In the Subaru owner’s manuals listed, the access key fob takes a CR2032, and the key with remote buttons a CR1620, CR2025 or CR2016, by model and manual.
Which Subaru?
Which key?
The battery it takes
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Subaru key batteries by manual
| Manual | Key | Battery |
|---|---|---|
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2023 | Access key fob | CR2032 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2023 | Key with remote buttons | CR2025 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2023 | Remote engine start | CR2450 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2021 | Access key fob | CR2032 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2021 | Key with remote buttons | CR1620 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2017 | Access key fob | CR2032 |
| Outback or Legacy, Manual printed 2017 | Key with remote buttons | CR1620 |
| Forester, Manual printed 2021 | Access key fob | CR2032 |
| Forester, Manual printed 2021 | Key with remote buttons | CR1620 |
| BRZ, Manual from 2017 | Access key fob | CR2032 |
| BRZ, Manual from 2017 | Key with remote buttons | CR2016 |
For the BRZ, the access key fob row means cars with keyless access with push button start. Each manual is named by the year it was printed, so check the code on your old battery too.
Changing the access key fob battery
From Subaru’s 2023 Outback and Legacy manual, which says to remove any static electricity from yourself first:
- Take out the emergency key.
- Wrap a flat-head screwdriver in vinyl tape or a cloth, put it in the gap and take off the cover.
- Lift out the old battery with the wrapped screwdriver and fit the new one with its positive (+) side up.
- Put the cover back by fitting its projections and recesses together. Subaru cautions that the plastic part must not come off or slip out of place.
Changing the transmitter battery
In a key with remote buttons, the same manual says to open the key head with a flat-head screwdriver, release the hooks to open the transmitter case, and fit the new battery negative (−) side up. The 2021 Outback and Legacy manual puts its CR1620 in the same way.
The dealer-fitted remote engine start transmitter opens by removing the small Phillips screw on its back, at the lower left corner.
Starting with a dead access key fob
When the fob’s battery is low, Subaru’s warning list says to replace it. If it’s too weak to start the car, the 2023 manual says to shift into P, press the brake and touch the push-button ignition switch with the fob, its buttons facing you. After the chime, once the switch turns to ACC or ON, press it with the brake still pressed.
Keep coin batteries away from children
The National Capital Poison Center says that if anyone swallows a battery, immediately call the 24-hour National Battery Ingestion Hotline at 1-800-498-8666 or your poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Don’t delay. Immediate treatment decreases severity.