[stevez494]

I'm sitting at the dealer now as they are replacing the wireless charger under warranty. I am pretty sure this won't fix the problem, but we'll give it a go. Only issue is I've now been waiting an hour and 15 minutes. I bet I could have swapped it out myself in less than 5 minutes. Am I wrong? <smh>

 

[Pete Alvarez]

I’m experiencing the exact same thing. About to pull the wireless charger out and just go with wired charging. Already ordered the console tray. Still love wireless CarPlay for around town, my phone never leaves my pocket, but for longer trips in the car when I do need a charger, the wireless charging is worthless - it heats up so much the wireless CarPlay disconnects until my phone cools down.

iPhone 13 Pro with the thin Apple leather case.

I’m experiencing the same issue with mine. I just had it installed last week on a brand new 2023 Ascent Onyx. In fact, my phone got so hot that the screen blacked out and I had to power it down and restart it. Once the phone cooled down it was able to reconnect. But I am very uncomfortable with the fact that the phone gets so hot sitting in the wireless charging tray, and I’m concerned that it could start a fire if the battery overheats repeatedly and significantly. I’m going to go back to the dealer and have them remove it, and hopefully get my money back. Definitely not worth a price.
I’ve noticed another problem, which may be coincidental, but it’s strange that it happened after the wireless charger was installed. MySubaru app failed to remote start my car repeatedly. After speaking with the starlink customer service rep, told me that I had to take it back to the dealer and have the immobilizer checked. She couldn’t tell me precisely what was the reason for the error code (SER-4357) or why it failed to start my car after working successfully previously.
Any guidance or comments about similar experiences are really appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[Pete Alvarez]

I wonder why some are having issues with the OEM wireless charger and others are not. I've had my '23 for a month now and I use the wireless charger every time I'm in it, with a case on my phone, even while using Android Auto. I've used it on long trips too. I have never felt my phone getting hot, not even a little, and it charges very well.

I’m wondering if it’s only certain phone models. I have an iPhone 11 with the latest iOS.

 

[ahargan3]

In my new '23 Ascent I got the wireless charging option because of wireless CarPlay however I notice that after being on the charger for ~20 minutes the phone gets so hot that it stops charging and never cools down, which makes the solution pretty much worthless. Is anyone else seeing this issue? I understand how wireless charging works and that wireless CarPlay and charging both create heat battery heat but I guess I expected it to be better than this. Is anyone else seeing the same thing or is there an issue with the charger in mine?

I wanted the wireless charging option but the guy at the dealership talked me out of it for this exact issue. It eventually fried his phone and he had to get a new one. He leaves a pad on top of the charger now so his device doesn't utilize wireless charging.

 

[Orthoravioli]

Fwiw. I don’t have a charger in my 23 and the phone gets hot if I am charging it with a cable in that spot. iPhone X.

 

[Pete Alvarez]

Thank you for the follow up. I ended up having the Subaru Service remove the wireless charger and I’m currently using a USB cable and have not had the issue I had with a previous wireless charger that it got so hot that it locked up the phone and Apple Carplay also. Subaru of America ended up, refunding me the full amount, similar to another person that had a similar experience.

 

[demonsavatar]

Hm.. FWIW with Iphone 13 pro max i can can carplay for 9+ hours (tested) with google maps or Waze or both
so i don't actually need one ... i normally only charge phone every 2-3 days
i feel like getting phone out is defining whole point of "wireless carplay"

but for piople who got one and its overheating, do you have H671SXC203 or older H671SXC200 ?

Also wanted to know this -- did Subaru potentially resolve some of the overheating issues with the updated part number "H671SXC203"?

 

[bdjfywi4$]

Fwiw. I don’t have a charger in my 23 and the phone gets hot if I am charging it with a cable in that spot. iPhone X.

That spot is fully enclosed on all 3 sides, poorly ventilated, plus heat may come from under the dash from other electronics. On a hot day when the ph needs charging while also working hard for navigation and music/podcast, it can get overheated. When that begins to happen, I would leave the phone in the cup holder.

 

[FrankGRUN]

As I pointed out in another thread (My Approach to MagSafe Wireless Charging) the key to wireless charging w/o overheating is a close alignment of the induction transmission coil (charger) and the receiving coil (phone). The Apple MagSafe system uses magnets in the charger and the phone to maintain this tight alignment. I'm using an Apple MagSafe wireless charger to charge my iPhone 14 Max Pro in the OEM wireless cubby zone (details in the cited thread). We just completed a 5+ hour trip with our 2023 Ascent Touring using Apple CarPlay, Apple Maps for nav and Audible for entertainment. My 14 Pro Max was the phone source and was charged using the wireless MagSafe system. Starting battery charge level was 18%. Ending charge level was 100%. iPhone was cool to the touch when removed from the charger at the conclusion of the trip. CarPlay performed flawlessly through entertainment and two phone calls. YMMV.

 

[hlamnenada]

Hello, I am new to the Subaru forums, in fact I signed up only because of the issue I am having with the wireless charger. I purchased the Subaru Ascent wireless charger part number H671SXC203, I installed the charger on March 20th, 2024. Had a 1-hour trip yesterday where I kept my phone a Samsung Galaxy S21 on the charging pad the entire time. When I picked up the phone it was ridiculously hot, and it only charged my phone 2%. What's worse is that through the day the battery drained normally and by evening time I placed my phone through my regular Samsung wall charger but to my surprise my phone is no longer charging.

I ordered the part through "devilsubaruparts" and I have contacted them to request a full refund and explained to them the issue. DO NOT BUY THIS WIRELESS CHARGER! There is obviously a MFG defect associated with it.

 

[Flarpswitch]

I guess nothing has changed with the wireless charging. We got our 2025 Subaru Ascent Touring three days ago and in fact I could fry bacon on my iPhone 14. I have been accustomed to using CarPlay in the 2019 Ascent Limited by plugging into the USB and setting the iPhone aside. The only time the phone got hot was when it was exposed to the sun up on the dash to get a better wireless and GPS signal. I would not have added the wireless charger if I had built an order from scratch, but I spotted this Ascent in transit to my local dealership and looking on the window sticker provided by the dealer, it ticked most of the boxes, so I decided to jump on it. So far everything else is an incremental upgrade from our 2019 Limited, but this charging pad looks like a problem. If this has been a known problem for a long time why is it still offered when only some phones are compatible with this option? My iPhone 14 has the Apple silicone case because it is minimal, the phone is less slippery in hand, provides adequate drop protection and is compatible with MagSafe charging. Yes, there is a little more heat retention, but I am careful not to leave it on the dash. If it gets hot enough, the battery charging shuts down. When it gets really hot, the phone shuts down and won't restart until you buy it a cold beer. This wireless charger is not an inexpensive option, but the convenience of just dropping the phone in the cubby and Apple CarPlay hitting the ground running would be enough for me to buy in. If I can't get this to work, I might explore the possibility of having it removed.

 

[Joecar]

It’s the biggest disappointment on my 23 Limited. I even got the dealer to swap it out for another one. I recently got a new iPhone and would never put it on there. My can of Altoids rides on the wireless charger safely.