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There's A New Subaru Starlink Lawsuit And What You Need To Know Now

Another Starlink lawsuit is filed against Subaru. Here is what customers need to know. The lawsuit includes some Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, and Legacy vehicles. See if your model and year Subaru are included in the new lawsuit.
2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

Subaru of America is hit with another class action lawsuit involving its Starlink multimedia system. A new report from Top Class Actions says Subaru vehicles equipped with the allegedly defective Starlink infotainment system now include the 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, 2019-2023 Forester, 2019-2023 WRX, and 2019-2023 Legacy vehicles, according to the new Subaru Starlink lawsuit.

Previously in 2020, Subaru of America settled a lawsuit concerning its Starlink multimedia system involving the 2018 Subaru Forester, 2018 Subaru Outback, 2018 Crosstrek, 2018 Legacy, 2017-2018 Impreza, and 2018 BRZ. A New Jersey Judge signed an order valued at $6.25 million benefiting 785,000 Subaru owners and lessees.

2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

This month, attorneys Andrew W. Ferich, Robert R. Ahdoot, and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC filed the lawsuit against Subaru, claiming the automaker is guilty of “unjust enrichment, common law fraud, and fraudulent concealment, and of violating the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act and New York General Business Law, among other things.”

Plaintiffs Marco Cillufo (2021 Subaru WRX), Jeffrey Quarles (2019 Subaru Forester), Pamela Doze (2022 Subaru Outback), and Carl Jean-Louis (2019 Subaru WRX) claim the allegedly defective Subaru Starlink system presents a safety risk for drivers of the 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, and Legacy vehicles by disabling safety features and presenting drivers with “distracting and frustrating” effects.

2023 Subaru Starlink lawsuit

The Subaru Starlink head units involved in the previous class action were Harman Gen 3 audio and navigation head units. However, Subaru recently switched to Starlink head units built by Denso.

According to the new class action lawsuit, the Subaru multimedia system problems can only be fixed by replacing the display screen. According to the new class action lawsuit, the Subaru multimedia system problems can only be fixed by replacing the display screen. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges replacement Starlink head units fail because they are as defective as the originals.

The new Subaru Starlink lawsuit also says Subaru was aware of the alleged defect based on “related service bulletins” because it conducted pre-release vehicle testing, and the suspected deficiency “manifests so quickly.”

In addition to the Starlink system issue of rebooting and other malfunctions, the lawsuit alleges the automaker’s EyeSight driver assist safety technology can fail. The new class action further alleges Subaru knew about the multimedia system problems because the automaker settled a previous Starlink class action lawsuit.

The report says plaintiffs Cillufo, Quarles, Doze, and Jean-Louis “are demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with an award of punitive damages for themselves and all class members.”

What can Subaru owners do?

If you are experiencing problems with your Subaru Starlink system in your 2019-2023 Subaru Outback, Forester, WRX, or Legacy, take your vehicle to a Subaru retailer. The Starlink equipment is covered under the new vehicle warranty of 3 years/36,000 miles. Stay tuned, and we will bring Subaru customers any further information on the Subaru Starlink lawsuit.

If you have purchased or leased a Subaru vehicle equipped with a Starlink multimedia system and believe it is defective, let us know in the comment section.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report, where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Comments

Jason Prosser (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 12:11PM

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2020 Outback with multimedia issues (screen goes blank or will not work) and eyesight will shut off in wet conditions.

Reta Davis (not verified)    May 29, 2023 - 11:41AM

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My Starlink infotainment system stopped working in my 2018 Outback. I have 23,000 mile on the vehicle and an extended warranty. I was told by my Subaru dealership to call Customer Service at Subaru. I have been getting nothing but the runaround. They issued a case number and told me they would put me on escalation priority. That was December 2022. We are going on 7 months. I call weekly and they say they are sorry but due to so many complints with same problem, they have no idea how or when it can be repaired. I am still making payments on this car. I would like to know if Subaru will buy back my car at Kelly Blue Book pricing, which shows as $24,000. I need a reliable car and not this dangerous hunk of junk.

M Sinclaire (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 1:42PM

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My 2022 Forester Wilderness can no longer be started through the app however I did just receive a recall letter relating to this issue. Recall states dealer will update the Starlink software so we will see. Thanks again for a great article

Stephen Dinkel (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 7:53PM

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Have 2020 Outback and 37K miles. Screen goes black and also reboots. Out of warranty so screwed! Not happy

Stressed Everydrive (not verified)    May 20, 2023 - 10:15AM

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Don't be too hard on yourself.
Two different Subaru dealers denied anything wrong woth the unit right off the lat as new.

Every service, "oh we updated it", "there's nothing wrong", basically it's all.in your head till past the 30k.

Then they're less likely to want to fix it though they will charge you out the ying-yang for the privilege of another faulty head unit.

Jim Keaveny (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 8:11PM

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Frequent “eye sight disabled,” messages while driving. iPhone 12 not connecting without removing and reinstalling, very low incoming volume on phone. Asked dealer if update is available. Dealers answer, “schedule a service appointment?” Dealer wouldn’t check, all he needed was the vin, which is on my phone. The problem is mine, I guess.

Richard (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 9:52PM

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I have a 21 Outback and a 22 WRX.

Most of the time all is good. I do have times when the Eyesight shuts down. The bad thing is that it happens in inclement conditions. When you need it the most.

DonKamm (not verified)    April 18, 2023 - 11:21PM

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Had the head unit replaced four times. Once they replaced with a bad unit that wouldn’t work and put the old unit back in. I made a scene in the showroom and they bought it back(still at a monetary loss to me). I will never purchase a Subaru again after being lied to repeatedly and being told that this problem was unique to my car. Having the head unit door while driving on the interstate repeatedly was scary and a true reflection of how they do not care about the safety of and off their customers. The defective car they bought back was sold within a week to some other customer, I hope they disclosed the problems.

Robert D Fukai (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 2:31AM

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We purchased a 2022 Outback Ltd and the infotainment system occasionally glitches and reboots. How do we join the class action and find out more information?

Kenzie Master (not verified)    March 26, 2024 - 11:40AM

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I ordered the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition the day after it was released. I’m experiencing the same issues with the infotainment center, as well as all safety features on the dash panel. The infotainment center goes black and all my features are disabled; eyesight, lane assist, variable cruise control, reverse auto breaking, etc.

I’m currently at the dealership because my reverse auto breaking and detection system failed while backing out of a parking space. No sensors went off until I came into contact with a sign post, and then my car slammed on the breaks and started alarming. I had absolutely no clue I had hit something until I got out of my car. Well, the sign post ‘damaged’ the sensors on the right side of my back bumper, disabling reverse auto breaking, blind spot detection, and another feature. I’m being charged an exorbitant amount of money to repair something that failed me. (Yes, the area was well lit.)

James Nichols (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 5:29AM

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I have a leased 2021 Subaru Outback XT, and have had numerous issues with the Starlink infotainment unit. It has received three or four software upgrades to try to improve performance. While it is better, it's still quirky and just overall a pain to operate. The service department has tried their best to correct it, but it's not they're fault that it just a lousy system!

Sheree Markley (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:27AM

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The Starlink multimedia system in my 2021 Outback has given me a lot of problems. Sometimes the screen goes totally black which is a real problem when you are using your GPS.

Clyde carnes (not verified)    June 12, 2023 - 9:19PM

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I bought my 2018 Subaru outback in Dec 2021 from Wheels a lease company off of a 3 year lease I registered it in Nevada but Subaru never put my ownership on Subaru recall list so I never heard anything about recall or l awsuit . O believe it was intentional. My Battery is bad so is head

Eric Lampinen (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:39AM

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I have a 2021 Outback vin# 4S4BTANC2M3123064
Can you tell me if this car is one involved? My starlink system reboots randomly.

Victoria Campb… (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 8:50AM

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I purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback Touring
3 times I have returned to the dealership because my Starlink shut down.. I become extremely irritated because all communications are shut down.

Michael O’Malior (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 9:08AM

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Our system has completely failed, we have been waiting since 1-4-23 for it to be replaced and as of 4-18-23 are still being told there is no ETA for the replacement.

Patrick Dolly (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 10:42AM

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I have a 21 Outback Limited and from time to time the stereo will only play out of 1 speaker when an alert has happened. The only fix I have found is to reboot the system. Thus is very frustrating while driving especially when relying on navigation.

Forrest harding (not verified)    April 19, 2023 - 11:25AM

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My screen is doing its own thing like changing in and out of radio. Bluetooth works half the time. Could the Starlink becausing this?
Thanks

Karen (not verified)    May 8, 2023 - 1:30PM

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The battery in my 2019 Subaru Outback has been replaced once and the new battery conked out after a month or so. We were told that it is caused by the Starlink system constantly trying to connect to 5G, even when the car isn’t running. I never paid for the Starlink subscription. We have an extended warranty, so we aren’t out any money yet, but it is alarming not to know if the car will start or the battery will be dead. Apparently the computer in the car must be replaced (or part of it) and the part(s) won’t be available until mid-June or later.

Lindell McWhorter (not verified)    November 29, 2023 - 8:42PM

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We have a 2019 Subaru Outback and have dealt with battery issues for a couple years now. My grandson happened to find a thread on Reddit that has seemed to finally have fixed our battery issue.

According to him through his battery testing, the Starlink continues to run even when car is off and results in draining th batteries.

The solution was to run the cable to the fuse for Starlink to another fuse that shut off when car is off.

We ordered an add-a-fuse cable and took out the Starlink fuse and attached it to a fuse that shut off function when car is off like your radio.

Worked like a charm. It’s been working great for over 3 months now and no more dead batteries.

Of course, I’m going thinking no more Subarus for me!

Steve (not verified)    December 14, 2023 - 3:40AM

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The data reporting .odule is actually trying to connect to a Gen-3 tower which are no longer in service. Subaru was aware in 2018 that Gen-3 was going to be shutdown soon. Because the module in the system can't find a tower, it repeatedly ping for it FOREVER, thus running down the battery. The battery will stay charged if the car is driven every day for 4-6 hours. If it'd parked overnight, it still :HUNTS" for that non existent tower and depletes the battery. If you pull the 7.5 Amp fuse in the fuse box. It disables that chip that HUNTS for the tower. It also causes other malfunctions, some of which are safety related. The Bluetooth speakers no longer works. The GPS system wo t work, and the automatic braking fails . Subaru KNEW this was an issue and still co tinued to sell the cars as if everything was fine. Now the dealer informs me they can "FIX" the problem for $1100. Hello NTSB, ANYONE LISTENING???