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Old 11-17-2019, 09:24 PM   #31351
IHaveAHorse
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What's up with the service manual page for it? It says to remove the belt after torquing the tensioner, then seemingly pointlessly tells you to remove a few other pulleys, what's that about? Is it just poorly organized, including instructions for pulley removal even though the section is titled "V-belt" removal/replacement?


Based on what you said, it SHOULD just be torque the tensioner to remove/replace the belt, and not having to mess with any other pulleys, correct?
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Old 11-17-2019, 10:16 PM   #31352
Commander Keen
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Those pulleys are probably removed for replacement. The bearings don't last forever.

I replaced mine with what turned out to be knockoffs that seized within 8K miles and stranded me.

The Nachi bearings I've replaced those with also have 8K on them and are holding up fine.

If all you're changing is the belt, a socket and breaker will work.
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Old 11-20-2019, 02:11 PM   #31353
nubsub
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Default Midlife crisis/upgrades for my 2012 Limited

hi all, so after almost 8 years of service, and experiencing that loaner 2019 model, i decided to put a little money into updating my 2012 to be more functional so that i can enjoy it at least 4-5 years (hopefully more, but that is my minimum target).

- i have found that my PVC tape solution works well to cover the switch. its not visible unless you look under the hatch, and its pliable enough to activate the switch as long i get used to knowing where underneath the tape, the actual switch is. (i'm getting better at it). i used 20mil PVC tape which is very thick, so i may try to find something thinner (10mil) and gives a better feel for the switch. but the tape is plenty thick enough and will keep the switch from getting any water in it.

- i also got around to replacing my cargo cover which was tearing on one side. i wish i had done it earlier because now i can feel more secure in keeping eyes off of stuff in my hatch.

finally, most notably, i upgraded the Limited Factory head unit to a Pioneer 4500NEX unit. i can't recommend the upgrade enough. i had a local installer do the work since i have a bad back, but it integrates nicely with the car and to my ear, surprisingly, offers a solid upgrade in sound compared to the Clarion OEM stereo. beyond having wireless Apple CarPlay (which is awesome since i no longer have to remove my phone from my pocket when i drive), it also supports the idatalink via the Maestro RR interface which provides TMPS and some engine info via the OBD2 port.

the only downgrade i got in this change of stereo's is for some odd legal reason, the Pioneer doesn't have the option to turn on the parking guide lines every time the car goes into reverse. it has to be toggled manually. the Pioneer guy i spoke with said it was due to NHSA regulations which is really odd. a small complaint and some people probably prefer no lines, but i liked having them there all the time.

anyway, if you want a tangible upgrade to your 2012-2016, i can't recommend this upgrade enough (there are other fine head units out there, but the Pioneer was a good bang for the buck having wireless CarPlay and HD radio, both which were important to me). the resistive touch screen is very responsive, and the 800x480 resolution is good enough for my eyes.
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Old 11-20-2019, 02:55 PM   #31354
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I can second vouching for upgrading the head unit being worth the investment.

I went with a Kenwood DMX906S, ordered with the steering wheel harness through Crutchfield, and am also very impressed with both the factory like integration as well as sound quality improvement. My 2015 had a touch screen Clarion unit, which was adequate, but after my friend went and got a 2019 Impreza, I couldn't get the idea of having Android Auto out of my head.

Went with an XM receiver as well. Have a year subscription for it now, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed with the sound quality. USB and FM sound much better.

But I'm very happy with the upgrade overall, makes my car feel much more modern.
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Old 11-20-2019, 04:55 PM   #31355
CalTech87
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nubsub View Post

- i also got around to replacing my cargo cover which was tearing on one side.
Would have sold you mine dirt cheap. Shipping from SD couldn't have been too much either.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nubsub View Post

-finally, most notably, i upgraded the Limited Factory head unit to a Pioneer 4500NEX unit.

The 4500NEX has 6 pre-amp outs and many customization settings for use with amps. The next model down should have 4, less customiztion, and probably costs at LEAST $100 less.

Still, superb unit.
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Old 11-20-2019, 05:05 PM   #31356
nubsub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalTech87 View Post
Would have sold you mine dirt cheap. Shipping from SD couldn't have been too much either.


The 4500NEX has 6 pre-amp outs and many customization settings for use with amps. The next model down should have 4, less customiztion, and probably costs at LEAST $100 less.

Still, superb unit.
if i had only known about you having a spare. but i'm good. $120 is pretty cheap if i keep the car several more years. that's why i was inspired to get the new head unit.

unless i'm wrong, the 4500 is the least expensive NEX unit that supports wireless CarPlay. that was the major motivator in upgrading. yet, as a bonus, i'm getting:

- OBD2 info
- capability of putting a 256 SD card of lossless music (doesn't support playlists, but i can put a large portion of my music library on an SD Card)
- better sound than my factor head unit

but wireless CarPlay (as well as Siri Eyes Free) is a game changer for me. i can't even count the number of times i have to go back to my car because i left my phone in the iottie phone mount. thankfully, it's never been stolen in those many times i've done that.
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Old 11-21-2019, 03:56 PM   #31357
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Ah, I think you did mentioned CarPlay in earlier posts. Had to look it up. Of course its an Apple service.
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Old 11-21-2019, 05:30 PM   #31358
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I never use mine either I would sell my cargo cover it’s just getting dust in the garage, in Michigan here.
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Old 11-21-2019, 05:55 PM   #31359
nubsub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalTech87 View Post
Ah, I think you did mentioned CarPlay in earlier posts. Had to look it up. Of course its an Apple service.
the 4500NEX supports both Wireless Apple CarPlay or Wireless Android Auto, although the latter only supports a handful of phones running the latest Android OS from what i understand.

the wireless aspect is really awesome assuming it remains reliable. i had one freeze up already which i hope was a fluke.
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Old 11-21-2019, 05:56 PM   #31360
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Originally Posted by DieselDorf View Post
I never use mine either I would sell my cargo cover it’s just getting dust in the garage, in Michigan here.
i guess you don't have to worry about theft issues like we do in SF Bay Area in CA. one never can leave anything in plain site that remotely looks valuable.
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Old 11-22-2019, 01:38 PM   #31361
nubsub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supertoast View Post
I can second vouching for upgrading the head unit being worth the investment.

I went with a Kenwood DMX906S, ordered with the steering wheel harness through Crutchfield, and am also very impressed with both the factory like integration as well as sound quality improvement. My 2015 had a touch screen Clarion unit, which was adequate, but after my friend went and got a 2019 Impreza, I couldn't get the idea of having Android Auto out of my head.

Went with an XM receiver as well. Have a year subscription for it now, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed with the sound quality. USB and FM sound much better.

But I'm very happy with the upgrade overall, makes my car feel much more modern.
the 906S looks like a great deck. my dealer carried it but charged a little more for it. the pioneer has the advantage of being able to play CD/DVDs and has an SD card slot which i plan to use for FLAC files. on the flip side, the 906S has the added bonus of the parking lines staying on all of the time (i don't know Kenwood got that approved while Pioneer did not... i wonder if my Pioneer guys is feeding me factual info), and the capacitive touch screen. that being said, i didn't notice any big difference in the capacitive screen of the 8500NEX vs the 4500NEX. the 4500 resistive screen is the best resistive screen i've ever used on a device.

it looks like both our stereos limit use of only on Apple device at a time via USB which to me is a bummer (older Pioneer units supported Apple devices on both USB inputs). The same restriction applies to Android Auto too.
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Old 11-22-2019, 03:09 PM   #31362
dcon9999
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Default keep it fresh

I have the pioneer mvh-2300nex - wired the usb plug directly into what I can only assume was designed to be an led light mount hold at the top of the dash cargo area for android auto. Built in spotify app. parking brake override. Sirius module (not xm - sirius sounds better/better signal), my self installed back up camera, speaker upgrade (See Below), and fortin evo-one oem key fob remote start - at 156000, I have better options than some 2019s


Last edited by dcon9999; 11-24-2019 at 10:09 PM.
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Old 11-24-2019, 05:32 PM   #31363
IHaveAHorse
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Why FLAC? There is absolutely no way on Earth you can hear the difference between a 320k MP3 and an FLAC played over a car stereo, no matter the equipment, once you consider road noise, especially in a cheap car like this which has virtually no real noise insulation. You could fit probably 3-4x as many songs in a given space with 320k vs FLAC. And conversion couldn't be simpler, it's like 2 dialogs in foobar2000 if that's an issue.
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Old 11-27-2019, 07:05 PM   #31364
nubsub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IHaveAHorse View Post
Why FLAC? There is absolutely no way on Earth you can hear the difference between a 320k MP3 and an FLAC played over a car stereo, no matter the equipment, once you consider road noise, especially in a cheap car like this which has virtually no real noise insulation. You could fit probably 3-4x as many songs in a given space with 320k vs FLAC. And conversion couldn't be simpler, it's like 2 dialogs in foobar2000 if that's an issue.
FLAC because it's easy since my library is already all lossless for home purposes.

you are absolutely, the only time i can hear the difference between FLAC and 256kbit (which i used to use in my iPod) is if the car is parked and there is no road noise to contaminate the sound. if i really wanted 100% of my library available, i could definitely cover everything with a lower bitrate and things would work just fine. but since i already have everything in lossless and a large portion (the parts i want for the car) fit onto a 256gb SD card which i picked up for very little, i went with FLAC.
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Old 11-29-2019, 04:08 PM   #31365
Star4998
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Default Dash lights

Hi there, I own a 2012 Impreza that's giving me some issues. My dad recommended I post in a Subaru forum where people are knowledgeable about Imprezas, so I'm hoping you guys might have some idea.
About a week ago I turned my car on while it was raining outside, and the check engine light & vehicle dynamics control warning light came on and stayed on. Not only that but the cruise control kept blinking on and off and was unresponsive to any buttons on the wheel. This happened for about a week every time I turned on my car, my theory was that some rain possibly got in the fuse box and caused signals to go haywire.... Until I turned it on today and it had a hard time starting, made a strange noise (it kind of sounded like a mechanical cough), and when it finally started, all the warning lights were off & I could use my cruise control again. I had been running errands today and had only turned my car off about 10 mins before this, which the warning lights were still on then.
The fact that it went away makes me feel like my car should be fine, but the noise was worrisome and the lights never should have come on in the first place. Does anyone have any ideas why this may have happened? My dad and I work on our cars at home but we're unfamiliar with Subarus, any ideas that we can look into would be much appreciated!
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Old 11-29-2019, 04:47 PM   #31366
theoutbackdream
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Star4998 View Post
Hi there, I own a 2012 Impreza that's giving me some issues. My dad recommended I post in a Subaru forum where people are knowledgeable about Imprezas, so I'm hoping you guys might have some idea.
About a week ago I turned my car on while it was raining outside, and the check engine light & vehicle dynamics control warning light came on and stayed on. Not only that but the cruise control kept blinking on and off and was unresponsive to any buttons on the wheel. This happened for about a week every time I turned on my car, my theory was that some rain possibly got in the fuse box and caused signals to go haywire.... Until I turned it on today and it had a hard time starting, made a strange noise (it kind of sounded like a mechanical cough), and when it finally started, all the warning lights were off & I could use my cruise control again. I had been running errands today and had only turned my car off about 10 mins before this, which the warning lights were still on then.
The fact that it went away makes me feel like my car should be fine, but the noise was worrisome and the lights never should have come on in the first place. Does anyone have any ideas why this may have happened? My dad and I work on our cars at home but we're unfamiliar with Subarus, any ideas that we can look into would be much appreciated!
Sounds like your impreza threw a CEL and went into limp mode which is normal. The fact that it went away after a week tells me that you threw a CEL, but the issue didn't come back and so it cleared it self after driving 100~250miles.

But.... For the strange noise, you'll have to be a bit more precise. It almost sounds like the battery was dying and having a hard time turning over, because the ECU lost power and cleared it self.
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Old 11-29-2019, 08:19 PM   #31367
DieselDorf
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Typically the traction control, cruise and abs, all go out together if one of the systems has an error.

Also cruise usually doesn’t work with a cel ever.

I wouldn’t worry too much if it doesn’t come back.

Out of precaution you could check the voltage on the battery.

Also whAt year and mileage?
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Old 12-01-2019, 02:52 AM   #31368
IHaveAHorse
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Did you do the brake light switch recall? Doesn't the brake light switch cause this problem for a lot of people?


I didn't take mine in for the recall because 90,000 miles and no issue, I really don't want to fix what isn't broken and of course I can take it in any time I want in the future.
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Old 12-08-2019, 12:10 AM   #31369
Commander Keen
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Quote:
FLAC because it's easy since my library is already all lossless for home purposes.
Much of my library is FLAC as well. If you're handy with Linux, check out mp3fs.

Point it toward your FLAC library and it will mirror it with virtual MP3s at the bitrate you specify.

The MP3 files take up no disk space and are encoded on the fly as needed.
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Old 12-10-2019, 03:36 PM   #31370
nubsub
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Default my switch fix and Wireless CarPlay install

i thought i'd try out the new NASIOC image server...

following up on my earlier post, here is what PVC/pipe tape looks like as a protector of my decaying switch rubber. i put a piece of thin cardboard right where the tape would have stuck to the switch to avoid adhesive going into the switch. this works remarkably well. nice pliable feel and there is no way moisture is going to get into the switch:



here's my Pioneer 4500NEX. can't begin to tell you how much i have enjoyed having the head unit upgraded. it's been worth every penny spent.

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Old 12-10-2019, 08:40 PM   #31371
DieselDorf
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The head unit does make it look more modern and I like the clean look but what does it do in terms of functionality does it just make everything a touch screen control?

I actually don’t touch my radio hardly at all just use the steering wheel controls.
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Old 12-11-2019, 01:59 PM   #31372
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselDorf View Post
The head unit does make it look more modern and I like the clean look but what does it do in terms of functionality does it just make everything a touch screen control?

I actually don’t touch my radio hardly at all just use the steering wheel controls.
CarPlay/Android Auto (mostly)
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Old 12-11-2019, 02:43 PM   #31373
nubsub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselDorf View Post
The head unit does make it look more modern and I like the clean look but what does it do in terms of functionality does it just make everything a touch screen control?

I actually don’t touch my radio hardly at all just use the steering wheel controls.
As you noted, there is a dearth of buttons on the head unit which makes for a clean look but also means more use of a touch screen and/or steering wheel controls. the buttons on the bottom are small but at least have reasonable tactile feedback. from left to right: volume up and down, screen switch (i use this frequently), home button, go back, voice activation, eject).

what is really missing from what you are likely use to is a source button, volume knob (i would have preferred a knob much more...the Sony's have them, but the screen ends up being smaller) and preset buttons for the HD Radio.

like you, i do most volume adjustments now via the steering wheel controls. i don't use the voice activation button because with Apple CarPlay, this head unit supports "eyes free siri" which means i say "hey siri" and it knows to listen to my commands.

i like this head unit A LOT. these are the big functional gains:

- Wireless Apple CarPlay. CarPlay is great but the wireless aspect is the game changer. i can leave my phone in my pocket and have maps and navigation pop up with a simple "hey siri. directions to ..."
- Sound quality: this amp sounds way better than my factory head unit that came with my Limited hatchback) ... not sure you would say this is "functional" but my wife, who doesn't usually care noticed immediately that the stereo sounded better.
- OBD2 info on the screen (requires a datalink Maestro RR interface which i had installed)

let me know if you have any questions. i am so glad i did this upgrade. i've had it 3+ weeks now and i can't keep thinking how i wish i had done this sooner.
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Old 12-11-2019, 07:14 PM   #31374
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Angelus911 View Post
CarPlay/Android Auto (mostly)
Mostly? Id say hardly.

I mentioned earlier this thing can do A LOT but if youre not running amps then I suppose carplay/android auto are the main features.

Looks nice very nice, if only I didnt ahve the single DIN version.
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Old 12-12-2019, 03:03 AM   #31375
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I never saw the advantage of having a car with built-in navigation when google maps is pretty undeniably the most accurate service out there. And yet a lot of auto makers still charge several hundred just to put a GPS module on the head unit.

Android auto could be useful, although I've gotten so used to just peeking at my phone or listening to the verbal directions from it, that I'm not sure I'd take the effort to connect my phone to the head unit every time I needed navigation somewhere.
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