Re: 2014 Outback instruments question

On 12/11/2022 9:31 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
> Robert Wilson <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> I recently had to replace my 2002 Outback after a collision. My "new"
>> 2014 Outback is a lot newer than I really wanted, but it had some
>> features my wife wanted and there are not many used Subarus available
>> around here: AWD and Subaru are very popular in our northern US climate,
>> and Subys last a long time!
>>
>> Is there some way to set up the instrument panel so that I can see both
>> the fuel level and the engine temperature? Now I see fuel level and the
>> stupid "ECO meter", and I cannot find the combination that I want,
>> either in the manuals or by just trying things in the car.
>>
>> So what I basically want is just to replace the eco meter by engine
>> temperature, while retaining fuel level. In my sixty-some years of
>> driving I have several times detected developing problems before they
>> became critical. I do care about the environment but when driving I also
>> care about my car's engine)
> 
> I searched for and found the following resource:
> 
> https://www.subaru.com/owners/vehicle-resources.html
> 
> I selected 2014 and Outback, but could not select a matching trim level
> since you didn't mention yours.  I picked 2.5 Premium.  Several manuals
> were listed.  I don't know the dash for your car, but am assuming the
> Eco, fuel level, and engine temperature would not be displayed by the
> head unit, but within the cluster panel of the dash ahead of the
> steering wheel.  Chapter 3, Instruments and Controls, seemed the likely
> candidate on how to program the cluster (aka instrument) panel.
> 
> On page 138 (per the viewer's page count as there are no page numbers
> displayed on some pages) is a list of sections in Chapter 3.  Mentioned
> in the TOC is "Temperature gague (models with type A combination
> meter)".  Type A is illustrated on page 22.  That's an old style analog
> cluster gauge set where the temp dial is at the lower left and the fuel
> dial is lower right.  Type B is how you describe: MPG is lower left, and
> fuel is lower right.  These are fixed function cluster panels.  There is
> no substituting different guages in place of the current ones.  To
> change you would have to replace the cluster panel to get a different
> set of guages.  However, I suspect you would need to do a lot of
> rewiring to make a different cluster type work when substituted for the
> original unless they already include the cabling plugs figuring to use
> the same cabling harness regardless of which cluster type was installed.
> 
> I did notice on the type B cluster panel which apparently you have there
> is an MPG button at middle right, and the illustration says "5) Multi
> function display switching knob (page 3-33)".  The manual doesn't use
> any links, so I had to scroll far to get to page 3-33.  Alas, the
> description there for the Type B combination meter has it switching
> between the following modes:
> 
> .--> Driving range on remaining fuel
> |      \__ Average fuel consumption
> |             \__ Current fuel consumption
> |                   \__ Blank
> '_________________________/
> 
> So, all the MPG button does to the MPG guage is to change showing what
> type of mileage calculation is being shown.  There is no switching to a
> totally different function, like engine temperature.
> 
> You're at the mercy of the Check Engine light which tells when there is
> a problem after it surpasses some threshold, and that can be too late.
> Yep, I like using the engine temperature guage to let me know if the
> engine is running hotter than normal, like the engine is okay but I'm
> freezing inside which means a thermostat is stuck closed (all coolant
> stays inside the engine, none goes to the interior radiator), or the
> engine is too hot (maybe not enough coolant, or a leak), or maybe when
> the needle gets up far enough and for long enough before I can expect to
> get heat inside the car (passengers will whine "where's the heat", so I
> turn on the electric seat heaters for them).
> 
> Since Subaru won't show you the engine temperature, maybe you should get
> an OBD-II monitor to plug into the car's OBD port.  Then pair the
> monitor to your phone via Bluetooth, and use an app to show you lots of
> stats about your car (I use both OBDLink and Torque).  The OBD monitor
> that I got was the OBDLink MX Bluetooth.  Back when I bought it, price
> was somewhere around $80.  Now it's up to $140 (for the MX+ model since
> they don't make the MX model anymore).  While the OBDlink app is useful
> for diagnostics, you might find the Torque Pro app better suited to
> showing you gauges.
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=OCTech.Mobile.Applications.OBDLink
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque
> 
> Maybe if you can link your smartphone to your head unit, so the head
> unit shows your smartphone's display, you could see the gauges from
> OBDlink or Torque apps on the head unit.  I played that far it casting
> my smartphone's display onto the head unit.
Thanks! I had known from my manuals and the actual dash board that I 
have type B, I probably should have mentioned that. I'll think about 
what I can accomplish with the phone link, I already have those linked 
for some purposes.

Thanks for your work. I will just have to regret getting this late model 
a car. It is just barely short of compelling me to replace the car. I 
don't think technology needs to be made harder than necessary to use, 
but the idea that people should be able to use their 
phones/computers/cars, etc., without thinking is, I fear, responsible 
for a lot of what I dislike about today's world. (Among other things I 
have been a manager, as well as individual contributor, in Silicon 
Valley industry, so I do have experience with system design.)
Bob W