Issues/Problems for early adopters

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by Flatspot

Today:

CarPlay intermittent disconnecting as others have noted. This time, though, all entertainment audio went out. FM radio, Bluetooth, and Sirius/XM all were silent. Turning the head unit off & on while driving didn’t fix it. I had to turn the car completely off & back on after parking.

This is what we get for asking to get more technology from the twins lol

[clio]

Is Carplay wireless on the new generation?

[Flatspot]

CarPlay is still wired only in the ‘22.

I love the car. Hate the stereo.

[BRZJunkie]

Any signs of chirping on the 2.4L 2e Gen?

[fredzy]

I struggled for years with my WRX dropping bluetooth connection randomly. I thought surely there would be some sort of firmware update that could solve it, but no such thing. It was a fairly common problem, consensus was that it was just bad hardware.

When it got very consistently bad I would wipe all paired device memory clean and re-connect my phone and it would seem to work for a while then eventually go back to not working. I hate to go to the dealer unless absolutely necessary (especially for an issue that they will have to rip the car apart to fix) but finally broke down and went in to try and get my radio unit replaced. This seemed to be the only sure fix.. and even then I might get another bad one! The tech convinced me to try resetting one more time, I figured I'd humor her. That was 3 years ago and it's been good since. Even typing this out I'm afraid to jinx myself...

Moral of the story: Subaru infotainment is industry worst/designed to cause pain. Keep your eyes peeled for firmware updates and consider wiping out all paired device memory and re-connecting.

[DocWalt]

Originally Posted by BRZJunkie

Any signs of chirping on the 2.4L 2e Gen?

Yep. Mine chirps occasionally. Nowhere near as bad as my 2013, though my 2013 settled down some as things wore as it aged.

[slipstream8]

Originally Posted by fredzy

I struggled for years with my WRX dropping bluetooth connection randomly. I thought surely there would be some sort of firmware update that could solve it, but no such thing. It was a fairly common problem, consensus was that it was just bad hardware.

When it got very consistently bad I would wipe all paired device memory clean and re-connect my phone and it would seem to work for a while then eventually go back to not working. I hate to go to the dealer unless absolutely necessary (especially for an issue that they will have to rip the car apart to fix) but finally broke down and went in to try and get my radio unit replaced. This seemed to be the only sure fix.. and even then I might get another bad one! The tech convinced me to try resetting one more time, I figured I'd humor her. That was 3 years ago and it's been good since. Even typing this out I'm afraid to jinx myself...

Moral of the story: Subaru infotainment is industry worst/designed to cause pain. Keep your eyes peeled for firmware updates and consider wiping out all paired device memory and re-connecting.

I need to try this on our Outback. Bluetooth is so unstable it isn't functional.

Thanks for the tip!

[Interceptor777]

Just dropped it off for Homelink mirror issue and gave them the service bulletin number. Let's see how it goes.

[SpectreRT]

Originally Posted by Interceptor777

Just dropped it off for Homelink mirror issue and gave them the service bulletin number. Let's see how it goes.

What TSB do you have? Linky?

[22 BRZ]

Originally Posted by fredzy

Moral of the story: Subaru infotainment is industry worst/designed to cause pain. Keep your eyes peeled for firmware updates and consider wiping out all paired device memory and re-connecting.

This. The BRZ bluetooth drops out like clockwork 1-2 mins after ignition on. At least it comes back on after a minute or two. The WRX Carplay/Android Auto is borderline unusable. Sometimes it cuts out, stutters, turns on by itself, volume changes randomly, etc. Both cars need the occasional reset (hold both outer knob buttons down for ~10 seconds) to restore some semblance of function.

Subaru is absolutely brilliant at many aspects of designing/building cars. Infotainment? Not one of those.

[Midnightsky]

Originally Posted by 22 BRZ

This. The BRZ bluetooth drops out like clockwork 1-2 mins after ignition on. At least it comes back on after a minute or two. The WRX Carplay/Android Auto is borderline unusable. Sometimes it cuts out, stutters, turns on by itself, volume changes randomly, etc. Both cars need the occasional reset (hold both outer knob buttons down for ~10 seconds) to restore some semblance of function.

Subaru is absolutely brilliant at many aspects of designing/building cars. Infotainment? Not one of those.

I personally never really understood the appeal of android auto or Apple carplay. I tried it out, found no real appeal beyond Google maps. So far my Bluetooth has been rock solid in my 2nd Gen BRZ. Did 6 hours on the highway yesterday, stayed connected the whole time. I have all my music on YouTube music pre-loaded on my phone, click a playlist before beginning the trip, and set to go.

[joemysterio]

I personally love it, easy access to Google maps, Spotify, Pandora, calls and messages. And i don't have to handle my phone very much, if at all. Especially when driving MT, my hands are focused solely on steering and shifting. Convenient and safe. I miss it dearly when I'm not driving my wife's Civic.

[22 BRZ]

Originally Posted by Midnightsky

I personally never really understood the appeal of android auto or Apple carplay. I tried it out, found no real appeal beyond Google maps. So far my Bluetooth has been rock solid in my 2nd Gen BRZ. Did 6 hours on the highway yesterday, stayed connected the whole time. I have all my music on YouTube music pre-loaded on my phone, click a playlist before beginning the trip, and set to go.

Same, I get all the functionality I want out of Bluetooth, so I never use android auto. My wife likes the ability to dictate texts thru Carplay, so she tends to use it fairly often. Maybe I'll try android auto more. I have a short cable in the center console, and I lay my phone on top of the cupholders and then close the bomb doors over it.

[Desertnate]

I only use Android Auto when travelling or trying to find some place I've never been before and need directions. I love using it on road trips vs. traditional navagation/infotainment systems. The vast majority of the time though I'm just streaming podcasts or music over Bluetooth and the phone stays in my pocket.

One thing I find interesting is the descriptions of everyone's issues with their head units. They are almost direct quotes from media reports the last couple of days reporting Subaru taking a huge dive in the reliability ratings as a brand at both Consumer Reports and J. D. Powers. I often don't give either much thought, but the correlation this time caught my attention.