diagnosed as the specific issue with my 2019 Subaru Outback and must be added to the recall list. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)