need help turning stuff off

mountaindog

I have a new 2011 Forester with an auto trans.

The AWD system is silly. It cuts power to any wheel which spins. A button must be pushed to disable this behavior. How can I get the car in the correct mode all time? I don't want any traction control systems. They aren't safe. They allow the car to track on snow pack letting the driver go way to fast. Now when something happens it happens at 70 instead of 50 MPH. Talk about dumb.

I have extra wheels for winter. Tires and wheels cost enough I am not paying 400 extra for those silly pressure transmitters in the wheel. How do I turn off the tire pressure light on the dash?

How do I get this thing 2 stop yapping when the seat belt is not clipped? No preaching please. I use the belts but, I don't want the noise if I am sitting still not in drive. Another stupid system.

This car has so much junk on it I regret buying it.

"Inexpensive and built to stay that way" What ever happened to that?

mountaindog

I forgot 2 items.

When I unlock the door with the key the alarm goes off. What the hell is that all about and how do I prevent it.

How do I turn off the alarm system for good?

How do get the system to start without using one of those stupid micro chip keys which the costs 100 dollars. I am thinking about getting 5, 69 cent keys and tapeing the micro chip under the dash or something. When will it all end.

Time to go back to the 1977 Sub I had. 40MPG and no BS.

ateixeira

The dealer was supposed to show you how to program the key during delivery, it's part of the PDI process. You can definitely turn it off, though I don't recall from memory.

The traction control just takes hitting an off switch. I don't think you can default it to off, though.

Unfortunately, Subaru is just responding to what consumers want. The best selling model is the Outback, which has more tech than the Legacy or Forester, so that stuff appeals to consumers.

mountaindog

Well, all I can say is you miss the point all together.

What the consume wants? I am a consumer.

Every system I have described is processor conrolled. Those who want this stuff can have it. It's all software and can be turned off without any cost to the manufacturer. I just need a reasonable interface. Is that too much to ask? Why do I need to rip the car apart and take a soldering iron to the thing.

At the very least I should be able to take it to a dealer and have them configure the startup defaults to the level I want even if that would be a rip off of some dollar amount.

ateixeira

They follow what the masses want, not one individual.

A permanent off switch creates liability issues. A lot of this stability control stuff you don't want will soon be mandatory.

I'm not saying I agree with it (my Sienna can't climb a snowy hill without turning the VSC off), but that's just how it is.

aatherton

"How do I get this thing 2 stop yapping when the seat belt is not clipped? No preaching please. I use the belts but, I don't want the noise if I am sitting still not in drive. Another stupid system. This car has so much junk on it I regret buying it."

It is simple to turn off the seat belt warning. Had you asked without preaching, I would have told you.

xwesx

I think the traction control is set to be "on" any time the car is started, so you'd need to push the override button each time if you wanted it off every time you drive. Troublesome, yes, but I imagine at some point it would become an automatic response, sort of like me turning on the lights of my old "manual everything" cars versus being able to leave them on all the time in my Forester and they will shut themselves off.

For the TPMS light on the dash, I suppose you could just put a piece of tape on over the light. I don't use the sensors in my winter wheels either, but then I don't mind the light being there as I know when it is irrelevant and when it might be telling me some useful info (such as when I have my summer tires mounted!). One thing that would be very nice on that silly TPMS unit... having small numbers that will illuminate below the (!) light to indicate which wheel is causing the alarm!!!! Otherwise, if the light is on, you don't know the source, so if there is a problem with any other tire's pressure... you're in the dark (assuming you rely on that system).

Seat belt "yapping" - If you spin around in three circles, counterclockwise, within 5 seconds, then jump up and down while singing, it should take care of the issue. :surprise: I'm joking, of course, but there is some sort of ridiculous ritual that can alter its behavior. I think it is in the owner's manual.

Keys - It takes a chipped key to start it. Period. You can mount one in the dash to trick it, but it has to be in a very close proximity to the sensor. I think the Autostart folks used to need to do this in order to install those units, but I don't know if there are other methods for installing those units nowadays. Someone at one of those shops might be able to offer advice on where to mount the key within the dash if you decide to go that route.

What else did you ask? Oh, right.... door alarm! Do you lock it with the door lock or with the FOB unit? If locked with the FOB, a key unlock will trigger the alarm. I didn't think that was the case if you manually locked the door, but perhaps that has changed. I did all my "how can I lock/unlock this thing?" testing with a 2007 Outback, which seemed very similar to my 2010 Forester technology-wise.

Oh, and if you want to lock the car while it is running (which many of us in cold climates need to do from time to time), you have to trick the car into thinking you're still in it. So, you get in the car, close the door, lock it with the electronic door lock, then start it. Now (and this is important), unlock the driver door with the manual lock switch, get out, lock the manual switch, then close the door. Take care to note that the FOB will not work with the key in the ignition, so if you don't have an actual door key in your possession, you cannot get back into the car.

I know how you feel, as I am an advocate of KISS as well! I accept, though, that if I want to get a "new" car, the times have changed. :mad:

mountaindog

Thanks for the great reply.

I appreciate the time you spent sending it.

I guess the reality of all this is that the cars no longer belong to us.

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As for the traction control. I live in the mountains of UT at 8000 feet and have a 100 foot long 23 percent grade driveway. With studded snows the car won't go 10 feet up the drive way. The traction control shuts down power and it just stops. My old 1994 goes up the drive way covered with snow just like it's July. If I could find an old one in good shape I would jump on it. I drive thousands of miles on snow pack and the traction control just gets in the way.

ateixeira

Perhaps they need to add modes that would allow for more slip, and would allow owners to remain in that mode, so you would not have to turn it off manually all the time.

fnamowicz

There is a procedure in the owners manual that tells you how to turn this off and to set other alarm settings.
I had the same problem with the car being parked in the garage and opening the glove compartment or even brushing against the car the horn would go off, this was a hassle if the keys were inside the house.

I also agree that today's cars have a lot of useless electronic junk but that is today's world. After driving for over 50 yrs. all you had to do was watch the road and drive today there are a lot of distractions on the dash board.

I have recently been rear ended by a driver that was fiddling around with the bluetooth setting while driving.