Useless CD player & USB ports too, when the system is “hibernating.”
No compatible aftermarket systems, according to Crutchfield & Abt. This is because the 2014’s OEM Harmon-Kardon system’s amps & speakers are compatible with ONLY the 2104 OEM head unit–even if the dash can be recut, any aftermarket unit will result in tinny, low-volume, distorted & static-y sound unless you replace the amps & all the speakers too. And probably wouldn’t work with the car’s Bluetooth & controls either. No point in taking it to a car-stereo store/installer, because they’d tell me the same thing. There are much cheaper Chinese knockoffs (look exactly the same) on Amazon & eBay, but you get what you pay for (and sometimes not even that).
Nav system’s maps stopped being updatable in 2021, so I have to use my phone to navigate (using the Maps app on the iPhone’s tiny screen because Subaru Outbacks didn’t get CarPlay until at least 2018). Not being able to use my phone hands-free while driving is illegal in IL and disastrous on highways–can’t constantly pull over to restart the car.
EyeSight cuts out in bright sun, fog, heavy rain/snow. Backup camera also fogs up in cold rain. And this model year of Outback lacks blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and pedestrian detection (all of which my old 2011 Fusion Hybrid had, as well as updatable maps).
(Using an iPhone 15 Pro, but that’s not the problem–this began happening a year after I began using an iPhone 12 ProMax).
Hate to have to ditch a lovingly-maintained car with only 46,600 miles on it that otherwise runs perfectly despite its advanced age (still younger than the average car on the road today). And I want my next car to be a hybrid–either pure or plug-in…and Subaru now makes only gas engine-cars and the full-EV Solterra.
Any alternatives other than selling the car and buying another make with the features I want?
