Jp1975

As a previous owner of an ‘06 Legacy GT and now the proud owner of a 2020 Legacy XT I believe he would be very happy as I am. Performance, style, and comfort are just as good and better (comfort) than my ‘06. Computerization, yeah there are annoyances - an issue with every currently made vehicle. You can avoid that by buying a used car, but I chose not to. In every review and forum of comparable vehicles I’ve read the same complaints - the specific systems mentioned vary but the complaints are similar. I kept my ‘06 because there wasn’t a suitable vehicle equal to it until this Legacy was released. Subaru hit a home run with it. Could some things be done better, uh...that’s a yes for every vehicle made. The only vehicles that would have given me what I wanted and everything I have in this Legacy would have cost at least $5000 more than I paid and I’m skeptical that I would be any more satisfied.

I have the Limited XT and I’ve got heat within a minute or two of starting the car up. Only an electric heater would produce heat that fast. On my previous Legacy I would already have pulled into the garage where I worked before I’d feel any heat. I only had to drive a couple miles but it was always a cold couple miles. With this car I have heat just about when I start rolling. I’ll try to find some documentation about the heater but I’m certain your Touring would be the same.

An interesting aspect to the way the heat system works. Yesterday I used the remote start function with the temp set to 67 and the defrosters on front and rear thinking there may still be some ice on the windshields. However the outside temp was in the 50s and between that and the sun heating up the interior of the car I think the interior temp was pretty close to what I had set the system for. When I got in the car, the engine was still running, there was little to no heat blowing out of the vents on the 3rd fan level. That confirms to me that if the heating system only needs to raise the interior temp a degree or so, based on your settings, very little heat will be felt. But if the interior is in the 30s and you set the system to the 60s it has to pump out a lot of heat to raise the temp by 30 degrees. And I’m never going to complain about feeling a lot of heat when the temp is in the 30s or below. Needless to say I’m extremely impressed at how efficient this system is. Kudos to Subaru for this, only wish their software were this efficient.

As I mentioned I’m used to our previous Subarus when I didn’t get any heat until I pulled into my garage at work. Now with these new ones we get heat, real heat, within a couple minutes of starting off. If I drive long enough for the thermometer I’ve used on the center armrest to get to the temp I’ve set on the system the heat begins to dial down. I don’t know where the sensors are placed, I believe that is shown in the manual but I haven’t looked. However I use that center armrest as representative of the ambient temp within the car. And once that thermometer gets up to the temp I’ve set the heat that is pumped out starts decreasing at the vents. Our cars were 14 and 15 years old so I can’t speak to how more recent Subarus handled this but we are extremely pleased with the improvements we’ve experienced. We do have the temp set between 63-65 so far in the winter and about 65-67 in the summer when running A/C. We’ve never used the auto setting. Our old Subarus couldn’t be set to less than 65 which was essentially off for heat and max for A/C.

It’s only too strong when it’s heating the car up from a cold temp. I have mine set at 65 also, that’s as high as I put it when I’m in the car. When I get in the car the interior temp is in the 30s or lower so yeah it’s going to pump out a lot heat initially to raise the temp 30 or more degrees. That’s expected. All electric heaters do if you set a temp thats far above current ambient. Once it does that it dials the heat down that’s coming out of the vents and maintains that 65 temp which I’ve checked with a thermometer on the center armrest. Until it reaches ambient 65 and dials the heat down I also sometimes tilt the sunroof up then shut it when it reaches 65 or leave it if I’m still all bundled up. Compared to my ‘06 Legacy this thing is fantastic with heating. No complaints here, it’s just the way it works. Different, better, and much appreciated.

That’s what I do as well, never use the auto setting. However 68F would smoke me out of the car. But I believe you may be in a more northern area than I am. I use 67 for remote start but never go above 65 while in the car.

I had an ‘06 Legacy GT till July when I got this XT. My commute to my job was just under 2 miles. I wouldn’t get any heat till I pulled into the parking garage. This new Legacy is a revelation. Almost makes me want to be commuting again, just to feel the heat. Plus the system keeps the car far more comfortable than the old one ever did.

I agree. In both my wife’s Onyx and my Legacy Limited XT our temp setting this winter has been 63-65. Now initially to achieve that temp when the outside temp is 30* you are going to feel a lot of heat coming out of the vents. My wife only uses the foot directed flow for that reason. I use both upper - face - and foot flow setting. I believe these cars, it may vary by model, have an electric heating mechanism that kicks in till the engine warms up. I haven’t confirmed that but have read it on several sites. I believe it to be the case because we get heat in these vehicles faster than in anything else we’ve ever owned. Long before the engine has warmed. I experimented a couple of times by placing a thermometer I know to be accurate on the center armrest as I drove around. I felt that was a good spot that would indicate the interior ambient temperature. Initially I got a lot of heat coming out of those upper vents to my face, I had it set to 65. But as I drove, it took a good 20 minutes or so, I could feel the heat coming from the vents diminishing gradually, but the thermometer read 64-66 consistently after that. So yes to get a car’s interior, that is probably in the 20’s or 30’s up 30 degrees or more, to whatever you have set, there is going to be a blast of heat initially. But the longer your drive is that will level out to maintain your setting. That initial blast does bother my wife which is why she only uses the floor setting, but she also has her fan level turned up. I almost always have my fan set to the lowest level and sometimes the second, unless I’m trying to defrost the windshield. And you could always play with the vents, closing off the ones that are blowing in your face, as you said, from two feet away. We both both have had a few issues with the vehicles but have been extremely happy with the heating and A/C systems.

You can check this site, enter your VIN, it will tell you if your vehicle is on the recall list, it probably will be. If you’ve had the dealer do the update it will show Completed. For those who did it on their own it will probably continue to show the recall as being open for those vehicles. https://www.subaru.com/vehicle-recalls.html

It’s actually listed as a recall. Had it done at my dealer and less than 30 minutes. Since it is listed as a recall if you did it yourself you may see something pop up on MySubaru app as well as emails and or letters. Once the dealer put’s it in their system as being updated those notifications should cease. On Subaru’s recall web site both my Legacy, 2020 Limited XT, and my wife’s Outback 2020 Onyx XT were shown. The software is 380 for the 2020s. Not sure about the 2021s.

The only issue I had with my Legacy Limited XT was marks on the trunk lid from the factory. I suspect this occurred when they placed the trunk spoiler. The marks were parallel about 2 inches in length. On my Slica black finish they are very difficult to see but when I did notice them, the first or second day I had the car, it was a special order and had just been delivered , I was upset. The options such as repainting the trunk lid or swapping it for another did not appeal to me since you had to know exactly where they were and look from the right angle to even be able to see them. Subaru issued me a $500 coupon for parts and service and the dealer covered 3 oil changes and tire rotations for free. So I’m happy. And no squeaks, whines, rattles or any other issues.

So far on my wife’s Onyx, manufactured December 2019, 11,000 miles, no rattles, no CVT whine, and only one significant complaint. Now that she’s had the 380 software update she is actually turning off Start/Stop frequently, she refused to do so before. With my July 2020 Legacy Limited XT, 1800 miles, no rattles and no CVT whine. The Legacy is the quietest vehicle I’ve ever driven. I have encountered the collision avoidance function and it has usually involved a car ahead of me turning and my not easing off the accelerator and not braking because I could tell the car would be out of the way by the time I reached his location before the turn. But they’ve been very brief instances of brake application and not jarring. If I have let off the accelerator it doesn’t occur. The only other times I’ve seen it engage is when a driver cuts into my lane a little too close for safety. Usually in that instance my foot is heading to the brake pedal anyway so I coincide with the car’s system. If I were distracted by something or just not looking where these cars were this function would be very appreciated. Especially if a teenager or elder adult were driving the vehicles. The only time it disturbed me was when I was cresting a hill on a road with many trees very close to the edge and one had branches that reached out over the road. I’m assuming that the angle of the car as i went up the slope and the position of those branches combined to make the eyesight system think I was headed into the branches. The braking was unexpected and jarring, I thought the engine had seized and was looking for a spot to pull off. I saw a warning flash on the gauge cluster screen but I was busy looking for a pull off and wasn’t able to read it. But it released fairly quickly and I continued on. The one serious complaint my wife and I have, about her car, is that the center control unit is very slow on hers. In discussions with others, Subaru changed the hardware around July so I fortunately got a faster system. It’s no speed demon by any means but is noticeably faster in almost all functions than my wife’s. Those who had their units replaced because of bricking by the botched over the air software update were actually done a favor. One serious example of the difference is doing the usb map updates. On my car, using the same usb drive with the same map data, it takes only about 25 minutes or so to install. On my wife’s car it takes 90 minutes. Fortunately that’s not an every day issue. Otherwise we love the cars. We came from an ‘05 Outback XT for my wife and an ‘06 Legacy GT for me. We are very happy.

I came from a 2006 Legacy 2.5 GT 5 speed to my 2020 Legacy Limited XT. I understand what you’re saying about the dash rattles on your car, my wife’s ‘05 Outback XT was the same as well as my ‘06 Legacy. We kinda thought dash rattles were a Subaru feature. But she currently has a 2020 OB and I have the Legacy. They are the quietest cars we’ve ever driven, no rattles, no odd noises whatsoever. Even though this 2020 Legacy is very different from the ‘06 GT 5 speed it has been extremely satisfying in every respect. With the wider tires and 18” wheels versus the 17” of the ‘06 I’ve found the handling to be very, very good. I’m not disappointed in the least. After having the ‘06 turbo I would not have been happy with a non XT Legacy but the XT has satisfied me in every way.

I don’t remember if it was a Safelite guy or not but I saw a neighbor’s car having its windshield replaced and I went to speak to the tech. I asked about Eyesight calibration since I had read other posts about possible issues. He knew what I was talking about and said after a replacement a dealer would have to do the calibration. He did explain why it might be a problem after the windshield is replaced, I’m not certain I understood completely but it did give me the impression that the whole process would be best handled by a dealer if possible.

Most dealers will tell you they do not install software updates unless you have an issue. Others found before that only telling them the head unit was rebooting, or going black or CarPlay didn’t work, or some other issue that would cause them to check software. It took months after the release of 504 before most dealers were even aware of it. It’s best to just wait for a service interval to mention it unless you actually are having an issue that you’re bringing it in for.

You just pull the light stalk back towards you and let go. Another thing you can do is use the Auto setting for the lights and then push the stalk forward to activate the high beams. Leave it there and the high beam assist will take over turning highs on and off. This will show people that your highs were turned down, they’ll be able to see the change. That’s what I use on back roads at night. The system works extremely well. On mine the system even turned the high beams off as I was approaching a vehicle ahead of me. Anyone should be able to see the change as you drive towards them or approach them from the rear. The light stalk has 3 positions, center for no high beams, pushed forward for continuous high beam or high beam assist, and back towards you for momentary activation of high beams.

I was browsing the Subaru Outback forum and saw a few posts similar to yours, all involved Windows computers, I have a mac and didn’t have a problem. There may be some setting on your computer that is affecting this.

Just go to this web site and create an account. I used my MySubaru user name and password to create my account. You’ll then get emails about new updates and can download the Map Updater application from there to install on a computer so you can download and install any future updates onto a usb drive. If over the air map updates ever become live you can connect your Starlink system in your car to wifi or your phone’s hotspot and check under the Navigation tab for any updates. Then you should get the option to download whatever specific regions you want to install. That process was supposed to be available in September but there’s been no further word so I wouldn’t be waiting for it. Using the Map Updater application took just under an hour for the download and installation onto my usb drive. That will vary according to your internet connection. The actual installation in the car took less than 30 minutes. We went for a drive and picked up some take out food while it installed. https://subaru-maps.com/#/auth/sign-in

I find that my Limited XT is the quietest car I’ve ever driven.

I’ve not seen any indication that over the air, either wifi or hotspot, map updates are available at this time. The previous map update installed on my Legacy in less than 30 minutes by usb. I just took a long drive and let it install, no issues. However we also updated my wife’s Outback Onyx which is still on the 502 software and the map update took 90 minutes. We took a very “looong” drive! If an OTA update becomes available it will offer a selection of regions to download rather than all of North America. So to get the entire map version you’ll need to use usb. But that was simple using the Map Updater software that can be downloaded from Subaru to your computer. I even used the same usb drive that I used last time for the new update. It walks you through the process and will also delete what’s on the usb so it can install the new version.

Check the MySubaru app. I don’t have my phone with me right now but you may be able to lock the doors remotely which should set the alarm as well, as long as you remember.

I’ve never seen “on order” on a dealer web site. Only”in transit” which means it does exist and is on the way to the dealer lot. If they’re in transit then the factory must still be cranking them out, you’ll just have to find one you want or wait. My initial order was placed on January 20, I wanted a black Limited Legacy XT, black interior, trunk spoiler, the upgraded interior LED lights and mirror, door scuff protector and the rubber trunk liner. At that time pre-Covid I was given a May delivery estimate. Once Covid hit this turned into July 28 delivery. But beginning in the summer I saw a lot of Touring XTs available which I didn’t want. So if you want something specific you will probably have to wait, they do make more Tourings than Limiteds from what I can tell so you could work out a deal on one more quickly but you’ll have no choice on interior. Using Cars.com in a 500 mile radius from my location near Baltimore I found 111 XTs, a mix of Touring and Limiteds, 2020s and 2021s. Found more Limiteds than I expected. Anyway you should have no problem getting one, you just may have to compromise on a few things.

It’s not that bad and easy enough to turn off when you start up. If I’m just going a short distance I don’t even bother. Longer drives with multiple stops expected I always turn it off. If I forget, the first stop will remind me and I’ll do it then. A bigger issue is that if you have a model with the Driver Monitoring/Distraction System it cannot handle sunglasses. Mine will always disable itself if I use my fit-over sunglasses. Only a car shut down/restart will reset it and sometimes it will take several hours for that to work. Sunglasses really mess this thing up so on sunny days I always turn it off along with Stop/Start. On cloudy days or at night I leave it alone - no sunglasses - and it works perfectly.

When I first placed my Legacy XT order it was in January and the delivery schedule was shown as May. That was before Covid hit and up-ended everything. Finally got July 28. Four months seems to be fairly common for the Legacys, at least the XTs anyway. I agree that is not ideal but you have to decide if it’s the car you want. This is my third Legacy and I’ve not gotten any of them day one. One had to be acquired from an out of state dealer that took a couple days. The other one was from another in-state dealer that was available in a day or so. The Legacys, depending on versions, have always been an exercise in delayed gratification.

I have to agree, this has more clearance and the whole body structure is higher than my previous Legacy. In it I always had to be very careful and slow and still on some surfaces such as inclines into gas stations I’d still occasionally scrape. On this one I don’t even come close, but it’s less than two months old, I don’t go bombing through anything.