NHTSA Complaint #11191566 — 2018 SUBARU LEGACY

MY SUBARU STARLINK INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM HAS EXPERIENCED 5 EVENTS OF TOTAL BLACKOUT TO THE INFOTAINMENT SCREEN OVER THE 9-MONTH PERIOD SINCE PURCHASING. THIS HAS RESULTED IN LOSS OF FUNCTIONALITY TO THE PHONE, BLUETOOTH, RADIO AND BACKUP CAMERA CAPABILITIES. SAFETY WAS THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY I CHOSE THIS CAR (BACKUP CAMERA, LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST, ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL). TO KNOW THAT ROUGHLY 30% OF ALL MINOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS OCCUR DUE TO BACKUP-RELATED ISSUES, IT SCARES ME THAT MY CAR IS NOT PROTECTING ME FROM THIS POTENTIAL RISK. NOT ONLY IS THIS A RISK TO BASIC SAFETY PRINCIPLES, BUT IT ALSO MAKES MY EVERYDAY TRAVEL CHAOTIC AND STRESSFUL. I DRIVE FOR UP TO 2-3 HOURS AT A TIME, AND TO HAVE ZERO ACCESS TO BASIC FM RADIO, SIRIUSXM RADIO, BLUETOOTH-CONNECTED PODCASTS / E-BOOKS MAKES FOCUSING DIFFICULT. ADDITIONALLY, WITH NO BLUETOOTH PHONE CONNECTION AVAILABLE, I AM FORCED TO HOLD MY PHONE WHILE DRIVING, TAKING ONE OF MY HANDS OFF THE WHEEL, AND DISTRACTING ME FROM FOCUSING ON DRIVING. IT'S ABSURD TO ME THAT THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN RAISED BY HUNDREDS OF SUBARU OWNERS ACROSS MULTIPLE MODEL VEHICLES, AND IT HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED. IF, GOD FORBID, SOMETHING WAS TO HAPPEN TO ME OR MY WIFE WHILE DRIVING THIS CAR DUE TO AN ISSUE THAT SUBARU KNEW ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, I WAS JUST INFORMED AFTER 2 HOURS IN THE SERVICE WAITING AREA THAT THE SUBARU-ISSUED SOFTWARE UPDATE WILL NOT FIX THE ISSUE, AND I HAVE TO COME BACK IN 2-3 WEEKS AFTER THE DEALERSHIP RECEIVES A COMPLETELY NEW RADIO DISPLAY BOARD SYSTEM FOR INSTALL. WHEN THERE IS SOMETHING SAFETY-RELATED AT HAND, AND THE COMPANY IN QUESTION MAKES NO ESCALATED EFFORT TO EXPEDITE THE SOLUTION, IT HEIGHTENS MY CONCERN WITH THE COMPANY'S COMMITMENT TO SAFETY. THIS SITUATION IS FRUSTRATING, YES; BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING, IT QUESTIONS WHETHER OR NOT I AM BEST PROTECTED WITHIN THE CONFINES OF A SUBARU.