Grid lines on head unit

Although it isn't like the classic flat head Ford, on Jag-lovers we considered it to be flat enough. It is a bit angled but not very much.

From owning an SIII and a XJ40 the enclosed is a pic of an engine bay is familiar to me.

After I removed and replaced an engine -- out in the cold brrr, I could tell you what happens after I missed attaching the ground bundle for the fuel injectors. Even my mechanic friend was stumped but I'll keep quiet about my little faux pax.

"When Jaguar developed the HE engine, they were desperate to improve the highway fuel efficiency of the early V12 flat head engine."

http://www.tommackieracing.com/projects/current-project-bonneville-jaguar/60-v12-engine/

That must have been one special Jaguar! Are you saying it was a flat six or a flathead six? Either variant would be really "unique."

Although it isn't like the classic flat head Ford, on Jag-lovers we considered it to be flat enough. It is a bit angled but not very much.

The Jaguar XK-series inline-6 engines (1948-1992) employed DOHC heads with hemispherical combustion chambers and dome-head pistons. That's hardly the description of a flathead design. I know; I paid part of my way through college wrenching on XK engines, mainly the 3.4 and 3.8 liter variants.

The Jaguar XJ-12 V12 engine (1971-1997) did indeed have "flat" (i.e. flat bottomed) SOHC heads, with the combustion chamber volume provided by deeply dished piston crowns. I've never worked on any of the Jaguar V12s.

Your photo appears to be a 6-cylinder Jaguar AJ6 (1984-1996) , variants of which which were produced with both DOHC and SOHC heads. Some early variants use the same flat-bottomed head as the V12.

It was all for descriptive purposes, so pound me for taking artistic license to try and describe something that many people have never seen. I said in my last post that it wasn't a classic flat head but that big long engine with a nice inline six is flat enough for little critters to rest. It gives the critters a nicer place to lay at night than this engine ---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_flathead_V8_engine

Sometimes people use descriptors of convenience such as on the Jag list where you'll find it used in everyday discussions. Such as -- "Anyone interested in a good injected flat-head".

I swear on a bible when me and my ex-jag buddies are drinking some cold ones I will never ever use the everyday language and say flat head.

What after a few beers I may breach that contract.

The Jaugar XK-series inline-6 engines (1948-1992) employed DOHC heads with hemispherical combustion chambers and dome-head pistons. That's hardly the description of a flathead design. I know; I paid part of my way through college wrenching on XK engines, mainly the 3.4 and 3.8 liter variants.

 

The Jaguar XJ-12 V12 engine (1971-1997) did indeed have "flat" (i.e. flat bottomed) SOHC heads, with the combustion chamber volume provided by deeply dished piston crowns. I'v never worked on any of the Jaguar V12s.

I bet those people were surprised!

That is pretty strange. Mine won't even open when I press the button and the shifter is not in P.

The Jaugar XK-series inline-6 engines (1948-1992) employed DOHC heads with hemispherical combustion chambers and dome-head pistons.

I think you meant, "Jaguar XK-series...." don't worry, it's an honest mistake. I'm sure people knew what you meant!

I think you meant, "Jaguar XK-series...."

Thanks for the heads-up. I am humbled (and corrected).

Thanks for the heads-up. I am humbled (and corrected).

Thanks for posting this picture! I second that if you could take another picture and post it, it would be very useful. I plan on taking this with me when going to the dealer just in case!

I got the one on my legacy replaced today. No crazy grid lines; but if you look really close you can see that they are there. I got my car used, so I do not know if they were nice in the beginning and got worse over time.

Had to pay the $100 deductible for my extended warranty plan. Hope these replacements hold up better.

The unit they put in has a yellow sticker on the back side that said factory refurbished unit.

I got the one on my legacy replaced today. No crazy grid lines; but if you look really close you can see that they are there. I got my car used, so I do not know if they were nice in the beginning and got worse over time.

 

Had to pay the $100 deductible for my extended warranty plan. Hope these replacements hold up better.

 

The unit they put in has a yellow sticker on the back side that said factory refurbished unit.

I cannot see the grid lines from your pictures. Even in good units the gridlines are there, it just that they are essentially invisible in most lighting conditions. My unit was perfect (essentially no visible lines even under harsh lighting) for the first year and then slowly degraded over the second year to the point now where I am trying to get it replaced as the lines are always visible now. Good luck with your new unit!

I am working with Subaru CRS to hopefully get a new/refurb unit as well under warranty as the dealer service manager told me "Every Subaru has grid lines visible at all times." I proceeded to show him the TSB that says units that have lines visible at all times are defective and call for a replacement to which he responded, "Every Subaru has grid lines visible at all time." Subaru is contacting the dealer again and said will be back in touch with me no later than Wednesday, so we will see what they are able to do.

Not sure what happens to the screen. A capacitive touch screen will have grid lines but they are normally supposed to be invisible when the screen is active. Why do the lines end up showing when the screen is lit? My phone does not show any lines when it is on or off. I've angled the screen but nothing. Maybe I can't see them on my phone when it is turned of has to do with the glass??

I know that before my HU was replaced, there were many times the lines were so bad that I could not see my NAV screen very well.

On my Honda, I've tried to see the lines when the screen is off but I see no lines. But the screen on the Honda is recessed and maybe that helps hide the lines?

Bummer to just see this thread. I've had the gridlines on my 15 since day one. Just assumed it was SOP. AT 91k I'm SOL...

Not sure what happens to the screen. A capacitive touch screen will have grid lines but they are normally supposed to be invisible when the screen is active. Why do the lines end up showing when the screen is lit? My phone does not show any lines when it is on or off. I've angled the screen but nothing. Maybe I can't see them on my phone when it is turned of has to do with the glass??

 

I know that before my HU was replaced, there were many times the lines were so bad that I could not see my NAV screen very well.

 

On my Honda, I've tried to see the lines when the screen is off but I see no lines. But the screen on the Honda is recessed and maybe that helps hide the lines?

I think its a combination of things; the type of display, angle at which it sits and not being recessed.

Don't know if may be the materials used to form the grid are burning other upper layers when hit with direct light that then you see the pattern.

A phone screen is really no comparison. How often have you left your phone in direct sunlight with temps going above 100F? These things really take a beating in that sense.

Having it recessed into the dash would have helped a bit, but then you are farther away from it when you need to touch. I've always liked the rotating dial style used in Acura's and Audi's over touch screens. Less things to go wrong, and a much better user experience.

After talking with Subaru CRS on Saturday, the representative thought I had a good claim on my headunit and was very helpful in getting in contact with my dealership to resolve the issue of them not wanting to replace it. The dealership contacted me saying that they have a new unit on order and will install it free of charge under warranty when it comes in, likely next week sometime. The Subaru CRS rep called me about 5 minutes later to follow up and confirm that my dealer had been in touch with me and to make sure I didn't have any questions.

I would highly recommend reaching out to Subaru CRS as they seem very willing to help resolve issues and claims that are well founded and have evidence to support them.

I will try to get some side-by-side pictures for comparison of the old unit with the new one to highlight the differences and to help you guys decide whether or not your head unit might qualify for replacement under warranty under the premise of TSB 15-177-14R.

For you - contact SOA and ask.

This is a cosmetic annoyance impacting a lot of cars. At least it's not a Takata Airbag seriousness.

Head Unit finally came in and the new screen looks amazing (well, new at least)! However, they are ordering me a new one because this one is "defective" but in a different way. From the driver's side as you look at the screen, the left edge of everything is cut off, but if you look from the passengers side you wouldn't be able to tell that anything is wrong. It's as if the screen shifted underneath the touch screen portion during shipping or something. Anyways I showed it to the tech who replaced it and he agreed that, although slight, it is definitely not within normal tolerance for the viewing angle and agreed that a new one should be ordered since they have never seen a screen like that. I didn't want to make a fuss about it, but they offered to get another new one before I even pushed them to do anything about it.

These pictures show though what the brand new screen looks like compared to a screen that had faded over 2 years. Both screens have the same FB856US code on the bottom left, which I am not sure if that's just a model number?

The new screen is definitely a little more responsive as well, but that is likely because it doesn't have all of the gps data/lifetime mileage calculations/stuff stored.

I've attached two photos, one off during a very overcast/cloudy day, one of it powered and on on a sunny day.

Holy shit is this bad, hoping SoA will help out with this

I had the head unit on my 2016 2.5i Premium swapped out last week. I gave the tech the TSB number and he took care of it no questions asked. They did have to order in the replacement which took about a week, but otherwise it was pretty easy. The job took about an hour. I have attached a couple of before and after pics.

I work for a company that makes touch screen chips, so I have discussed this with some of our engineers. Of course, we don't know any of the specifics of Subaru's implementation, but we have some theories. Typically the clear conductor used in these screens is ITO (indium tin oxide), which is pretty stable. An optically clear adhesive is used to bond the layers together, and its possible there was a bad batch of OCA used for some of these screens.

A worse scenario is that Subaru/Fujitsu used an alternative conductor like PEDOT for the touch sensor that is susceptible to heat or UV. If thats the case, I would expect the issue to reappear in a few years...

A worse scenario is that Subaru/Fujitsu used an alternative conductor ... for the touch sensor that is susceptible to heat or UV.

Hmmm ... That might explain why the display screen in my 2015 Legacy, which is garaged during the day, is still pristine, while the screen in my wife's 2016 Outback, which sits in an open parking lot all day, is beginning to show the touch sensor grid. (Of course, I recognize that a data sample of n=2 proves nothing.)

Hmmm ... That might explain why the display screen in my 2015 Legacy, which is garaged during the day, is still pristine, while the screen in my wife's 2016 Outback, which sits in an open parking lot all day, is beginning to show the touch sensor grid. (Of course, I recognize that a data sample of n=2 proves nothing.)

n=2 is < "proves everything", but > "proves nothing" for anecdotal evidence.

I park my '15 in a garage (reflective visor installed while at work), but the previous owner (as of last Fall), parked outdoors in NC. Hmmm.

The grid is visible in mine even in indirect sunlight; however, it's not as bad as what some have posted. It doesn't bother me enough to try to get Subaru to cover it, but I've got an extended warranty and can revisit this decision some time in the future, if it gets worse.

A worse scenario is that Subaru/Fujitsu used an alternative conductor like PEDOT for the touch sensor that is susceptible to heat or UV. If thats the case, I would expect the issue to reappear in a few years...

I am hoping Subaru has pushed the manufacture to acknowledge the issue and make some type of revision in the replacement screens. But I agree with you that if they didn't change anything then we can't expect a new head-unit to be more than another year or 2 band-aid until the same thing happens again - especially if the issue is a result of UV/heat exposure.

I guess it's time to start rubbing SPF 70 on our radio before taking our cars out into the sun

What is the phone number for Subaru CRS? Is it the 1-800-subaru3 number? Is there a particular department to ask for? Been dealing with this issue on my head unit and the one that replaced it 2 years ago.

Thanks.

After talking with Subaru CRS on Saturday, the representative thought I had a good claim on my headunit and was very helpful in getting in contact with my dealership to resolve the issue of them not wanting to replace it. The dealership contacted me saying that they have a new unit on order and will install it free of charge under warranty when it comes in, likely next week sometime. The Subaru CRS rep called me about 5 minutes later to follow up and confirm that my dealer had been in touch with me and to make sure I didn't have any questions.

 

I would highly recommend reaching out to Subaru CRS as they seem very willing to help resolve issues and claims that are well founded and have evidence to support them.

 

I will try to get some side-by-side pictures for comparison of the old unit with the new one to highlight the differences and to help you guys decide whether or not your head unit might qualify for replacement under warranty under the premise of TSB 15-177-14R.

But I agree with you that if they didn't change anything then we can't expect a new head-unit to be more than another year or 2 band-aid until the same thing happens again - especially if the issue is a result of UV/heat exposure.

I had contacted SOA for something else, and I popped this question. The rep said she needed to research further and got back with this:

"Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. I appreciate the opportunity to be of service.

After further research, Subaru is confident that the manufacturer of your audio unit improved the part prior to its replacement in your vehicle. They obtain any defective units for repair and reconstruction for this reason.

Sincerely,

Customer/Retailer Services

Subaru of America, Inc."

Nothing specific, but at least they believe its improved in some way...