[ahet]

Hello everyone. My wife and I are planning on buying a 2013 Outback 2.5 limited in the near future, we will probably have to order one because she is very particular.

She would like to get the navigation because it looks nicer than the HK radio, which i would agree, but we have no need for the moonroof that comes along with it. We both know how stupid it sounds to spend over 2 grand because we don't like the look of the radio, we've discussed that many times. She would be ok with me putting an aftermarket nav unit in, as long as all of the steering wheel buttons and center console connections work. I'm looking at the Kenwood nav units, possibly 6190, 7190 or an excelon unit.

From what I have gathered is that you can get everything to work for the most part, the steering wheel controls being the main concern. My main question is are the harnesses the same as the 2012? The radios look the same so I would think everything is the same but who knows.

Any knowledge or advice would be appreciated.

A big thanks to lashlee, rockthebeef, svxdc, and taiguy. I don't know any of you but your posts and replies to other posts have been very helpful.

For the record, I believe I am capable of doing all the work, although I have crossed wires before because of my colorblindness which leads to some swearing.

 

[lashlee]

The Kenwood that I installed in my '12 works great, and all of the buttons on the steering wheel work, provided you have the most up to date firmware on the ASWC. The only thing that I will bring up is the 1/8" aux input in the console can be wired in to the new unit with a harness from David, but the USB will not. Subaru uses a special connector that is used in the aftermarket but no one has devised an adapter. With that being said the small clip on panel can be removed and the aftermarket USB adapters fed through the console. That's what I did and both of my iPod adapters are under the armrest.

As for the harness, I would only assume that the '12 and '13 would use the same harness but I think most on here would agree that the OEM nav unit is something to stay away from.

 

[Harvey]

Lashlee,

I have a 2013 Outback Limited with NAV.

Previously, I have stayed away from the factory installed NAVs because they could not compare to the aftermarket Garmins.

They must have made some changes recently because I think the new Outback's NAV is great. The NAV in my Outback is better than any of my Garmins.

~Harvey

 

[rockthebeef]

I think lashlee summed it up quite well already. However I have a Pioneer HU and ASWC, and I think one button doesn't do anything. I'm not even sure what it was becasue I never used it. I think it was the voice command button. I would like to hook it up to Siri if possible, but that's for another day.

I agree that the consensus would be that aftermarket is better, and I am a big supporter of aftermarket car audio. But the factory NAV and Audio system should theoretically be less fussy than an aftermarket system. If it does everything you want it to and does it well enough for you, then it may be the best choice for you. There's still a bit of "geekery" involved with an aftermarket system that some people may not like. I would think that the factory system is designed to be as user-friendly and integrated as possible.

...That being said, this is coming from somebody with an Appradio2. It does a lot, but you have to juggle your gadgets to use it well. I think my wife would be frustrated by it. The HUs you mentioned are probably a better solution than I have if you can do all your interfacing from one screen and/or voice commands.

 

[ahet]

Thanks for the replies. That clears things up.

Harvey - the factory nav unit is different this year, I guess it is what has been in the forester, and it is a lot better from what I have heard.

I'm in favor of going the aftermarket route but I will have to wait and see what my wife decides as it will be her car.

Now if I can just get her to decide on the color.

 

[lashlee]

Harvey - I am thrilled that you are happy with the OEM nav, and for some people it is great. Having worked in the aftermarket radio business I know that everyone has an opinion and what makes sense for you is all that matters. In the previous models Subaru and Kenwood have made a few updates and have not addressed all of the issues that customers had. For the rest of us the aftermarket fills a need where most OEM fall short.

Ahet - Good luck on getting her to nail down a color. My wife wanted Dark Blue or White and I vetoed both since I'm the one who takes care of the cleaning and polishing the cars. White with pearl is the hardest to match and the Blue will add some extra heat here in the South. We agreed on the Charcoal Grey and I couldn't be happier!

 

[DOOM161]

They changed the wiring harness in 2012, so I doubt tgey changed it again for 2013. Either way, they should be able to sell you tge harness you need at Best Buy. I got mine thete after crutchfield sent me the wrong harness.

 

[mblank11]

2013 0utback Navigation

I just purchased a 2013 Outback 3.6R Limited with Navigation and Eyesight. Much of the electronics works differently than it did with my 2010 3.6R with Navigation.

I am trying to figure out how to set up a list of frequently used addresses. The only thing I have found so far is the History list. Am I not finding an option?

 

[Harvey]

Go to the history list. Press and hold an address that you want to save as a favorite.
You will be prompted to save it as a favorite.
You can edit the name.
I have "Home" as number one on the list.

Pick a voice that reads street names. Select "Verbose" to start.
Try the 3D auto display mode.
The screen can show you what lane to be in plus lots, lots more.
Play around with it and you will see.

~Harvey

 

[OarPhilly]

I ordered a 2013 2.5 Limited w/ SAP a few weeks ago. I am planning to put an aftermarket stereo in replacement for the HK stereo. I'm trying to get a head start in working some logistics of what would fit, and if it is possible to replace the monitor that comes with the SAP. I am currently looking at Alpine NAV units, just came across the new 8" monitor they have INE-Z928HD. Hoping someone would have insite to difficulties/limits/advice on replacing the HK stereo and nav with an aftermarket one. I'm thinking it may be difficult to replace the monitor.

 

[Harvey]

There are many custom stereo installation places that you could go to for some ideas.
They know what fits and would probably have some good recommendations.
Go in "for a quote". See what they would install.

 

[lashlee]

Oar - Any good installer can make anything you want fit, just get ready for some sticker shock!! Like Harvey said shoot by some local specialty shops and see what they can offer. Anything in the normal DD size of 7"x4" will fit with the required dash kit. I know that Alpine made some of those units with GM in mind as well as a few others that have a bigger dash. I've got a Kenwood in the OB and an Alpine in my Accord. I prefer the nav of the Kenwood over the Alpine, but the Alpine does two ipods much better. My Alpine is older so it doesn't have the BT stuff, and I don't care about Pandora or Apps or anything else. I would look into what you feel is important and see what you can find and give them a spin. Some people just buy on what other people say instead of seeing how the units work and what you find annoying.

 

[JoeMontana]

I found an aftermarket navigation unit by Rosen that is designed to look like Subaru's OEM radio. Has anyone seen or know of anyone who has one of these? Its a pretty nice setup, seems more logical than the Subaru nab system (doesn't lock you out of iPod controls, uses treble/bass vs. equalizer settings and is completely compatible with Subaru's connectors and the h/k audio system.)

ROSEN Navigation Systems

 

[ahet]

So I thought I would do a little update. We ordered a 2013 2.5 limited without the nav at the end of July and we picked it up last week. I decided to put a Kenwood DNX9990HD nav unit with the axxess awsc in it but I wanted to wait and get the car before I ordered any harnesses from svxdc to see what was there.

It was a pain to get the center trim piece off, I couldn't use the same method in taiguy's thread to get it off because the air duct for the center console runs through there so there wasn't any opening. I ended up taking the glove box completely off because I couldn't get the piece to just pop off either. There was a small enough hole when I took the glove box off to push on the back of that middle pocket.

These are the connectors that were there. There is a 6 pin, 10 pin and 28 pin connectors as well as the antenna, aux and I'm guessing the xm connector.

Maybe someone else could confirm if these are the same as the 2012 limited.

Here is the back of the radio that I took out.

On top of the radio are the harnesses that Crutchfield sent. The 6 pin connector is missing a wire but the 10 pin connector looks good. They did not send a 28 pin connector. The antenna adapter they sent won't work.

I emailed svxdc last night to see what he could help me out with. I'll just have to wait until I here back from him.

In case anybody was wondering, my wife decided to go with the green color. I'll probably post a picture of it sometime when I wash it, we live on a lot of gravel so it got dirty real fast. We have the wheel arch moldings which you don't see many pictures of so I would like to show others what they look like.

 

[lashlee]

Its the same as the '12. Look up one of my posts about installing my 9980HD in my '12 and you'll get a list of all of the goodies. David can hook you up with nearly all the stuff you need. The antenna adapter hooks up down in the console on the drivers side. The 6 and 10 pin connectors are the power and speakers though you will have to move one wire from the 6 pin harness to the 10 pin harness and pick up some RCA tips to solder to the harness and use the RCA preamp outputs of the Kenwood to feed signal to the H/K amp. Feel free to PM or email me if you have any other questions or need any more pictures.

 

[Healerman56]

I just installed the Alpine 927 in my '14. The HK system made me crazy! I wish I hadn't gone that route. I'm now wishing that I had gone Kenwood as the wheel controls are not working (my installer says he's got a solution for it) but the nav seems like it was a big mistake. I've wound up using my phone nav to find my destination! I'm trying to get info on how folks have installed subwoffers . . .

 

[TXDobbs]

Just bought a 2014 with the HK system. For simplicity with the car (and I use my phone for Navi too) it was suggested to me to simply install an amp and replace the speakers. That way I keep the factory head unit but get better performance. Has anyone tried this?