Battery software update

Has anyone had issue with dead battery with 2017 Subaru Legacy. Just had a problem and dealer checked battery. Battery ok, but did a software battery update( for short trips) ?

 

 

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Within the last few weeks there is a thread here discussing a TSB which updated the ECM for a battery draw issue.

 

Engine control module

 

 

2017 Subaru Legacy Battery Technical Service Bulletins

 

TSB Number:11-174-17R

NHTSA Number:10117543

TSB Date:August 8, 2017

Date Added to File:September 13, 2017

Failing Component:Electrical System:Battery

Summary:

This bulletin announces the availability of reprogramming files to optimize the ecm and address the following customer concerns: * check engine light coming on (with DTC p05a0 stored in memory). * potential battery discharge (dead battery)

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/battery-alternator-issue-only-32k-266413.html

Within the last few weeks there is a thread here discussing a TSB which updated the ECM for a battery draw issue.

...

TSB Number:11-174-17R

TSB Date:August 8, 2017

 

There is an even newer TSB than that:

 

TSB 11-176-17 (Nov 16, 2017): Reprogramming to Optimize ECM for Improved Battery Life

 

(Unfortunately, I don't currently have access to it.)

Does the tsb go back to ‘15 models?

Does the tsb go back to ‘15 models?

At Truedelta, the TSB ID: 11-174-17R , dated 9-13-17, is also listed in the 2015 model year section

 

https://www.truedelta.com/Subaru-Legacy-tsbs-255,2015&o=2

I have been having battery issue also,so only dealer can do the updates on this battery software update?

Battery on my '15 suddenly died on Halloween. I replaced it with a new one of higher spec, but the car still cranks longer than I think it should on starting. Maybe I should look into this...

Every modern car that I've heard of will automatically control the alternator output to maintain voltage only as high as needed to keep the battery's state of charge at an acceptable level. Instead of maintaining a true float voltage, manufacturers choose to allow the battery to stay in a less-than-fully-topped-off state to eek out a tiny bit more gas mileage.

 

It appears that for some people (or driving habits), their logic was flawed and the reduced state of charge is resulting in the early death of batteries. My previous '08 Honda Civic, with it's Power-wheels battery, would lower the voltage to 12.6 (providing zero actual float charge to the battery) whenever the car was warmed up and no large loads were on. As a result, the resting voltage always seemed to be low. Besides charging it monthly, I would often trick the ECU into raising the voltage by turning on the parking lights. This also helped with the vibration issue it had while stopped at a light while in Drive.

 

//

 

I'll have to check the resting and operating voltage of our '14 Forester and '15 Legacy again to see if I can discern any pattern (multimeter for resting voltage, cigarette plug-in meter while driving). Based on prelim data, it does appear that the Forester maintains a higher state of charge than the Legacy, based solely on checking the resting voltage ~ monthly, prior to charging.

 

We purchased the Forester new (it still has its OEM battery) and we purchased the Legacy only a few months ago (also OEM battery). I use a smart charger to fully charge each battery just about every month. While each sees different usage, it does appear that every time I check, the Forester's resting voltage is 12.6VDC, while the Legacy's is lower (I don't recall exactly, but I want to say it's was 12.4-12.5VDC the last couple of times I checked).

 

This is 100% anecdotal, of course, since both see different driving patterns, the Forester has an older and different battery model, and the Legacy has an unknown history (how often the battery died or if it was replaced by the dealer for some reason, etc.) prior to purchase, which is why observing voltage while driving will be helpful.

I'll have to check the resting and operating voltage of our ... '15 Legacy again to see if I can discern any pattern ...

 

... observing voltage while driving will be helpful.

 

Be prepared for an entertaining experience. The Gen 6 Legacy does include a battery management system in the ECM, and it modulates system voltage as you drive. Expect to see quiescent battery voltage of ~12.2 volts (!) after sitting overnight, and variation in system voltage as you drive from ~12.0 volts (typically under acceleration or constant-speed cruising) to ~14.4 volts (typically under deceleration or when exterior lights are on). The system seems designed to recover kinetic energy from the vehicle when coasting and use it to charge the battery ... kind of a spin on regenerative braking.

When I had mine done. Service rep, stated that alternator would charge the battery when driving below 25mph and that the original, 2015, battery was undersized. New battery and update. So far, so good.

Update after having the software update. Five days later car did not start. (Was I garage,not driven). Had to get it towed to dealer. On second visit dealer replace battery. The car is only 10 months old and under 4,000 miles on it. Thanks for everyone's feedback. Is this a Subaru defect. Merry Christmas

 

 

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Our battery died in the supermarket parking lot (Christmas weekend rush). No warning whatsoever, all normal starts up until that point. Had to Uber home to get the jump started I just got for our older cars (!!!). Started up, later I load tested the battery and it came up borderline. I didn't want to screw around on this busy weekend and got the Costco Interstate group 25. We are 6 months past the bumper to bumper so no joy there. Our '15 is a station car / weekend duty vehicle with underk 20k miles. Probably explains the shortened battery life.

Our '15 is a station car / weekend duty vehicle with underk 20k miles. Probably explains the shortened battery life.

 

Marginal battery quality better explains the shortened battery life.

Marginal battery quality better explains the shortened battery life.

 

Probably that too, this is our 4th Subie - didn't have this issue before. The Interstate / COSTCO battery will last much longer I'm sure.

This is my third new Subie (fourth, if you include my new-to-me '15 Legacy). The batteries have always been low-CCA batteries that have been pooped on. I think the charging logic and driving pattern is equally responsible for some people experiencing dead batteries sooner than others.

 

None of my older Subie batteries died before their time. Our '14 Forester and '15 Legacy have the OEM battery and they're still going OK.

 

Since the Subaru charging scheme (many other makes have similar charging schemes) doesn't maintain the battery fully charged, I've begun (over the past year or so) hooking up a smart charger monthly to top-off each battery. As the weather has gotten colder I've noticed slower cranking in both vehicles; however, even a week after a topping-off the cars still seem to start faster than if I hadn't charged them. The smart charger supposedly has a desulfation mode, which it begins after bulk-charging to full. We'll see if this helps maintain our batteries longer.

I’m using a smart charger weekly now hoping to get another winter out of my battery.

This is my third new Subie (fourth, if you include my new-to-me '15 Legacy). The batteries have always been low-CCA batteries that have been pooped on. I think the charging logic and driving pattern is equally responsible for some people experiencing dead batteries sooner than others.

 

None of my older Subie batteries died before their time. Our '14 Forester and '15 Legacy have the OEM battery and they're still going OK.

 

Since the Subaru charging scheme (many other makes have similar charging schemes) doesn't maintain the battery fully charged, I've begun (over the past year or so) hooking up a smart charger monthly to top-off each battery. As the weather has gotten colder I've noticed slower cranking in both vehicles; however, even a week after a topping-off the cars still seem to start faster than if I hadn't charged them. The smart charger supposedly has a desulfation mode, which it begins after bulk-charging to full. We'll see if this helps maintain our batteries longer.

 

Broke down and got one of these, I'll see if it saves the panasonic battery on my Lexus that the dealer wants to swap out for $275 :-(

The battery test filed while under warranty and dealer manager was kind enough to replace it, according to the service manager. I had balckvue dashcam running in parking mode thought the dashcam is the culprit. Had the new battery which has acid leaked on top it doesn't know if it new or dealer did a messy job while installing.

 

My car did fail to start few times and the Costco jump starter helped me many times. On my old battery, I had rough idling at the stop and go traffic, much longer crank times, flickering interior bulbs like old cars.

 

After getting the new battery it is working fine, I am pretty sure firmware update is not done except dashcam restarting itself randomly. I will update if I find any issues.

The battery test filed while under warranty and dealer manager was kind enough to replace it, according to the service manager.

 

How long the battery is covered under warranty?

How long the battery is covered under warranty?

 

typically just the 3yr 36k.

my car has about 87 000km . I booked an oil appointment for my 90k service and they will be doing this battery update during that visit ( march 4th)

 

F.Y.I This should be free of charge for everyone in canada even if you're out of warranty ( unsure about the U.S)

FYI I can confirm there is a ecm update for battery discharge for 2015s as well as dealer just did it for me under warranty.

My dealership is about to perform this update on my 15 legacy

 

They’re charging me 75$

Yes, the charging logic for recent/current Model Year Hitachi-ECU based Subarus has been out since spring last year (first offered up to Dealership service departments in July/August-2017) and then expanded to include additional models years in Jan-2018.

 

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45386461&postcount=204

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45505165&postcount=215

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45539791&postcount=263

 

The OE reflash takes a whooping 5 minutes to perform (and that's if the tech is extra slow setting things up), plus for that price you can purchase the Jan-2018 CD which contains all the latest reflashes for all MY Subarus from 2005-2018.

 

All of the recent-gen Subaru's should look into:

 

a. Alt-S fuse mod (search our forums here)

b. reflashing to latest CID/CALIDs with modified charging logic control

(in reality ECU control over Alternator Duty Cycle)

c. considering disabling the ECU control circuit (easy on 2015+WRX, likely the same or just as easy on 2015+ Legacy/Outback, XVs, Imprezas)

 

Specific to the 6th-gen Legacy and 5th-gen Outback - all of these mention the same charging logic update

as part of the release notes.

 

Release month: Jul-2017

2015 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AF45D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ17B, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Release month: Apr-2017

2017 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AK31C, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Release month: Jan-2018

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF34F, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF35G, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF36G, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ13D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ15D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ14D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK49E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK50E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK48E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Unrelated ECM updates - NOT for charging logic changes:

2018 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK85B, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

There are also various TCM updates as well for the 2015-2018 CVTs and HT-CVTs (some released in Oct-2016, some in Jan-2017)

As well as CAMERA, DCM, VDC, RKE updates. All waiting at your 'friendly' dealership service center or on CD waiting for you to apply yourself using Subaru provided software (FlashWrite) and a Tactrix OPv2 or other compliant pass-through cable.

 

Details: https://techinfo.subaru.com/stis/doc/otherMisc/Reprogramming%20J-2534_January_2018.pdf

Yes, the charging logic for recent/current Model Year Hitachi-ECU based Subarus has been out since spring last year (first offered up to Dealership service departments in July/August-2017) and then expanded to include additional models years in Jan-2018.

 

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45386461&postcount=204

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45505165&postcount=215

https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45539791&postcount=263

 

The OE reflash takes a whooping 5 minutes to perform (and that's if the tech is extra slow setting things up), plus for that price you can purchase the Jan-2018 CD which contains all the latest reflashes for all MY Subarus from 2005-2018.

 

All of the recent-gen Subaru's should look into:

 

a. Alt-S fuse mod (search our forums here)

b. reflashing to latest CID/CALIDs with modified charging logic control

(in reality ECU control over Alternator Duty Cycle)

c. considering disabling the ECU control circuit (easy on 2015+WRX, likely the same or just as easy on 2015+ Legacy/Outback, XVs, Imprezas)

 

Specific to the 6th-gen Legacy and 5th-gen Outback - all of these mention the same charging logic update

as part of the release notes.

 

Release month: Jul-2017

2015 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AF45D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ17B, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Release month: Apr-2017

2017 Legacy/Outback 3.6R HTCVT FED/CAL Emisions Spec - PAK file 22765AK31C, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Release month: Jan-2018

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF34F, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF35G, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2015 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AF36G, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ13D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ15D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2016 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AJ14D, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i MT CANADA Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK49E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT FED Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK50E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

2017 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK48E, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

Unrelated ECM updates - NOT for charging logic changes:

2018 Legacy/Outback 2.5i CVT CAL Emissions Spec - PAK file 22765AK85B, resultant CALID/CID unknown

 

There are also various TCM updates as well for the 2015-2018 CVTs and HT-CVTs (some released in Oct-2016, some in Jan-2017)

As well as CAMERA, DCM, VDC, RKE updates. All waiting at your 'friendly' dealership service center or on CD waiting for you to apply yourself using Subaru provided software (FlashWrite) and a Tactrix OPv2 or other compliant pass-through cable.

 

Details: https://techinfo.subaru.com/stis/doc/otherMisc/Reprogramming%20J-2534_January_2018.pdf

 

Very informative thanks; been reading through those I guess I need to buy a new OBD connector to be able to confirm that the dealer actually did update. Would you recommend someone to buy that CD and do all the updates or only if there is an issue?