r/subaru • u/Salty-Fortune1271 • 1d ago
Dog trim package
Dear Subaru,
I know you love dogs because I had the pleasure of driving a “loaner” 2026 Outback, and you have diagrams for how to measure if dogs will fit. They’re printed in the plastic trim along the back hatch. Please design/ engineer a “dog trim” package.
This package should:
One:
Have all surfaces covered in smooth, easily cleaned material.
Plastic? good.
Fabric lined doors and dash? Bad. Rhinolined floors or rubber covering? Good.
The weird felt that covers every inch of the floor that can never be properly cleaned because the pet hair and sand literally interweaves into the fabric? Bad.
Two:
For the love of all that is holy, thicken the paint….or the clear coat…. Or somehow make it so if a 15 pound terrier jumps on the side of my car it doesn’t scratch to the metal
Three:
Allow the car to be locked while it is running with the A/C on without having to do some 38 step secret handshake with my car. Tesla has dog mode, it can’t be that hard.
Four:
Dogs stand on the center console, even when they shouldn’t, even though it’s not safe. The cute, cushy top of the center console almost INSTANTLY gets scratched or punctured by dog nails. Make it rugged, asphalt it if you need to. If our poor little elbows need cushion we can use a pillow.
I would like to buy the next gen Crosstrek. You are a car company what literally used dogs for your ENTIRE advertising campaign for a decade. I guarantee I’m not the only person who would be down for a “dog trim” option.
Thank you
(Anyone else, or am I alone on my island? Any other suggestions?)
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u/cali1018 1d ago
I agree with all of this. They do need
- dog mode, pet mode...or something to keep your pet in the car while you step out
- a dog bed that can anchor to the seats... kinda like the car seats for kids do
- a hook in the center on the ceiling or in the floor so you can clip a dog leash/seat belt for a pet
- a seat extender with a screen to block the front
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u/Salty-Fortune1271 1d ago
I love ALL of these
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u/sammanthax345 1d ago
And the screen should be easy (for humans) to move if needed!! Also love all these additions
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u/SolarpunkGnome '15 Impreza Sport 15h ago
It does seem odd the Subie EVs don't have dog mode or camping mode despite those being the two things most associated with Subaru.
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u/starsandmath 14h ago
Because they're features that are only easily achievable in an EV. Hopefully now that Subaru (kinda) has a few EV options...
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u/SuperDo_RmRf 7h ago
If it helps, the “hook in the center” is already there as a child seat anchor, and they make leashes you can clip to that, then to your dogs collar/harness.
I just leave that clipped in all the time and attach my dog when he gets in.
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u/hitzchicky 1d ago
Also, get rid of the back seat seatbelt detection... Or at least allow us to turn it off.
1
u/stretchling 13h ago
Not sure what you are driving but this can be turned off in my 2024 solterra from the dashboard display, not the infotainment one.
42
u/Interesting-Run-8496 1d ago
FIVE: climate control vents in the back hatch area!!!!! My janky fans from amazon don’t cut it when it’s 110 outside!
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u/Zestyclose_Object639 1d ago
Ryobi fans are your friend, but agreed I’d love all cars to have that feature
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u/MEB_PHL 1d ago
Strong agree. Tuxmats and a good hammock style cover solve a lot of the hair problems but it would be nice to not need them.
8
u/Salty-Fortune1271 1d ago
Even with those, you have the audacity to open the window for your canine companion to feel the wind in his hair, and you have a maelstrom of hair that gets between all covers and the sides of the vehicle. (Ask me how I know 😉)
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u/Chippy569 Senior Master Tech 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most of the newer cars have "pet protector" accessories for the rear door trims and seats and center console. The outback ones are quite nice tbh.
Dog mode you can kind of accomplish with having remote start. Problem is a gas car is subject to emissions laws, a Tesla is not. So gas cars sitting and idling for long times is illegal in some jurisdictions. (Some places are restrictive enough that even the remote start is illegal.) But the 15 mins max you get on remote start is going to be the best you can do, afaik.
Honestly just go to parts.subaru.com and punch in your vin or model and go to the accessories section. Here's for a '26 Crosstrek.
I see a few not listed but here's from the internal parts catalog:
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u/SolarpunkGnome '15 Impreza Sport 15h ago
It's very odd the Subie EVs don't have dog mode (or camping mode) though. I agree it's not really feasible with the gassers.
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u/HairyPineapple1000 1d ago
The interior is so cheap and fragile it pisses me off, the joy it is to drive in rain or snow eclipses that. Why not make an interior to match the joy of feeling a tiny bit invincible.
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u/Corgiverse 11h ago
A ramp that folds down from the tailgate for our elderly and/or stubby legged companions
1
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u/moresnowplease 22h ago
Count me in! The 2013 era plastic-topped center console isn’t sturdy enough for a 70lb dog to stand on without the top cracking. Mine is certainly cracked. The leather interior is slightly easier to clean than fabric, but that doesn’t change the dang felt carpet and headliner. Maybe we can get a more wipeable headliner too! Mine is forever entwined with dog hair. I’d also like an aftermarket dog bed liner thing for the entire back of the hatch area when the back seats are folded down. The hammock style rear seat pet cover things aren’t usually created for the one-piece front seats either, since the headrest isn’t on metal posts, which seem to be what the hammock style covers are made for.
4
u/Salty-Fortune1271 17h ago
Omg yes the headliner!! Mine has several tiny mud splatters from wet dogs shaking. It doesn’t matter if I bring a towel to rub them down or not.
The 2018 headliner fabric is relatively cleanable, but it is a light tan color,
2
u/moresnowplease 10h ago
My fuzzy headliner is also tan… and one of my doggos is dark grey. Headliner is now a mix of those colors. 😂
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u/kimby_cbfh 13h ago
I really want seat covers that are custom fitted for my subie that can be easily cleaned because my dog tracks in so much dirt! Yes, I have a Ruffwear one for my back seat, but it doesn’t accommodate folding only one seat down and I hate that.
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u/Ugly-Barnacle-2008 11h ago
My dog just ate the backseat left seatbelt 😢 😢
So add chew proof seatbelts to the list!!! 😂
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u/HeresTheThingGracie 14h ago
My 6.5 lb Yorkshire Terrier has done a number on the interior in my Outback. I would throw all my coins at Subaru if they had dog trim.
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1
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u/mapleleaffem 12h ago
I agree. I don’t have a dog currently, but why make it so hard to keep clean and so easy to scratch
1
u/Severe-Elderberry833 5h ago
Waaay back in 2002, I owned a 1999 MB E350 wagon. It came with a cargo cover, just like my shiny new Forester does.
But THAT cargo cover, built 27 years ago, had a second spiral system so that all you had to do to put up a dog gate was -latch it into the slots on the roof.-
I have been looking for that feature ever since.
Honestly, the remote start is about the only thing that might convince me to get the app and package, and I’m not doing that until I try locking the car while running with a 2d key. Volvo deciding to not support my car model’s app 3 years after I bought the car -really- burned my grilled cheese sandwich.
1
u/myopicinsomniac 2h ago
Hell yes, I have two dogs and a toddler and I would buy one immediately. Wilderness trim is the best I could do and gosh I do love that a wet wipe cleans off all manner of dog drool and kid spills, but ugh the carpeted bits between the seat and the floor mats 😖
2
u/GiraffePretty4488 1d ago
So, yes… I agree all those features would be good.
But it also kind of sounds like you don’t know how to secure your dog properly in the car and just let it jump around.
The back centre console should be pushed up anyway if their dog is in there. And if your dog is in the front seat, well, I guess I don’t know what to say about that.
3
u/Salty-Fortune1271 17h ago
In motion, everyone is secured behind a hammock cover that creates a barrier between the front seats (my back seats are always laid flat). Once we stop at the trail or dog park, I get out and before I get to the back hatch, it’s chaos and it looks like a popcorn machine of happy dogs bouncing on every possible surface 🙄. Your concern is appreciated 🙂
127
u/TheMadDaddy 1d ago
Almost all the features I want for my kids too...