Gripes about the BRZ

[Skurj]

Thick or thin makes no difference when it comes to getting a chip in your windshield.
A crack all the way through is another matter.

[Freude am Fahren]

Indeed to whole car has some issues with getting pitted, dented, etc from stones. It's a price to pay for a low-cost lightweight sports car I suppose. A clear bra can doa lot for the headlights and bumper/hood, but the windshield (I notice mine is already pretty bad after 900mi) is just going to have to be something we live with.

As for the "Crickets," I think there are two types that people refer to. One was a design flaw that has been fixed on new production, but may need to be done if you have a older car. The other is the fact that it sounds a bit like a diesel at idle. This isn't unheard of in other DFI cars as far as I know. It kinda sucks when you pull up to an intersection next to an outside restaurant or something and your awesome looking car sounds a bit like a TDI Golf

[BRZPDX]

Windshield - seems like luck. I have no problem with them currently.

Windows - you may have faulty windows, mine will go up and down at the same time driver/passenger side

Crickets - I have them, and yes they are kind of annoying.

Head lights - I had them wrapped with 3M with 60% tint, looks bad ass and protects them.

2nd gear grind - I read in the fluids/oils section that if you change out your tranny fluid to a high performance fluid (which you should any ways and get rid of OEM fluids, IMO) it fixed the 2nd gear issue. Huge topic about it, may be worth a read.

[Subie]

Originally Posted by Freude am Fahren

As for the "Crickets," I think there are two types that people refer to. One was a design flaw that has been fixed on new production, but may need to be done if you have a older car.

The crickets have NOT been fixed. There was a revised pump which is a short-term fix (the issue reappears). That is it.

[gily25]

Windshields happen, I'm coming to this car from a Jeep Wrangler (flat windshield), I've been replacing windshields once a year for as long as I can remember. Get full glass, they come to you, you stand there while they fix it (or you can do a drive-in place), not really stressful.

I found that if you drive the engine hard it seems the crickets go away for a while...

Window fix already noted here, but one I recently came upon...you can't shut both doors at the same time. It causes some sort of push of air and whoever is weaker will end up having to reshut their door. At first I thought the wife was just being girly with the door but then I realized it wasn't the case. Not really a catastophe.

[brzninja]

I just don't drive mine. Problems solved. Takes me forever to get to work though...

[SliverBrz]

MY screen has a green dot, meaning a damn DEAD pixel.

I think thats pretty ridiculous.

[tedddee]

The engine noise is a little unsettling. My 03 impreza makes some noise but it never made me worry. Like it just sounded natural and you got used to it. The BRZ makes some weird ass noises that are far from the usual boxer quirks.

[radroach]

I'm getting a truck for work.

I think DD'ing a brz can be hard on the tires because mine are gone fast and tire rotation back to front tires messed up the handling, having less treads to grab on. I'll probably need new tires and another clutch by the summer.

[Pete156]

My biggest gripe - can't shut the nav system off! WTF was Subaru/Toyota thinking? Why is it impossible to disable or shut this system down? It would not affect the cars driveability whatsoever. There is so much light coming off this screen at night I can hardly drive after dark. I am having someone make me a custom cover so I can block it out. Should be noted as a SAFETY item by the manufacturer. Just STUPID engineering by geeks who are always looking at computer screens.

[kALMIGHTY]

Originally Posted by Pete156

My biggest gripe - can't shut the nav system off! WTF was Subaru/Toyota thinking? Why is it impossible to disable or shut this system down? It would not affect the cars driveability whatsoever. There is so much light coming off this screen at night I can hardly drive after dark. I am having someone make me a custom cover so I can block it out. Should be noted as a SAFETY item by the manufacturer. Just STUPID engineering by geeks who are always looking at computer screens.

Is there no brightness setting for the screen either?

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Pete156

My biggest gripe - can't shut the nav system off! WTF was Subaru/Toyota thinking? Why is it impossible to disable or shut this system down? It would not affect the cars driveability whatsoever. There is so much light coming off this screen at night I can hardly drive after dark.

It is bright, isn’t it?

The NAV display has a bright and a dark option, a DAY/NIGHT option; I use the dark option for night use since, as you say, it is too bright otherwise.

Mostly, though, I do not use it at all.

I turn it off altogether, leaving the panel dark and no longer the dangerous distraction that it can be.

Here’s how one turns it OFF:

Press the AUDIO button and HOLD it until a special “display” screen comes up. In the upper right corner, as I recall, there is a soft button labeled OFF.

Press this OFF button, and the display will go entirely dark and stay off.

...

You owe me a beer.

[radroach]

Originally Posted by Pete156

My biggest gripe - can't shut the nav system off! WTF was Subaru/Toyota thinking? Why is it impossible to disable or shut this system down? It would not affect the cars driveability whatsoever. There is so much light coming off this screen at night I can hardly drive after dark. I am having someone make me a custom cover so I can block it out. Should be noted as a SAFETY item by the manufacturer. Just STUPID engineering by geeks who are always looking at computer screens.

You can turn down the brightness using the light toggle knobs left of the steering wheel column.

[Freude am Fahren]

@Pete156 Hold down the audio button until you get the display options. You can change the brightness levels (they save individually for day, night, and night with interior lights at max), and on the top you can turn it off completely (audio stays on, only display turns off). There is also an option to override the current day/night mode.

There is also an option within the unit menus to tie the day/night mode to headlights or time of day.

I have it saved with Day and Night with interior at max saved to the highest level, night saved to the lowest and it's perfect.


This all reminds me of one of my gripes. The car has auto headlights, but doesn't turn them on with the windshield wipers. I don't think I've seen that before. Usually with auto lights they know to go on when you turn the wipers on, and I think it's a legal thing in most areas (though the DRL's might suffice legally). It would be nice if they came on automatically with the lights, but left the nav screen to use the light sensor.