[442]

I love reading some of the boilerplate errors and warnings in the manuals that lack any grounding in reality. Silly things like, if your vehicle won't start, then don't use it. Here we see that you may not be able to take your phone in the vehicle with you and still use the vehicle touchscreen.

From the SolterraCONNECT manual page 23

Notes for operating the touch screen
● In the following situations, the screen buttons may not respond or malfunction:

• If the vehicle is near a TV tower, power plant, filling station, broadcast station, large display, airport, or any other place from which strong radio waves or noise emanates
• When you are carrying or charging a portable wireless communication device, such as a radio or cellular phone, in the vehicle

 

[CTValleySubaruGuy]

You're reading way too much into that.

It's a statement that some lawyer wrote to cover incidental RF interference. That is a thing, but very rare with a low powered device like a cell phone. It's the same justification behind not using cell phones on airplanes.

That said, our 2015 Outback has a quirk: if one phone is connected via Bluetooth and a secondnis connected through USB, the infotainment system will lock up for about 30 seconds, and then often gives control of the system to the USB phone.

There may also simply be a brief lag while the system synchs with a phone, during which the screen may jot behave as expected.

 

[442]

I’m not reading into anything, these are words in the manual, and words have meaning. I’m just pointing them out for entertainment value.

Similar to your second point, I’m waiting for someone to do a test with 2 profile-registered phones riding in the same car (what I would assume is the 90% use case). There are a number of places where the various manuals say the first phone that gets recognized is the profile that gets loaded in the UI, but little is written about what it takes to switch back to the desired/actual driver (or how often you may need to do it). There are also different ways to register your profile, and nothing written about whether a key gets recognized before a bluetooth device, or digital key over connect account, etc.

Since it is all Toyota stuff that’s been around a while, there are probably resource/videos about it (and one of the Solterra reviewers was talking about being able to use his profile in a Lexus), I just haven’t looked for them yet. But you never know whether Subaru insisted on a change to the existing behavior or not.

 

[CTValleySubaruGuy]

Words do have meaning... but sometimes we add meaning that isn't intended or implied by the author. And often, the author's intent is something far different than we think it is.

The most critical word in that whole section is "may".

 

[JayEM]

Words do have meaning... but sometimes we add meaning that isn't intended or implied by the author. And often, the author's intent is something far different than we think it is.

The most critical word in that whole section is "may".

Yup, classic CYA.

 

[Marek Barinka]

My friend has Forester 2016 I think. Each key has one profile stored inside regarding seat position and other stuff. We were on trip and just to be sure he took both keys. When he had both on him, he had to do some crazy "yoga positions" to ensure key with his profile was closer to car and used to unlocking. Otherwise he had to lock the car and try again.
Not sure if this system got any update in newer models but I would expect similar behaviour. The unlocking device's profile will be used, question is about priorities - key, phone, something else?
Or maybe selecting profile when "starting" the car?

 

[JayEM]

My friend has Forester 2016 I think. Each key has one profile stored inside regarding seat position and other stuff. We were on trip and just to be sure he took both keys. When he had both on him, he had to do some crazy "yoga positions" to ensure key with his profile was closer to car and used to unlocking. Otherwise he had to lock the car and try again.
Not sure if this system got any update in newer models but I would expect similar behaviour. The unlocking device's profile will be used, question is about priorities - key, phone, something else?
Or maybe selecting profile when "starting" the car?

The key-linking to profiles has to work better than the facial recognition in our 2021 Outback! Probably 1/3 of the time it fails to recognize the driver on first try - because of lighting, or the driver not facing forward when it's doing the scanning, and other things.

 

[442]

The key-linking to profiles has to work better than the facial recognition in our 2021 Outback! Probably 1/3 of the time it fails to recognize the driver on first try - because of lighting, or the driver not facing forward when it's doing the scanning, and other things.

That was one of the reasons we got the 2019 Forester (the first year for the driver recognition) and it's always a comedy-fest when we get in, removing sunglasses and staring at the sensors, moving your head around while is says "scanning" and shouting, "It's me!" Mostly it's just to "get credit" for the drive to add to my mileage tally (27.1 MPG, but I just make sure that any seat adjustments are saved in the door buttons so I can hit that if the driver recognition fails.

 

[JayEM]

That was one of the reasons we got the 2019 Forester (the first year for the driver recognition) and it's always a comedy-fest when we get in, removing sunglasses and staring at the sensors, moving your head around while is says "scanning" and shouting, "It's me!" Mostly it's just to "get credit" for the drive to add to my mileage tally (27.1 MPG, but I just make sure that any seat adjustments are saved in the door buttons so I can hit that if the driver recognition fails.

Yup, likewise.

My wife seems to have more of a problem than I do, and I think most of it is because she's looking down/to the left to grab the seat belt... I've figured out that doing that BEFORE closing the door seems to help. There seems to be no remedy for the sun shining in low through the driver's side window.

 

[md.]

Similar to your second point, I’m waiting for someone to do a test with 2 profile-registered phones riding in the same car (what I would assume is the 90% use case). There are a number of places where the various manuals say the first phone that gets recognized is the profile that gets loaded in the UI, but little is written about what it takes to switch back to the desired/actual driver (or how often you may need to do it). There are also different ways to register your profile, and nothing written about whether a key gets recognized before a bluetooth device, or digital key over connect account, etc.

I have a 2023 Bolt EUV Premier that supports two phones at once -- Wireless Android Auto and Wireless CarPlay. I have my Android configured as "First to Connect" and my wife's is configured with more limited settings. Her phone calls are receive only and I believe she can play music.

I like that better than our 2021 Ascent Limited where when she plugs in her iPhone, it disconnects my Pixel.

 

[md.]

Not sure if this system got any update in newer models but I would expect similar behaviour. The unlocking device's profile will be used, question is about priorities - key, phone, something else?
Or maybe selecting profile when "starting" the car?

2021 Ascent Limited. Whoever touches the door handle first takes over and the seat moves right away as the door is unlocked. I usually drive, but my wife usually opens the passenger door first, so when I get in, I need to hit the "2" button on the door to activate my seat setting, which matches the setting on my fob. Luckily, she's tall enough that I can still get in when it's on her setting.

 

[CTValleySubaruGuy]

Yup, classic CYA.

Exactly. Written by lawyers, not engineers (obviously, since engineers can't write for Bean's anyway).

 

[442]

Exactly. Written by lawyers, not engineers (obviously, since engineers can't write for Bean's anyway).

Having written hundreds, if not thousands of statements in manuals like this, I can tell you it has absolutely nothing to do with lawyers, though it’s fun to frame it that way.

These statements result from an error condition that can’t necessarily be reproduced on demand and can’t (or won’t) be protected against, usually because preventing the error condition would be more costly than the fallout of it possibly happening (which turns an engineering issue into a customer service issue). This is when you see things like monetary compensation come in. Sound familiar? The manual could have had a statement like, “Braking hard while in a turn or performing rapid alternating acceleration and braking may lead to wheel bolts loosening which if left in this condition could lead to abnormal noises and potential separation of the wheel from the vehicle.” Then your expectations would be set and the “cause” of the issue would be shared with you and not necessarily just an engineering issue.

So as easy as it is to just dismiss these statements as some legal requirement, they are a window into how these systems work and potential ways they can fail.

 

[CTValleySubaruGuy]

Semantics. Lawyers, software technicians, accoutants, little green men from outer space. It doesn't matter. The point remains: it's somebody playing a big game of CYA.

And while I'm sure it describes a potential failure state, it really doesn't say how likely it is to occur. Every time I plug in anything, there is a chance I will receive a shock, but how often does it actually happen. And yet there it is, in every single owners manual I have for anything powered by electricity: CAUTION: Danger of electric shock! (Or words to that effect).

 

[442]

Ok. So?