Subaru Salesman Says “I Had No Idea I Could Do These 5 Things Hands-Free On My Subaru”

"I had no idea I could do this hands-free on my Subaru"

That's what Alex Prestigiacomo, who is a Subaru salesman for Bachman Subaru, said. In this report, I'll cover five hands-free options on your Subaru Crosstrek, Forester, Outback or another model you can control using voice commands. Even a seasoned Subaru salesman didn't know they existed. Here is what Alex said in a recent YouTube video. 

These are features that you can control hands-free. 

"While many might think of hands-free phone calls, there's a whole world of other features waiting to be discovered. Even Alex, a seasoned Subaru salesman, was surprised by these hidden gems."

"I didn't really take the time to do the digging to see what existed, and through my research and through testing this out on my own, I was surprised by the capabilities of some of the additional things you can adjust without having to take your eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel. Here are five that will make your life easier," says Alex.

Climate Controls

You can control your climate without having to use the digital controls. You don't want to be distracted by the display while driving, so you can tap the voice command icon on the left side of the steering wheel. It will prompt you, and then you can ask it to do what you want.

So, in this case, say a command turn on AC, switching on climate so you'll notice it automatically turned it down to the lowest temperature because I said AC, and it was increasing the fan speed all the way up because it's pretty warm inside the interior of this car right now.

Say a command to increase the temperature to warmer so it'll increase the temperature by 4° or decrease it by 4° whenever you ask to increase or decrease it. You can adjust the temperatures and the fan speed and turn on and off your climate control.

Heated seats

You can also adjust your heated seat controls, or if you have a Touring trim level with ventilated seats, you can also control those. Say a command heated seat on or turn on the heated seat, and you'll notice the heated seat just turned on. Now, it will turn on high unless you ask it to turn on low, medium, or high. You can request that as well. You can also request that it be turned off entirely.

Say a command heated seat low setting so you can adjust your heated seat temperature controls or turn it completely off. 

You can also select a specific temperature. You can use the voice command to adjust to the exact temperature you want by saying a command to set the temperature to 70°.

Suppose you want to adjust both driver and passenger temperatures simultaneously. In that case, you can go into your touchscreen and click sync, and then it will adjust both of them at the exact same time, so you don't have to change them independently.

Auto Stop/Start

If you're not familiar with auto start-stop, it is the engine shutdown feature, so when you come to a complete stop, it will shut down the car to save on fuel and, more importantly, decrease emissions. Many people don't like that, and I've found many people want to turn it off. Check out my report here. 

You can turn it off. 

Number two on the list is the ability to adjust the auto start-stop. You can use a voice command if you don't want to have your auto start-stop while you're driving.

Turning off the auto start-stop feature is a breeze. Say the command, "Turn off stop/start," and it's done. No need to fiddle with the touchscreen display. 

Music Settings

The third hands-free option is to control your music settings, so you can change between AM and FM, Series XM, or even your phone if you're connected with Bluetooth, Apple Carplay, or Android Auto.

Say a command, turn on the FM radio. Switching to FM radio, you'll see it turns the radio on. I don't have the volume on right now; I can't have that on for monetization, but you'll see it automatically turns to the radio station.  

You can also ask it to tune to a specific station. Say a command tune to 98.9 FM. It takes some practice to do that. You have to speak clearly and use minimal words for this to work correctly, but it works without having to use the tuning dial. 

You're not limited by the stations that are just on your car. However, you can utilize Apple Carplay or Android Auto, which pulls the music from your phone, so you would need Spotify, Pandora, or a music streaming app on your phone in order to utilize this, and you would need your phone connected to the car's touchscreen display.

Navigation

You can also use the voice command for navigation and get directions to places, but it doesn't work as well. The Subaru system needs to recognize it better, and getting an address is tedious. A better option is utilizing Apple Carplay or Android Auto because you can pull up Google Maps or Apple Maps.

You can do it hands-free. You can say Starbucks or somewhere with multiple locations near you; it will ask you which one you want to go to. Says, Go to the nearest location. I've found it works better than Siri. 

Google Assistant can do the same, so this is useful when driving again without having to type in an address on your phone or stop and type in an address on the touchscreen display.

Phone calls and texts.

For hands-free calls and text, use this same icon on the left of the steering wheel. You can use Apple Carplay or Android Auto to call and text hands-free. 

Click and hold and say call Bill Engleberg, and you'll hear calling Bill mobile. It would help if you said exactly how that person is in your contact list.

Texting

Hold the icon and say the text you want to text to Bill Engleberg.

The technology usually understands everything you say, but sometimes Siri or Google Assistant doesn't understand and will prompt you for a correction. 

You can do many cool things hands-free with your Subaru Crosstrek, Forester, Outback, and other Subaru models. It will make your life easier while driving, and you will be able to keep your eyes on the road.

Did you know of any of these hands-free Subaru features? If so, click the red Add New Comment link below and tell us about your experience.

Also check out my recent report: 

Just because someone has worked for a company for over twenty years does not mean they are loyal. Here is a sobering story of a Subaru dealer in Vermont who had an employee embezzle nearly $200,000. 

I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Subaru Alex Prestigiacomo