Dropped it off at the dealer today for the windshield replacement and some warranty issues:
1. Head unit does not shut off when you turn off the car. I can put it in park, hit the button and the engine shuts off, get out, lock the car and walk away, and when I return in ten minutes the radio is still on. I am able to hold the head unit's power button down for a few seconds to manually turn it off. Sometimes, it does seem to time out, so maybe running the battery down isn't an issue. I searched thru the settings and could not find anything related to this.
2. When turning the car on with remote start (via the app), it will not allow me to take control and drive away. I start the car from my phone, walk out to it and unlock it, get inside and press the brake and the start button, and nothing happens. It continues to run, does not let me shift out of park, but does let me adjust the climate and radio controls. After the remote start times out and shuts the car back off, it lets me start back up and drive like normal.
3. Intermittently the power windows do not respond to the switches on the driver door. Mostly it does work, but I did have to drive home with a cracked window the other day.
4. The rear hatch intermittently does not seem to recognize my proximity key. I walk up to the hatch with they key in my pocket, hit the button on the hatch, and nothing. I take the key out and hold it close, nothing. Lock and unlock the door via the remote, nothing. This has happened with the car running and with it off.
So these are pretty annoying and it's starting to feel like they're piling up. We'll see what the dealer can do I suppose.
For reference: I have not replaced the car battery or any batteries in the fobs.
So 1 thru 3 were fixed with a software update. They said it's been reported before and they have the fix. I tried to recreate the issues and it does seem fixed.
4 is a feature not a bug. If the other key is in the car (in my girlfriend's purse) and/or the car is on and it sees the other key in the car, it won't let me unlock and open the hatch because security. Apparently I can hit the unlock button on the door when I get out to allow it. I don't think I really like it, but now that I know about it it'll be fine. So when you're inflating the tires after offroading that means that I have to turn the car off, take my girlfriend's key with me to open the hatch to get the compressor, then get back in the car and restart it.
We bought our first Subaru, an '18 Crosstrek Limited, in November 2017. One of the big factors, for us, was the new Infotainment System in the '18 (referred to as the "Head Unit", or just the "HU"). We wanted to be able to use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay - I now have a Google Pixel 4 XL and...
I installed PIAA horns today. The install was crazy easy IMO and a resounding success. I discovered that one horn would be direct bolt on in the place of the upper factory horn. I went out and got some 16 gauge wire, female adapters, and wire splice fittings and tapped into the same power wire for the upper horn to also power the second PIAA horn. I bolted the second on with one of the bolts to the hood latch release, and used washers to space it out away from the metal so that it wouldn't rattle. I would say that the horns are 20% louder now and sound more like a big sedan. I went with the 400/500 "Sport" horns.
Got a flat on the freeway today. This gave me the opportunity to try to fit the stock tire in the spare well. It did not fit even with 0 PSI. This tells me definitively that I will want a full size spare when I upgrade the tires.
I'm pretty frustrated with the stock tires. This is flat #4 in ~6 months of ownership. For how pricey the tires are they sure are fragile.
I also encountered a frustrating warranty issue [This was actually my fault, my spacers have longer studs]: The stock lug nuts bottom out when you put the spare on the rear. I had to ruin all five to get the car home today. Pictures below. So at this point my 2010 turbo Legacy is about as reliable as my brand new Crosstrek. Yay.
Bridgestone Duellers are the stock tyre in AU. I've had flats in both the XV (just a few days after I got it) and our old CRV all caused by picking up nails/screws. Last time the tyre guy replaced it, he handed over my invoice and said if I produce it to the construction firm it'd be obliged to reimburse me for the tyre. I'm nowhere near a construction site so I guess all these random nails are deposited on they highway by people hauling waste to the tip in the trucks and trailers. 🐨
Well I feel dumb. The aftermarket spacers that I put on there must have longer studs. That's why my lug nuts didn't work. Guess I'll buy some open ended lug nuts.
Well the tire is not repairable. I'm replacing all four because I'm tired of getting flats all the time. Hopefully the new tires hold up better.
Discount Tire agreed to test fit Falken Wildpeak Trails in 235/65R17 on the stock wheels without the 25mm spacers I cuurrently have. I'm very grateful for them taking the time to do that.
If they ft and don't rub, or at least don't rub much, I'll drive away with them. If they don't, they'll put 225/65R17 on. Looking on Wheel-size.com, I'm cautiously optimistic. It looks like the part of the Method-235 combo that rubs will be farther away from the fender with the stock wheels and offset.
Also ordered some open ended lug nuts on Amazon.
I'm not sure yet what I want to do for a spare. Clearly I need a solution tho. I don't want to carry a roof basket with a tire in it and suffer the MPG loss and road noise, but I also don't want to lose the backup camera to put it on a hitch carrier. Also, the good hitch carriers are pricey.
I am thinking of fabbing my own carrier for the roof with a design that keeps it closer to the roof. I really don't like how high the baskets ride that I have seen.
That's an interesting idea. I wonder if you could fab up a tear drop shape with a flat bottom out of sheet metal and house the spare in it. Like something that sits right on the roof on some rubber pads to protect the paint. If that would reduce or eliminate the mpg penalty and wind noise, that should be a cool solution. I'm going to think about that some more.
Discount tire called and said that the 235/65R17 do not fit at all. That says that any bump I hit would rub, as well as turns. So that's definitive to me.
Picked up the car with the new 225/65R17 Falken Wildpeak Trails. The ride is just as quiet as stock and might be smoother. The .4" of lift isn't noticeable when driving, but I kind of notice it when stepping out of the car. I did think to ask to keep the OEM tire that I bought a while ago. I think I'm going to get a rim and mount it and use it as a spare. It still has the warranty and all that. So I'm not real happy about having to replace the tires so soon, but they do look really nice on the car.
At Subaru XV Forum you'll find fellow Subaru XV Enthusiasts to help perfect that Subaru Crosstrek Build, or share all kinds of information about this Subaru from its specs to its design.
www.subaruxvforum.com
