John W

Thanks for the advice, though it's not the quick fix I'm hoping for. I had the fuses checked by my friend the mechanic after I did the same, all good. There is advice online about other electrical problems/fixes with Subarus, and a bunch of them say to 'disconnect the negative battery terminal, wait 30 minutes, reconnect it, put the key in and turn it to the first stop, wait 30 seconds, then turn over the car.' For many it's been the amazing Voila! fix for their problems with idling and stalling etc, which all started when the battery was replaced or jumped. I know the battery was disconnected by the dealership to do the engine cleaning on this car. I don't have the time or energy to pull the unit out and troubleshoot etc, so it looks like I'll try disconnecting the battery and see what happens before I keep the appointment next week at the Subaru dealership to get the thing going. Thanks again for taking the time to make your suggestions!

I bought a 2009 one-owner limited Forester for my daughter at a large dealership. All indications are it was exceedingly well taken care of. Nothing is missing, mint, all keys, floormats x2, manuals etc. Near the end of negotiations they dropped the price another $500 because the stereo/navigation system wasn't working and their techs 'were too busy to get to it.' SO, it's dead, blank, powerless in all aspects. I've been online for two days and am amazed I can't get an answer of any kind by googling "2009 Forester Navigation System Dead" and EVERY variation of those keywords. It's the factory head unit, and I have the little dog tags with security codes. Called the local Subaru dealership (not where I bought it) and will have to make an appointment, which is fine, but I couldn't get any specifics. I mean, it's gotta be something they know what the deal is, but they weren't going to say. Anyone know how I can get the unit up and working? Did disconnecting the battery at the dealership cause this? Should I just get a 2016 stereo installed and forget about it? I'm a tired old man at this point, first time to this forum. Thanks!