Having Problems With Subaru Starlink? What Owners Can Do

mid aug-2019 -- just back from subaru dealer for NINTH UPDATE - ALSO on radio # 3 - crostrek only 22 months old !!!! Service brainwave told me " SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAPPEN" -- I almost dragged him out from behind his desk,, then he would have "ACCIDENTALLY" bumped into my elbow with his face,, and then I would have had the pleasure of telling him "" SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAPPEN "" subaru should be SUED WORLDWIDE for continuing to sell cars with faulty radios that the IDIOTS CAN'T FIGURE OUT --- I retired just before I purchased my crosstrek,, BUT I didn't PLAN on spending so much of my free time dealing with IDIOTS of subaru BECAUSE,, WORK was a much MORE ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE

My touchscreen does not allow me to use it all. It is there, but it does not respond. If this is a Subaru problem, why don't they seem willing to fix it? I called a dealership and got absolutely no response to my call.
I thought I was supposed to "love" my Subaru, now I find out it is just a cheap piece of crap.

I am experiencing the same issues, With my 2018 Subaru Forester and I’m quite upset. So clear this is now affecting other models. I’ve only had my car for 11 months. Beyond frustrated.

Our 2018 Outback Limited is just over a year old and the screen just went totally black at startup on Friday night. The screen has no backup camera, stereo, apps... Completely unresponsive and blank. The unit appears to attempt to reboot itself based on the appearance of the stereo knobs and other buttons as well as some clicking sounds at the same time. Will be making the call to our Subaru Dealership tomorrow.

Dealership service department told me they couldn’t do the software upgrade on head unit, they needed to replace it. They then called me a couple of days later and said they wanted to check a fuse first before ordering a whole new head unit. Any validity to this or am I being put off?

Today there is a lot of static coming from the radio system. All radio channels, bluetooth, XM radio...
Previously the front speakers have gone silent and i couldn't adjust the speaker volume several times.
2019 Legacy 3.6r.

2019 Subaru Outback Limited. Starlink is frozen, cant access radio, media, etc. Backup camera works. 2400 miles!!!!

Is anyone having an issue with their partner's Apple CarPlay disconnecting their Android Auto?? It seems that no matter what order it's plugged in, Apple takes control which is a bummer because I do all the driving and my Android is used for navigation.

Personally I think Subaru does a lot of false advertising on their products. In Canada the Subaru Starlink is uesless, bluetooth playback is terrible still on the 2019 Forester Sport, iPhone users are forced to activate Siri and install apps like Aha just to get a USB connection, in fact to use the feature to auto update the clock you must add your mobile contacts. what is with that. They advertise the Sport model having navigation, it doesn't have navigation, you must connect your phone for navigation.

First, the pairing function is crap. Once I got my new phone paired, music comes and goes. I am so sick of tech issues in general I could scream.

Just setting the clock on my Forester is an experience. Id rather set my hair on fire than change the clock. Does not update for daylight savings time, which it is supposed to. What total garbage.

My 2018 Crosstrek continues to have problems sporadically in connecting to my phone using Android/Starlink...it has had one upgrade which helped it connect more often. However, it is totally frustrating when GPS is needed or a call needs to be made while driving, and their is no connection. This is my first car with such a system, and I didn't expect such an unreliable product from Subaru. I am sorry I threw away my paper maps!! I will definitely be following this issue and will return to the dealership with complaints.

2017 Outback, non-navigation display. Display locks up on several different screens, both audio and phone. 1st dealer fix audio update OU9509 in 11/2019. Locked again 1/2020, took to dealer who observed lock up. But when left with dealer for repair, they could not duplicate. Advised me to take a wait & see position. But I will be pushing for permanent fix.

Android auto does not connect consistently. When it does work, sometimes it won't shut off when the car is off and locked and I'm in my house, which has made me miss calls. It's hard for me to get to a dealer, so I've ignored it. Then I rented a Renault in Europe and it connected consistently and without any problems. That made me realize it was a Subaru/Starlink problem. There's a recall for something else on my 2018 Impreza, so I'll get it checked out. I got a card in the mail today about the class action suit. Interesting.

I have a 2019 and have consistent problems reported on this list. The message " This internet connection isn't strong enough" puts me at risk as the emergency StarLink pkg I'm sure I paid for in the price won't work.
Many of the items listed are on the list of issues I have.

my subaru forrester 2018 has a recall no calls to get it fixed

i am from Singapore (Impreza 2017 owner)
The Subaru Starlink die off suddently while driving on highway.
Go to Motor Image (Dealer), they do resetting, but problem persist.
No explanation given, but ask to replace a new one (cost S$5k+ wow...)
Dealer says that warranty is 1year (20,000km)
What can i do?

Today, my audio system stopped working. I can tune to FM, Sirius, or the USB input and it shows it is playing but there is absolutely no sound. I haven't tried a CD yet but don't expect it to work either. The map works though I haven't tested to see if I will be able to hear the instructions. Anyone else have this problem?

Just purchased a 2020 Forester (most expensive one!) from Valley Subaru in Staunton Virginia. First, the navigation system stopped working after driving it for 30 miles. Then, got that fixed (I think) and discovered that the voice command for address direction does not work. It either does not get the address correct, or it can't find it. Very frustrating. Out of at least 20 tries to get an address through voice recognition, only one was recognized and that was the dealer's address. Funny, huh! Several service people at the dealer gave me excuses like "well, it doesn't recognize ALL addresses all the time. But, my Garmin and iPhone do -- 100% of the time. Starlink, after 20+ tries, didn't recognize any. During all of this going back and forth, I remembered getting an email from Subaru that listed about 15 fixes that needed to be downloaded and voice recognition was one of them. After reading a few lines of the message to one of the service people (woman), she said that if that was the latest download, then that was the one that they installed in the car when they fixed the navigation system. Anyway, I lost the email and asked the other service person (man) who was involved in this drama and he stated that the only download that was done was a navigation download. Even the salesman got in on the action and he stated that he was told that service had rebooted the navigation system. I stated that the service man booted it once while I watched and it didn't work, but salesman insisted that they booted it again in the back and it fixed the problem. When I asked the service man if he could download the fixes that I had received via an email, HE STATED THAT HE COULD NOT -- THAT ONLY I COULD DO THAT THROUGH THE EMAIL LINK THAT I RECEIVED. ALSO, WENT ON TO SAY THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PAY $150. TO DO THIS, BLAH BLAH BLAH. He refused to help me with this so I asked for the Subaru corporate telephone number and told him that I did not want the car because the voice response navigation was the most import feature in the car for me. He and the sales man told me on several occasions that I would need to type in the address before before leaving for my destination (basically forget the voice recognition). My personal situation is that I get redirected from my office to go to different addresses and cannot stop on a major route where cars and trucks are going 80 miles per hour and no shoulder on the highway -- turn off the engine and type in an address.Finally, (because I wasn't leaving), the service man got his cell phone because Internet was needed to do a download. He did a download, but had no idea what he was downloading because the system's screen did not tell him. So, was the voice recognition part of the download??? We will never know. Whatever -- the download did not fix it. To eliminate if the problem was just with my 2020 Forester or ALL OF THE 2020 FORESTERS, WE TRIED VOICE RECOGNITION IN AN EXACT MODEL AND IT DID NOT WORK EITHER. Didn't seem to concern anyone at the dealership. The man at Subaru corporate says he will be mailing a zip drive that I can plug into the car for the latest updates. I'm suppose to get an email from him tomorrow stating when I should receive it. We will see. I feel that Valley Subaru did not want to address the problem and was trying one excuse after another to push it off on me. Further, who was telling the truth remains to be seen. Got three different answers from three different people when I asked what was done to fix the navigation system. Not good business -- the truth should always prevail and if you don't know the truth, then you should keep your mouth shut. No excuses. After having spent upwards of $36,000 I expect the voice recognition to work or I want my money back and do NOT WANT THE CAR. After telling this to the service man, his response was that navigation systems don't fall under the lemon laws!!! So, if the zip drive doesn't fix the problem, and since the dealership wants no part of this problem, I guess I will have to take it up with Subaru corporate. Valley turned their back on me and I am very disappointed. Further, if the service man tells me one more time that he is "trying to help me," I will scream. Helping a customer is not telling them that he cannot download fixes for a customer. By the way, Subaru corporate said that dealers do that all the time, but since they refused, a zip drive was being sent. I told corporate that I wanted this to go on record that this dealership did not want to help me.

I purchased a 2020 Forester in November 2019. From the first week I had the car I advised my salesman that the infotainment system does not return to the last screen that was used but instead when restarted it intermittently comes on to the main menu. i.e., I have the radio on a Sirius XM station when I turn the car off, but when I turn it back on (and this can be hours or days later) sometimes the radio screen is not displayed but the main menu is.
The mechanics at the dealership and my salesperson advised this was not correct. The mechanics reached out to technical assistance from Subaru and were told that if the car is off for more than 1 hour, the system does a total reset. Well, that would be all well and good it if happened each time but it doesn't. They advised the system is working as designed and my response was, nothing is designed to work intermittently.
I emailed the Customer Advocacy group, the representative said he never heard of this before and sent the issue up for review. The response I just received is:" Since the vehicle is equipped with STARLINK safety and security services, there are occasional system checks and resets to ensure everything is operating correctly in the event of a crash. Some of those checks and resets may cause the head unit to return to the home screen, which is why it's intermittent.

Subaru is currently working on improvements to the software to prevent this and when that is available, customers will be provided notification of the update that may be performed."

I was very excited to own a Subaru and still enjoy driving the car but VERY disappointed in this response.

Yep. brought it (2019 legacy) in today, froze on Starlink screen. However they will replace it no charge.

I have a 2020 Forester Touring and my media system doesn't work correctly. When I listen to an audio book, after I make a stop, the system sometimes picks up where it left off before the stop and sometimes it starts at the beginning. It also sometimes goes back to the beginning while I am listening to it. I also couldn't turn off the nav screen even though I cancelled it. All it did was cancel the voice. I contacted the service department where I bought the car and they said it might be a program problem--end of conversation. The car has a good reputation and this should be improved. I didn't have this problem with a Honda or Toyota, I won't buy another Subaru if this isn"t corrected.

I own a 2017 Outback Touring & a 2019 Crosstrek. Both of our Subaru’s have been into the dealership multiple times to fix problems with Starlink infotainment system. Each time the dealership assure’s us that they are fixed. We love our Subaru’s but this is a deal breaker! May be time to go back to Honda.

2020 Subaru Forester Touring - purchased 4/11/2020 Navigation stopped working all maps are blank.on 6/20/2020. Called dealer - solution to use Android Autoplay and make an appointment with the service department next week. We'll see what happens. I've had bad experiences with a TomTom GPS in the past. I will never buy a car that has a TomTom GPS again!

2020 Subaru. Cannot get navigation icon to come one. All set up is correct. May be after market charger I am using. Any ideas?

2020 Outback - 2 months old
Radio shutoff - lost all presets - waited an hour and it was ok

Seems to be glitchy when iPhone pulled into front usb. Connecting phone via Bluetooth seems better

I have a 2019 Impreza. Stopped at store for something, got back in car and went to back up and infotainment screen went black. Radio was on, knobs worked but screen was black the whole time i was on that specific trip. Got in car for next trip and it was fine. Took it to dealer and told it just needed updates just like a computer. No problems since. Leary now though.