I wrote to SOA regarding the dead battery issues when leaving the tailgate up. I thought I would share their response and advice (read chrono order from bottom up):
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Re: Battery issue with Lift Gate up
Thanks, Kelly. Tailgating would be out of the question, though, if the battery issue can’t be resolved ? I will check with the dealer, but this seems more like a design issue that engineers might want to look into. Appreciate the response!
Sent from Karen's iPhone
On Sep 17, 2018, at 7:54 AM, Subaru of America, Inc. <
[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Ms. Martin,
Thank you for contacting Subaru.
We appreciate you taking the time to email us. *Having any door open for a period of time will have an impact on the vehicle's battery. *We do not recommend that you keep any door open. *Your Subaru retailer is in the best position to offer any advice on a technical inquiry. *Please give the Service department a call for this type of advice.
We hope that you are enjoying your Ascent! *If tailgating is in your future, we hope that you will consider shopping some of the Subaru gear,
https://subarugear.com/Productlist.aspx?did=22123
Best wishes,
Kelly
Subaru of America, Inc.
[THREAD ID:1-GNTIP2R]
-----Original Message-----
From: *
[email protected]
Sent: *9/14/2018 03:42:27 PM
To: *
[email protected]
Subject: *Battery issue with Lift Gate up
Several folks online are reporting dead batteries when leaving the rear lift gate up for tailgating, camping, etc., even with NO visible lights left on. Is there a way to disable whatever is running the battery down with the gate up? I want to go camping and tailgating with mine but am afraid to get stranded. Thanks in advance for any solutions you might have.