Disconnected battery while engine running

Asked by Guru9FW5RG Nov 22, 2022 at 10:22 PM about the 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The battery died on my 2018 Outback when the hatchback opened for reasons







unknown in the garage and the light remained through the night. I now have a







new battery and lots of anxiety as the tow truck driver who got the car started







disconnected the battery while the engine was running. I freaked! He said he







does all the time. What should I expect now? It seems to be running ok but will







there be problems in the future?

3 Answers

2,020

I think you will be fine, though I would never perform a disconnect while the car was running. It's an old school way of testing that the alternator without using a multimeter, if the car continues to run with the cables disconnected, you know the alternator is still charging the car, but it is not without risk of damaging the electronics in today's newer vehicles. If the vehicle is running fine with no fault codes, and everything works, then no worries at this point.

307,255

As long as everything is working as it should then the vehicles electronics didn’t suffer any damage. The tow company dodged a bullet, but I would call the tow company and get a hold of someone in management and let them know what he said to you, he is setting them up for a loss. You never ever disconnect a battery cable with the engine running on any vehicle with computers. I had a customer that did this to his car and back then it cost him every electronic component the car had, it even took out the radio. So yes believe that doing that is bad. While we are on the subject of batteries in computer controlled vehicles, you also should never disconnect a battery without using a memory saver tool, it plugs into the OBD 2 port and powers up the KAM circuit so the computers can keep the basic programming active. Drive with care out there.

Your Answer:

Outback

Looking for a Used Outback in your area?

CarGurus has 38,314 nationwide Outback listings starting at $750.

ZIP:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

2018 Subaru Outback

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Mark Weiner
    Reputation
    33,230
  • #2
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    28,320
  • #3
    Keith Cahalan
    Reputation
    3,310
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Forester
1,044 Great Deals out of 26,262 listings starting at $2,000
Used Subaru Crosstrek
592 Great Deals out of 25,188 listings starting at $2,430
Used Toyota RAV4
1,895 Great Deals out of 28,563 listings starting at $1,350
Used Honda CR-V
1,953 Great Deals out of 41,457 listings starting at $1,100
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,171 Great Deals out of 18,499 listings starting at $1,800
Used Toyota Tacoma
1,930 Great Deals out of 32,042 listings starting at $2,295
Used Subaru Ascent
301 Great Deals out of 10,044 listings starting at $14,650
Used Subaru Legacy
316 Great Deals out of 6,928 listings starting at $499
Used Toyota Highlander
1,244 Great Deals out of 18,308 listings starting at $500
Used Subaru Impreza
326 Great Deals out of 7,530 listings starting at $800
Used Toyota Camry
1,956 Great Deals out of 34,774 listings starting at $500
Used Mazda CX-5
1,098 Great Deals out of 38,917 listings starting at $3,200
Used Honda Pilot
941 Great Deals out of 28,932 listings starting at $950
Used Honda Accord
1,487 Great Deals out of 29,326 listings starting at $500
Used Ford F-150
6,050 Great Deals out of 131,250 listings starting at $900

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Subaru Outback For Sale
125 Great Deals out of 24,532 listings starting at $27,000
2023 Subaru Outback For Sale
109 Great Deals out of 1,402 listings starting at $24,417
2022 Subaru Outback For Sale
95 Great Deals out of 1,848 listings starting at $18,986
2021 Subaru Outback For Sale
154 Great Deals out of 2,208 listings starting at $15,985
2020 Subaru Outback For Sale
107 Great Deals out of 1,443 listings starting at $15,988

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.