New Subaru honeymoon is over...

It has been 10 days and about 1k miles that I put on my 2016 Forester Premium. Overall, I am very pleased with the car. Ride has been great, gas mileage is around 33mpg highway, nothing that needed to be repaired out of the box. I'm still driving it super cautious and parking far away from everyone else and fearing when the first ding or scratch will come. I am starting to notice things that I don't like or wish worked differently though. Not things that wouldn't make me buy the car again, but just odd stuff that works differently than other cars I have owned that I wish I would have know about ahead of time to save myself some agitation and second guessing about options I selected.

This is my only real large complaint that still bothers me about the vehicle, and yes, I am sending feedback to Subaru:

Dropped it off at the dealer yesterday to get the "factory" remote start installed. Little disappointed that it is essentially an aftermarket unit wrapped in a Subaru box with a prebuilt wiring harness. There is nothing factory about it. I assumed that it would be a module they plug in or activate software in the ECM. Not the case at all, it is a box that they velcro under the dash and then run wires that come with the "kit" under the dash. No wire taps, it is all plug and play with Y harnesses, but still, they had to take a lot of interior trim out and disconnect and patch wires in, run a cable through the firewall, etc. Lot of work done on a brand new car. I now have one of those ugly remote start receivers mounted above my review mirror. There is also no way to use it with the Subaru keys that have the power lock buttons on them. You have to carry around the remote start fob, which does nothing but start the car and add yet another key to carry around. I have no idea why they couldn't put a remote start button on the key like every other car manufacturer. You can't even order a key with the remote start function on it. Adding to my displeasure is that if you open a door, or the rear lift gate, it shuts the remote started car off. There is absolutely no way to change this and it is annoying beyond belief to have to start the car again every time you get in or want to load something in the trunk while it is started. I'm going to repeat myself... There is absolutely no way to enter the remote started vehicle, put your key in, and drive away. You MUST restart the car. I'm debating whether or not I want to make them pull it out so I can go aftermarket for the remote start and have it actually work correctly. There really is absolutely no benefit to getting the Subaru remote start since it isn't integrated with the car at all and it doesn't use the factory keyfobs.

 

I would've told you to go with an aftermarket unit for the car. The dealer installed ones doesn't have a good distance range to them. I would just have Subaru take it out and a refund if possible.

 

Sounds like a pretentious honeymoon, the Subaru should look into divorce.

 

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

Really though, the range on them sucks because some states have laws requiring a vehicle operator to be within visual range of the car before starting it remotely. I would posit the logic that the "shut off when a door is touched" could be another CYA feature recommended by lawyers instead of the engineers.
If the unit is not to your satisfaction, have you discussed your issues with the business of purchase? As much as I'm sure we'd love to, the forum really isn't in a position to offer a refund for your displeasure.

 

Gasoline and road-flares, keeping Shorten employed.

 

I know the forum can't do anything for me, I just posted in case anyone else was considering getting one so they would be aware of the issue.

It is working as designed according to the dealer. The manual sheet for the remote start says the same thing. Doors opening will shut off the remote start.

I'm curious, has anyone run into a non-subaru remote start that works this way? I've had a dozen cars with remote starts and none of them shut off when you open a door. If this is something that is completely unique to the Subaru remote start then they should have informed me in advance that it was different from any other system.

 

Did you ask about its features or a demonstration of the unit on another car before purchase?
Have you contacted the dealer about your concerns of the unit to discuss the potential to return it, since you're dissatisfied?

 

It was a 2016, they had 3 2016 Foresters on the lot total and none of them had remote starts. That is why I had to wait a week for mine to be installed. If there would have been one there or a demo I definitely would have noticed the issue. I did ask about the features, range, keyfobs, runtime, etc. but not specifically if opening a door would shut it off.

Who would ever even think to ask about something totally against the norm. It would be like asking an appliance salesmen if there was a light inside the refrigerator that came on when you opened the door. No one is going to ask that because the natural assumption is that it is there.

I'm still gathering my options regarding contacting the dealer. I did talk to the service adviser when I picked the car up to verify that was really how it was supposed to work and to make sure that there was no programming that they could do to make it function the way I wanted. My sales person was out that day so I didn't talk to him.

 

Right.

Your logic isn't holding up, or you're not getting what I'm trying to hint to you. The dealer or anyone else selling something isn't responsible to disclose every possible detail about a thing. They will do their best, and should from where I'm concerned. But your analogy isn't quite on point. Here's a different way to look at this:
You're shopping for a Porsche. After a few hours of questions with your salesperson, you're ready to buy one and go through the entire process to make one yours. As you sit in the vehicle to drive it home, key clutched firmly in your right hand, you reach for the ignition and it's... not there. After looking around, you find it to the left of the steering wheel. This is very much unlike any other car you've ever driven or seen. However, this is something all Porsche's have. Every one of them. Since the beginning of time. For the salesperson, it's just how the cars are and there's nothing feasible they can do to change it, nor would they think to mention it. They're desensitized, or they don't own a Porsche themselves. They think nothing of it. For you, this is a dealbreaker. How do you respond? Do you drive the car home, mill around for a few days, and decide to post a rant on Faceballs, rather than conducting your business and handling it with the people that can actually do something about it?

Sounds like you should sort it out and get some details, but I think asking about a refund is not out of the question for you given the way the product works compared with your expectations.

 

Your Porsche analogy is not on point either. Porsche tradition dates back to the early days of the Le Mans where drivers were supposed to drive off from startup. This left hand ignition allows drivers to put the car in gear faster as they start the car. As annoying as it may be, this would actually add some functionality for some people. As for Subaru's retarded remote startup, it definitely is Subaru's fault for advertising a wrong product. It should be advertised as "Remote TEMPORARY Start" or "Limited Remote Start" where you start the car temporarily until you decide to enter the vehicle. The point of a remote start system is to be able to start your car from the outside and enter an already running vehicle. I do not see any point, other than for laws nobody cares about, for having a remote start that won't let you enter a running vehicle. It simply decreases functionality.

I don't even have a remote start nor do I care much for one hahaha. But if I ever decide to get one, I'm going to make sure that it's not just a pointless starter wearer. I understand that everyone acts in their best interests, and the dealer isn't obliged to be 100% accurate on all the details of their products, but if I spent hundreds of dollars on this remote starter, I would be peesed.

Welcome to the forums and congratz on the Foz @stiers haha.

 

I suggest insurance fraud at this point, only way to get out of this alive.

Also, the the hell uses remote start in the summer unless you have seat coolers and want to ice your balls as soon as you sit down.

 

Actually, I do. Cold engines are still cold in the summer.
Of course, that assumes I drive the Subaru. I don't think it's run in about a month.

 

If you want your car to work properly, never mod it.

 

Take it too best buy in eagan and see Justin. He has been installing remote starters since the beginning of time i bet. Plus best buy gives a life-time warranty on all labor work they preform. So just take it to any best buy if you are having issues.


Edit: Remember distance on these starters varies, but actual distance advertised is direct Line of sight with no obstructions. So most are around 2000 ft unless you get the smartstart from viper.

 

Yeah that is really dumb. Subaru's have lots of little dumb stuff about them though, so like an abused spouse you just learn to love it and convince yourself they only hit you because they love you. lol
When I lived in MN I always wanted a remote start but I never found an option that was seamless and worth the money so I just sacked up and walked out to a cold car and sat in it for a few minutes until the seat heaters kicked in and the coolant gauge started to move. Hot coffee helps.
I personally would go back to the dealership and lay on the floor and kick and scream and throw a tantrum until they uninstalled it and refunded me...but thats just me.

 

If it's any consolation (and I seriously doubt you care), Ford is the same way. When we had an OEM "dealer installed" remote start put in my mother-in-law's 2010 Ford Escape silly me assumed that in this day and age it would be a simple module plugged into the car's wiring harness and everything would be done in 10 minutes. The Ford dealer actually took the car to a local-to-them aftermarket installer and had them install the Ford branded remote start unit which looked like a unit from 20 years ago...black box with 5000 feet of wire attached to it...AND the engine shut off when you opened the door. However, the Ford unit has an option to have that "feature" programmed so that the engine stays running when the door is opened...it just is not mentioned to you and I had to find out on a car forum that it is possible and then talk to the installer about it.

 

I have been looking into installing one of these in wives Legacy and came across lots of posts regarding this issue. There is a "fix" but its more a mod than an adjustment to the remote starter itself.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums...lution-car-shutting-off-when-door-opened.html

 

I saw that one, I may use that method but the security light being on all the time would drive me nuts. I had a better idea though. If you could clip the wire or ground out or bypass a wire on the alarm harness so that the remote start always thinks the door is shut, but the vehicle knows if it has been opened or not. Would need to see a wiring harness and a wiring diagram but it should be possible...but warranty voiding. Going aftermarket would also be warranty voiding which is the main reason I went factory to being with.

On a side note, since that trick works, and the security light stays on, that means that the remote start isn't talking to the security computer at all. It is just bypassing the security system to start the vehicle directly tricking the computer into thinking the chipped key is in the ignition and turned. Exactly how an aftermarket remote start would work, and exactly NOT how an integrated factory engineered remote start would work.

Nice to know that Subaru isn't the only one and that Ford does this as well on some models.

At this point, I am just going to have to live with it till the car is out of warranty or I trade it in. I need to have the remote start, I have a toddler to get into the car every morning and no garage. I live up on a ridge in WI and in the winter it is easily 20 below with the windchill and in the summer the car is over 100 degrees inside, so yes, I do use the remote start in the summer with the AC. One of those things where I absolutely hate it but there is nothing I can do about it except voice my displeasure to Subaru and hope they come to their senses and at least offer a programming option to take it out.