Subaru Owners Are Ticked About In-Car Pop-Up Ads For SiriusXM (thedrive.com)
- Reference: 0180280885
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/04/0534222/subaru-owners-are-ticked-about-in-car-pop-up-ads-for-siriusxm
- Source link: https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-owners-are-ticked-about-in-car-pop-up-ads-for-siriusxm
> At least one 2024 Crosstrek owner reported that the pop-up took over their screen even though they were using Apple CarPlay. To force-close an application that's in use, solely for the sake of in-car advertising, is especially egregious. [The following Subaru owner [3]complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reiterate that point...]
>
> The Drive reached out to Subaru for comment on the marketing tactics. A company spokesperson responded, "We will discuss those messages in an upcoming meeting and will always consider customer feedback. This is the first we've heard of any issue. Those messages occur only twice a year, around Memorial Day and Thanksgiving, to alert customers that all channels are available to them for about two weeks." Reddit posts dating back as far as 2023 show owners complaining about in-car notifications.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/comments/1p57ohp/these_ads_should_not_be_happening_while_we_are/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=post_title&embed_host_url=https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-owners-are-ticked-about-in-car-pop-up-ads-for-siriusxm
[2] https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-owners-are-ticked-about-in-car-pop-up-ads-for-siriusxm
[3] https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2024/SUBARU/CROSSTREK/SW/AWD?pubDate=20250813
Drivenshitification? (Score:2)
Seems automakers are hell-bent on making driving a worse experience now?
Pretend to be a customer for a new Subaru (Score:5, Informative)
Have a long conversation with a salesman
Ask him about this feature
Inform him that it has lost him his sale
Rinse and repeat at another Subaru dealer
Re:Pretend to be a customer for a new Subaru (Score:4, Interesting)
That would require effort and I am not sure there is a ROI. It is easier to just avoid considering a Subaru purchase.
Re: (Score:2)
> It is easier to just avoid considering a Subaru purchase.
It is easier, but then Subaru/salesguy wouldn't explicitly know the reason why they never had the chance to even make that sale.
Re: (Score:2)
I am. Trapped in the body of a man.
Not cool! (Score:1)
Subaru do a lot of things well - they're masters of all-wheel drive - but this is nuts.
I bought a VW Taos earlier this year with the usual trial subscription to Sirius XM. I was going to pull the plug when it expired but Sirius XM offered me a steep discount if I re-upped, so I did. They did it so readily that I wonder how many people are paying full price...
The bulk of my listening is two channels, Hits One and The Pulse.
...laura
Re: (Score:2)
If you threaten to quit at the end of each annual subscription period they will offer you a much better deal. I've done this for years. You just have to remember to chat or call near the end of the subscription period. Also, you have to be careful that they give you the "all-in" price and don't try to scam you by adding in fees for "royalties" that are sometimes 50% or more of the subscription cost. Or if you don't like the offer, just cancel and they'll send you additional offers via mail, text, email, etc
Re: (Score:2)
They tried this when I cancelled the 1-year discounted trial I had, and they tried to offer up a special cheap price for just the 2 channels I said I only ever listed to, but still didn't go for it - overall those channels repeated the same stuff ad infinitum (might as well just have a USB stick with the same stuff on repeat), but mostly I was never impressed with the sound quality of it all (most spoken-heavy channels sounded like a 16Kbps stream) for a "digital radio channels" that were all really no bett
2007 Outback (Score:2)
I have only owned one subaru, and it is a 2007 that I've had for a year. I bought it with 243k miles, specifically because it was cheap, so my daughter can drive herself to school and all her activities.
I've spent more on fixing it than I spent on the car itself. I have needed replace tons of parts. It was basically a lemon (with no rust). However... it does not flash ads. I would rather have this lemon than a new computer on wheels that shows ads.
I have similar problem on my GMC! (Score:2)
It started 3 years ago. I contacted Sirius two years in a row. The first time they walked me through the menus to turn it off, and it worked. The second year they said it couldn't be turned off and that I'd have to wait for the promotional period to end (see below), so I filed a formal safety notice at nhtsa.gov, but never received feedback.
The alert pop-ups keep blocking part of the navigation map until I press the damned Dismiss button while driving in order to see the full map. Repeatedly pushing the Dis
SiriusXM is crazy aggressive (Score:1)
Car manufacturers are taking the MS playbook shoving ads everywhere. On my car SiriusXM will play audio faster and louder than all other input options and there's no option to disable it. They're very aggressive with their marketing and clearly have some agreements with car manufacturers.
Accident = lawsuit (Score:1)
The first time someone is found to be "at fault" in an accident because they were dealing with this ad, you can bet everyone on the other side will be suing Subaru and SiriusXM.
If Subaru's and SiriusXM's lawyers are smart, they will want to have these ads turned off, or at least turned off while the car isn't in "Park." Whether they actually speak up or not I have no idea - they may choose to stay silent as long as possible to avoid creating a legally-dangerous paper trail.
Clarification needed (Score:2)
Hi,
So are these adds only when one has SiriusXM subscription - or only when not?
Are they general adds or specifically to subscribe for SiriusXM?
Do they show up when using other apps, not even when touching SiriusXM (this seems like true, but wanted to make sure)?
Anyway, that is a pretty disturbing trend, however I think a more important is to address "subscription based hardware features" (like e.g. seat heating) first.
Hugs my 2000s car... (Score:4, Informative)
No giant screen, just an AUX-IN so I can plug in an MP3 player (or any other audio source) loaded with dozens of GB of music acquired on the high seas. Sea shanties, if you will. :D
Re: (Score:2)
> No giant screen, just an AUX-IN so I can plug in an MP3 player
What I did on my 2008-era car (which I no longer have) was to replace the standard stereo unit with a new android-based one - had all the conveniences of a modern setup (screen, maps/navigation, bluetooth, CarPay/AndroidAuto, optional tire monitor, even 4G (at the time) for wifi if I wanted), etc.) without all the tie-ins and less than 1/2 the price of equivalent name brand devices (think Pioneer, etc.). Got it from AliExpress back then.
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder if one can still do this with all the technology integration.
The same telematics are involved with the adverts for optional features as are needed for collecting the monthly fees allowing your car to start.
Re: (Score:2)
You have an AUX-IN? Must be a luxury model.
https://www.jalopnik.com/the-story-behind-one-of-the-funniest-craigslist-car-ads-1825571462/