2018 Subaru Outback

THE VOLUME OF THE PHONE RING: THIS IS ANOTHER PROBLEM GOING ON FOR YEARS, THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT YEAR MODELS, AND VERY WELL DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET IN SEVERAL FORUMS AS WELL (HTTPS://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/THREADS/2018-W-NAV-PHONE-RING-VOLUME.497495/). EVERY TIME MY CELLPHONE RINGS, IT'S EAR PIERCINGLY LOUD. IT MAKES ONE JUMP LOUD. I DID TRY TO GET HELP AT THE DEALERSHIP BUT SADLY THERE IS NO REMEDY. THE PROBLEM IS TWOFOLD: 1. THE PHONE CONNECTED VIA BLUETOOTH TO THE CAR'S NATIVE SYSTEM. WHILE IN SETTINGS THERE IS A MODE WHERE ONE IS ABLE TO ADJUST THE RING VOLUME (WHICH IS FOR SOME REASON SET TO '10' BY DEFAULT) AND BRING IT DOWN TO '1-2', SOON AS ONE PARKS AND LEAVES THE CAR FOR EVEN AN HOUR THE SYSTEM RESETS TO '10'. EVEN WORST, SOMETIMES ALL ONE HAVE TO DO WITHOUT LEAVING THE VEHICLE, TO TURN UP THE VOLUME ON THE RADIO AND THAT WILL RESET THE PREVIOUSLY LOWERED RING VOLUME. 2. THE PHONE CONNECTED TO AIRPLAY FOR WHICH THERE ARE NO SETTINGS WHATSOEVER. EVEN IF THE PHONE IN SILENT MODE AND THERE IS NO SOUND FOR TEXT MESSAGES, IT RINGS OVERWHELMINGLY LOUD.

THESE INCIDENTS ARE ONGOING PROBLEMS FROM PURCHASING MY FIRST OUTBACK 4 YEARS AGO. THE QUESTION/ANSWER BELOW (*WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?) CANNOT BE ANSWERED TRUTHFULLY, PINPOINTED TO AN EXACT DATE. IT WAS A BRAND NEW CAR PURCHASED FROM THE DEALER AND MY CURRENT, SECOND ONE WITH THE SAME EXACT ISSUES ARE ALSO A NEW PURCHASE FROM THE SAME DEALER. THE HAZARD FLASHERS: WHEN THE CAR IS IN PARKING AND HAZARDS ARE ON, IF ONE LOCKS THE CAR WITH THE FOB, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO UNLOCK THE CAR WITH THE REMOTE ANYMORE. THE TINY KEY FROM THE FOB NEEDED TO UNLOCK, WHICH IS HARD ENOUGH ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WITH DISABILITIES AND CONSEQUENTLY TRIGGERS THE CAR'S ALARM. WEATHER WARNINGS: THIS OUTRAGEOUS THING STARTED JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO (NOV. 2019), WHEN I WAS PROMPTED TO UPDATE THE FIRMWARE. EVER SINCE AT ANY WEATHER PHENOMENA (REGARDLESS OF MY PHONE BEING PLUGGED IN OR NOT, BLUETOOTH ON OR OFF) A WARNING APPEARS ON THE SCREEN AND ONE HAS TO INTERACT WITH IT. THIS WARNING POPS UP SOMETIMES EVERY 2-4 MINUTES WHILE DRIVING. ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS ON THE HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEED, AT NIGHT AND WHILE USING THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM IN UNFAMILIAR AREAS SINCE ONE'S BEEN DISTRACTED BY THE BLACKED OUT SCREEN. WHEN I FIRST REPORTED THIS ISSUE AT THE DEALERSHIP THEY SPENT AN ENTIRE DAY FINDING THE PROBLEM, UNSUCCESSFULLY. WHICH IS A HUGE SURPRISE BECAUSE THERE ARE MULTIPLE WEBSITES AND FORUMS (HTTPS://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/THREADS/WEATHER-ALERTS-ON-THE-HEAD-UNIT-RADIO.449129/) DISCUSSING THE PROBLEM WITH NO SOLUTION, GOING BECK FOR YEARS. WHILE I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT, IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT MY VEHICLE'S JOB TO TELL ME ABOUT THE WEATHER.

RADIO AND MAPS WENT TO A BLACK SCREEN SEVERAL TIMES AT 5K MILES. IT WAS SENT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR UPDATE. STILL HAD ISSUES, BUT NOT AS MANY. THEN THE LIGHTING WENT OUT ON THE RADIO BUTTONS. REPLACED MAIN HEAD WHICH WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY W/A 100 DOLLAR DEDUCTIBLE. AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS WORK INTERMITTENTLY WHEN PUT IN GEAR, DRIVERS WINDOW CONTROL PANEL DOES NOT WORK FOR ANY WINDOWS IN THE CAR OTHER THAN THE DRIVERS WINDOW. HAD TRANSMISSION ISSUES AFTER 2 MONTHS OF PURCHASE. IT IDLES HIGH AND DOES NOT SMOOTHLY GLIDE INTO GEAR. WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED BY A SMALL ROCK. IT WAS REPLACED AND TWO WEEKS LATER IT CRACKED AGAIN.

THE HEAD UNIT IN THE SOUND SYSTEM/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM KEEPS FAILING RESULTING IN A LOSS OF ALL SOUND FUNCTIONS. I DON'T GET ANY WARNINGS OF PROBLEMS AS THE SOUND SYSTEM SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK. THIS IS UNSAFE. TO DATE, THE DEALER HAS REPLACED WHAT HE CALLS AN AMPLIFIER TWICE. THE NEW UNIT WORKS FOR A FEW DAYS OR WEEKS AND THEN FAILS AGAIN. SO FAR, THE OTHER COMPONENTS CONNECTED TO THIS SYSTEM -- BACK UP CAMERA, FOR INSTANCE, STILL WORK. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS RELATED, BUT THE REAR HATCH HAS OPENED BY ITSELF THREE TIMES, EACH TIME WHEN THE CAR WAS PARKED. ONCE, THIS CAUSED THE BATTERY TO DRAIN BECAUSE WE DID NOT DISCOVER IT FOR MORE THAN 12 HOURS. ONCE, THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE REAR HATCH BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW IT WAS OPEN AND IT WAS DAMAGED BY THE GARAGE DOOR WHEN WE OPENED IT REMOTELY FROM OUTSIDE.

IN DEC 2018 THE FUEL LINE OF MY 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK HAD TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN CHEWED THROUGH BY A RODENT AND WAS LEAKING IN THE CAR. TOTAL DAMAGE WAS OVER $2000. IN MAY 2019 ANOTHER $3500 DAMAGE WAS DISCOVERED FROM A RODENT CHEWING ON ELECTRICAL HARNESSES IN THE DASH. THE DEALER TOLD ME THIS IS BECAUSE SUBARU IS NOW USING SOY-BASED INSULATION FOR FUEL LINES, WIRING, AND ELECTRICAL HARNESSES. RODENTS ARE ATTRACTED TO THE SOY BECAUSE THEY THINK IT IS FOOD. IN BOTH CASES MY DAMAGE WAS DISCOVERED WHILE TRYING TO START THE CAR WHILE IT IS PARKED. BUT WHAT IF I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND A CHEWED WIRE CAME LOOSE THAT SHORTED SOMETHING OUT AND IMPACTED MY ABILITY TO CONTROL THE CAR? OR WHAT IF THE FUEL LINE BROKE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND CAUSED THE CAR TO SUDDENLY STALL? MANUFACTURERS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE MATERIALS (E.G. SOY) THAT ACTUALLY ATTRACT RODENTS. IF ANYTHING, THEY SHOULD BE USING MATERIALS THAT DETER RODENTS. FUEL LINES AND ELECTRICAL HARNESSES ARE CRITICAL TO THE SAFE OPERATION OF A CAR AND THESE SYSTEMS ARE NEEDLESSLY BEING PUT AT RISK BY USING SOY TO PRODUCE THEM. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TROUBLING FOR SUBARU BECAUSE PART OF THEIR IMAGE ENCOURAGES THEIR OWNERS TO EXPLORE "THE GREAT OUTDOORS." WHAT HAPPENS WHY I GO CAMPING AND PARK MY CAR IN THE WOODS AND CHIPMUNKS CHEW THROUGH MY COMPONENTS AND STRAND ME IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE? OR, WORSE, A CRITICAL SYSTEM ON THE CAR FAILS AS I'M DRIVING HOME AND I LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASH. THE USE OF SOY-BASED COMPONENTS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. OR, IF IT IS, OEMS SHOULD COVER RODENT DAMAGE TO THESE SYSTEMS UNDER WARRANTY. AT THE VERY LEAST, OEMS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE THE USE OF SOY IN THE CAR BEFORE A VEHICLE IS PURCHASED. I HAD NO IDEA SOY-BASED PRODUCTS WERE USED IN THIS CAR. HAD I KNOWN, I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT IT. FYI... SUBARU DENIES USING SOY PRODUCTS.