Hey everyone, first post here, wanted to let you guys know about a problem i'm having with the Pioneer AVH-X3500BHS i bought and installed in my girlfriends 2012 Subaru outback.

I bought the unit at a local shop after doing lots of research, and when we got the car back from the shop with the unit installed, we were very happy with it. The menus were a little tricky at first but we got used to them quickly and are extremely happy with all features of the radio. Unfortunately we were having an issue with the satellite portion of the radio. I purchased and properly installed the recommended SiriusXM SXV200v1 satellite tuner, but the stereo would not grant me access to the satellite menu, almost like it wasn't detecting the tuner. So i figured the tuner was DOA and exchanged it for a new one at bestbuy, installed the new one still problems.

So i called the shop that did the primary install for me, and they told me that this was the first 2013 model they had in the shop and they were not familiar with it and i should give pioneer a call and see what they say. So i finally got through to pioneer this morning and what they told me did not make me happy.

As soon as i got a person on the phone i told them my model stereo and asked them if there was some special setting i couldn't find to unlock the satellite menu. He responded by asking me if I had steering wheel controls installed, i said yes. He told me that they are having an issue where people who had steering wheel controls installed were not able to use a satellite tuner, he said the only fix he had at the moment was to unplug the steering wheel controls, and call whoever built the steering wheel control adapter i was using.

I just called the shop where i purchased the parts and had them installed, told them what's going on and they're going to call metra and see if they have a fix for me, hopefully i'll hear back from them in a few hours.

Hopefully this is a minor issue that will be ironed out quickly with a firmware update or a new adapter from metra, I would hate to have to go to a different stereo from another manufacturer over such a stupid issue that should've been caught before the units rolled out for the new year.

Has anyone else run into this issue with other models in the 2013 line up?

I contacted metra and they told me how to fix the problem. Apparently the shop that installed the head unit and steering wheel controls should've applied an updated to the steering wheel control box before installing it. Supposedly the update fixes whatever is causing the problem and makes sure the steering wheel control box plays nice with the satellite tuner. I'm taking the car back to the install shop next week to have them install the update and i'll post my results.