It's under warranty is it not?

 

The dealer claims it is not. Indeed, when they updated the firmware they gave me a sheet of paper saying the software and Starlink were not covered by warranty despite the TSB, and they were fixing it as a courtesy.

I'm thinking maybe something was jostled loose? I noticed that the mic doesn't appear to be working either when I attempt voice commands or when using Android Auto. Or perhaps they are unrelated.

 

The dealer claims it is not. Indeed, when they updated the firmware they gave me a sheet of paper saying the software and Starlink were not covered by warranty despite the TSB, and they were fixing it as a courtesy.

Wait, now, what? There was no such disclaimer in any of the documentation when you bought the car, was there? They can't just change the terms of the warranty (except to extend or expand it) after the sale.

Subaru's basic warranty covers everything but wear items for 3/36, and even the oldest 2022 is still covered. Don't let 'em scam you.

 

Mic and Android Auto are not related to your hotspot. They're related to the head unit and should be covered by warranty.

 

I just read my Gold Plus warranty and it explicitly includes it, so I'll have to remind the dealer of that.

Meanwhile I realized that the front speakers aren't working either, so I suspect something with the head unit harness or other head unit problem. In fact, it reminded me that the mic/front speakers not working had happened to me before and resolved itself, so I never thought twice about it. I wasn't using hotspot then to know if it also wasn't working.

But... given that both stopped working at the same time I strongly suspect both are related to a head unit issue. Too bad it had to happen when I'm 3000 miles away and could have used the hotspot service.

 

36k miles already? Wow. But the extended warranty has your back, for sure.

 

48000 in just over 13 months (just completed a 7800 mile road trip yesterday). I might rent for my next road trip...

 

Was just looking on another thread and saw a video posted for replacing the head unit. Discovered in watching that video that the front speakers and mic pass through the telematics unit. A quick google search confirmed this on the Subaru XV forum - all of my woes are related to the telematics unit. Got an appointment with the dealer on Tuesday but will call tomorrow to make sure it's a productive one. Also hoping they don't try to pull some nonsense about diagnostics not being covered by warranty, only the repair.

 

So here's the resolution.
Subaru claims that because the problem is with the software that operates the head unit, it is not covered by warranty, only the hardware. But out of the kindness of their hearts they decided to cover updating the software to my head unit free of charge. As it was explained to me, if they did a poor soldering job and that caused your head unit being broken that is covered by warranty. If they did a poor programming job and that has caused your head unit to be broken that is not covered by warranty.

But in a twist, they say I'm not supposed to have the Starlink services so they took them away from me. Even though they are not required to comply with the law until June 1st, they decided that any MY 2022 or later vehicle cannot have starlink in MA. I agree with him that the law, as written, is vague and unpractical, but SoA's response is to take their ball and go home. The only problem is that the functionality was part of the sale and not excluded or disclaimed at the time of the sale. I don't know if that's the dealer's fault or Subaru of America, but now that I have less car than what I paid for I will let them squabble over whose fault it is.

 

Subaru claims that because the problem is with the software that operates the head unit, it is not covered by warranty, only the hardware. But out of the kindness of their hearts they decided to cover updating the software to my head unit free of charge. As it was explained to me, if they did a poor soldering job and that caused your head unit being broken that is covered by warranty. If they did a poor programming job and that has caused your head unit to be broken that is not covered by warranty.

I’d love to be in a courtroom hearing the legal arguments, both pro and con, on that line of reasoning…

 

I didn't realize you were in Massachusetts until now. The business about Starlink vs MA and the right-to-repair law has been much discussed since late 2021, and I understood that Starlink was disabled on all 2022 MY Subarus. This copy of the Monroney sicker from a 2022 Outback says that in the (very) fine print: "+Not Available to Massachusetts Residents or Businesses."

But Starlink isn't "the software" of the head unit, any HU functionality not related to Starlink should be covered by the warranty.

It it "Subaru" (Subaru of America) saying you're not covered, or only your specific dealer? If the later, and you're not satisfied with your dealer service, maybe it's time to take it upstairs.

 

This copy of the Monroney sicker from a 2022 Outback says that in the (very) fine print: "+Not Available to Massachusetts Residents or Businesses."

Funny enough, I didn't have that bit of disclaimer on my 2022 Forester (I imagine SoA was a bit slow on updating the Monroney Label for dealers not in MA). I did notice it on the 2023 Forester they gave me as a loaner. Supposedly Telematics are to be disabled in port for any Subaru vehicle with MA as the destination, but I bought my vehicle in CT (because the "good" dealer didn't have any inventory for a month and I refuse to do business with the dealer who ripped me off on my CPO Impreza).

But Starlink isn't "the software" of the head unit, any HU functionality not related to Starlink should be covered by the warranty.

Apparently the Wifi and hands-free and Android auto go through the telematics unit because some of the functionality is shared between Starlink and the head unit. I don't claim to know exactly how they interoperate but apparently the dealer attempting to update my software under the recall (which I didn't know about until I showed up for my service appointment) triggered a phone call from SoA telling them to stop work.

It it "Subaru" (Subaru of America) saying you're not covered, or only your specific dealer? If the later, and you're not satisfied with your dealer service, maybe it's time to take it upstairs.

SoA. The dealer said that was SoA policy, but they were performing the service free of charge for me anyway. So far everything is working but I made sure to clarify that my Gold+ warranty doesn't disclaim the software when it explicitly included the telematics and head unit as covered items; I expected a warranty to mean the covered items are warranted to actually work. And if they take telematics away from me (again, wasn't disclaimed as part of the sale - glad I hung on to every scrap of paper) I'll chat with the Sales department about the discrepancy.