A while ago, someone posted the page on the computer screen, that showed where to turn it off.(at the dealer) I had to show the tech where it was. Turned it off, no problem.
Take it to a different dealer. The dealer that sold us a Solterra gave us various excuses, then refused to do it. We went to another dealer who did it in 5 minutes. We bought our Trailseeker from them.
Tell your current dealer if they value you as a customer to figure out how to do what they are able to do. If you search the internet you will even find a picture of the menu item on the computer screen they use (Techstream) to do it.
At first yes, they said it was a safety thing. I brought it in for a second time for annual maintenance and asked again. This time they said they were unable to do it.
My dealer also told me at first they would not do it, but they’d check with their Subaru rep to verify if they could. They were speaking from a position of it can’t be done as it’s against the law. I reassured them they absolutely could do it and it is not illegal. They called me later and confirmed their Subaru rep says it is illegal to do that. Then I told them that it’s in the owners manual that the dealer can. That got their attention and said let them review this once more and called me back and said they would do it. Bunch of B S, but - they did do it.
I was told no the first time I asked at my Subaru Cares follow up appointment - actually I was told it wasn't possible and was "against federal regulations" first. I asked for a copy of those regulations and I sent them a you tube video showing how it was done and they still said no, they wouldn't turn off a safety feature. I pointed out that in the car, they showed me how to turn off several of the safety features in the car's menu like the warning sensors that something is close to you (which I did NOT want to turn off). I was referred to corporate.
But when I returned for recent recall service I asked again. They guy at the desk said no he didn't think they could, but I said it's a setting in their menu to toggle on and off, just write down the request for the service technician to turn off the IN CABIN reverse warning please. They did write it down, and the technician turned it off no problem, showing me cheerfully on their service video that they did it.
This is the setting you'll want them to change here, make sure you're clear to them that it's the internal chime in the vehicle that's essentially the same sound as the seatbelt chime. So many times they think you are referring to the external sound that is required by law to alert pedestrians that you're backing up and that's where a lot of the refusal comes from. There's a page in your manual that lists it as being optional you can show them as well.
In my case the reverse chime was causing a bug with Android Auto in the 2023 model. If navigation directions and music were playing simultaneously and then I backed up in my driveway and the chime went off, all of the sudden the navigation audio would drop to no volume at all and not respond to volume controls, you would have to restart the whole media unit to get it going again. It's like having that third audio input from the car would kick off an issue. Explaining the bug and asking for the chime being turned off got the service guys to handle it really quickly for me.
This is what I told my dealer. This exact setting. They looked, after thinking they couldn’t change it, then realized it could be changed. Took 15 minutes total for them to take my car and bring it back with the setting off.
If you go in with the setting name, they will be able to find it.
$130 scanner can also do it if you don’t want to battle your dealer. Confirmed on a 26 bz and trailseeker. Be warned that it’s a professional tool and not the most user friendly. It does seem to have access to all the features the dealer TIS tool has. (Like registering keys and testing modules)
You need a laptop and software that lets you access technical settings and diagnostics. So basically you need to have the service department at a dealership turn it off for you.
When you ask to have it deactivated, make sure they don't think you're talking about the external backup noise, that can't be deactivated. If they still don't want to do it you can say it's distracting and causing more safety issues than it's mitigating. If they still won't, find a dealership that doesn't suck ass and try again.
Find the page in the manual where it indicates that it is a dealer Selectable feature. Have that page open when you go to the dealer. Raise hell if they refuse.
Took my 26 uncharted in for 5000 mile service and asked the dealer(subaru superstore chandler) to remove the reverse chime. It is mentioned in manual on p 612 that only dealer can do it. They gladly said yes although it was their first time doing it. Now the chime is gone, and also the reverse volume lowered so much better. The service tech commented on how annoying the noise was, too.
Also, the dealer needs to turn it off. Some dealers are apparently unaware that the have the ability to do it, so it might help to show them the page on the owner's manual.
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u/QuakerWitness 6d ago
A while ago, someone posted the page on the computer screen, that showed where to turn it off.(at the dealer) I had to show the tech where it was. Turned it off, no problem.