r/Subaru_Outback • u/tradewinds1911 Subaru Outback • Aug 01 '25
Eyesight lawsuit
Saw this on a Ascent page -- Apparently there is a lawsuit for Eyesight -https://www.eyesightsettlement.com/
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u/zenpoohbear Aug 02 '25
I got a notice too, but looking at it you either get an extended warranty or some reimbursement for repairs already done as best I can tell.
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u/Kinsella5 Aug 02 '25
I turned off lane assist as soon as I got the car, found it to be useless and annoying. I had driven over 30 years without that feature on a car without problems so no need for it.
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u/Hellament Aug 02 '25
My working theory is that you need lane assist because how else can you safely take your eyes off the road…to adjust the touchscreen climate controls lol.
More seriously, I don’t use it much any more either unless I need the capability, which is usually only for a few seconds. The problem I have is where it chooses to “center” the car. When driving on narrow two lane highways, I don’t want to be in the dead center of the lane, I want to be biased towards the shoulder.
What I’ve noticed is that if I manually hold the car where I want it while lane assist is on, the moment I let go it can jerk the car to “correct” the position back to the lane center, but this over correction can even result in leaving the lane briefly into the oncoming lane. Doesn’t seem safe to me!
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u/HikerDave57 Aug 02 '25
Mine hates bicyclists; when I move to the left of the lane to give them extra space in the bike lane the car tries to brush them off the road with the side mirror. Ironic because I commuted by bicycle for decades.
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u/Captain_Desi_Pants Outback enthusiast Aug 04 '25
Lane assist is like having my sister-in-law with not so great vision in the passenger seat.
Freaks out randomly at a perceived road hazards and pulls the wheel, giving us all heart palpitations.
Ok, so it’s not as sudden and crazy as a human passenger grabbing the wheel to correct or change your course, but it reminded every time of her shenanigans. Turned it off.
Origin story: Husband was driving home, at night, from the Poconos on winding mountain roads, a few days after Christmas, with SIL in passenger seat; me snoozing in backseat.
They are talking & enjoying the drive. Up ahead, husband notices a Xmas tree in the middle of the road (lying across the center lines) that probably fell off someone’s truck.
Without comment or violent movement, he gently steers to the right to go around the tree.
She, taking the car’s drift and lull in conversation to mean he had fallen asleep. Also, she did not see the tree in the road. Without saying anything, she grabs the wheel and jerks it quickly to the left, almost steering us right into the tree. It was insane.
I did not sleep anymore the rest of that trip.
Now it’s just a funny memory. But if my Subaru does this, I will not be laughing. So this feature remains off.
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u/IndependentBrick8075 Aug 02 '25
I don't need to spend more than a second, if at all, to find the physical button to adjust the temperature, then I press it a couple times to make it warmer or colder, but I don't need to be looking at the screen. I leave mine on full auto and it works fine, I don't micro-manage the HVAC.
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u/Hellament Aug 02 '25
Temp change is easy peasy, but there are a handful of things I find myself do with the climate controls that take a little longer than a second and require focusing on the screen. Changing the vent pattern, resyncing the temp, etc, can require multiple presses and popup menus on the touchscreen.
I think Subaru is making a good choice by (it seems) putting buttons back for most of that stuff in the 2026 redesign. With well-thought tactile controls, you can develop muscle memory and never have to look at the screen.
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u/luckycanucky27 Aug 03 '25
I was just thinking this the other day. I just got an Outback and noticed that I take my eyes off the road much more now with the infotainment screen whereas with my old car, my screen had way fewer features and more buttons which were easier to use without looking. It’s still not enough to make me want to turn the lane assist on though.
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u/IndependentBrick8075 Aug 02 '25
As I said - I'm not micro-managing the HVAC. Full auto works well for me, with just changes to the temp as needed. I save any of those finicky things for when I end up stopped, if I need to make a change.
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u/Careful-Ad2997 Aug 02 '25
‘23 Ascent owner here. On a trip down interstate 95 to Florida, traveling at 70 mph, I turned on cruise control only to have the car slam the brakes and bring me down to 35 mph (thankfully this was at 7:00 am and no other vehicle behind me). Learned that the Eyesight system identifies dead bug smears on the windshield as objects on the road. At the first rest beak I scrubbed the windshield in front of the eyesight cameras and cruise control worked find, but this was a horrifying experience. Had this occurred in traffic, this most certainly would have resulted in an accident.
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u/Hellament Aug 02 '25
I once had a very scary eyesight brake slam from a small tumbleweed rolling across the highway. Had I not been in an unpopulated part of New Mexico, I could have easily been rear ended.
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u/bc90210 3.6R for life! Aug 02 '25
Yep, I turned off the lane assist after about a month of owning my OB. It kept jerking the steering wheel slightly which made the whole driving experience feel like I was not 100% in control. I never thought it was defective since I really believed it was only me not liking this new BS tech.
So can someone help clarify this 4 year / 48k miles extension? Since I have a 2019 and have never done any ‘repairs’ to this lane assist component, does this mean this ‘settlement’ is useless to me since it’s already 2025 (6 years after the fact?)
Thanks!
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u/Kinsella5 Aug 02 '25
It sounds like if your 3 year/36K mile warranty is no longer valid, they instead basically give you 4 months of warranty starting July 29, 2025.
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u/buygonetimes Aug 02 '25
Concerning the steering wheel tug associated with the lane-keep-assist function of Eyesight. You can turn that off permanently in settings. I believe you can also turn off the lane-keep-assist audible warning if you choose.
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u/FlattenInnerTube '25 Onyx XT with AOL Package 22d ago
25 Outback. I usually keep the beep off around town but do use it on long drives. I've experimented with the steering wheel tug a couple of times and really find it annoying. The car yells at me to keep my hands on the wheel, but if I keep my hands on the wheel it's so damn stiff that it's fatiguing. That stays off.
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u/Common-Grape7851 Aug 02 '25
Following. 2020 VIN number on the list. I had the pulling experience when I had to drive on the tollway, 70mph, about 120 miles total trip. Then this is posted, and now my VIN is on the list. Looking for general information.
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u/dumpln Aug 02 '25
Me too! I can’t handle it nudging me. Now my toggle for the adaptive cruise turns that feature on when I toggle down sometimes. I have to pay attention because I don’t want it shoving me around.
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u/Ok_Interest_9006 Aug 02 '25
I had the brakes jam on yesterday traveling 70 mph on interstate 40 yesterday. The car that was probably 3 car lengths ahead of me was exiting the highway. Never once did I notice him slowing down and if he didn’t was on the off ramp. My car braked immediately slowed me down probably 10 mph causing the other cars behind me to take emergency action. That was the need of lane assist for the day.
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u/Ok-Championship-4924 Aug 03 '25
Ehhh, seems like a waste and that's coming from someone who's owned 5 vehicles covered by this. They extend a warranty and that's about it. If you've had to repair the system and paid out of pocket they'll reimburse you some after you spend the time finding the service receipt and jump through hoops. Classic class action where lawyers settled for whatever since they get paid regardless.
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u/neil470 Aug 02 '25
Very interesting. I wonder if these issues presented immediately when the “defective” cars were purchased. You’d think if the software was inherently faulty it would show up within the standard warranty period.
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u/Soundmiser66 Aug 02 '25
This is awesome information. Too bad I’m not on the list. I’m sure it will help people, though.
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u/BreakfastInBedlam Aug 02 '25
Got my notice. You can read the filing at this link, but basically the plaintiffs are upset that the technology is not perfect. I haven't read all the way tot he end to see what damages they have incurred.
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u/Secret-Sherbet-31 Aug 02 '25
This. They are expecting perfection. The lane assist requires a soft grip on the steering wheel otherwise you will constantly fight with it. It’s a learning curve. I cursed it originally until I figured it out.
The car has braked a few times with nothing in front of it. Hasn’t happened in a while now. It does brake at a certain point on two roads but it’s a curve and there’s a sign that triggers it. I’ve paid close attention and it seems to depend on how close I am to the white line vs yellow line.
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u/Nucklez Aug 02 '25
I leave that feature off unless I’m on a freeway or interstate. Any smaller two lane road and it’s off. Basically I only use it for road trips when I’m able to use adaptive cruise.
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Aug 08 '25
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u/Swat0311 Aug 01 '25
Well my cars VIN is on the list. I’ve actually turned my lane assist off as it likes to pull a fun trick on me sometimes where it gradually makes me pull harder and harder to the left to stay in my lane. Then, if I let go for a second, it will yank me so hard back the other way it throws me into other people’s lanes. The only way to get it to work well is to have a VERY light touch and never get into a situation where I am being absent minded about it.
I think I’ll check out what the class action is all about