SXM radio categories are not showing under list

have you found a solution yet?

I'm having this same issue with my 2018 Forester.

Anyone figured this out yet?

Exactly the same problem. Anyone figure out an answer?

I've tried calling but can never get anyone on the phone.

I sent an email off to Subaru. I will let you all know if I get anything back.

Having the same problem , called Sirius xm , they said they can’t do anything on their end. Could it be a software issue?

I have a 2017 Outback. Took to Subaru dealer. The replaced the radio with a new one. Supposedly updated all software. Still have same problem. Am learning to use the presets instead.

Okay so I talked to someone yesterday and they said SXM is aware of the issue and is working to correct it. They said there isn't any action to take on our end. I asked when I would know it's fixed and they said it would just start showing.. guess we will check in a month.

Thanks, Chelsea!

Same issue here.. Glad to hear others have been having this problem.. Looking for fix..

Same issue with my 2016 Outback. When I called SXM they said it was a problem with Subaru’s and they were working to fix it. They did reimburse me the month I’ve been without service and guaranteed they would continue to do so.

I am having the same issue. SXM said they were aware of the problem, specific to Subaru

I am also having the same issue with my 2015 Outback. Called SXM and they said they could not do anything about it. They told me it was my radio. If this many people are having the same problem, either SXM or Subaru better be doing something about it!!

Here's what I got back from Sirius today via email: Dear Listener, Thank you for contacting SiriusXM. We apologize for the inconvenience and we are aware of the issue and working on a fix. You are still able to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of your choice. Dear Listener, Thank you for contacting SiriusXM. We apologize for the inconvenience and we are aware of the issue and working on a fix. You are still able to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of your choice.

Is there a message board like this for Subaru and/or Sirius that we could all post to? They may not be following the CarGurus board.

I have a ‘16 Forester and this issue has been occurring for over a month now. I have called Sirius several times over the last few weeks. The regular customer service department was not aware of the issue at first but the tech support department was. Though they initially stated it was a Subaru issue they then admitted it was a Sirius issue occurring in ‘15-‘17 Subarus. My husband’s ‘18 Outback is not having any issues. On the morning of Labor Day my radio was working properly and then by the afternoon it was malfunctioning again. Today just the Pop genre began to appear with the Hits station for some odd reason!

18' forester here: we have sirius on our 12' dodge nitro with no issue, but the forester (even though it's a preview, it's supposed to be a full preview) only shows about 20 pop stations, I can't locate anything else. Anyone had any luck taking their subaru in for service and having it come out with a normal channel list and stay that way?? I'll seriously cancel all of our sirius if they're not going to fix this and forego subscribing for the subaru.

I have been having this problem with my ‘16 Crosstrek. When I called Sirius, they said they are aware of the problem and are working to fix it - although no estimate of when that would be done. I asked about an adjustment to my bill, and they said they would credit the time it was not working - but sounded like that was only because I asked. They know the make/model/year of my car, and they know about the issue, so I am not sure why they did not contact me proactively.

I spoke to Sirius yesterday and there are no new updates. Still can't access the full channel list and they have no idea when it will be fixed.

I just cancelled my service with XM because it didn’t make sense to continue paying for a service that wasn’t completely working. I’m only able to listen to the 15 or so stations I had pre-set on my radio. Might try it again when they fix the issue but not worth it right now. Thank goodness for Spotify!!

I just called today to ask for a credit for my next quarterly bill and they are giving me a small credit but yes I think they should be more proactive about this issue.

Called yesterday and they told me to wait until the issue was fixed and then they would issue me refund for time since August 20th when the issue started. ( told me I had to call back once the issue was fixed to get credit ).. No details on when the fix would go out..

My 2015 Subaru Legacy is also having this issue. Only the Radio ID and Preview channel show up when pressing the category button. When they were spotlighting a pop channel it did show up in the list as well, but only the channel they were spotlighting. I drove my car for about 3 hours without the radio on and the next day on a whim I pressed the category button and magically all categories showed up. I shut the car off and then turned it back on and pressed the category button and it was back to the "broken" state. I will try again to not listen to the radio for a long trip and see if I can replicate it again.

Same issue on my 2016 Outback. I spent an hour on the phone with Sirius/XM support, they sent a reset code several times, and then said it was a subaru issue. I took it to Subaru who said it was a Sirius XM issue. List function works fine on FM, so am betting it is Sirius/XM issue. Frustrating at anyrate!

Same here with 2017 Forester. I liked using the list feature to explore from time to time. Glad to finally find an answer to this annoyance even if the answer is not that great.

I have the same issue. You need to go onto the siriusxm website and hit up their support via chat. Make sure to tell them it is SUBARU related.They will look it up and confirm the issue. They will put you on a list to be notified. Also ask for an extension on your account.

2017 Subaru Crosstrek. I am having the exact same issue. I thought it was just me. Glad to finally stumble across this issue. I will call them and ask for a credit as well. Just spent 20 minutes with someone trying to get a refresh signal sent. Makes it impossible to use the radio while driving.

I had same problem (not listing stations) on my 2017 Forester. Called Sirius, told they know problem with Subaru and are working on fixing it. Now I can't even play my presets. Nothing comes out when I select a preset. I will give a couple of days then I am cancelling it.

I have a 2017 Outback and have the same issue with the "List" function. My presets usually work. I have had several occasions when I could not switch channels at all. This is always cured with an engine restart. What is the easiest way to quickly change channels on the touch screen since I don't have a knob mentioned in the posts above? Using "scan" takes so long.

I just got off the phone with siriusxm tech. 1-866-463-5326. It took about 15 minutes, but he re-set it---it now works---and gave me a credit on my account.

absolutely amazing that I am not alone and I am tired of trying to have Sirius send me "refresh signals" that won't work. This is absurd this is happening and how long this has been going on for.

I have a '16' Legacy and I am having the same problem. I spoke to sirius today and they told me that it is probably my car radio not their problem because I could at least hear audio! She told me to contact my local subaru dealer and have them 'fix' the problem!! It is so frustrating and I tried to explain how it makes it difficult to find stations especially while I am driving because the knob is further away and that I used to be able to control it from my steering wheel and she just told me that at least I could just use the knob!!

I went through the same process, spent an hour with sirius, reset radio multiple times, they told me to go to the dealer which I did and dealer said it was their problem. This is a 2016 outback. Called a few more times to sirius, then finally got someone who said sirius is aware of the problem with subaru's and is working on it.

Yeah. They want to say it is a Subaru problem, but it is not. It is a SiriusXM problem. And so far I have only seen one person here (GuruX4Z4V, a day or two ago) who says that they were able to fix the problem. Maybe they have ... I would like to see more people say, "Yes, SiriusXM has now figured out how to correct the problem."

I have a 2016... same “list” issue. I’ve contacted Sirius many times...same reply... they are aware but nothing they can do right now. The said at first it was a subaru issue. My dealership has been great... replaced my whole radio...same problem. Very frustrating!

2015 Outback - Same problem since around Labor Day. Called 3 times. No help. It's amazing that their customer support team seem to have no idea about this problem and keep sending refresh signal. Finally got someone in the technical dept who said "'didn't they tell you that we have a problem with Subaru's. Ready to cancel subscription.

Everyone the problem is NOT SOLVED and SiriusXM needs to push a fix eventually. Refreshing the signal, updating radio firmware, and replacing the radio will NOT fix this issue. (See others posts). Please read this forms before you report AS THIS IS NOW A KNOWN ISSUE.. Call SiriusXM and complain but they will do nothing except tell you to call back when issue is resolved for a credit. We are all in same boat here..

Yesterday I picked up my 15 OB from the dealer with a new radio in it. I have the same problem as everyone else. The last radio would not hold my subscription signal and I was always refreshing. At least this one keeps my subscription, just no list channels. I bought the car July 2018, minimals on it and this is the third radio. First radio had lines all over the screen.

This has been going for at least six weeks. At first I thought it was me -- and then I bounced between Subaru and XM trying to figure it out. I brought my 2018 Forrester in to the dealer and they installed two "updates" but it didn't fix the issue. Waiting for the magic solution! My understanding is that when XM fixed this the fix will magically float into my radio and all will be well.

The Subaru parts guy said it was an oem radio mfg. firmware issue caused when SiriusXM “improved” their channels in mid aug. a refresh from SiriusXM doesn’t help as y’all know and replacing the head won’t hrlp either because new units will more then likely have the same issue. Fugitsu has to fix the firmware issue. No eta. I did embedded software/firmware for 35 years to me ur sounds like they have an issue supporting more than 128 ( or 256 or 512 or 1028...,) channels (or thingys if you prefer) if so it may be a hardware issue which would require a new board to be designed, tested and put in production. That would be an expensive, time consuming process with little to gain from their (radio oem) perspective. The best alternative is to probably keep putting pressure on Subaru for a fix. SiriusXM won’t be able to help more than likely.

I just called Subaru at 800-782-2783 and was told basically the same thing that Sirius had previously told me that they are working on the issue which was related to the Sirius update not being compatible with Subaru and when the issue is resolved it will update automatically. Again told to use the tuning knob which is a total distraction while driving plus it is difficult to locate all the channels that way.

I have the same problem with my Subaru 2017 Forester. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Sirius yesterday and the person I spoke to said to take it to the dealer. It would be helpful if they at least admitted it was a known issue instead of wasting people's time. Glad for this list or I would have wasted even more time taking it to the dealer for no reason.

OK people, I had a few moments this afternoon and decided to call SUBARU AMERICA to give them a piece of my mind about this. After pushing many buttons and a long wait I got a customer service agent on the line. I told her that there are a whole bunch of angry customers about this issue. And that this story is making its way around the Internet which could be damaging to Subaru's reputation. I told her that there are probably a lot more out there who, like me, assumed for a number of weeks that they are doing something wrong before they realize the problem is with the XM system. I told it is NOT satisfactory to be told we can program stations or twist the dial like it is 1953. We want our full-service XM system. I told her I called XM several times and they either claimed not to know about it or told me to call the dealer or told me they are fixing it or tried to send me a refresh signal which we all know doesn't work. There's no consistent answer. I told them I called my dealer who told me to call XM. Then told me they can't do anything about it because it is an XM problem. I told them I felt the dealer had an obligation to look into this on behalf of its customers and notify us by mail, email, text or homing pigeon what the status is. I told the customer service agent at Subaru this is really a SUBARU problem because SUBARU is the only entity in this situation that has any leverage to make XM do something about this NOW. If SUBARU threatened to cut its relationship with XM I guarantee you'd see some action. I told them those of us affected deserve an apology, a refund and timeline for a fix. Programming and coding is a very regimented discipline; it involves fancy charts and timelines when, how and where where software fixes are tried and tested. They should damn well be able to tell us when they expect to have this fixed. I told them that SUBARU is dangerously on the edge of landing on the back page of Consumer Reports for their failure to act on behalf of Subaru owners who have this problem. That this is classic BAD, stick-your-head-in-the-sand customer service. She said "uh-huh" and that she was writing this all down in my record. I suggest that as many of us who can call and give Subaru America piece of your mind. Feel free to use this as a script. Maybe something will actually result! 1-800-782-2783 Cheers mbl

Same issue with my 2017 Outback. First they say the radio is not working and I need to contact Subaru. After transferred 3 times finally tech support said this is a known issue and they are working on it, but they have no known resolution date.

Same problem with my 2017 Forester. I've contacted SiriusXm numerous times, received a credit on my account, and have been promised a fix that doesn't seem to be coming. Everyone needs to put some pressure on Subaru . https://www.subaru.com/customer- support.html

This is good to know that this problem is not just my problem. I "lost" my List about 2 weeks ago, took my 2017 Outback to Subaru. They said they heard a lot of people were having this problem. 2 1/2 hours later, they said they had updated the Siriux XM software on my car. Before I drove away, I checked to see if the List was back and guess what? If wasn't! Went into the service department. The service manager had to be contacted and I was told it is a Siriux XM issue, that I should call them. Thanks for the number GuruX4Z4V, although I don't want to spend hours on the telephone only to be told the same thing you all have been told.

Well, one respondent noted there was an upgrade to the XM programming in August. That;s about when I lost my list capability. Dealer updated software and ready to drive away when, I tried the list for XM and as you can guess, it was not functioning. So, a new radio after 3 weeks waiting and noooo it did not fix it. BUT, it took away all my pre-sets, GPS history, etc. Now about a month waiting for a fix with setting a couple presets. Dealer said it is a radio supplier problem; they cannot do any repair on radios. It sounds like the software upgrade in August was not backward compatible with older versions. Mine is a 16 OB and I see even the 18's are in trouble. Finger pointing from dealer and XM needs to be stopped and get one or bot working on a joint solution.

Brand new 2018 with the same issue.

I also have a brand new 2018 Subaru Forester with the same issue, started around Labor Day (I think, I was out of the country traveling, pretty sure it happened while I was gone). I've been on the phone with Sirius XM customer service 3 times, they said all the same bs, it's a known issue with Subaru, they're working on a fix. So it's been over a month since I first called, still having the issue. I don't really care whose fault it is, I just want the darn thing fixed!!! Why is that so difficult and so unreasonable of me to expect!?!?!

Realizing we have many responses here, I was wondering if it is geographically wide spread or localized. States should be specific enough. Mine is in Georgia.

Massachusetts

New Mexico

Massachusetts

Minnesota ... I would guess that since SiriusXM is satellite based, it would be across the country ...

Rhode Island

Just got this response from Subaru: "Thank you for contacting Subaru of America Inc. I am sorry to learn that you are experiencing a concern with your 2017 Subaru Forester. Subaru of America Inc. is aware of the recent compatibility concern with our audio units and the Sirius XM radio listings. We are working very hard to get this resolved in a timely manner. Our retailers will be updated once a resolution has been put into place. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Should you require any additional assistance, please feel free to contact us at 800-782- 2783." I'm sure we'll be waiting another two months before something is done, if ever.

Same issue 2016 Subaru Legacy ... called and they also told me to go to dealer. Live in Massachusetts.

Called SiriusXM and was told it was a known issue with Subaru at phone number that GURU gave in one of the responses above. Dealer cannot not do anything at all. No ETA on when it will be fixed.

Maryland

I have a 2016 Legacy and it is the same issue. I have no upgrades for the IOS done on it for about 6 months plus. So I do not think that it is with Subaru it has to be with XM radio. I am living in California. will be calling and see what they are saying. I think XM radio messed and does not want to admit it.

I am also having this issue in Ohio, it's been going on for about a month. I was able to use the preset channels so I ignored it for awhile. No longer worth ignoring since I see this isn't just a me problem. I called Sirius and they refreshed my signal about 3 times, I Also refreshed it on my own, to no avail. The tech was not helpful at all and said to contact Subaru, I'll be cancelling and using Spotify!

Folks, here's an idea, courtesy of my sister. For those of you who have a Twitter account, use it to voice your concerns about the lack of attention to this issue. Firms are highly sensitive to their social media image these days. Include both #subaru and #siriusxm. Go for it!

Great idea! Tweeted just now.

YES! I work in PR, social media is the best way to get a brand's attention!!! Storm social media to give them a reason to make this go away!

Here's what I sent -- I will continue to send stuff like this! https://twitter.com/MBLXV/status/1050373170786721792

here is what I got back on Facebook, post also on Facebook and see what happens "SiriusXM Hi James- We are aware of this issue and working on a fix for it. You are still able to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of choice. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Well, I now have ONE channel - Pop > Hits 1. Perhaps that indicates they're doing something.

On August 17, 2018 Sirius went through a programming upgrade and I lost the categories on my radio in my 2017 Sub Forester. I received an email back yesterday about the categories from Sirius. This doesn't appear to be a problem with the Subaru radios but a problem with the transponder for Subarus at Sirius. Hopefully they figure it out. "Dear Listener, Thank you for contacting SiriusXM. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We are aware of the issue and working on a fix. In the meantime, you are still able to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of their choice. We appreciate your patience and understanding in dealing with this matter. For further assistance and information, please call our Listener Care team at 1-866-635- 5027. We're here to help you from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. ET Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email. You can always manage your account online 24/7 by clicking https://care.siriusxm.com/ Thank you, Abhishek SiriusXM Listener Care"

2017 Forester from PA......Same problem. About ready to tell them to stuff it.

2017 Outback from Massachusetts. Same problem.

Pennsylvania. 2016 Subaru Outback. Same issue. Just talked to Sirius and told problem still not fixed and they are working on it. I told her to add our name to the growing list of unhappy customers.

Well, if Sirius is the source of the problem, they may need to provide some rebate for incomplete services. So far, it seemed to be finger pointing among Sirius, Subaru and Subaru radio supplier.

Sirius deactivated my radio and then reactivated it. Category lists appeared initially but later in the day they disappeared again. Sirrius acknowledged the procedure was not permanently fixing problem on some Subaru radios and are continuing researching issue. I have 2017 Forester.

same problem, I canceled SXM till the problem is revolved; they wanted to credit it me 1 month when I been having this problem since August. 2017 Forester.

2017 Subaru Outback. Sirius XM. Same problem with missing categories. And direct channel select option disappeared too.

So my problem is worse. I have to refresh signal through my phone everytime or it says I have no subscription. I start car, says subscription updated, and it's gone. After I refresh, I can manually tune to my channels or use presets, but the categories all screwed up. They keep blaming each other when I call. Dealer offered to replace radio, which doesn't appear to be the issue from this post.

2015 Impreza, same problem. Sirius says it's Subaru, Subaru says it's Sirius. No answers. The main issue is that the lack of a channel guide means that the voice command system can't search SiriusXM channels. Annoying.

Spoke to Subaru America today. They said that the fix is being worked on. They did not have an ETA but did say that you would more than likely have to take you vehicle to the Subaru dealer for the update once it is released.

Call my dealership. Service Dept says they have a software upgrade for my radio to fix issue. I asked if he knew if it would fix the Sirius XM radio/Categories missing. He could not confirm. Anyone else heard about this possible fix ?

So yesterday I tried to do a reset of the radio with my phone Bluetooth switched off. Later that night, the channel guide actually populated (!) but was not voice searchable. However, this morning, the guide had disappeared again.

I had the software upgrade done about a month ago on my 2018 Forester, and it did not fix the missing categories. Going on 10+ weeks without the categories.

I've had the same issue in my 2018 Subaru Forrester since around August 2018. I called Sirius several times and was told different things. I should refresh, which didn't help. It's a Subaru issue which will be fixed in an hour, try then or tomorrow. Wasn't the problem. It's the radio. Not the problem. The dealer said Sirius added some stations to its lineup and that caused the problem and they are working on a fix. That was a month ago. The dealer said I would have to keep calling to check if the update was ready and when it is, I would have to go in to the dealership to have it updated. Sirius does not want to give credit because you can still listen. I do not want to scroll through all the channels to find the genre I'm looking for. That is ridiculous. I will not be renewing my subscription.

I am having the same issue on my 2017 Subaru Forrester. Everything in the list was working up until a month ago. I called Sirius and Sirius reset the signal. That did NOT work. They said it was probably a problem with the radio. Since the car is still under factory warranty I took it to the dealer. When I picked the car up the service manager said he fixed it. Now all the stations I was paying for was showing in the list. He said he had to reset the radio. When I started the car in the lot I noticed it was not working. I went back inside and told the service manager. He came out to the car and took a look. He was surprised. He said it was working. So he reset it again with me in the car. Bingo, all the stations were there in the list. I said let me shut the car off and see if they still appear when I restart the car. Nope. All stations gone from the list. Keep in mind, the stations are still there if you manually tune to them. They just don't show in the list, ie, comedy, news, 1950's, etc. So he reset it one more time. It works until you restart the car. He said he was going to call Subaru and find out. I haven't heard back yet from him. Now he did show me how to reset the radio. So if you don't mind taking a minute to reset the radio everytime you get into the car then this works. ......Hold the home button and press the audio/tune 5 times. Go to memory initialization. Hold OK for 3 seconds. Let radio reboot. Your list will be back. It will erase itself when car is turned off though.

What I am thinking of doing is filing a complaint with the FCC and the DOT about this problem and that we are not getting anywhere. It is a safety issue since we would have to scroll to over 800 stations while driving. That is not safe at all. Flood facebook and twiter with complaints and see what happens.

I got a call back from Sirius support yesterday. It is definately an issue with all current Subaru Models and Chrysler 300s. They have given me two credits as of today due to my inconvenience. They told me it was only a matter of days before the menu is available. I had called the number left by GuruXDTZY in the thread.

2016 Outback, my sirius also went away one evening. No help from dealer or sirius, they pass the problem back and forth. Put some stations on my radio presets, that’s the best I could do. Glad to hear from all of you, I thought I screwed it up. In Michigan. Guess I will just wait for it to fix it self. I am done having them sending signal. Dealer also did upgrades, no help, was going to have them replace radio. I do think that would work if they would put a 2019 in because I have a new Legacy that works fine. They must have found the solution. After reading all this will be going back to dealer or calling Subaru, they owe me a radio that works.

Just got back from Subaru dealer where they updated my 2017 Forester from radio version NU9407 to NU9410. Still did not work. Then service manager and I spent about an hour with Sirius support. Refreshed four times, turned off car, opened drivers side door ( yes that is what I said), started car and turned on radio, still not list. Finally got the tech support who told us it is a know problem and that a fix may be possible in mid December. When I got home there was a survey from Sirius asking if I was satisfied with the result of my call to customer service. Needlessly I answered NO. Just sent e-mail to Sirius asking for account credit. Depending on response I may or may not cancel service.

17 Forester in CO, Really bad during football season when you try to find a specific game on a channel you have NO idea of?? Please SXM fix this issue, provide a fix to Subaru or lose thousands of customers!

This was the answer for Sirius: Dear Listener, We are sorry to learn the difficulties that you have encountered. You are our valuable customer and we will do our best to keep you happy and satisfied. We have reviewed your feedback and will share it with the appropriate team at SiriusXM. We appreciate your feedback because it helps us identify opportunities for improving the customer experience for all of our listeners. We advise you to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of your choice. Due to limited rights as an email team, we are not authorized to provide you account credit. We advise you to please contact our Listener Care team at 1-866-635-2349. We're here to help you from 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. ET Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email. Thank you, SiriusXM Listener Care Another Oh you can use to knob to tune to the channel you want. BTW the status of my problem report to Sirius was marked RESOLVED, which tells me not to expect any more help from them.

Today Sirius said Subaru dealers should have a fix with an ETA of mid-December. . .as previously posted.

Four (or more) months of failing to provide a service people are paying for (in addition to also denying it exists, being ignorant of a well-documented issue, and even passing the blame) sure seems like class action lawsuit territory to me. Problems do arise - I get that - but they are straight-up denying people the right for account credits. Its like paying for cable TV, but the guide channel is permanently blank. Asking people to pay full price when all they can do is click through hundreds of channels, one at a time, is complete nonsense. AND you're doing it in a car, which adds a danger factor. I've personally gone from fully exploring SiriusXM to sticking with 3 channels. I certainly don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth, but I also feel trapped as those 3 channels are still better than local radio.

IF it was a software upgrade, THEN, it should have been backward compatible. So far, I have not seen any input that either Subaru or XM is in charge of a solution. Wonder what the dealers are telling new purchasers. Could be a barrier to new sales. That should get their attention.

I was told by Sirius that I need to go to my dealer ship to have my radio software updated. We have a 2017 crosstrec. I went in this past Saturday, took them 3 hours of updates and I still have the same issue, no channel list. My question is what happened two months ago to cause this issue. It worked great up until then. I believe Sirius can fix this problem on their end as well.

Sirius now says ‘it’s Subaru problem scheduled for a free fix ~ Dec 2018 IF you still are under warranty, otherwise firmware update will be treated on case by case basis’. Such BS.

What everyone needs to do is file a complaint with the DOT and complain about this. This will get them into action and get a fix and it might cause a recall and make XMRadio pay back the money they charged us after they messed up. If everyone who has a problem does it, then the DOT will take a look into this matter and get it fixed at the companies cost and not ours and maybe get some money back and free months also for the problems from them.

Me too in upstate NY! I had Sirius suspend my account, called the dealer to let them know there was an issue, I don’t drive much in the winter, so not a huge loss, but certainly a pain in the ass!

Have the same issue - Have taken my 2015 Legacy to have this looked at. Dealer informs that there is an issue with many of these radio menus due to some changes in how Sirius/XM (or perhaps more accurately the number of changes quickly) sends updates - these radios have a software incompatibility which, as I was informed, Subaru and Sirius are in contact on and working a resolution. Radio tunes just fine - simply cannot use menu to select. There are no updates likely sent by either dealers or Subaru. So - patience grasshopper.

I`'ve talked to Sirius about this twice. I have a '16 Forester and complained that it`s been impossible to select additional stations. The scroll bar is grayed out and nonfunctional since sometime last Aug. I was told this evening to contact my Subaru dealer. After reading these comments I'm not sure it`s worth it. I was given an extension on my subscription. This is really aggravating. I live in St. Louis MO

I too spoke to SiriusXM today. I truly hate calling there. The computer tortures me. However, they pushed in back to Subaru saying it is with them. I have a 16 CrossTrek. This is extremely frustrating and seeing how many of you are having the same issue, is even more infuriating. As the customers we are stuck in the middle. No one is fixing the issue; just pushing blame. I will not give up!!!

Add me to the list, my categories have disappeared from my SiriusXm radio in my 2015 Subaru Legacy.

Post your concerns and complaints on the SiriusXM Facebook site. Maybe enough social media will light a fire under them to fix this.

We are have the same issue. Like everyone else we have been back and forth from Xm to the dealer. We were told by XM that they were aware of the issue and expect the dealer to receive a fix by Dec. We were also told they would give us a refund. If nothing by Dec we are cancelling and asking for a full refund.

Oh and we are in Pennsylvania

I'm in NY. I recently stumbled upon this discussion. Since 2017 I have brought my 2017 Forester to the dealer at least 3 times and have had about 20 conversations with Sirius. Sirius customer service always blames Subaru. In addition to the channels now showing up, my car NEVER remembers I have a subscription. I have to refresh signal once the car has not been driven for over 30 minutes or so, sometimes less. Does anyone else have the "unsubscribed" error flashing on their screen?

I often find that when I turn the radio on that I am automatically connected to the preview channel. I can go to my programmed channels. However, I cannot view the guide the other channels. I can manually go to them if I know the number, but this wasn't always like this. Really frustrating to the point where I may drop Sirius as a result.

I think everyone is going about this the wrong way. The way to get things done is to complain to the DOT about this and let them figure out whose fault it is. It should be fixed and we should not be charged with the problems XM has given us. I do think I hear a lawsuit coming soon about this problem.

I'm an attorney. As much as I love my last 2 Subaru's, this little problem annoys me. My previous car Outback was trouble free other than once in a blue moon it idled low. They extended the warranty on that car for that reason. Never stalled though. I thought about a potential lawsuit. End of the day, they either figure it out, reimburse for a portion of the radio cost, or replace with a radio that actually works with Sirius. Someone at Sirius said installing a receiver would fix it. I don't know if they are right.

I posted the issue in SIRIUSXM Facebook page. It really is ridiculously frustrating. Calling Subaru was painful there has to be something we can all do. This string gets bigger every day!!

Spoke with SXM yesterday. Customer rep read me a response from Subaru that basically said they are aware of the issue. They expect a software update to be ready in December. Units under warranty will be updated for free. Units off warranty will be evaluated on a case by case basis. I am at 35,755 miles so i went to local dealer and reported issue so it will be covered when the fix is available. Dealer agreed that will happen.

This whole issue is so odd to me. My wife has a Toyota Highlander, about one model year back from my Subaru. The interface for her onboard systems looks exactly the same as mine - same look and feel of the icons, ordering of the menus, etc. This never surprised me much as I just assumed that Subaru and Toyota were getting those components from the same supplier. But her radio has not had these problems and mine has. It just kind of blows my mind that this kind of glitch would only affect one manufacturer's vehicles - unless Subaru maybe builds the hardware for the radio itself and just licenses the interface/ OS software? The supply chain questions are fascinating. If you're in to that kind of thing.

I am just glad to know that its not my lack of technical expertise....I thought it was just me...explaining the issue to the SXM customer service people by phone is extremely frustrating as we all know. I have been having same problem since around August timeframe...everything used to work beautifully. I have a 2017 Forester purchased in Georgia. The closest dealer to me is an hour away so my next step was to take it into the dealer like the SXM person said to do...glad I ran across this thread because had I taken it in 50 miles each way....I would've been even more pissed that they couldn't fix it.

SiriusXM gave me software number to give to my Subaru Service. Subaru said I have the latest software in my 2015 Outback. Subaru service tech said I had the premium or all channels Sirius had and it was overloading the head unit. I changed my package to music only and still having the same issue. Subaru Service said ti check back in December. My FM channel list shows up as it always has. You can ask Sirius to give you the software update number but it didn't help me and Sirius said there are a lot of people having this issue.

I have a 2017 Subaru Forester. I am having the same issue with SiriusXM as everyone else here. I called SiriusXM again yesterday and was informed of the new software for all Subaru vehicles. I was given a credit from SiriusXM for the month I have not had access to all stations.

I took the advice of another poster... I posed the question on Facebook. SiriusXM has been answering me that Subaru will be coming out with a fix in December. If you have a newer car Subaru will pay to have your radio replaced. If you have an older car you may have to pay. They said it would be on a case-by-case basis. I said the case-by-case basis means if I don't get a free radio I will not be subscribing to Sirius.

My husband has a ‘18 Outback with a better, upgraded radio so he has not experienced this issue as I have since August with my ‘16 Forester. What is the cost for this radio? That is quite unbelievable if we will have to pay for a new radio to have this issue resolved.

I have this problem on my 2018 Forester. After waitng 30 min on hold finally got the XMSirius person to say that Subaru will offer a software fix to radios under warranty by mid Dec 2018. I called my dealer and they haven't heard about it - but I'll call back next month

I've called Sirius numerous times & no one could help. Finally, I was told it was a Subaru problem, so I went to a Subaru dealership & they told me, it's Sirius. I've tried to refresh so many times, nothing. Today I listened to Channel 1 & during one ad, they gave a # to call if you are having channel lineup problems. I called they said they were aware & it's only Subaru & were working on it. I called my dealership, Beard Subaru in Hyannis, left a message, so far no call back. 2015 Outback. Very frustrating.

On my 2018 Forester, anyway, the knob still works to scroll through all the SXM stations. So my solution is to just add all the one I like to my "favorites" list that I can scan through (my car has 36 presets). So this is a bit of a pain but now that it is done I'm not missing anything.

My Issue- a few weeks ago my Sirius radio stopped working properly. It couldn't find a signal and although I had it the signal reset by XM multiple times and called Subaru, no one could provide a solution that actually worked. Today, I found out that my Starlink lapsed a few weeks ago- around the same time my XM started giving me issues. I took care of my Starlink and reinstated it. And what do you know--- My XM radio is working perfectly now! Even though both companies say they work independently of each other, I suggest everyone check to see if their Starlink is working properly, etc. It may be the key.

I went to the dealer for an oil change this week and asked an employee at the service desk is she knew about the issue. She just confirmed that people have been asking them about it and then she just said with a blasé attitude that Sirius is blaming us and we’re blaming them. Didn’t give me much confidence.

I asked Subaru. Here is the ‘oficial’ answer. . Dear Mr. ***********: Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. We are aware of this concern with the SiriusXM category lists not displaying. SiriusXM is aware of this issue and is currently working to find a resolution. This is a Sirius issue since they added additional channels, which caused this feature to be incompatible with our audio system. You should still be able to tune to a specific channel. The last update we received from Sirius is that they expect a resolution sometime next month. We will let you know as soon as we receive any further updates. Thank you for the opportunity to be of assistance. Sincerely, Amber Anglin Subaru of America, Inc. Customer/Retailer Services Department 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) Service Request Number: 1-38011875871 [THREAD ID:1-HG7YPFX] -----Original Message----- From: *********@gmail.com Sent: 11/12/2018 11:19:13 AM To: CustDlrServices@subaru.com Subject: Sirius Radio ongoing Problem To whom it may concern: Well, here I am again with one more systemic Subaru problem that has affected not only my 2015 Outback but almost every Subaru you have produced through 2018 with a Sirius capable radio. (Haven’t seen any blog on 2018) In August we suddenly ‘lost’ the capability to list Sirius stations. We first noticed it after a visit to our dealer for service and overheard another customer complaining about his hard trip and his problem not resolved. At the time I was smugly reflecting that the individual appeared ‘computer illiterate’ and the manager was patiently explaining how they had again reset the service and ‘nothing was wrong’. Boy, was he wrong! The Subaru blogs are full of this issue be it Outback.org, Forester.org, or just CarGurus a general automotive blog. Sirius lays the problem squarely in Subaru’s lap. As of my last service, Subaru (Dealer) was waffling and putting it on Sirius. The blogs now all agree it has been laid in Subaru’s lap but are in a storm about coverage and costs for the fix when available. 2015 Outback LTD - out of any warranty, yet contains a top end ‘obsolete’ radio. What is Subaru’s plan for all of us ‘old’ radio owners? Sent from my iPad

This is ridiculous. SiriusXM adds channels all the time. No other car makes are having this issue could it be related to that other app.. Starlink????

My radio used to work. Now it doesn't. Subaru did not come to my house and do anything to my radio, nor did it do it magically over the internet. Given that, something that SiriusXM did is causing the problems, and they need to fix it.

I got through to Sirius and they admitted that the issue was a software upgrade issue between Subaru and Dodge 500 that are incapatible with the upgrade ad they are working to get it fixed, if you call they will credit you per month. It is not their fault. It is the technology not talking to each other, there has been alot of collaboration and they working to get it fixed.

Uh oh. I called tech support today & got a very condescending tech who wanted me to "understand" that I was receiving their product, so it's not their issue. He basically started blaming the "radio" in my Subaru. I guess blaming each other isn't working, so let's blame the radio company. No response still from my local Subaru dealership. I was even "promised" a phone call by a manager within the hour. It's been at least 6 hrs. So 3 times, no call back from Subaru either.

My local dealer said that Sirius made a software update that was incompatible with the Subaru head units. This was totally on Sirius. I'd be willing to bet he is right as everything was fine until the update. Sirius should have done more regression testing using data from all of its customers. They should have known that the software update would blow up the service for certain customers. I'll give them until mid December before I cancel my subscription.

That is my thought exactly!!

LDCornell makes a good point....my Sirius radio used to work perfectly also...until August. So does seem like its more a Sirius issue than a radio issue. Logically....

I totally agree - I have never had a problem with my Siriux in my 2015 Subaru Outback until this August. Sounds like a Sirius problem to me.

I have 30 years experience in "system test". My radio "list" function worked till August. I did not change the radio hardware or firmware. The only change possible is the way Sirius sends the data. This is a case of Sirius making a change without testing to see what it affected.

Wow! So glad to have found this thread. Same issue with my 2017 Forester since August of this year. Have refreshed, etc. While I'm happy it's not just me, I'm appalled that they've been so unresponsive. I will keep monitoring and if it's not fixed by mid-December, I'll also be cancelling. Not paying $20/month to have 10 channels easily available. Hope there's a resolution for all of us!

Alrighty - this is been on for months!!! Contradicting responses from dealers/Sirius depending on who you get. My 2017 Outback was fine until August - about the same time as everyone else that started noticing. Overall it appears it is a Sirius problem - in compatible with Subaru systems. Obviously due diligence was not done when testing completely. I have a 6 month trial which will end in Jan & I will cancel if not fixed. With ALL the people with this problem, One would hope there would be some litigious lawyer that could file a class action on everyone's behalf. That certainly would get everyone's attn & maybe we would get some $ but I'm sure the lawyer would. If not fixed in mid Dec....maybe someone knows an atty or one has the same problem?? Sirius/Subaru need to accept responsibility and resolve asap or just cancel & move to a different service.

A class-action lawsuit may be the answer...eventually. Ok, it is, by its own admission, XM's fault. The fact that I have not heard a peep--addressed to me--from Subaru on this issue in my 2016 Outback is a clear example of atrocious customer service. Good luck in on-line ratings of Subaru. People get pissed when they are not communicated with and are left in the dark.

Well, I'll be cancelling for sure. I received an email from Sirius informing me that they are increasing their rates come January. Unbelievable.

I just found this on a thread from another site. Hopefully, it sounds like there is a fix coming. "just went through all of this for months. Just took my '16 Forester for service and told them about it and they told me that it's a "Sirius" problem. When I got home a sent a message to Sirius and this is the message that I got back: Thank you for contacting SiriusXM.We are sorry to learn the difficulties that you have encountered. You are our valuable customer and we will do our best to keep you happy and satisfied. Subaru plans to have a software fix available by mid-December. The update will be installed at no charge for customers whose vehicles are still under their New Car Basic Warranty if they present it to a Subaru Retailer with this complaint. Anyone with a vehicle outside of the warranty coverage period will be evaluated case by case. Meanwhile, you are still able to listen by using the knob to tune or directly tuning to the channel of their choice. I then sent the message to my service rep at Subaru and he called back to say that they will have an update sometime next month. Call your Subaru dealer and let them know you want the update."

Just purchased a 2016 Forester and am having the same issues as everyone else. Luckily I am on my 3-month trial. I hope this gets fixed soon!

I think Sirius owes EVERYONE a refund on the four months we have lost from Sirius as a result of its error--not just those cars still under Subaru warranty. Being "evaluated case by case" is not acceptable. My 2016 Outback is out of warranty (41,000 miles). Subaru is not part of the equation (although its HQ's lack of honest communication with all affected owners is atrocious, as I noted in my earlier thread.)

I have the same problem with my 2017 Forester. Problem began in August. Tried refreshing per Sirius instructions in August to no avail. I have been putting up with problem since then. Hopeful that there will be a solution as promised. IN TWO DAYS IT WILL BE DECEMBER!!

2018 Forester, same problem here.

Just purchased a 2018 Forester. Having the same issue. Tried to refresh the radio several times. Called SiriusXM and they just keep suggesting I refresh the radio. I'm in the trial period, so not too upset, but I was going to purchase a one-year subscription as it was offered for $60 on Cyber Monday. Decided against it because they clearly aren't responsive when it comes to resolving a major issue.

Update: Just spoke to Sirius and two local Subaru dealers. Sirius said Subaru will be rolling out a software update sometime in mid-December, which will be covered under warranty. I then called two local Subaru dealers. They were both familiar with the issue, but neither of them heard anything about a forthcoming software update. Seems like they would know if Sirius's claim was true. Not sure who to believe. Guess I just won't purchase a Sirius XM subscription.

I've decided that I"='m not paying my Sirius/XM bill until this is fixed. We must hit them where they'll feel it. If enough Subaru owners do the same, they'll notice.

I have just tweeted both Sirius and Subaru. I thought I was alone in this. I am pissed and want a credit AND a fix. I encourage you all to hit them via social media

A class action law suit might settle this issue!

Same issue with Sxm 2016 outback maryland , but sxm will not refund or discount the money I've already paid for my yearly subscription and i have had the issue since august. I was told there would be a recall in december through subaru by SXM on my last call to them. I Just took my car in for service and subaru has heard nothing of it.

I called my Subaru dealer in Maryland too. That have heard nothing. I then spoke with Sirius. They said that a fix is still in the works but no firm date set. They also agreed to reduce my monthly rate for the next 12 months and have me a partial refund for the August-December period. I told them I may cancel my subscription if the problem is not resolved.

In Phoenix, there is a local news station that investigates things like this. I will contact them and the Attorney General's office to find out if there is some consumer fraud happening in this situation. Seems like paying for something but only getting part of the product is FRAUD. Maybe even the credit card company that I charged my subscription to will be of assistance. Subaru and Sirius need to get SERIOUS!

If I were buying a new car and discovered this I'd insist that it be fixed before I paid for or took possession of it, i.e. have it be a deal breaker. However I call SiriusXm and got a 4 month refund. The Indian agent wanted to suspend my subscription. I couldn't get him to tell me if that was the same as extending it or not, his accent was so thick I couldn't really understand him. To me it sounded like he was going to turn it off. He confirmed the fix was coming "mid December and had to be 'applied' at the dealer" and stressed it was a Subaru and not a Siriusxm problem. I didn't wrestle with the pig.

Read this and decided to call Sirius anyway. First guy - almost impossible to understand - tried to tell me it was because of my subscription (NOT!) and that there was no known issue. Finally got transferred to advanced customer support who told me there was a fix and to go to my car and call back. Called back and the person then told me that no fix was yet available and that it would be coming from Subaru. Guess that's the tactic to keep us from requesting reduced rates as a result of this issue. Then called the dealership who told me that a fix was not yet available - and that even though my car still has a few days of warranty left, that there was no way to assure me that it would be covered. UGH!!

I finally called Sirius again yesterday. The first level support transferred me to second level. She tried again to make me do a refresh, and I simply told her that this is a known issue that they are completely aware of and I was not going to spend another minute of my time doing another refresh needlessly. I told her I wanted a refund for everything I have paid since August when it stopped working. She gave me a 4 month total refund and canceled my subscription. She did try to offer me a special deal to renew...unbelievable...if this ever gets fixed I may re-up...but until then, I'm happy to listen to my local Jacksonville stations!

I've been following this thread for weeks, amazed at how different everyone's results and information they've been provided have been. My experience is similar... I've talked to Sirius several times, was given a credit of about $12 the first time I complained and just yesterday was told they could only give an additional $5 for my trouble. Because "the issue is fixed" on Sirius' side, it's no longer their issue apparently and can no longer give additional credits. Because they have turned the fix over to Subaru now, it's up to Subaru to resolve; even though we're all sending our money to Sirius, NOT to Subaru... But to resolve it, I'll have to take the car in to the dealer to have the fix applied; it cannot be pushed to the unit remotely. Anyway, I called my Subaru dealer this morning and while the lady with whom I spoke was aware of the issue, I was told I needed to call Sirius to resolve it. HAHAHA! I told her politely that I had just spoken to Sirius and they informed me it was in Subaru's hands now. She put me on hold and came back to tell me that was, indeed, correct, BUT Subaru (or at least this dealer) did not yet have the fix. Nor did she know when it was to be received. I'm sticking with what Sirius informed me as many have reported, that "mid December" is the date, so hopefully within a week or two, we'll have a final answer. But still mind-boggling that neither company seems to be taking ownership of the problem!

I have talked to my dealership and was told that Subaru is working on an update that will have to be installed manually on the radio. It should be available mid December. They guy explained to me that Sirius added one extra channel to the lineup and the radio was already maxed out on the number of channels it could house. Thus causing the issue of the categories not showing. The update should resolve that when it becomes available. The guy seemed like he knew what was going on.

Just wanted to add to the pile. Central Ohio here. Purchased a used 2018 Forester in early October. The XM list has never worked right. It also often reverts to XM channel 001 with all the commercials (especially that one super annoying commercial with the annoying sounds telling you to subscribe to stop the sound) when I start the car. I assumed it was just because I was on a trial subscription. Upgraded to a paid subscription to start Jan 1. Still isn’t working. Live chatted with 2 XM reps, both just sent signal refreshes to no avail. Called and spoke with an XM rep. She sent a refresh and finally just said to use my presets. This obviously doesn’t solve the problem. Spoke with someone else and canceled my pending subscription. None of them mentioned any known issues or upcoming fixes.

Interesting....I have never understood why the radio sometimes goes to the preview channel. It is really annoying. Might it be related to this issue?? You would think, by now, that Subaru and Sirius XM would have read this thread by now!!

yes, neither Subaru or Sirius will act like they know anything about it when you call them...you have to be really pushy...ask for their manager...then the manager will try to sell you a different Sirius package....if you hold firm however you can get a refund back to when the problem started in August - they gave me a full refund for 4 months and I canceled completely. They of course immediately tried to sign me up again...what do they think I am a complete idiot!? LOL

Jim, New York, 2015 legacy. Just got off the phone 12/7/18 with my dealer's service dept, and they said they still dont have a software update. I have had this problem for months, and was too busy to deal with it.. This last piece about one too many channels for the software, makes as much sense as anything. If the Subaru software for their radio is 1/10th as bad as its gps interface (worse than my first garman of 20 years ago), it's easy to imagine. I'm adding this quality complaint to my consumer report survey, and I suggest others do the same. A modern car company has to have quality software, to have a quality car. Ford and BMW , among others, have lost sales because of terrible interfaces and software. Other than Subaru's extremely clunky electronics, my Legacy is a great car, but clunky electronics are not acceptable in a modern car, as it has become a huge part of the driving experience.

I was at a dealership yesterday for oil change. When I commented about this problem, the first service person, Cory, told me it was Subaru's fault. He said there may be a new download available and he would check with Dan, my scheduled service tech who I don't care for. If it was available, it would take about 1-1.5 hours to download. After waiting over 2 hours for the oil change, I checked in with Cory. He said Dan was supposed to have told me they were downloading this new update. No one told me anything about that. Guess what??? It didn't do anything but erase all the channels I had saved. Problem NOT solved, new ones given. Dan blamed Sirius saying they did a change to their software and didn't notify Subaru. I commented that both companies should care more about their customers enough to figure out a QUICK solution and inform all affected by this nonsense of 2 large companies who are poorly communicating and collaborating. I was never notified by either company. Poor customer service! Dan said the fix should be available by the end of the month. I would have to go through the same thing again (may take several updates) of waiting and losing all channels. I told him I would wait until I heard about the success of others in this forum before I would waste another several hours of my precious time. : (

Subaru customer support, 12/7/18, the Harman (aka JBL) head unit is not compatible with the August 2018 change that SeriusXM made in their channel list (too many channels). Serious, aparently , never consulted with this major radio (head unit) supplier, before adding to their channel list. (I'm calling Serius for a credit) "Any day now" there will be a free firmware update" that can only be performed by a dealer. (Believe it when I see it) He also said since my car was built in mid 2015, there have been 7 firmware updates to address numerous issues. (Not sure if this is just for the head unit, including the radio, gps, seriusXM, bluetooth, etc., or the whole car.) I guess we need to start thinking of our cars as rolling computers, that have to be updated regularly, the same as everything else.

This is BS and I’ll say why. I have a 2017 Forester same issue as described here as of August 2018. Called Sirius, talked to Subaru dealer, nothing but the runaround with finger pointing. I had a subscription that ran out in October but I never updated my credit card information so the renewal charge couldn’t happen. They turned off my service and kept calling my house and sending emails asking for payment. By accident, a couple of weeks later I pushed the Sat button and my service was turned back on and guess what? The features with categories worked perfectly as they did before August. I’m not sure if any channels were missing. I still didn’t pay my bill and they kept the service on for 3 weeks and it functioned perfectly. The service was again shut off for non payment. The temporary fix could be for Sirius to downgrade their service to “mostly music” on our head units. I absolutely believe both parties are responsible. If this is the fault of Sirius to make a sudden change to affect the Subaru head units, then Subaru needs to sue Sirius for all the radios changed out under warranty as it’s been costing them time and money. If Subaru was given a heads up about the upcoming change from Sirius and did nothing about it, then there needs to be a recall for all the radios affected. Neither of them claim responsibly because it will trigger multiple class action law suits with each other and customers for both of them. As an engineer, it could be that the Subaru radio’s internal flash is already near maxed out and can’t hold the larger flash file necessary to fix this issue, making the Subaru radios affected obsolete. If this is true then they’re obligated to replace all such radios as the same radios are installed in current 2018/19 models. My temporary unhappy fix is using Pandora via the iPhone cable and at least I can use the steering wheel controls to select saved catagories. Bottom line, I believe the Sirius change in August rendered Subaru radios obsolete, there may be no way to fix them, and so a whole new / redesigned updated radio is required.

I'd posted earlier about this issue in my 2016 Forester - and today, when I started the car, the channel selection categories appeared on the display with all of the categories. I have made no visits to the dealership for repair. Thought maybe it was a fluke - but had to run another errand, and checked - the categories are now there and I can see the channels under them... Have no idea what happened.

Interesting that B9B2Z mentioned the guide suddenly showing up. Mine (2018 Forester Touring 2.5) still doesn’t show the XM guide but it has some new behaviors. Now when I switch on the radio it scrolls my presets to show the XM channels first. I have terrestrial stations in slots 1-9, 9- 15 are XM stations...it puts preset 9 at the top. I also cannot move through the terrestrial presets using my steering wheel buttons. But if I tap an XM station first, I can scroll through XM presets. It wasn’t like this on my drive into work this morning, but was like this on my drive home and a few drives later in the evening. Seems like maybe something was updated and broke it more. I’m going to try calling Subaru in the morning.

Update: I called Sirius yesterday. Talked to a "supervisor". My bill is due. They were supposedly shooting my radio off today. I told her I wasn't paying until this was fixed. She said they are aware of it and extended my radio for one more month.

I let my subscription expire without renewal payment as stated in a recent post. I couldn’t pass up their $60 for 1 year get customers back promotion. In my Sirius account my radio was listed as inactive. I paid for the promotion (SiriusXM Select package), sent the refresh signal, and all of the Sirius functions worked perfectly with all the catagories with direct tune and scrolling via the steering wheel controls. As I watched the radio screen during the activation, a two second message appeared that said something like, wait downloading program. I left the engine running and decided to drive for a half hour to a supermarket. While driving, all of the features worked as they’re supposed to even when switching between FM, AM, BT streaming, CD, making a phone call, and back to Sirius, no stations were missing all features working correctly. I shut the engine off, did my grocery shopping, started the car, and the catagories where missing again. When selecting “all” the stations were missing. Worked an hour ago. So what exactly happens to cause this? The radio must recconnect to Sirius after a power cycle for the signal and download its programming and functions. I’m blaming Sirius for this malfunction. For me I fill up all 36 presets with the Sirius stations I listen to frequently and scroll through the presents via the steering wheel controls, but I would rather have it work the way it’s supposed to. The radio needs to talk to Sirius at radio power up. Sirius confirms it is an active radio with a subscription and sends updates to the radio with it’s latest programming. I believe it’s a fail on their end.

I have a 2017 Outback with the same problem. First, I called Sirius and got the party line that a fix was going to be available in mid-December. I then called the dealer and was told by the service manager that the dealer was unaware of any such scheduled fix. He said when Sirius updated the channel list and added more, it maxed out flash storage in the radio unit. So, it appears there are three separate parties involved: 1) Subaru, which sold cars with radios that they advertised were Sirius-compatible; 2) the third party that made the radios for Subaru (who should have but may not have been working off specs provided by Sirius when they made the radios); and Sirius (who evidently did something that they should have known would mess up radios that did not have enough headroom to handle the update that caused the problem). This is obviously a cluster that, barring some software sleight-of-hand by Sirius, is probably not going to be solved any time soon, as apportioning liability for this is going to keep lots of lawyers busy. What is really telling about this is that I have received no communication directly from either Subaru or Sirius about this problem that has been around now for four months. If the radio manufacturer did not follow Sirius specifications, then it is a Subaru liability as they were the ones who sold us the radios under the representation that they were Sirius-compatible. On the other hand, if Sirius did something that caused radios made to prior specifications to become obsolete, then it's on them. Sirius is saying they will back-date credit from a time the fix is made at the dealer's. That appears to be just an artful dodge to mollify subscribers until the liability is sorted out. I do not believe there will be a software fix; if one was available, it would have been implemented by now. I have high suspicion that this is a problem with the radio hardware, and the only way it will be fixed will be to swap out the radio, and Subaru will not do that until forced to as a result of litigation. So your practical choices are to suffer along without the lists and get Sirius to agree to a reduction in your monthly charge, or cancel the service completely while following up with your state Consumer Protection Agency to see if there is any recourse to force Subaru to upgrade your radio under warranty. Subaru has no incentive to do anything about this short of getting poor reviews and ratings, as they already have your money for the radio and don't care how many subscribers Sirius loses. So, it's pin the tail on the donkey, and I'm going to be sure the donkey isn't me.

Ok, I’ve done some tinkering and digging. 1. Tune to any SiriusXM station biut 0 2. Go to Home>Settings>General>Delete Personal Data click ok 3. When it’s finished, SiriusXM will default to station 0, don’t touch anything! 4. Wait until you see a red box with the word “New” in it next to the “List” button. It takes a couple of minutes. 5. Press the “List” button and everything will be there listed and operational as it should. You’ll lose your phone data, equializer setting, radio presets, etc. Pair you phone and everything with SiriusXM is good. The bad news is when your shut your engine off and turn it back on, you’re back to the original problem, but what will stay on the list are 5 SMX Featured stations: Holiday, Singalong, Music Discovery, Relaxed, and The Classics which all work with tunable stations from within and steering wheel control. Of course the issue here is, who wants to go through the steps above every time you start your car. But at there are 5 featured stations if you choose not to. I was able to get into a service mode. In there is a setting to initialize memory but it didn’t do anything for our Sirius problem. However, the manufacturer of the radio is Fujitsu Ten, and there is also firmware with that name. I found the Fujitsu Ten Corp of America website and there is a phone number and email for technical support. I’m going to email them for help in resolving this issue and provide them the link to this thread. I’ll post what happens.

My wife has a 2016 Legacy and doesn’t have an issue, I have a 2017 and my Siriusxm doesn’t work. They are pretty much the same cars minus mine is a year newer and 3.6. The radios are exactly the same That kinda tells me the issue is with Sirius and not Subaru

It sounds like there might be two manufactures of the installed subaru head units, the name Fujitsu Ten of America come up in a recent post, but I was told a few days ago by a subaru customer rep, that the head units in subarus are made by Harmon Kardon (dates back 50+years and owns other brands including JBL). It's also possible that head units made by the same supplier have unintentionally different flash memories. Could this be the reason that that not all subaru head units have this SiriusXM problem? I was told , by both the subaru rep, and the a special Sirius rep (that contacted me the day after I filled out a quality questionnaire, and wrote a review from hell) that in the next week there would be a software/firmware solution at the dealers. I agree with the post that the problematic head units are missing adequate memories, and the most likely real solution, is to replace these units. If this is true, for whatever reason, and however this happened, these units are defective. I was told that my 10 year 100,000mi extended service contract covers the head unit, and anyone on the original warrantee is covered. If there isn't a solution this coming week, I'm heading over to have my head unit replaced, and hope that whatever they put in has the right flash memory. I suggest anyone who can, try to do the same. I'm also starting to think about the names of attnorneys and media outlets, that might pursue this issue.

I contacted my Subaru dealership (in Santa Fe, NM) and was told "I have asked our Field Service Engineer about this. Sirius/XM does an automatic “push” when they update their stations etc. However there is something with their format that does not translate to pick up the “lists” for the Harmon/Kardon systems. This is on the XM/Sirius side – not the Audio Units software. If you notice, the FM Stations will still categorize and List. I would hope that when Sirius/XM does their next update “push” that the update would include the fix for that." I followed up with Subaru corporate 2 days ago and have not received a response.This is my first Subaru in a number of years, and given the apparent lack of care of their customers, it will most likely be my last.

I have been getting similar runarounds from both Sirius and Subaru since this problem developed last summer (I have a 2016 Forester). Workaround is listening to SiriusXM in the car by playing it on my phone and using Bluetooth.

I had this same problem too, and brought my 2017 Outback to my Subaru dealership to troubleshoot this, and they called Subaru directly and found out the problem. The list feature no longer lists the channels because Sirius had recently increased their number of channels to beyond the amount of memory that my Subraru's radio has to list them, so its became a memory (or rather lack of) issue with my radio. Apparently Subaru has had lots of issues with these radios, with some of them going out completely (ie...no rear video camera display). Anyway, I was told Subaru knows about the issue and they will need to work it out with the company who makes their radio. My dealership was able to give me a case number for future reference. So in short, Subaru knows about it, and is supposed to be working on a solution, but none has been made yet. Will they physically add memory hardware to existing radios or perhaps even replace them with new ones? At least mine is under warranty for another 15,000 more miles. My next move will be to contact the Subaru company sometime in early 2019 and reference my case number to them, then have my dealership do the fix...this is assuming they will come up with a solution.

It is still a SiriusXM issue. You don't change software if it won't work with existing hardware, unless you think you can force people to buy the new hardware. Would we have bought the Forester without XM? Of course. Do we need XM? Nope. Our trial is expired. We have told Sirius we won't renew.

I say Subaru should upgrade out head units to the 2019 version and then we can all have Apple CarPlay.

It's the middle of the month. Any news about an update from SirusXM?

Does anybody in this forum have a mailing address for Subaru and Sirius XM or a telephone number that we could start writing of calling concerning this problem, It has been four (4) months since this problem has started and there has been no resolution. I have call Sirius XM and spoke to the dealer where I purchase the car and it is the same finger pointing that we have read about in this forum. This has to be resolved

Update from my end... Spoke with my dealer again yesterday who has taken a step back in their response - I would need to contact Sirius to perform a refresh and then speak to a Customer Listener Agent. I obliged, and as expected, Sirius' response was the same as before; they are aware of the issue and Subaru is working on a software fix to resolve it "in the coming weeks". They could not give me more detail than that but recommended I contact Subaru directly (rather than my dealer). I just got off the phone with a Subaru representative @ 800-782-2783 and got a very fair (though still frustrating) update. Subaru is indeed working on a software fix. There is not a firm date, but later this month or possibly early January, it will be available, and dealers will be made aware. It will be a 10- 15 minute fix that must be performed at the dealer, but it is a software update only, no hardware updates or replacement needed. So it sounds like a few more weeks at this point, but at least I now have matching stories from Sirius and Subaru and a resolution in sight...

I kinda forgot about this, but around thanksgiving time during their free preview my presets worked again...well most of them. After the preview I don’t have radio again. I don’t even get channels using the radio knobs now. So if it was a software issue like Sirius says, why did my radio work then but not before or after the preview.

Update. This afternoon I stop by the dealership and inquired about the status of the SiriusXM update for the head unit radio for my 2017 Outback. The service manager gave me a deer in the headlight look and basicly told me that there will be no updates. Either he has no clue as to the problem with the radio or he has been asked many times about the problem and he does not want to deal with it. My many attempts to contact Subaru and SiriusXM has been either "We are very sorry for the inconvenience but you can still tune your radio by using the tuning knob or by the sounds of crickets for SiriusXM. How much longer do we have to wait.

You should just cancel it like I did and get a refund back to August.

My local dealer, Topeka, Kansas, had no clue about a radio problem. They did find a radio update but, it didn’t deal with the Sirius issue, they installed it anyway. It did not fix the problem. The Service Manager looked the problem up online and read some of the comments about Sirius and Subaru basically pointing fingers at each other. I told him my friend has a Ford F-150 and the List function on his radio works fine with Sirius. So he put a notification in to Subaru, specifically concerning my car a the problem. I have a 2018 Forester. So as of 12/21/18, no fix available.

This issue is getting ridiculous..my sitiuation is I have drive a 2018 Forester for my company (lucky me) since May..of course it came with the 3 months of XM and loved it but didnt think it was worth the money to pay for myself..fast foward to middle of NOV I got a "free preview" and went online to check prices and XM was only $8.25 a month for a year (had to pay for the year)..on the "free preview" I like others had the channel guide working perfectly..I pay for it and BAM! I have no channel guide like everyone else..I made the calls to XM and got the same old runaround as everyone else..and like others I went to the local Sabaru dealer and talked to them and they had never heard of this problem at all...this is so obviously a XM issue and they arent in any hurry to fix it..I cant stand not having the channel guide even with the low price I got but since I prepaid for a year I cant cancel or do anything about it! I will never ever subscribe to XM EVER!

Gave another try with Sirius yesterday by email to Customer Support UnresolvedIssue folks. Got a callback within 3hrs of the email by someone that actually knew of the problem but with the same ‘Subaru will have a fix within the next several weeks’ answer. The Sirius rep did not have as much of the story as can be gleaned from this blog but at least acknowledged that it existed. Reading between the lines: 1) a fix will come out of Subaru, who generates it who cares. 2) There is no guarantee that we, the out of warranty owners, won’t be left holding the bag on this one as these will be handled ‘on a case by case basis’ - whatever that means.

I'm on vacation in Delaware and stopped by the dealership and they said a software update is available to fix this problem. They said it takes over an hour to install. Anyone else hear this?

psh... unreal

I just spoke with my service advisor who is well aware of the problem. He says he spoke to en engineer with Subaru and says the update isn’t schedule till end of January or early February now The issue according to him is getting the radio manufacturer to write the update. I brought up how my wife’s 16 has no issues and he said it was a software issue. But putting the old software in our radios wouldn’t crash them. So who the F knows when it will be fixed.

Update: I just spoke with another Subaru dealer in West Springfield, MA. The service manager had no clue about any updates and that I should call SiriusXM. From his response and body motion, I think he was aware of the problem and he did not want to deal with it. I just sent an email to Subaru, can't wait to see what type of response I get back.

Contacted SiriusXM about this today. The agent said the update is due out "in coming weeks". No further details. He said they aren't able to issue a credit. I asked about extending my plan without cost as I've had little use of the service.... he only suggested that I contact them again after the issue has been fixed. :(

I tried contacting SiriusXM and both the first person and the supervisor had no idea there was even an issue. Furthermore, they appeared incapable of even accepting there was one. Every time I referenced what was well documented on this webpage, they tried to tell me to go out to my car so they could reset my radio, which was 'clearly the issue' according to them. "So you're not willing to allow us to fix your radio so you can have flawless service? You'd rather it continue to be broken?" After 30+ minutes of this nonsensical roundabout, I finally told them to cancel my service, but they seemed disinclined to do that. Nor would they issue a refund because "I denied their repeated attempts to fix what was wrong with my radio." I spent another 30+ minutes repeatedly denying any upgrades, offers, or free radios they could send my way. Each time I told them I wanted to cancel my service, they would reiterate that they could fix my radio, which I would deny, and there would then be about 5 minutes of silence followed by a new offer! With the 'free radio' he even said "since your radio doesn't work, you can stick this one on top of it'. Oh, okay... Then, when I finally get the service cancelled. He says, "you have $1.61 credit. do you want to open a new account for your radio and apply that credit to a premium service?" These people are completely clueless. I will never use SiriusXM again.

We have a 2016 Forrestor which we don't use a lot. < 4000 miles in 3 years. I turn the car off but I never explicitly turn the radio off. The first time I did (last fall on vacation) all of a sudden the radio went into 'demo' mode. I put some albums on a USB stick and my android phone and ignored Sirius. Up to that point (two years after purchase) I was working with whatever the dealer had setup for the radio. About a month ago I called Sirius and asked to begin my 2 month free-trial. After they activated the account I noticed how little was shown under genres / list etc. - and I had to turn the dial to find channels. I chatted with someone at Sirius earlier this afternoon and he acknowledged a problem with a fix within a month. He offered to send a reset but I declined. A little while ago I was reading this thread and noticed the option to 'delete all personal data'. So I went to the car and did that and all of a sudden there is a ton of more info shown under genres (most of which I would rather not see - religion, stern etc) and when I select 'rock' I see the rock channels in the list.That is really all I wanted. But there is still something different about the feel of the radio. For one thing, although there are maybe 6 presets set - I never remember seeing that on the display before. Maybe there is a setting to disable presets ? So my experience differs from the instruction mentioned above. Eg. I never saw a 'New' button on the display. I'll be driving the car some tomorrow and see how it goes. Here's an unrelated question. If, using bluetooth, when i connect my android phone and the subaru radio - is there a way for the radio to populate a list of albums/music on the phone ? Can I pull info from the phone rather than simply push music to the radio ? Thanks

The above post is mine - but I am not GuruBSKQ3 ??

Just finished my 6 month Trial so right after I got it, I lost all the channel line up. Been round the same block multiple times with Sirius & my dealer (who knew all about it from the start) - nothing has changed. I canceled today & explained why - no one has actually taken responsibility ever but it clearly a XM issue. Didn't want to hear any more 'it will be fixed soon.....' stories. Done with them. They have to be losing lots of business but.....guess they don't care.

At my dealer in Louisville today. They acknowledge a problem exists. “It’s Sirius’s problem. When they (Sirius) says Subaru is working on a fix they are referring to their Subaru team at Sirius”. How’s that for a new twist on deniability? My dealer also noted my radio did have an update due. I asked if it fixed the Sirius problem. Two service reps responded “we don’t know as Subaru doesn’t tell us what the updates are for”. And by the way, $119 as I am out of warranty.

Here is the pathway to a solution I received from Subaru on 22 December. Call the Subaru of America Customer/Retailer Services Department at 1-800-782-2783. I got a customer rep who knew about the problem and was a good listener. Have your car's VIN handy. They will look it up in their system to verify that your vehicle is among those affected. I mentioned that my Sirius system went down on or about 17 August...when Sirius electronically sent out the upgrade that blew out reception to thousands of Subarus with "gen 2" radios. She asked if I had a most recent annual bill from Sirius (last June). I did, and scanned/sent a copy of the bill. I mentioned I expected a refund for the four months Sirius had been down. Instead she refunded the entire year's cost. It's true: the three figure check arrived on 12/27. She also added me to a list of owners to be notified when the system is fixed (but will entail a trip to the dealer). Be diplomatic. It helps. It's a step in the right direction on Subaru's part.

Just reiceve an email this afternoon from Subaru. Dear Mr. xxxxxx: Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to contact us. A reprogramming file is now available for your entertainment system to help restore the channel list view. It can be performed by any Subaru retailer service department. Thanks for the opportunity to be of assistance. Sincerely, Grant Noble Subaru of America, Inc. Customer/Retailer Services Department 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) Service Request Number: 1-39232030967

Here’s what I just received from Subaru “Hello Xxxxx The SiriusXM list issue has been resolved. The resolution is part of Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 15-205-16R. Please contact your Subaru retailer to schedule an appointment to have this update applied to your Subaru. If you need any future assistance, please let us know. Happy New Year. Sincerely,”

I called my local dealer and they said they have no idea what I'm talking about and have no access to pull up the TSB. I did a quick google search and the TSB number referenced above looks like it does have to do with the software for the radio but the TSB was released in 2016. I found some info about it here - http://www.challengepromotions.com/Wills/TSB/15-205- 16.pdf It looks like it's just an easy software update performed from a USB thumb drive. Does anyone here have access to, or a link to the files so I can download them and install them myself?

Great news from Subaru, the fix is in. I spoke with Subaru USA today and I was told they have resolve the list problem. I contacted my dealer and will be bring my Subaru in to have the problem fixed. I was told it will take about and 1 1/2 hours. I suggest calling Subaru USA before calling the dealer.....1 (800) 782-2783 this way they can make record of your vehicles troubled experience. my 2017 Subaru Forester is out of warranty however the Subaru rep assured me Subaru will still honor the warranty for this problem....confirm with the dealer as I did.

I too just called a Subaru dealer (I bought mine from a used car dealer). They told me they could fix it for around $160. He is going to call back to see what he can do on the price.(2015 CrossTrek). I gave him the number TSB-15-205-16R. That was very helpful-thank you 2017Legacy36.

Hi Seriously Siriously-Deprived Subarunies: I just scheduled an appointment to have the fix installed at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning. If anyone is going to beat me to the punch on this, would you please check in and let us all know if it was actually successful? I already sat in the dealer's waiting room for two updates that were supposed to fix the issue -- and didn't, back in August. Make sure you don't drive out without testing it first! Thanks Cheers mbl

I called my regular dealer in NH (i'm in FL now) & they said the FIX is available - they said anyone with under 136K miles would be covered under warranty but they plan on doing complementary upgrades as goodwill for their customers. I canceled Sirius but might do another trial next road trip. It was not handled well by either company. I would suggest anyone to call Subaru USA (800) 782-2783 to advise them & ask for a goodwill fix if your dealer is going to charge you - worth a try.

I spoke with the dealer again and managed to talk to the actual service advisor. He said he's familiar with the issue and gets about five reports a day from customers with the problem but he also said he has not heard of the fix. I talked to SOA and they told me they are going to contact the dealer directly on my behalf to make sure they know about the fix. For some reason, I'm slightly skeptical but still optimistic and hoping for the best. I'm just not sure why Subaru won't let me download the files so I can update the software myself.

Aren't we able to update these head units ourselves? Is that all the update entails? Why would an update take up to an hour or more? I don't get it.

It wouldn't exactly surprise me if it did take them over an hour to install a usb update. Since leasing my forester, I've had 3 oil changes. They've taking 2 hours, 2 hours, and 3 hours for something I can do in my driveway with crappy tools in 10 minutes. -_-

I just spoke with my Subaru Service advisor, they have done several updates to the XM radios to try and fix this issue. The advisor stated that these cars have about 3 different types of radios, and depending on which one is in your vehicle the update might or might not correct the issue. He advised me to wait longer prior to having my radio updated.

I live in Mexico about 1-1.5 hours outside Mexico City. Our dealer went belly up over a year ago and the next nearest dealer is even further away. I'm a retired software engineer. I'd love to be apply to apply this patch myself. Is there some official way to refer to this 'fix' if I were to call Subaru US ? Does it have a number or something ?

@lhpdiver, I also work in IT and could easily apply the patch myself. I asked the rep at SOA about it and was told in no uncertain terms, absolutely not. They will not give the files to anyone other than a Subaru dealer. I think they can be downloaded through Subarunet.com but you need a Subaru dealer login to access the site. I hate having to drop off my car for an entire day just to have them do something that should take no more than an hour.

Just received this email from SOA. The SiriusXM list issue has been resolved. The resolution is part of Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 15-205-16R. Please contact your Subaru retailer to schedule an appointment to have this update applied to your Subaru.

Well here I am, 45 minutes into getting updated. I double checked to make sure the XM was still "broken" on the way here and indeed it was. I will report in as soon as I know something. I do find it outrageous that there wasn't a notification pushed to Subaru/XM subscribers (including those still on the three-month trial run) that this "fix" is now available. If Subaru central wasn't going to do it, the dealers should have taken responsibility. That's what's known in my world as "customer service." Cheers mbl

Reporting in . . . SUCCESS. The fix took less than 45 minutes and XM works perfectly now. An A for quick service to Crews Subaru; D- to Sirius and Subaru HQ for totally negligent customer service. For the record I have a 2018 Forester. The Tech # for the update is 124586. TSB 15-205-16R. Now go storm the gates of your dealers! Cheers mbl

Can anyone who had Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 15-205-16R applied verify that their radio is still working a few days later? This TSB was released in November of 2016. It seems somewhat unlikely it would fix issues associated with the 2018 models ... but maybe ... I can hope ...

Just called my Subaru dealer in Western Mass and gave him the Tech# and TSB#. He is saying there is no such number. I asked him to look into it and call me back. Will update with resolve

LDCornell: YES. See previous message. Cheers mbl

Thanks, GuruXDTZY. About how many days has this now been working?

I don't think the "fix" is real. It's an old TSB number and the problem first appeared in August 2018. SiriusXM promised to email me when they had a solution. Crickets.

I just contacted my local Subaru dealer (Charleston, SC) who said "oh yes, we just got the software fix for this problem." I made an appointment for next week. The service rep said they will need the car about 45 minutes. Will report back after this.