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So Ive bought two cars this year, a 2013 Kia and a 2022 Subaru BRZ. On the Kia, the first day I used it the radio just froze up. I had to get a tooth pick to p

So Ive bought two cars this year, a 2013 Kia and a 2022 Subaru BRZ. On the Kia, the first day I used it the radio just froze up. I had to get a tooth pick to push the hidden reboot button. Every time I start the car the volume on the radio is deafening even though I turned it off at a low volume. It also attempts to download my music off my phone even though Im using spotify. Every time. There are firmware updates... if you have the 2014 model. The worst thing it did is randomly dial 911 when my phone was connected despite absolutely nothing having happened. My BRZ has a more modern setup, that absolutely does not work with apple car play. I had it working for ten minutes and then it just randomly stopped. This is a brand new car and a brand new phone. Also replacement keys are absurdly expensive in order to provide me the benefit of... not turning a key? Its a stick shift so remote start is pointless since someone has to press the clutch in. Im basically better off with the aux port. Yes the internal engine electronics are nice but my experience with anything in the cabin is that it quickly becomes trash. The thing that annoys me is that when I inevitably have to replace these things, Im certain its going to be incredibly overpriced and I will have used like zero of its broken features. The car I used to have, a 2013 FRS... perfect. Very basic stereo. All analog guages. Nothing went wrong ever.

massysett 5y ago
I've got a 2016 Honda Accord. The Apple Car Play sometimes freezes up completely and the whole system becomes unresponsive. I wish there were a hidden reset button though - if there is, I haven't found it. The only fix is restarting (rebooting?) the car. Sometimes the whole stereo just freezes up even when I'm not using Car Play, or the FM radio just stops with some Android error message. Generally I find the Bluetooth is more reliable than Car Play so I just use that. I now keep my old iPhone around and tether it to my new iPhone and use the old one for navigation. Unfortunately the car does not have an aux jack, so Bluetooth is the next best thing. I've thought about replacing it but Crutchfield flatly says they don't recommend replacing it at all, which makes sense - the backup camera displays on there and the whole unit has controls on the steering wheel, which I doubt would work with a third-party replacement. If a company that sells car stereos recommends that I don't buy one, I'd be a fool not to listen. I have rented newer cars that have better infotainment systems but they make other changes I'm not crazy about - they now have entertainment information in the main instrument panel, leading them to shrink the speedometer to make space for it. Speed is the most important thing I need to know when driving, so don't shrink the speedometer. So I'm just not convinced a new car will be any better on the whole (and it's hard to get a new car now anyway) so I'll just keep driving this one.
- mullingitover 5y ago
  Another data point from Honda: I have a 2016 Civic, which I've owned for three years. The infotainment system froze up once, I restarted the car and it was fine. No other issues, Carplay has worked great. My car is the Touring edition, so it also has about 80% of the self-driving functionality that I'd get from a Tesla at a fraction of the cost, and it gets incredible gas mileage while being impressively fast for a cheap compact.
- habeebtc 5y ago
  You had an FRS and just bought a BRZ. I have really wondered how fun they are to drive. They are super fun, right? They seem really fun and they look great. Also, Be honest: Initial D fan?
  - overgard 5y ago
    They are fantastic cars! The glowing reviews are not wrong. Incredibly fun, but also practical in a sense that you won't get yourself killed driving them to the limit.
perryizgr8 5y ago
> Its a stick shift so remote start is pointless since someone has to press the clutch in. I have driven stick shift cars my whole life, and never encountered one where I had to press in the clutch to start the engine.
- tonteldoos 5y ago
  Unless you park uphill/downhill, and leave it in first as an added safety measure with the parking brake...
- mulmen 5y ago
  Wait, what? You... start your car in neutral? Like... with the clutch out? I have never actually tried that. I will have to experiment next time I am in my car. On the other hand my 1990 Honda motorcycle must be in neutral to start (there is no clutch position switch) and I don't use the clutch there. Very handy because people love to sit on it for selfies when I park it and they tend to jam it into gear while crawling on it. I assume it is in neutral (I always park that way) and if I hit the starter in gear it would shoot across the street. Thinking about it I suppose that protects me from bumping the starter while riding as well.
  - rightbyte 5y ago
    Be advised that you increase the risk of driving off accidentally at start by just being in neutral. The clutch is a good double safe that you feel the whole time whkle starting where as the gear is just a check in advance that you can mess up.
    - mulmen 5y ago
      I always put the clutch in when starting my car. On the bike I trust the neutral switch, which you are right, I shouldn’t. It had to be in neutral to park but no guarantee randos haven’t crawled on it. So far the switch did it’s job.
      - 5y ago
driverdan 5y ago
Why did you buy two broken cars?
- overgard 5y ago
  The cars are fine, they just both have had unpredictable infotainment problems
mulmen 5y ago
Counter-anecdote. I have a 2010 BMW and everything on the car still works flawlessly. It doesn't have BT audio which is a pain since Apple removed the audio jack I have to choose between charging and audio out. It has a built-in hard drive in the infotainment system so I could load music on that if I want, but it's a bit clunky. The built-in mapping/nav system is light years ahead of even the latest apps by Apple and Google. With just a couple taps of the iDrive knob I can add a stop for a rest area or gas station en-route. There is even a prompt for this when the gas reserve is reached. Maps are easy to read and convey useful information like street names and arterial/freeways even when navigation is disabled.

massysett 5y ago

I've got a 2016 Honda Accord. The Apple Car Play sometimes freezes up completely and the whole system becomes unresponsive. I wish there were a hidden reset button though - if there is, I haven't found it. The only fix is restarting (rebooting?) the car. Sometimes the whole stereo just freezes up even when I'm not using Car Play, or the FM radio just stops with some Android error message. Generally I find the Bluetooth is more reliable than Car Play so I just use that. I now keep my old iPhone around and tether it to my new iPhone and use the old one for navigation. Unfortunately the car does not have an aux jack, so Bluetooth is the next best thing. I've thought about replacing it but Crutchfield flatly says they don't recommend replacing it at all, which makes sense - the backup camera displays on there and the whole unit has controls on the steering wheel, which I doubt would work with a third-party replacement. If a company that sells car stereos recommends that I don't buy one, I'd be a fool not to listen. I have rented newer cars that have better infotainment systems but they make other changes I'm not crazy about - they now have entertainment information in the main instrument panel, leading them to shrink the speedometer to make space for it. Speed is the most important thing I need to know when driving, so don't shrink the speedometer. So I'm just not convinced a new car will be any better on the whole (and it's hard to get a new car now anyway) so I'll just keep driving this one.

mullingitover 5y ago
Another data point from Honda: I have a 2016 Civic, which I've owned for three years. The infotainment system froze up once, I restarted the car and it was fine. No other issues, Carplay has worked great. My car is the Touring edition, so it also has about 80% of the self-driving functionality that I'd get from a Tesla at a fraction of the cost, and it gets incredible gas mileage while being impressively fast for a cheap compact.
habeebtc 5y ago
You had an FRS and just bought a BRZ. I have really wondered how fun they are to drive. They are super fun, right? They seem really fun and they look great. Also, Be honest: Initial D fan?
- overgard 5y ago
  They are fantastic cars! The glowing reviews are not wrong. Incredibly fun, but also practical in a sense that you won't get yourself killed driving them to the limit.

perryizgr8 5y ago

> Its a stick shift so remote start is pointless since someone has to press the clutch in. I have driven stick shift cars my whole life, and never encountered one where I had to press in the clutch to start the engine.

tonteldoos 5y ago
Unless you park uphill/downhill, and leave it in first as an added safety measure with the parking brake...
mulmen 5y ago
Wait, what? You... start your car in neutral? Like... with the clutch out? I have never actually tried that. I will have to experiment next time I am in my car. On the other hand my 1990 Honda motorcycle must be in neutral to start (there is no clutch position switch) and I don't use the clutch there. Very handy because people love to sit on it for selfies when I park it and they tend to jam it into gear while crawling on it. I assume it is in neutral (I always park that way) and if I hit the starter in gear it would shoot across the street. Thinking about it I suppose that protects me from bumping the starter while riding as well.
- rightbyte 5y ago
  Be advised that you increase the risk of driving off accidentally at start by just being in neutral. The clutch is a good double safe that you feel the whole time whkle starting where as the gear is just a check in advance that you can mess up.
  - mulmen 5y ago
    I always put the clutch in when starting my car. On the bike I trust the neutral switch, which you are right, I shouldn’t. It had to be in neutral to park but no guarantee randos haven’t crawled on it. So far the switch did it’s job.
    - 5y ago

driverdan 5y ago

Why did you buy two broken cars?

overgard 5y ago
The cars are fine, they just both have had unpredictable infotainment problems

mulmen 5y ago

Counter-anecdote. I have a 2010 BMW and everything on the car still works flawlessly. It doesn't have BT audio which is a pain since Apple removed the audio jack I have to choose between charging and audio out. It has a built-in hard drive in the infotainment system so I could load music on that if I want, but it's a bit clunky. The built-in mapping/nav system is light years ahead of even the latest apps by Apple and Google. With just a couple taps of the iDrive knob I can add a stop for a rest area or gas station en-route. There is even a prompt for this when the gas reserve is reached. Maps are easy to read and convey useful information like street names and arterial/freeways even when navigation is disabled.