2018 Subaru Vehicles Infotainment Lawsuit

[Mase123y]

So I got a card in the mail saying theres a lawsuit regarding the infotainment systems on the 2018 Subaru cars. Information can be found here https://www.starlinkinfotainment.settlementclass.com/

Any of you guys know what this is about? Something about the infotainment system freezing? I dont think there should have been a lawsuit about software freezing. But I guess the cars warranty can be extended?

[SmaxxSmith]

I'll certainly be watching the mail, but as of now, I've received nothing. Could this be some spam thing to get peoples info? i know there has been a couple firmware updates for mine. Ive done the first one only. Seems a little sketchy.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Mase123y

..But I guess the cars warranty can be extended?

According to the site, if you do not respond to exclude yourself, the car warranty will be extended to 5 years/100,000 miles but ONLY for the StarLink headunit.

Originally Posted by The Article FAQ

Effective on the date of the Notice, Subaru will extend the existing express New Vehicle Limited Warranty on your vehicle, to cover repairs by an authorized Subaru retailer as needed to correct a Qualifying Starlink Malfunction, to a period of five (5) years or one hundred thousand (100,000) miles (whichever occurs first) from the date on which the Vehicle was delivered to either the original purchaser or lessee; or if the vehicle was first placed in service as a “demonstrator” or “company” car, on the date the vehicle was first placed in such service (hereinafter, the “Settlement Extended Warranty”). The warranty extension applies only to Qualifying Starlink Malfunctions. The Settlement Extended Warranty is fully transferable to subsequent vehicle owners.

Seems like a pretty low-cost way for Subaru to avoid the cost of trial, even if ultimately they are found not at fault. "Yea, OK, there's nothing wrong with them so if they break we'll fix them"

[Stephen W.]

Up here in Canada I got a recall on this. It has to do with the rear view camera not working if/when the system freezes. The camera is considered part of the safety equipment. I don't get it myself. I can turn my head and use the inside and outside rear view mirrors but what do I know, eh? I'd never had the problem but they did some sort of software update, no charge.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...ra-could-fail/

[Feistyfrog]

This is getting weird now...

I have a 2019 86 since april and the infotainment always froze/reboot when I tried to put a USB drive to play some mp3's. I went to the dealership a couple times for that and they don't have a clue what to do (Toyota).

Since then, I discovered that if I put less than 250 mp3's on a single list, it's working. But if there is something else on the USB drive or more than one playlist it will do the same thing, it freezes and just reboot itself endlessly...I learned to live with it and it's not a big deal even if it doesn't make sense that a modern system can't handle simple things like that.

Now I just learned that some of you have the backup camera display in the infotainment screen!!

During my first visit at the dealership before I bought the car, a tech told me that the backup camera will be displayed in a tiny screen in the mirror. When I signed the papers a couple days later, the salesman told me that it wasn't like that anymore and the camera is now displayed in the infotainment screen.

When I got the car, the same salesman took me around the car to explain how things worked. He then thought that the backup camera was broken because it was displayed in the mirror instead. Like it was a backup display for the backup camera (if that makes sense) when/if it doesn't work on the big screen. He went inside, came back and told me it was all good, no display possible in the infotainment screen on "my car". Again, not that big of a deal since I always use "real" mirors to back up but I always thought something was fishy.

I haven't received a recall from Toyota, but do you guys know if the kouki twins share the same infotainment system? If there's a known problem with the Subarus, that might explain why I'm having trouble with mine. Or maybe mine is fine because there's never been a backup cameras option in the infotainment system on the Toyotas and it really just can't handle more than 250 mp3's.

I'm confused...

[Lantanafrs2]

Subaru is becoming the alfa romeo of japanese cars

[Mase123y]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

Up here in Canada I got a recall on this. It has to do with the rear view camera not working if/when the system freezes. The camera is considered part of the safety equipment. I don't get it myself. I can turn my head and use the inside and outside rear view mirrors but what do I know, eh? I'd never had the problem but they did some sort of software update, no charge.
https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...ra-could-fail/

I already went to Subaru to get the software update for the rear view camera. Looking at the additional documentation it does say something about the past recall about the rear view camera. But recalls are free of charge to fix so a lawsuit is weird.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Feistyfrog

This is getting weird now...
..

Since you have a Toyota you likely have a different head unit and are not impacted by this particular issue. One of the differences between the 86/BRZ are the radios in the models, at least in my experience.

[BRZ Guy]

I have a 2018 and the stereo goes wacky in the summer as that’s when I drive it.
The fix is turing off the car for 5 minutes then it’ll be fine if ac is cranked.

Only happens when I’m parked in the sun on a hot day.

[Feistyfrog]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Since you have a Toyota you likely have a different head unit and are not impacted by this particular issue. One of the differences between the 86/BRZ are the radios in the models, at least in my experience.

I just found out that the 2019 BRZ have Apple car play/Android auto so it's definitely another unit than in the Toyotas. That doesn't solve my problem, but at least I can eliminate that possibility.

Like @Stephen W. said, in Canada the recall is linked to the backup camera.
I think it's mostly because they are mandatory since 2018 on every new vehicule sold over here.

Does every BRZ with a backup camera has it displayed on the infotainment screen or some of you have it in the mirror?

[Willie Swoopes]

My 2017 BRZ has the back up camera displayed on the infotainment screen.

It's 2 1/2 years old and I remember twice when the infotainment locked up on startup. I had to stop, turn off the the car, and start up again. Not really a problem after all that time.

I should have taken it into the dealer and complained about the one time it froze. Maybe I'd get a new radio with CarPlay.

[Opie]

Originally Posted by Feistyfrog

This is getting weird now...

I have a 2019 86 since april and the infotainment always froze/reboot when I tried to put a USB drive to play some mp3's. I went to the dealership a couple times for that and they don't have a clue what to do (Toyota).

Since then, I discovered that if I put less than 250 mp3's on a single list, it's working. But if there is something else on the USB drive or more than one playlist it will do the same thing, it freezes and just reboot itself endlessly...I learned to live with it and it's not a big deal even if it doesn't make sense that a modern system can't handle simple things like that.

Now I just learned that some of you have the backup camera display in the infotainment screen!!

During my first visit at the dealership before I bought the car, a tech told me that the backup camera will be displayed in a tiny screen in the mirror. When I signed the papers a couple days later, the salesman told me that it wasn't like that anymore and the camera is now displayed in the infotainment screen.

When I got the car, the same salesman took me around the car to explain how things worked. He then thought that the backup camera was broken because it was displayed in the mirror instead. Like it was a backup display for the backup camera (if that makes sense) when/if it doesn't work on the big screen. He went inside, came back and told me it was all good, no display possible in the infotainment screen on "my car". Again, not that big of a deal since I always use "real" mirors to back up but I always thought something was fishy.

I haven't received a recall from Toyota, but do you guys know if the kouki twins share the same infotainment system? If there's a known problem with the Subarus, that might explain why I'm having trouble with mine. Or maybe mine is fine because there's never been a backup cameras option in the infotainment system on the Toyotas and it really just can't handle more than 250 mp3's.

I'm confused...

The manual (In the US BRZ) states that the headunit can read USB sticks with up to 9999 files, however they have to broken down into folders with no more than 255 files in each folder:

■ Supported MP4 standards
• Supported extensions:
MP4, M4V (single-byte characters only, not case-sensitive)
• Maximum number of directory layers:
8 layers (including the root folder)
• Number of folders that can be stored in the USB memory:
255 (including the root folder)
• Number of files that can be stored in the USB memory:
9999
• Codec support:
Complies with MPEG1 Windows Media standards
MPEG4 MPEG-4 Simple Profile
• Maximum resolution:
720×480 (30 fps), 720×576 (25 fps)
• Supported audio codec:
MP3, AC3
- Supported sampling frequencies (kHz):
AC3: 32 - 320
* For the other audio codec, see “About USB Devices” on Page 244.
- Supported channel modes:
Stereo, Monaural