2015 Outback glare problems

[halotree]

Anyone else having problems with interior glare with new Outback or Legacy?  There are strips of silver plastic on the dashboard and on the doors.  When the sun shines on these, it can reflect the sun right into your eyes.  Also, the climate control buttons and surrounding area are also highly reflective, and cause the same glare problems, and in addition, the glare makes it nearly impossible to read the climate display and the time and temp.   I think that all of this glare is a potential safety hazard.   I think that it could possibly lead to an accident.  If anyone else is having any glare issues, please share them.  I think that we can get this problem taken care of if we make enough complaints to Subaru (dealers and corporate).  If you also believe that it could be a safety issue, then contact the NHTSA (national highway traffic safety administration), in addition to dealers and corporate.  The NHTSA can issue a recall if they determine that a car has a safety issue.  Hopefully something like a recall won't be necessary.  If Subaru gets a lot of complaints, and if the NHTSA also gets official safety complaints, then Subaru may just elect to call the cars in for some kind of fix.   You can file a report with the NHTSA by phone or online.  Phone number is    888-327-4236        If you want to file a safety report online,  go to safercar.gov     then go to the complaints and defects link.

  It really bothers me to have spent a good deal of money on a new car, only to realize later that it has such a serious design flaw.  I don't think that reflective materials like that belong in  the interior of a car.  I've seen this topic discussed on other forums, and I'm just wondering what others on USMB think of this glare. 

Edited October 10, 2014 by halotree

[physik]

  I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that this is a huge design flaw.  I wish that I would have noticed this during my test drive, but it was a rainy cloudy day, and it's just not the kind of thing that crosses your mind to look for.  I've never even considered this problem prior to owning this car.  It's like having super bright mag light pointed in my eyes while I'm driving.  You would think that a company that's been making cars for decades would know not to put a bunch of "MIRRORS" on the inside of a car.  Like I said, I've never thought about it before this, but it seems so obvious now after driving this car.  I agree with you that it is dangerous.  When the sun shines off of the environmental controls and buttons, the glare is so bad that it makes it impossible to see the display that's just above those controls.

  I'll make the complaints that you suggest above.  I don't know much about the auto industry.  Do you think that they listen to customer complaints?