HATE Auto Stop. We shouldn't have to put up with this.

[Gordon Cash]

I recently drove a rental car for about six weeks that had Auto Stop. This is without question the worst idea I have seen come along in a really long time, so I was appalled when I found out all 2020 Subarus have it. I hasten to add, I don't mind that it's there, only that the software resets it to "on" every time the engine starts. This makes no sense at all. With every other feature, you go into Settings and set something, and it stays that way until you go back in and change it. Only Auto Start doesn't work like that.

My wife and I own two Subarus already, 2007 and 2015 Outbacks, and I love them. I called Subaru America customer service yesterday and read them the riot act about having to disable Auto Stop every time the engine starts. I also got onto the customer service page and sent them something in writing, ending in my (serious) assertion that I will never buy another Subaru unless either Subaru or some third-party supplier provides a way to permanently disable Auto Stop. By "permanently," I mean turn it off so it stays off until somebody turns it back on.

So, my questions to the Forum are:
Will everyone who feels as I do please call (1-800-782-2783) or write Subaru America and tell them to do something about having to disable Auto Stop every time you start the engine? Surely Subaru would rather give customers what they want than lose sales. And
Does anyone know of a third-party add-on for Subarus that accomplishes this task? BTW, according to the federal Magnuson-Moss Warrantee Act, Subaru cannot void your warrantee for doing this.

 

[sub 6]

We just bought a Brand new Leftover 2019 Legacy Limited 2 months ago... loaded to the max....Biggest reason we shyed away from the 2020 models was that feature.... when we found out it would not [Stay off] we passed..[although I would have liked the larger screen]..
besides, got a great deal 27K on the zero miles leftover..
on another note, if u leave it on, tell me it's not wear/tear on the starter, ignition, and battery.
your battery alone will have so many starts over the years so imagine 10 maybe 20 extra turnovers a day subtacting from that number..not counting the starter, ignition etc.
I see pre-mature battery replacements just alone due to this feature..

 

[oldowner]

You can turn it off, it's just each time you shut the engine down you have to shut off the ASRS again at restart, if you don't shut the engine off you're good till you do.

 

[Gordon Cash]

You can turn it off, it's just each time you shut the engine down you have to shut off the ASRS again at restart, if you don't shut the engine off you're good till you do.

Yes, I know. That's the problem. The obvious and straightforward solution is for Subaru to make the Auto Stop setting behave like every other setting. You go in and turn it off, and it stays off until someone goes in and turns it back on. Problem solved. Having 40+ years experience programming computers, I suspect changing a single line of source code in the onboard computer would accomplish this. In fact, if I had the source code, I could possibly do it myself. Anyone know if it would void the warrantee if I got someone to hack in?

I am 100% serious about this. I will never buy another Subaru if it forces me to jump through three hoops to turn off Auto Stop every time I start the engine.

 

[sub 6]

Ok so , your in traffic. Hit the break. Engine stops. Then i assume after foot is off the break, car starts again and at this point you need to shut the feature off..? I dont know. I bought the legacy '19 just to avoid this.

 

[oldowner]

No once the feature is shut off by turning the ignition off not by just stopping the car with the brake, in that case the ignition stays on the engine shuts off. From what I was told no it doesn't stop every time just at intersections / lights where you have had your foot on the brake for a predetermined length of time, not sure of that time didn't ask. It seems they all have quirks and features for example not being able to mute the radio while reversing, that and the OUTSIDE mirrors on our 17 Forester are less than desirable to me for more than one reason.

 

[sub 6]

No once the feature is shut off by turning the ignition off not by just stopping the car with the brake, in that case the ignition stays on the engine shuts off. From what I was told no it doesn't stop every time just at intersections / lights where you have had your foot on the brake for a predetermined length of time, not sure of that time didn't ask. It seems they all have quirks and features for example not being able to mute the radio while reversing, that and the OUTSIDE mirrors on our 17 Forester are less than desirable to me for more than one reason.

Ok. Now i understand.

 

[Subieko2]

I have that too on 2020 crosstrek,dont like that feature.too late bought the car already I asked the salesman if can cancel it forever look likes I have to live with it,future expenses to starter,battery,drive train etc.But so far rides like a car,gas mileage okay,responsive engine enough got only 300 miles few days owning it.So far I counted 5x engine dies in one day and we keep cars 10 plus years.Total lost if I trade it in to something else not Subaru with that feature.

 

[oldowner]

5 engine dies was that with the PITA feature turned off? or at traffic lights and stop signs with the PITA on? Remember ANYTIME YOU SHUT THE ENGINE OFF you HAVE to disable the ASAR by pushing the A button, a display icon should appear on the screen showing it OFF.

 

[Gordon Cash]

Ok so , your in traffic. Hit the break. Engine stops. Then i assume after foot is off the break, car starts again and at this point you need to shut the feature off..? I dont know. I bought the legacy '19 just to avoid this.

Please contact Subaru of America at the number in my first post or write a message on their customer service page and tell them they lost a 2020 sale because of Auto Stop. If they get enough messages like that, maybe they’ll do something about it.

 

[Gordon Cash]

We just bought a Brand new Leftover 2019 Legacy Limited 2 months ago... loaded to the max....Biggest reason we shyed away from the 2020 models was that feature.... when we found out it would not [Stay off] we passed..[although I would have liked the larger screen]..
besides, got a great deal 27K on the zero miles leftover..
on another note, if u leave it on, tell me it's not wear/tear on the starter, ignition, and battery.
your battery alone will have so many starts over the years so imagine 10 maybe 20 extra turnovers a day subtacting from that number..not counting the starter, ignition etc.
I see pre-mature battery replacements just alone due to this feature..

Neither Subaru nor anyone else has the slightest idea what long-term damage this technology will cause. This is especially true of Subaru, which has no experience with it.

 

[Gordon Cash]

Somebody just posted this
Check this out,
https://www.autostopeliminator.com/
A most welcome piece of news!! I wrote to this company last year and begged them to add Subarus to their offerings, and they did! Please spread the word, fellow Subaru owners. You can now buy an owner-installable add-on that changes Auto Start/Stop from "non-latching" to "latching." This means, once you turn off Auto Start/Stop, it stays off until you turn it back off. (You do have to turn it off yourself the first time, but not after that.) This will NOT invalidate your warrantee. If anybody tries to tell you otherwise, inform them that such a policy would violate the federal Magnuson-Moss Warrantee Act.