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Subaru Forester: Audio & Entertainment Systems

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    jm815jm815 Member Posts: 1
    Hi, my girlfriend just bought a 2010 Forester yesterday. She has a Sirius subscription, but didn't get the factory Sirius stereo setup. Instead of her going back to her old FM transmitter listening option, I am looking to buy her a Sirius tuner (Model SC-C1) and connect it to the factory receiver.

    From what I learned through Subaru & Crutchfield, the stereo is made by Kenwood, but the standard Kenwood connection kit won't work. Some sort of special adapter or connector is needed. I've struggled to get any response from the dealer - much less any actual information - on this adapter or its availability through Subaru.

    Has anyone else encountered or heard of the issue I've described? If so, I'd really appreciate any information you could provide on the adapter and/or where I might look to find one. I saw some references to XM on 2010 Foresters, but nothing about Sirius.

    Thanks,

    John
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    medic481medic481 Member Posts: 32
    Hi there- I just installed the XM kit (read my post above), and it was pretty easy. Subaru makes a Sirius kit, if thats your choice. You can order it from Subarupartsmall.com. They are actually a dealer that sells accessories on the 'net. You will find the price much cheaper than your local dealer, especially if you install it yourself. It took my about an hour and a half to do the job, and everything fit quite nicely. I just got the tweeter speaker kit and installed that this afternoon, a 10 minute job, tops, and the difference in the sound is amazing. I recommend installing those as well, they are about $71.00. Good luck!
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    aloha88aloha88 Member Posts: 1
    I have '10 Forester Premium w/o cd changer. What site can I order changer or must I get whole audio system replaced? thanks for researching this for me--Jeff
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Too bad Edmunds doesn't have a classified section...
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    goc78goc78 Member Posts: 2
    I have an 09 Forester and I wanted to upgrade the stereo. So I did so with an Alpine deck. Everything went together just fine, but it seems like the idle was a little low afterward. In fact, the first time I drove the car after I installed the stereo, the car idled so low that it cut off. A long time ago I had a similar problem (although it was consistently off and on) with a Jeep Wrangler that I put an Alpine deck into. Does anyone have any idea what could have happened?

    One thing I was really wondering if anyone know about was the extra little plug that went into the back of the factory stereo. There was the one that has the factory wire harness, which needs the adapter for the Alpine deck, but there was a second one with, I believe, 4 wires that I had no place to plug into. Is that thing important to the electrical system in any way? In an 03 Pontiac I once owned, you had to do some extravagant wiring in order to keep the factory stereo in the loop, but non-functional in the stereo scope. Has anyone heard of something like that for Subarus?

    It seems like there are a lot of posts with people who have happily and with no problems replaced the stereo. So this really seemed strange...

    Thanks in advance
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    dave87120dave87120 Member Posts: 6
    Not me. That's way out of my knowledge base. But the radio upgrade idea brings a question to mind.....I wonder if Subaru has a hard drive based radio option for Forester.
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    No, but do you really want your music to reside in your car? What do you do when you trade it in?

    If you must have it, the opening is double-DIN so easy to find aftermarket stuff cheap.
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    goc78goc78 Member Posts: 2
    That's easy, I don't trade it in. I plan on driving this thing until the wheels fall off. That is why I was concerned. However, I noticed that the air filter was really dirty which caused a loss of power and it affected the idle. I think that along with re-starting the computers after I had the battery disconnected for the installation caused the problem.
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    subaruforestsubaruforest Member Posts: 2
    Thinking of buying a 2013 Forester. Really like the car. Looking at pictures, I see the "Sat" button on the radio display. But looking at the "specs" on the car, it doesnt say its satellite ready. All it says is that it has AM/FM.

    I would have thought that seeing the Sat button would mean its satellite ready. But maybe not necessarily?
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    subaruforestsubaruforest Member Posts: 2
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