[roncron]

Just traded in my '14 Outback for an '18. I'm super happy with the '18, but it does have one mildly annoying behavior I haven't figured out how to change. I'm hoping the collective wisdom of this forum's members might be able to help.

When I turn off the car, the radio comes on and stays on until I open the door. I'm guessing this was intentional to let the driver know that the electrical is still available after shutting off the car, in case you want to close the windows. (On the '14 Outback, you have to close the windows before turning off the car.) But it's unnecessary and can be a bit annoying.

Is this normal? Can this "feature" be turned off?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[z28dug]

As I recall that is a new feature for '18. People have complained that up to '18, Subarus did not function like other manufacturer's vehicles and leave power to windows/radio for a period of time after turning off the vehicle.

Not sure if it is programmable.

 

[KansasMatthew]

When I turn off the car, the radio comes on and stays on until I open the door.

The radio turns itself on, even if you turn it off?

 

[AvidHiker]

Ha! About time, Subaru. I have to leave the transmission in neutral to keep power to the radio (and I still don't get window function).

But, yeah, this is odd if what you're saying is the radio was off before you stopped the engine (although I suspect a simple menu change may resolve that, probably discussed in the manual).

 

[roncron]

I just called my dealer to ask about this. They had to research it and get back to me, which they did.

They say the feature cannot be disabled. They also said this is new to the 2018 models, so anyone who gets a 2018 Outback with Starlink can look forward to this issue.

On the up side, it is really nice being able to roll up the windows AFTER turning off the car. With my '14 Outback, you cannot operate the power windows after turning off the car. Most other cars I've owned give you a minute or so with electrical power after shutting off the engine, so you can roll up the power windows.

 

[Acemaster 4]

It did seem odd as I noticed that too on my new 2018 OB.
Worse yet for me is the CD function or should I say non function. If I have a CD in the player and turn off the car, come back later (CD still in player), start the car and select CD, it's won't play without popping out and then reinserting the CD. Weird and annoying, unlike any other CD player I ever had, in a variety of cars. IDK. It just gets stuck on a screen showing "media loading" but it never gets finished loading.

 

[AvidHiker]

It sounds like this sort of stuff could be addressed with a firmware update for the head unit, just be prepared to wait a while. We did eventually get most of the major issues corrected in our 2015/16 head units. Hopefully they will streamline the installation process, otherwise also be prepared for dealers to routinely screw up the firmware upgrades.

 

[skipw]

The next time someone says "it's just a couple lines of code; it shouldn't cost more than $10" to implement some new "feature", remember this!

 

[msprygada]

Like someone said, this was done to match some American car Manufacturers where you have push button ignition. If you have a keyed ignition you can turn the car off but move it to accessory position and still operate the radio and windows. With keyless igniting you would have to press the button to stop and then press again to turn on the accessory position. This way you just turn off the car and you can use the radio and window for ten minutes and it will turn off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[vip00]

I've noticed this as well. I do like the feature of having the accessories remain on until I open the driver door. I'm just not sure why the radio has to turn on to do it!

 

[z28dug]

The next time someone says "it's just a couple lines of code; it shouldn't cost more than $10" to implement some new "feature", remember this!

LOL, as someone that started coding in 1969 those claims always provide a good laugh.

 

[xpda]

It is really irritating if you have the audio off, then turn the car off, and get blasted by loud radio all of a sudden. That's a serious bug. It's almost as bad when you're listening to an audio book, turn off the car, and have it switch to the radio.

 

[Mike Sechrist]

I just bought a 2018 OB and the infotainment system is driving me crazy . CD issue is the worst. I am getting accustomed to the radio coming on the minute I start the car . I also will finally have to upgrade my iPod to use with this system .
I will endure as I replaced a 2015 OB and this car is superior great tweaks .

 

[z28dug]

Subaru should do themselves a favor and stop selling cars with CD players. Like Cassettes and 8-tracks before them, CD's have become passe.

I don't know if the CD player in my '15 even works.

 

[roncron]

I'm having another problem with my '18 Limited's HK sound system / head unit:

There is no way to turn it off.

If I'm listening to music from any source - radio, bluetooth device, Apple CarPlay - pushing the power button to turn off the system does not turn it off, it MUTES the system. You see the "mute" icon in the upper right of the screen.

This is a software glitch which I hope can be resolved with an update.

If you own an '18 Limited or Touring, does your power button turn off your sound or just mute it?

 

[AvidHiker]

...With keyless igniting you would have to press the button to stop and then press again to turn on the accessory position. This way you just turn off the car and you can use the radio and window for ten minutes and it will turn off...

In case you missed my earlier post - for the 2015-16 (and 17, afaik) push button systems, the trick is to stop the engine in neutral. This forces the ignition to stop in ACC. Additionally, as long you keep the gear selector in neutral (with the engine off), repeated push button presses simply toggle between ACC and ON (and our windows only work in the ON position). At this point, the only way to fully power off the vehicle is to put it in park and hit the button once more.

 

[millermmail]

The next time someone says "it's just a couple lines of code; it shouldn't cost more than $10" to implement some new "feature", remember this!

Probably 2 lines of code, $10 to code, then 1000 hours of testing at $80/hr or something, then 1hr training at $150/hr for the technicians how to update it...probably a bigger price tag than people think.

 

[ncdave]

I'm having another problem with my '18 Limited's HK sound system / head unit:

There is no way to turn it off.

If I'm listening to music from any source - radio, bluetooth device, Apple CarPlay - pushing the power button to turn off the system does not turn it off, it MUTES the system. You see the "mute" icon in the upper right of the screen.

This is a software glitch which I hope can be resolved with an update.

If you own an '18 Limited or Touring, does your power button turn off your sound or just mute it?

The Impreza owners have been fighting this for a while now - see 6'' Screen - Radio always comes on when car starts - Page 3 - 5th Gen Subaru Impreza Forum
Both the radio turning on when turning off the car and the can't really turn the radio off situation described here by roncron. The suggestion from SOA was that if enough people complain about it, they might do something about it (to the extent that the fix could be a patch).

 

[groberts]

It did seem odd as I noticed that too on my new 2018 OB.
Worse yet for me is the CD function or should I say non function. If I have a CD in the player and turn off the car, come back later (CD still in player), start the car and select CD, it's won't play without popping out and then reinserting the CD. Weird and annoying, unlike any other CD player I ever had, in a variety of cars. IDK. It just gets stuck on a screen showing "media loading" but it never gets finished loading.

I have experienced this too where the CD is not recognized. It was a compilation CD that always worked faithfully in my former 2015 OB. But it was a personally created compilation. My dealer suggested maybe that was the issue. I have not tried a store bought CD yet. I will give that try. I would expect this issue will be addressed with a Firmware update. That is not right.

I also noticed my iPod does not reliably enable for playback. It is the same iPod I've used for years in my previous vehicles. The error says something like I need to 'initialize'.

 

[tisun]

In case you missed my earlier post - for the 2015-16 (and 17, afaik) push button systems, the trick is to stop the engine in neutral. This forces the ignition to stop in ACC. Additionally, as long you keep the gear selector in neutral (with the engine off), repeated push button presses simply toggle between ACC and ON (and our windows only work in the ON position). At this point, the only way to fully power off the vehicle is to put it in park and hit the button once more.

Good to know, thanks.