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10 Reasons Why You Should AVOID The 2024 Subaru Outback

With a rich tradition in all-wheel drive technology, reliable engines and fun driving dynamics, Subaru is a very respected and beloved car manufacturer. But does the 2024 Outback model live up to its brand expectations? We’re about to find out.

Random problems with the electronics

Comfort and utility is great and the Outback continues to be the family wagon you can take on off road adventures. All-wheel drive is standard, which is a Subaru staple they take great pride in. What they cannot be so proud of, however, are the different electronic systems on the car that a lot of owners complained about over the years. And the issues seem to be still here in 2024.

Radio would turn on by itself randomly, or change stations. The power-adjustable memory seats sometimes won’t work, or would only work if the passenger gets in the car first.

The AC struggles, especially in the Texas heat. The front vents are quite narrow and oddly-placed so that the steering wheel blocks the airflow from reaching the driver.

The heated and ventilated seats also act up sometimes. One owner complained that after less than 250 miles, the fans in the seats began to make really loud noises and vibrate really badly.

The Subaru forums are also full with owners complaining about battery problems, including the battery dying constantly with no known cause.

The engine starter often appears to malfunction, leading to difficulties in starting the cars. Owners had to replace the starters after less than a year of ownership. That’s not normal.

The infotainment system is not “entertaining” at all

Depending on the trim level, the 2024 Outback features either two stacked 7.0-inch touchscreens or a massive 11.6-inch vertical touchscreen for the infotainment system.

It comes with built-in navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and wireless charging as optional. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are standard. There’s also an available 12-speaker, 576-watt Harman Kardon audio system.

The basic, dual-screen setup looks really cheap, so it’s sort of mandatory to pay extra for the single large display. Even so, the resolution of the 11.6-inch screen isn’t particularly sharp, and that’s not even 10% of the problem.

The first annoying thing you’ll notice after owning the Outback for a few months will be the absence of buttons. Almost everything in the car is controlled through the touchscreen. And maybe you do love that, but what you’ll hate is the slow responsiveness of the said screen. Owners often complain that it takes 4-11 seconds for the screen to react to their inputs.

Most of the AC controls are buried deep in the menus of the infotainment system, even the Auto Hold function is a touchscreen input. So, you’ll find yourself having to go through the touchscreen display a lot while driving. Pair that with the slow responsiveness of the system and the car will beep you to focus your eyes on the road.

And that’s quite ironic, right? The driver monitoring system that tracks your eyes while driving will beep you for spending too much time looking at the infotainment screen when in fact, you don’t have a choice if you need to make some adjustments to the ventilation.

But there’s one workaround here. Wear a pair of sunglasses and a hat and that will trick the driver monitoring system, at least that’s what some owners claim.

And on top of all these, other owners’ complaints about the infotainment system include black screens, excessive lag, dropped calls and phone connectivity issues.

No 360 degree camera option

As of now, there is no 360 degree camera option, or at least a front camera. That’s really disappointing and baffling. The Subaru Ascent comes with a 360-degree camera. Couldn’t they just take it from there?

The only camera you get in the Outback is a rear-view camera. And that’s quite low quality. During heavy rain, sunny days or when it’s really dark, the rear view camera becomes almost useless.

Do you know what’s also useless in the Outback? The voice response unit. You ask for Costco and you get Pasco. You need to check the calendar and it turns on maximum cooling.

And don’t pay for the built-in wireless charger. It might overheat your phone to emergency shut off levels.

And speaking of phones, we’ve also read reports from owners complaining that their iPhones stopped being recognized by the car, and they had to restart the car a couple of times for the problem to go away.

What can you say, the Outback is quite a whimsical vehicle that will hit you with random technological and electronics issues when you least expect it.

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