('11-'14) Installing OEM cruise control in 2012+ Impreza 2.0i base model

[wawacoffee]

EDIT: 9/4/2019
Most image and video links died over the years so I updated them as many as I can. I am glad this post has helped so many people to install the cruise control. Long live our Imprezas!

Forewords:
Many people choose a premium Impreza mainly for its cruise control. Some people who settled on base trims whine and ask if they can add one. Now you have a new reason to love you base-trim Impreza because it actually has a cruise control built-in, but you just need to activate it!

One day I ran into a Chinese XV Crosstrek forum and there were some interesting discussions and guides to install OEM cruise control keyboards taken from other Subaru models. This function just simply works on the base models. That tells us cruise control is already build in every single XV Crosstrek sold in China, but Subaru decides to lock it on the base trim for marketing purposes. Since XV and 2.0i NA Impreza are close relatives, and every Impreza sold in North America but base models in US has this function, I strongly believe this could be the same marketing strategy. I happened to find a used cruise control keyboard taken from a XV Crosstrek, so I decided to give it a try.

Tools you need:
A 10 mm wrench (to disconnect the battery)
A solid 17 mm lug wrench (to remove the main lug of steering wheel)
A flat screwdriver
A Phillips screwdriver
A bright flash light (you will need to see the components inside)

Parts you need:
From your dealer like here
https://www.subarupartsdepot.com/v-2...wheel-and-trim

Cruise control keyboard for Impreza #4

part#83158FJ010
or
Cruise control keyboard with audio satellite remote for Impreza #5

Part#83154FJ060

Actually, I am using a used part from XV and it works. However, the harness for paddle shift is different, but I don't care. Some people in that Chinese forum reported successful installation with parts for JDM XV, but the Eyesight button won't work of course. (http://price.52che.com/subaru_xv/news-17628262.html) Some even used the keys for Legacy sold on US eBay, but you need to modify the harness. (http://club.autohome.com.cn/bbs/thre...3119415-1.html) My point is, the cruise control system are very similar across late Subaru models, but the parts designed for Impreza or XV Crosstrek in North America will be the simplest choice.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Park your car with the parking break, align the wheels straight, and remove the key.

2. Disconnect the negative end of the battery and wait for more than one minute before work
This work involves the removal of the air bag on the steering wheel. This is the necessary step to prevent the accidental deployment of the air bags.



3. Disconnect the air bag clips


The mechanism to fasten the air bag module is very simple. There is a steel wire attached to a spring to hold the clips. All you need to do is use a flat screwdriver to push the wire and the clip will simply detach.


Close-ups on both sides



You should begin with the bottom one which is the easiest. The air bag module popped right out as soon as I stuck the screw driver into the hole.


(to be continued due to limit of image numbers)

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[wawacoffee]

3. (cont'd) Disconnect the air bag clips
Now you move on to the clips on the both sides. They have the same mechanism but the angle is very tricky. I got good luck on the right one within a minute. But the left one took me about an hour because my left hand is so awkward. I can only provide the photos and you have to figure out the the position of the clips, and the correct angle of attack. My advice is that you kind of follow the angle of the hole, but slide in the screwdriver along the wall in the hole closer to your side, like this:


And the wire will be moved accordingly:


4. Disconnect the air bag harnesses
Depending on the region, there may be one or two harnesses, which are color-coded. You need to pry up the clip first then the body of the harness.



5. Disconnect the horn
There is a small hook and you need to press it before removing.
[IMG]blob:https://imgur.com/512d20e9-7056-4ceb-ad51-df3a98e1b7e0[/IMG]

6. Disconnect the steering wheel control harnesses
The 12-pin harness is for horn, cruise control and satellite remote control. The small, 4-pin one on the right is for paddle shift. The XV Crosstrek keyboard I used here has different design for the right one so cannot be plugged in.


7. Mark the position of the steering wheel with tapes
Makes it easier when re-installing.


8. Remove the main lug
You need a good lug wrench to do so. I found the ratchet wrench in my tool set was too shallow and flimsy for this job. I used a wheel lug wrench. Its tightening torque is 39 N-m or 29 lbf-ft.

9. Take off the steering wheel
Wiggle around the wheel from different location to loosen it, and use good strength to pull it out.

10. Remove the back cover and the (empty) keyboards
Flip over the steering wheel, and remove the back cover. Each keyboard is hold by a Phillips screw, which can be easily removed.


11. Install the new keyboards, put everything back in reverse order, and enjoy the cruise control (and satellite remote)!
The computer will detect the new component and adapt automatically in starting up. Watch the upper right corner of LED display.


Cruise control turned on:


The illumination color of the keys fits perfectly:


It is absolutely unnecessary to use an aftermarket cruise control kit. Go buy a keyboard and enjoy the function your car already has!

[wawacoffee]

Update: Satellite head unit and hands free phone control.

I finally picked up and finished the project I left 6 years ago and made the left side satellite remote work on my aftermarket JVC head unit. Long story short, if a satellite switch is installed on a 2013+ 4th generation Impreza or 1st gen XV, the switch should work on OEM head units because all the wires for head unit and hands free phone are pre-installed as standard. If you have an aftermarket head unit, you will need to use an interface controller such as Metra ASWC-1, and a harness supporting the remote control wires such as this listing: https://www.amazon.com/20-pin-Subaru.../dp/B01D9K3L44. Specifically, this harness contains the connection to pin 14 and 13, which are used for HU remote and hands free phone, respectively. Pin 4 is just a ground connection. See the below diagram from ASWC-1 manual and check if your HU harness has these 2 wires.



For 2011-2012 Impreza, however, the hands free phone control wire (ping 13) on the base models is missing in the OEM harness. Therefore, the very expensive harness along with ASWC-1 will only give you HU control. You can choose to use that harness and wire the phone control from the steering wheel yourself, or just use a cheap-o-harness and wire both pin 14 and 13 because add an extra wire is negligible compared with the effort to remove the steering wheel. In the following instruction, I will explain why and how you wire the control from the steering wheel directly to ASWC-1. Since I already installed the expensive harness I only did the pin 13.

First thing is you can find the full service manual for many Subaru car where I extracted the information for the work:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.ph...-Model-USDM-EU

Wiring diagram without hands free microphone (base model):


Wiring diagram with hands free microphone:


As you can see pin A13 in the i85 Audio harness is missing if there is no hands free mic pre-installed (i.e. base bodels). So here is how to add it.

Identify the harnesses:


Close up on B68:


Cut, crimp and route pin 6 (and 7 if you don't have the fancy harness) to ASWC-1 controller.


If you have any doubt, use a multimeter and the following diagram to check the resistance.

[bunchofcod]

It should help me to rectify my mistake when I bought an Impreza in May. I love the car; my wife really LOVES it, but I assumed all models came with cc. Duh! After a couple long range trips I know we need it, the only question is to do it myself, or asking the dealer to install it. Again, thank you for the clips and letting us know this is possible.

[Guzzi 1]

I didn't bother to read through all the posts, but watched part of the vid. I wrote up a how to on changing my steering wheel to the leather one. In the FWIW department, it is not necessary to pry the trim apart to get to the spring clips. there are holes in the back for that purpose. Furthermore, it is very advisable to disconnect the battery before you begin disassembly of the steering wheel. IIRC, there was mention of waiting 1 minute to allow any possible stored voltage to bleed off after the battery has been disconnected. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the air bag discharge. Probably would not be a pretty sight.

Here was my write up:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2435531

Note that this was for changing the plastic wheel for leather, but the disassembly process is the same.

John

[Xafen]

We still need pictures of it! I'm inching closer and closer to doing this, because I think it would be awesome. Is it the same leather steering wheel that comes in the limited model? I thought about looking in one to make sure it's a type of leather wheel I would like.

Pics please! Final finished product would be awesome, I'm just curious what the leather wheel looks like.

[wawacoffee]

Originally Posted by Guzzi 1

I didn't bother to read through all the posts, but watched part of the vid. I wrote up a how to on changing my steering wheel to the leather one. In the FWIW department, it is not necessary to pry the trim apart to get to the spring clips. there are holes in the back for that purpose. Furthermore, it is very advisable to disconnect the battery before you begin disassembly of the steering wheel. IIRC, there was mention of waiting 1 minute to allow any possible stored voltage to bleed off after the battery has been disconnected. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the air bag discharge. Probably would not be a pretty sight.

Here was my write up:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2435531

Note that this was for changing the plastic wheel for leather, but the disassembly process is the same.

John

I totally agree with you on the recommendation to disconnect the battery and use the holes behind the steering wheels for disassembling. Here is the official guides from the repair manual:











And the tightening torque for steering wheel is 39 N-m or 29 lbf-ft.

[bunchofcod]

Anyone know what a Subaru dealer would charge for the cc pad and installation?

[wawacoffee]

Originally Posted by bunchofcod

Anyone know what a Subaru dealer would charge for the cc pad and installation?

I think an hour of labor is a fair price. It would take me half an hour to perform the installation again.

[GJ7_Tim]

Originally Posted by bunchofcod

Anyone know what a Subaru dealer would charge for the cc pad and installation?

it took me 45 min to install the cc with audio. the only hard part of the whole installment was to find the lock that holds the airbag assembly in place. everything else is easy.

[dmccown]

Can anyone verify that this works on the '14 model year? Also on a manual?

This sounds awesome and I want it so bad!


UPDATE: Got the part in, and will try to install it tonight.

UPDATE 2: It works perfectly! Couple of thoughts about the instillation:
1. The airbag clips will own your soul, that is where a lot of my time went!
2. The second harness that is 1,2,3,4 above which is for the paddle shifters just dangles if you have a manual (kind of obvious but was really disconcerting when I was installing)
3. From a purely rant perspective, Subaru really? that part costs them maybe 20 bucks to make....

Enjoy!

[VegasSubie]

I called the local Subaru dealership here about this and they told me that the ECM isn't wired for cruise control to work. They said there's no real way to get cruise control installed on a base model. Is this just something they're trying to hide or will it really work on any base model impreza?

[dmccown]

Originally Posted by VegasSubie

I called the local Subaru dealership here about this and they told me that the ECM isn't wired for cruise control to work. They said there's no real way to get cruise control installed on a base model. Is this just something they're trying to hide or will it really work on any base model impreza?

Told me the same thing, but I am trying it. I just bought the part yesterday on Ebay and will update once I have tried it. My thought is actually that they legitimately do not know.

[VegasSubie]

Originally Posted by dmccown

Told me the same thing, but I am trying it. I just bought the part yesterday on Ebay and will update once I have tried it. My thought is actually that they legitimately do not know.

If it works out let me know. If the dealership says it won't work but it does, I'll just do it on my own. Just wanted to get them to do it so I don't have to mess with the airbag.

If anyone is looking for the part, it's $125.16 here;

http://subaruonlineparts.com/oemparts/83154FJ160

[emiliobadillio]

Originally Posted by VegasSubie

If it works out let me know. If the dealership says it won't work but it does, I'll just do it on my own. Just wanted to get them to do it so I don't have to mess with the airbag.

If anyone is looking for the part, it's $125.16 here;

http://subaruonlineparts.com/oemparts/83154FJ160

I'm hoping to pickup just the cruise controls (right side) for my base model rather than the full satellite controls from the dealership today. It comes out to $75 from http://www.buysubarupartsnow.com/oem...tch/83154fj030

[VegasSubie]

Originally Posted by emiliobadillio

I'm hoping to pickup just the cruise controls (right side) for my base model rather than the full satellite controls from the dealership today. It comes out to $75 from http://www.buysubarupartsnow.com/oem...tch/83154fj030

Not totally sure about it but if you look at the parts in the picture, they have the same connectors. Seems like if you do the cheaper part with just the cruise control you won't get the audio and hands free controls. I think in some of the pictures above it shows the steering wheel without them (the first link at least).

[G2Spfld]

Seems like I heard someone say they replaced the steering wheel with premium wheel and the connectors were all there to hook up. I'm sure you will need to buy another unit that plugs into comp or engine bay somewhere. Doubt the wheel controls alone will make it work. My niece had an aftermarket kit installed and it works great. Just not as easy to use as the stalk is hidden from view from wheel on left side column. But from what I've heard you can use oem parts to add cruise, just not sure what else besides wheel controls you need.

[dmccown]

Originally Posted by dmccown

Can anyone verify that this works on the '14 model year? Also on a manual?

This sounds awesome and I want it so bad!


UPDATE: Got the part in, and will try to install it tonight.

UPDATE 2: It works perfectly! Couple of thoughts about the instillation:
1. The airbag clips will own your soul, that is where a lot of my time went!
2. The second harness that is 1,2,3,4 above which is for the paddle shifters just dangles if you have a manual (kind of obvious but was really disconcerting when I was installing)
3. From a purely rant perspective, Subaru really? that part costs them maybe 20 bucks to make....

Enjoy!

Note my edit from above. Cheers to wawacoffee for a great and through how-to. Enjoy your cruise control!

[dmccown]

Originally Posted by VegasSubie

Not totally sure about it but if you look at the parts in the picture, they have the same connectors. Seems like if you do the cheaper part with just the cruise control you won't get the audio and hands free controls. I think in some of the pictures above it shows the steering wheel without them (the first link at least).

What VegasSubie says is true. Depending on how ambitious you are you could just use the hands free part you already have and add it to the harness from the cruise control only pad. Does not seem like it would be too hard, but the wires are all pretty little and possibly soldered into the harness.

[VegasSubie]

Originally Posted by dmccown

What VegasSubie says is true. Depending on how ambitious you are you could just use the hands free part you already have and add it to the harness from the cruise control only pad. Does not seem like it would be too hard, but the wires are all pretty little and possibly soldered into the harness.

Did you install just the cruise control pad or did you buy the part that came with the hands free and cruise control? Since you confirmed this works I'll definitely be doing it soon.

[RKNewell]

Dealers told me "Naaaaah, you can't add cruise control to your 2014 base Impreza." Still, I had to try, and luckily, part # 83154FJ160 works like a charm! My thanks to all of you who contributed the info I needed.

[dalt1225]

That's good news indeed. That's really the 1 feature I missed compared to the cost of the premium upgrade. I didn't want to spend all the extra $ just to get the Cruise Control. Did you get the part on Ebay? Or from a local dealer?

[emiliobadillio]

Originally Posted by emiliobadillio

I'm hoping to pickup just the cruise controls (right side) for my base model rather than the full satellite controls from the dealership today. It comes out to $75 from http://www.buysubarupartsnow.com/oem...tch/83154fj030

So I ordered the part (83154fj030) for just cruise control but the actual part number is 83154FJ040. The part that came had that number, but the description was "SW AY SATELLITE". It was the left side of just audio controls.

The weird part is the description is swapped. One is called "CRUISE SWITCH" and the other is called "SW AY SATELLITE". I am exchanging the audio controls for the cruise keyboard now, and will update when I get it in.

[dmccown]

Originally Posted by dalt1225

That's good news indeed. That's really the 1 feature I missed compared to the cost of the premium upgrade. I didn't want to spend all the extra $ just to get the Cruise Control. Did you get the part on Ebay? Or from a local dealer?

I got mine on ebay, but the dealership is about the same price. I just did not feel like driving over there to get it.

[dmccown]

Originally Posted by VegasSubie

Did you install just the cruise control pad or did you buy the part that came with the hands free and cruise control? Since you confirmed this works I'll definitely be doing it soon.

I got the part that had both.