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There's A New Subaru Starlink Lawsuit And What You Need To Know Now

Another Starlink lawsuit is filed against Subaru. Here is what customers need to know. The lawsuit includes some Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, and Legacy vehicles. See if your model and year Subaru are included in the new lawsuit.
2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

Subaru of America is hit with another class action lawsuit involving its Starlink multimedia system. A new report from Top Class Actions says Subaru vehicles equipped with the allegedly defective Starlink infotainment system now include the 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, 2019-2023 Forester, 2019-2023 WRX, and 2019-2023 Legacy vehicles, according to the new Subaru Starlink lawsuit.

Previously in 2020, Subaru of America settled a lawsuit concerning its Starlink multimedia system involving the 2018 Subaru Forester, 2018 Subaru Outback, 2018 Crosstrek, 2018 Legacy, 2017-2018 Impreza, and 2018 BRZ. A New Jersey Judge signed an order valued at $6.25 million benefiting 785,000 Subaru owners and lessees.

2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

This month, attorneys Andrew W. Ferich, Robert R. Ahdoot, and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC filed the lawsuit against Subaru, claiming the automaker is guilty of “unjust enrichment, common law fraud, and fraudulent concealment, and of violating the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act and New York General Business Law, among other things.”

Plaintiffs Marco Cillufo (2021 Subaru WRX), Jeffrey Quarles (2019 Subaru Forester), Pamela Doze (2022 Subaru Outback), and Carl Jean-Louis (2019 Subaru WRX) claim the allegedly defective Subaru Starlink system presents a safety risk for drivers of the 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, and Legacy vehicles by disabling safety features and presenting drivers with “distracting and frustrating” effects.

2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

The Subaru Starlink head units involved in the previous class action were Harman Gen 3 audio and navigation head units. However, Subaru recently switched to Starlink head units built by Denso.

According to the new class action lawsuit, the Subaru multimedia system problems can only be fixed by replacing the display screen. According to the new class action lawsuit, the Subaru multimedia system problems can only be fixed by replacing the display screen. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges replacement Starlink head units fail because they are as defective as the originals.

The new Subaru Starlink lawsuit also says Subaru was aware of the alleged defect based on “related service bulletins” because it conducted pre-release vehicle testing, and the suspected deficiency “manifests so quickly.”

In addition to the Starlink system issue of rebooting and other malfunctions, the lawsuit alleges the automaker’s EyeSight driver assist safety technology can fail. The new class action further alleges Subaru knew about the multimedia system problems because the automaker settled a previous Starlink class action lawsuit.

The report says plaintiffs Cillufo, Quarles, Doze, and Jean-Louis “are demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with an award of punitive damages for themselves and all class members.”

What can Subaru owners do?

If you are experiencing problems with your Subaru Starlink system in your 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, or Legacy, take your vehicle to a Subaru retailer. The Starlink equipment is covered under the new vehicle warranty of 3 years/36,000 miles. Stay tuned, and we will bring Subaru customers any further information on the Subaru Starlink lawsuit.

If you have purchased or leased a Subaru vehicle equipped with a Starlink multimedia system and believe it is defective, let us know in the comment section.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Comments

Jason Prosser (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 12:11PM

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2020 Outback with multimedia issues (screen goes blank or will not work) and eyesight will shut off in wet conditions.

Reta Davis (not verified)    May 29, 2023 - 11:41AM

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My Starlink infotainment system stopped working in my 2018 Outback. I have 23,000 mile on the vehicle and an extended warranty. I was told by my Subaru dealership to call Customer Service at Subaru. I have been getting nothing but the runaround. They issued a case number and told me they would put me on escalation priority. That was December 2022. We are going on 7 months. I call weekly and they say they are sorry but due to so many complints with same problem, they have no idea how or when it can be repaired. I am still making payments on this car. I would like to know if Subaru will buy back my car at Kelly Blue Book pricing, which shows as $24,000. I need a reliable car and not this dangerous hunk of junk.

Devena Singletin (not verified)    May 8, 2024 - 10:12PM

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I have a 2019 Outback that has delamination screen bubbles and is also causing button ghosting where it's pressing random spots. Once it starts you can't get it to stop. It is very distracting when driving. When I took it into the dealer they wanted over $2100 to replace the screen and radio.

Mary Peterson (not verified)    September 14, 2024 - 12:56PM

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I have a 2019 Outback and it has the same issue. There are multiple bubbles on the screen in an oval pattern. It connects and disconnects my calls and redials and hangs up multiple times. I finally was able to disconnect my phone and use another blue tooth device but the Subaru touch screen continually prompts me to reconnect. The radio scrolls and stops on channels I didn't even know existed. It is very nerve wracking. I turn it off and it comes back on randomly. If someone knows how to turn the thing off I would really appreciate it. I took it to the dealership yesterday and they said it would cost $2k to replace. My car has only 31k miles, I am the second owner and out of warranty. Will NEVER buy Subaru again.

M Sinclaire (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 1:42PM

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My 2022 Forester Wilderness can no longer be started through the app however I did just receive a recall letter relating to this issue. Recall states dealer will update the Starlink software so we will see. Thanks again for a great article

Stephen Dinkel (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 7:53PM

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Have 2020 Outback and 37K miles. Screen goes black and also reboots. Out of warranty so screwed! Not happy

Stressed Everydrive (not verified)    May 20, 2023 - 10:15AM

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Don't be too hard on yourself.
Two different Subaru dealers denied anything wrong woth the unit right off the lat as new.

Every service, "oh we updated it", "there's nothing wrong", basically it's all.in your head till past the 30k.

Then they're less likely to want to fix it though they will charge you out the ying-yang for the privilege of another faulty head unit.

Jim Keaveny (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 8:11PM

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Frequent “eye sight disabled,” messages while driving. iPhone 12 not connecting without removing and reinstalling, very low incoming volume on phone. Asked dealer if update is available. Dealers answer, “schedule a service appointment?” Dealer wouldn’t check, all he needed was the vin, which is on my phone. The problem is mine, I guess.

Martha Robinson (not verified)    May 2, 2024 - 11:03AM

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My 2019 Subaru infotainment system is doing the same thing everyone else’s is and it’s also out of warranty. Dealership wants to charge a diagnostic fee and charge the repair. I would like to join the 2023 class action suit against Subaru.

Richard (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 9:52PM

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I have a 21 Outback and a 22 WRX.

Most of the time all is good. I do have times when the Eyesight shuts down. The bad thing is that it happens in inclement conditions. When you need it the most.

DonKamm (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 11:21PM

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Had the head unit replaced four times. Once they replaced with a bad unit that wouldn’t work and put the old unit back in. I made a scene in the showroom and they bought it back(still at a monetary loss to me). I will never purchase a Subaru again after being lied to repeatedly and being told that this problem was unique to my car. Having the head unit door while driving on the interstate repeatedly was scary and a true reflection of how they do not care about the safety of and off their customers. The defective car they bought back was sold within a week to some other customer, I hope they disclosed the problems.

Robert D Fukai (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 2:31AM

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We purchased a 2022 Outback Ltd and the infotainment system occasionally glitches and reboots. How do we join the class action and find out more information?

Kenzie Master (not verified)    March 26, 2024 - 11:40AM

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I ordered the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition the day after it was released. I’m experiencing the same issues with the infotainment center, as well as all safety features on the dash panel. The infotainment center goes black and all my features are disabled; eyesight, lane assist, variable cruise control, reverse auto breaking, etc.

I’m currently at the dealership because my reverse auto breaking and detection system failed while backing out of a parking space. No sensors went off until I came into contact with a sign post, and then my car slammed on the breaks and started alarming. I had absolutely no clue I had hit something until I got out of my car. Well, the sign post ‘damaged’ the sensors on the right side of my back bumper, disabling reverse auto breaking, blind spot detection, and another feature. I’m being charged an exorbitant amount of money to repair something that failed me. (Yes, the area was well lit.)

James Nichols (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 5:29AM

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I have a leased 2021 Subaru Outback XT, and have had numerous issues with the Starlink infotainment unit. It has received three or four software upgrades to try to improve performance. While it is better, it's still quirky and just overall a pain to operate. The service department has tried their best to correct it, but it's not they're fault that it just a lousy system!

Sheree Markley (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:27AM

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The Starlink multimedia system in my 2021 Outback has given me a lot of problems. Sometimes the screen goes totally black which is a real problem when you are using your GPS.

Clyde carnes (not verified)    June 12, 2023 - 9:19PM

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I bought my 2018 Subaru outback in Dec 2021 from Wheels a lease company off of a 3 year lease I registered it in Nevada but Subaru never put my ownership on Subaru recall list so I never heard anything about recall or l awsuit . O believe it was intentional. My Battery is bad so is head

Eric Lampinen (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:39AM

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I have a 2021 Outback vin# 4S4BTANC2M3123064
Can you tell me if this car is one involved? My starlink system reboots randomly.

Victoria Campb… (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:50AM

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I purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback Touring
3 times I have returned to the dealership because my Starlink shut down.. I become extremely irritated because all communications are shut down.

Michael O’Malior (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 9:08AM

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Our system has completely failed, we have been waiting since 1-4-23 for it to be replaced and as of 4-18-23 are still being told there is no ETA for the replacement.

Patrick Dolly (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 10:42AM

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I have a 21 Outback Limited and from time to time the stereo will only play out of 1 speaker when an alert has happened. The only fix I have found is to reboot the system. Thus is very frustrating while driving especially when relying on navigation.