Hatchi

The 7th gen Outback 2.5 n/a is going to feel slower than your turbo diesel in most situations I would guess. Whether it actually is will be a close call but the 7th gen Outback I recently drove certainly did't feel particularly spritely I had a back to back test drive last month. A late 6th gen 21 plate 2.5 premium and a 24 plate 7th gen touring. The touring was barely run in and it felt like someone had dropped an anchor out the back. The throttle mapping was ridiculously lazy and spoilt the whole experience. The 6th gen would have got my vote even though there was only £5.5k difference between them!

I’m based in the UK and am soon to become the new owner of a 2017 JDM Levorg STI. I have been doing as much research as I can ref the likely possibility of having to upgrade the head unit and still retain all the relative switch functions. Having owned a couple of JDM toys over the years (Forester STI and Accord CW2 Type S wagon) this could be the first situation where an ICE upgrade maybe a necessity, so I would like to know what experiences UK owners have had or are having. I realise there are very few Levorg owners over here and Levorg STI owners even less so, so I figured I might as well offer up a roundup of what I’ve gleaned so far. I already see the IDOING unit seems popular, but I am unsure as to whether these have been fitted directly to JDM vehicles (like mine), or to import versions sold in the Australian or New Zealand market, which look to have a very similar set up as to those available on our UK spec Levorg’s. Maybe someone could enlighten me My vehicle is a facelift with Eyesight and has the original JDM Apple car play/Android unit installed. This has the facia with silver edging along the top and sides and my top vents do not have silver surrounds. It also has the two-dial climate control unit. It has been confirmed to me by the importer that although the car’s multi-screens are easily converted to different languages, including English, the head unit is JDM mapping only with no way of changing the language. Now, whilst the current head unit screen appears nice and big and does have Apple car Play and Android Auto, I am yet to experience how user friendly this will be long term. So, although the importer has not long had their auto electrician fit an aftermarket unit to another Levorg owner, it appears it wasn’t a simple ‘fix’, and I believe they ended up using UK XV parts to make it work. I don’t know the full spec and I’m not 100% sure if they are prepared to look at the inside of another Levorg again, so I’m looking at an alternative if I have to look elsewhere! So, what type of facia does my 2017 car come with? The facia from what I can tell, is this one, and although It's not clear if it has the silver edging, it does appear to have integrated top vents. This one does have the silver edging and again appears to have the upper vent moulding incorporated. Maybe someone could clarify if that might be a separate piece, but just attached in the photos? This facia set up also looks very similar to those found in late 6th gen UK Outback premiums. From what I have researched so far (I haven’t got the vehicle yet so not inspected the components) it looks like I have a JDM specific HU fitted within a JDM specific Levorg facia, along with a JDM Levorg specific climate control unit. So, if I can’t get any decent functionality out of it, I need to find out how can this be improved upon and upgraded. Silly question time Before looking at the steps required to get the best solution, and I’m sure it would have been mentioned already, as it would be the simplest fix, but does anyone with a VMG JDM Levorg know if the HU has mapping on an SD card? And, if it does, has anyone tried installing a UK mapped card into the JDM HU? Presuming the answer to that is ‘wishful thinking’, its looking more likely that a chunk of money will have to be invested! Before looking at these options lets first look into what existing upgrades there are already available, and here we have to turn to what folks have done down under, and what Australian and New Zealand audio suppliers already offer. Please correct me if I’m wrong but I concluded from the double din upgrades available in these markets that upgrades to Vorg STI’s are generally the same offered to WRX vehicles. These come with a full facia that covers both the upper vents and has a contoured cut out for the lower climate control unit. If the existing upper vents can still be used maybe someone could confirm if the three dial existing climate control unit will have to be replaced with the WRX type one? Is this the sort of aftermarket double din upgrade facia commonly offered down under? My preference and options: The IDOING option would be a last resort, so I’d like a decent double din unit from a well-established manufacturer. I don’t need built in Satnav and it must have wireless Apple play and Android Auto. I would not be carrying out the work myself and would prefer to buy goods available domestically. The facia plate needs to look OE clean, and if it’s possible I’m not fussed if I have to retain both the JDM upper vent moulding (if it is indeed a separate piece) and the lower two dial climate control unit. First up was to look at what upgrades are available in the UK, and the answer to that question appears to be ‘NOT A LOT’ The guys I may well trust to carry out the work reckon that pulling out and inspecting what’s already fitted would be a good first step, to take a look at what’s going on and to decipher if a compatible and fully working alternative is possible. Then we can look at what’s on offer. If you have accomplished a successful double din HU upgrade (not the IDOING unit) into a JDM Levorg import into the UK I would love to know how you got on, as I am sure other UK owners would Thanks Los

I have an OBD Link scan tool and checked last night No fault codes recorded😥

Thanks

Yes we have been verbally informed our vehicle has had the harness recall and check by the main dealer we purchased from although I have yet to see any written evidence as its all done online. I will be double checking now Will post up the outcome

2014 2.0 Diesel XV Before I take it in to a main dealer I wonder if anybody else has experienced the issue? In the last week my wife and I have experienced four occasions where the steering warning light has come on (red steering wheel with exclamation mark) The first occasion was approx 1 minute after starting the car. My wife had just exited our driveway and was steering straight when the power to the electric steering cut out shortly followed by all power. Luckily she was only traveling at approx 10mph down a single track so no drama but still😮 As all the power was lost all the dash lit up so she had no idea what had gone on. We tried to replicate it at slow speed but all was well............until... two days later I started her up and as soon as I turned the wheel the power to the steering went and the warning light on its own (mentioned above) lit up. Unlike my wife's incident power remained to the rest of the car ? The only difference is I wasn't moving. The cars power to the steering has since gone twice on me since in the last three days and both times as per our second incident when the car was at a stand still. Both times the ignition is turned off, left to stand for a couple of minutes and then all is well. I have tried to replicate the issue with the wheel turned and straight before turning on the ignition but either has triggered the power failure Am I correct in thinking the power steering is controlled by a module and is it likely the fault will have triggered any fault codes? I don't want to take it to a dealer for them to tell me they cant replicate this issue and all seams well

No problems with the module on our new screen to date😀

Thanks Turns out module is clipped to a metal mount attached to the screen. The new screen includes this mount so no drama

Ride quality is definitely improved but then there wasn't much meat on the Geolanders on purchase. The 235's have a 9mm larger rolling radius which is a 1.42% increase As for the alloy width. Yes a 235 should in theory be too wide for a 7J but we put the 235 Cross Climate against the original 225 Geolander and they were marginally wider so we could only put that down to the difference with each manufacturers tread pattern and sizing

Windscreen chipped and now cracking ! Only had it a couple of months so pretty unlucky Also had an aftermarket DAB Head Unit and the aerial will now need replacing also. Bugger ! Question: Is the auto windscreen module above the mirror attached to the roof metalwork or the screen?

Cancel that they ARE SUV cross Climates. You can see it in the pics I didn't request this version so perhaps its the size that determines whether the SUV classification

Thanks, defo just standard Cross Climates

Born in south Manchester and only moved away in 2015 so know it pretty well. In fact the ancient woods I used to play in as a kid has just made way for tons of concrete and the bypass which will eventually connect with the airport link road. Progress they say ?

I bought a 2005 Facelift model in 2013 for £9K with 80K miles. It suffered HG failure within 5K of ownership but they are such great little motors I got a professional forged engine rebuild and kept for another 18 months before a house move had it moving on in 2015. I sold her with 98K miles for £10K Looking recently 70-80k mile machines seem to be going for £10-12K and many of these are advertised with none OE alloys and original JDM head units which will need replacing. Make sure in addition to import docs the speedo has been converted, it has been mapped for 97-99 Ron fuel and you will almost certainly have to under seal it. Although a great package on paper with Milltek 3" straight through SS exhaust, STI body kits and decent (for the time) Head units stay clear of the Litchfield imports as high milers do seem to suffer more HG issues than most. Consensus from owners is the mapping was the culprit Try as many out as possible as many have been ruined by crap mapping, cheap coilovers and tacky interior mods