Subaru Crosstrek CarPlay & infotainment failures: 14 owner complaints

I was advised to file a report for a known problem with Subaru 2022 Crosstrek.It involves the infotainment system failures. These are listed in a Subaru service bulletin dated 1/28/25- head unit warranty extension. My issues primarily involve carplay but there have been other issues associated with Starlink system as well. The dealer has refused to fix this even though I have an extended warranty and the service bulletin covers the repair. I have replaced the cable and the phone and there are still ongoing problems. I am aware there is a class action lawsuit in process.

Public record. Verify by searching #11750503 on NHTSA's 2022 Crosstrek page.

Subaru Starlink alerts keep disrupting my navigation so it’s making driving unsafe bc it pops up and interrupts Waze Navigation and has to be addressed to get back to my map. It happens incessantly and persistently even though I’ve turned off app Starlink access and alerts. It is a distraction to my focus while driving and i fear it will cause me to get into an accident. Why hasn’t Subaru fixed this known issue?

Public record. Verify by searching #11737250 on NHTSA's 2021 Crosstrek page.

The backup camera on my Subaru Crosstrek started to a stop working a few weeks ago. It first started to intermittently transmit a video feed that was fuzzy and the colors were completely incorrect. That started to follow with the camera not working about half the time at all on my head unit. Now it's completely not showing up at all on my head unit when I go into reverse. I live near a school and when I back out, I'm concerned that I won't be able to see a child behind my car. Same for parking garages and parallel parking. The Subaru dealership is saying they have checked all the wiring and modules and have isolated it to the backup camera. There were no other messages besides the camera starting to malfunction.

Public record. Verify by searching #11726251 on NHTSA's 2021 Crosstrek page.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The USB A outlets under the head unit that allow connection to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay Yes it is available for inspection upon request How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The connection when hooked up to a phone is intermittent. This results in driver distraction whenever it disconnects due to trying to get it to reconnect. Especially when using gps apps this means the driver may be "lost" until it can be reconnected, which means they will try to get it reconnected while driving which is dangerous. Sometimes it goes in and out every 60-90 seconds. Sometimes it won't connect at all until the vehicle is power cycled or the head unit is reset but neither of these guarantees a stable connection. The issue is not fixed by replacing the USB cable or the phone with a brand new phone. The cables and phone do not have this issue with any other USB port that they have been used on (in other vehicles). Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Not on my vehicle but there are hundreds of reports online for years with multiple Subaru models where it has been. I could get it reproduced easily, just haven't had the time. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No This happens every day, at any speed, and has been happening since I got the vehicle at 20000 miles and there are 35000 miles on it now (approximately).

Public record. Verify by searching #11626315 on NHTSA's 2021 Crosstrek page.

head unit/infotainment works intermittently meaning all the safety features, car play works intermittently the hands free safety features work intermittently also maps and radio all malfunctions intermittently. At 800 miles I have a paint chip on the back of the cars bumper paint bubbling on the rear tail gate I felt this to be a defect in the paint but Subaru disagreed. Subaru sent me an email for an update to correct infotainment problems that I am suppose to do myself didn't say to take it to the dealership. this car only has 2700 miles on it and is still under warranty

Public record. Verify by searching #11567105 on NHTSA's 2023 Crosstrek page.

The main information panel which displays navigation information under Carplay goes blank for approximately 5 seconds every time the user adjusts the car volume. This appears to be by design. The "feature" creates an unsafe driving situation by forcing the driver's attention to linger on the main panel waiting for navigational or other information, creating an unsafe situation which could cause an accident. In addition, though less threatening, the vehicle's audio volume turns on when the car is started, regardless of whether it was last left off or on. The unexpected volume sound interferes with a driver's initial planning and focus in the vehicle unnecessarily. This unfortunate "feature" is less threatening than the screen blanking resulting from volume adjustment because it occurs before the car begins moving. The volume control screen blanking creates a hazard because it interferes with the driver's access to important information while the vehicle is in motion, tempting the driver to take their eyes off the road waiting for the main screen to once again resume normal operation.

Public record. Verify by searching #11506394 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

The screen display with the oil temp gauge and water temp gauge will randomly turn off while driving as well as sometimes it will not turn on immediately when the car turns on. I have brought this to the dealers attention and nothing has been done, there has been no warning lights on the dash illuminated. This has been going on randomly for the last 6 months. Another issue is that when the bluetooth or carplay is inuse and there is a call in progress the digital speed display is blocked by a screen that says call in progress. This is very dangerous that the digital speed display is blocked when bluetooth or car play is used to make calls. This has many times resulted in me speeding as the speedometer on the car is marked well with tick marks for how big the arm is that tells you how fast you’re going. There is no reason subaru should block the digital speed display. The infotainment system powers off randomly, changes the radio station on its own, and changes the volume on its own. This started in 2019 when I got the car and the issue was observed by the dealer and the radio was replaced. However now that the radio was replaced in 2019 or 2020 the radio has been recently not turning on when the car is started, shutting off in the middle of the drive, and sometimes not even connecting to carplay to use navigation. Subaru won't help me anymore or even look at the car now for this concern without charging an insane diagnostic fee (which is wrong to charge for safety concerns)

Public record. Verify by searching #11500856 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

The bluetooth system is not functioning properly. When a call is in progress, the bluetooth will indicate that no phone is connected and prompt the driver to connect the phone. In the meantime, the call is still active and the person on the other end hears the radio playing but the driver cannot hear the other person. The call will then reconnect for a few seconds before repeating this process. It will continue until the call is ended. While this might be considered an inconvenience, I believe it is a genuine safety issue as this problem takes the drivers eyes off the road and has them answering prompts on a visual screen and is a general distraction. Subaru is aware of the problem and has refused to take action to correct it. The incident is ongoing. As a result the hands-free phone option is unavailable.

Public record. Verify by searching #11475908 on NHTSA's 2021 Crosstrek page.

2 battery failures in 2 years of purchasing vehicle. I am on my third battery in less than two years. Incidents occurred 15, 19, 23 and 24 months into car ownership. 4 battery / electrical related dealer service visits in 2 years. 2 times the car was immobilized due to battery failure, would not start and required a tow to dealership service. On 3 occasions lost car audio - no audio map directions, no hands free phone calling, no radio. On 1 occasion lost all internal lighting on entire instrument panel and all switches during night driving on one occasion creating a serious driving hazard and safety issue. All issues occurred with no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms. Only Subaru Dealer service has inspected and replaced/ recharged the batteries. Dealer service claimed they could not reproduce the problem once they replaced or recharged the batteries.

Public record. Verify by searching #11435156 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

AFTER STARTING THE CAR AND BEGINNING TO REVERSE AWAY FROM MY HOME, THE REAR VIEW CAMERA FROZE FOR 10 SECONDS, NOT SHOWING ANY CHANGE IN MOVING OR STATIONARY OBJECTS. THIS HAPPENED DUE TO THE DRIVER SCREEN INTERFACE/ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM CRASHING AND REBOOTING. THE CRASH/REBOOT USUALLY HAPPENS IF THE CAR PAIRS BY BLUETOOTH WITH A PHONE THAT IS IN THE HOUSE, AND THEN GETS OUT OF RANGE WHEN THE CAR BACKS AWAY OR DRIVES AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. IF IT CRASHES WHILE REVERSING, THE SCREEN EITHER GOES BLANK OR FREEZES THE REAR VIEW IMAGE IN PLACE. IF THE SYSTEM CRASHES WHILE DRIVING FORWARD THEN THE REVERSE CAMERA IMAGE IS NOT AFFECTED. WHEN THE CAMERA FREEZES WHILE REVERSING, IT IS VERY DANGEROUS SINCE IT GIVES THE DRIVER THE FALSE VIEW THAT NOTHING IS BEHIND THE CAR WHEN THERE COULD BE A CHILD OR OBJECT.

Public record. Verify by searching #11375662 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

I WAS DRIVING IN TRAFFIC TO COMPLETE STOP, AS I WAS ACCELERATING THE VEHICLE STALLED. THIS HAS HAPPENED ONLY ONCE. I HAVE HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT WHEN I WAS BACKING UP TO PARK MY CAR IN MY GARAGE, MY BACK UP CAMERA FROZE WHILE IM STILL IN MOTION THEN THE INFOTAINMENT REBOOTS.

Public record. Verify by searching #11289092 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

I PURCHASED MY 2019 CROSSTREK IN NOVEMBER OF 2018. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE RADIO / TOUCHSCREEN RESETS ITSELF. HOWEVER BEFORE EACH SELF STARTED RESET A LOUD BUZZING OR STATIC NOISE COMES ACROSS THE SPEAKERS SCARING THE EVER LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME (THE DRIVER). THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN / HAZARD AS I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE ON ONE OCCASION OF THIS. I HAVE HAD THE WHOLE SYSTEM REPLACED BY MY DEALERSHIP AT NO CHARGE 1 MONTH AFTER PURCHASE. YET THE RADIO STILL HAS THE SAME ISSUES. ALL RADIO STATIONS I HAVE PROGRAMMED IN ARE ERASED WITH EACH SELF RESTART OF THE RADIO / TOUCH SCREEN THAT GOD AWFUL NOISE STILL HAPPENS. SUBARU DEALERSHIP SAYS THERE ARE NO SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE UPDATES AT THIS TIME. SO WHAT THE HECK GIVES!! SERIOUSLY SOMEONE IS GOING TO CRAP THEIR PANTS AND HAVE A HEART ATTACK DRIVING THIS VEHICLE WHAT THE RADIO BLASTS STATIC AIR WAVES ACROSS OUR SPEAKERS!

Public record. Verify by searching #11245112 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

MY NEW SUBARU CROSSTREK HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE RADIO PRESET STATIONS. I PROGRAMMED THEM SOON AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR BUT 6 WEEKS LATER THE PRESET STATIONS DISAPPEARED AND ONLY THE PRE-INSTALLED (FREE TRIAL) STATIONS ON SXM RADIO WERE WORKING. I HAD TO REPROGRAM THE STATIONS. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, AUTO FAIR OF HAVERHILL, MA, THEY SAID THEY WERE AWARE OF THE 'RECALL' (THEIR TERM NOT MINE) BUT THAT THE RECALL WAS RECALLED DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH THE 'SOFTWARE UPDATE '. THEY ASKED ME TO CALL AGAIN NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF A SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE

Public record. Verify by searching #11192359 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.

CAR HAS REPEATEDLY TURNED ITSELF OFF WHILE DRIVING. TWICE, WHEN PRESSING THE BRAKES WHILE EXITING THE HIGHWAY, ALL DASHBOARD LIGHTS (EYESIGHT ALARMS, CHECK ENGINE, ETC.) WILL TURN ON. WHEN THE CAR COMES TO A STOP, THE OIL LIGHT ALSO TURNS ON AND THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF, ESSENTIALLY PUTTING THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. THE DASH INSTRUCTS TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK. THE CAR STARTS AGAIN AFTER PUSHING THE IGNITION TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND TURNING IT BACK ON AGAIN, BUT WILL HAVE THE SAME THING HAPPEN THE NEXT TIME THE BRAKES ARE PRESSED AND THE CAR SLOWS DOWN. IT HAS TURNED OFF TWICE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION, GOING SLOWLY. AFTER THREE FIRST INSTANCES OF THIS PROBLEM, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY FOUND A "FATAL ERROR OF THE ECM" AND THE MAIN COMPUTER IN THE CAR WAS CHANGED AND THE GROUNDS WERE TESTED. THE SECOND INSTANCE OF THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED ON THE SAME DAY THE VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP FROM REPAIRS. THE CAR HAD ~200 MILES WHEN THE PROBLEM FIRST OCCURRED AND HAS LESS THAN 250 CURRENTLY. IN SUMMARY, THE CAR HAS TURNED OFF, MAKING IT UNABLE TO ACCELERATE, WHILE IN TRAFFIC ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. THERE WERE ISSUES WITH APPLE CARPLAY GLITCHING JUST BEFORE EACH INSTANCE OCCURRED. THE INSTANCES WERE EXACTLY ONE WEEK APART.

Public record. Verify by searching #11184214 on NHTSA's 2019 Crosstrek page.