2019 Subaru Ascent Gripes

Gripes after two months and 1300 miles:

The startup screen

This screen appears and remains for ten seconds every time I start the car.  There is a big green button at the bottom that says something like “I Agree”, but does not dismiss the screen when you tap it.  I wish I could hack the software and remove this.

Can’t change the volume for 30 seconds after starting

All controls on the stereo are unresponsive for at least thirty seconds after starting the car, so you and your passengers are all stuck listening to whatever it happens to be.  And there is no feedback if you do turn the volume knob up, so it will blast when the volume finally changes.

Blue smoke from the exhaust

At least four times in the first 1000 miles I saw thick blue smoke from the exhaust pipes for a few seconds after starting cold.  And this was only when the wind was blowing gently from front to back, so there may have been other times I didn’t notice.  I know what causes this: an oil ring on a cylinder that isn’t seated properly that allows oil to get into the combustion chamber.  The oil gets burned and comes out as blue smoke.  But this engine is not a new design--it’s the same boxer engine Subaru has made for years.

Gas pedal lag

This is a drive-by-wire car--there is no cable connecting the gas pedal to the engine--and every time I want to accelerate quickly there is a lag between pushing hard on the gas pedal and acceleration.  Oh, you wanted to go faster?  Let me think about that.

Engine racing after right-turning merge

At least three times after coming out of a right-turning loop to merge into traffic, pushing hard on the accelerator resulted in an initial lag (see above) and then the engine remained at 4000 rpm even after taking my foot off the gas.  But the car stopped accelerating, so the engine was disconnected from the wheels, like it was in neutral.  It took a few seconds for the engine to return to normal.

Reboot required

A few weeks ago the motorized rear lift gate refused to open, so I followed the instructions in the user guide and opened it manually.  Then it refused to close properly, even after following the instructions to reset it.  So I closed it manually and verified that it latched, and then the car beeped at me when I tried to drive.  So I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery and left it disconnected for a minute.  The problem disappeared after reconnecting the battery, and only the clock needed to be reset (all stereo settings were retained).