Why Does My Subaru Say “2 Hours From Ignition On”?

Subaru’s message “2 Hours from ignition on” is not a problem but a reminder. Subaru tells you to chill out, stretch your legs and back because you may be tired of driving. This feature can be turned off in the settings or changed to “3 hours” or “4 hours” reminder in the settings of your vehicle.

Please keep in mind that in 90% of cases the “2 Hours from ignition on” warning is just a notification telling you that the engine has been on for 2 hours and you may require some rest. This message doesn’t tell you about problems with car ignition as suggested on some websites and forums!

Let’s see what this message means and how you can reset it.

The “2 Hours From Ignition On” Tip – what is it all about?

If you are worried that you got kind of an error, you should calm down. Nothing bad happens with your car, it’s completely OK. The reason why you see this message popping up from time to time is just that the car reminds you that you need to have some rest. These kinds of reminders are really popular in Australia where they were included in nearly all cars at certain times.

And, as you may know, Subaru sells really well in Australia. That’s why this feature is sometimes presented in American cars (settings are the same). Actually, many cars in the US now have this feature - like some Toyotas will show you a coffee cup warning light and Kia cars will say "Consider Taking a Break" or something like this.

So, the message basically tells you such things:

• it’s been 2 hours since you turned on the ignition in your car;
• it’s time to have some rest and drive more carefully as you may be tired;
• you need to check whether you want to have a stop and walk outside for a while;
• you need to note that driving for more than 2 hours without a stop can be harmful.

In Subaru, they think that every two hours a driver should have some rest. And this is a really good idea. After you have spent over 2 hours behind your steering wheel, you feel tired, your concentration starts dropping step by step. And you may not even notice this, but one moment you will need to hit the brakes and you won’t do this because of lack of concentration. So better park your car and breathe some fresh air for a minute or two. Later in this article, I will show some science behind this.

Does the message say about any issues in a car?

No, you may be sure that this message is not an error. It doesn’t try to warn you that you have some issue with the car. It just tries to make you have some rest.

Subaru is programming those reminders to 2 hours intervals because the company has studied some stats and found out that only a small fraction of those bad car accidents happen with the drivers who were driving for less than 2 hours. This brings to the conclusion that having rest after 2 hours of driving is a very nice idea that can save your life.

Here's the video with more infor about the problem on our YouTube channel.

What to do if you don’t want to see the rest reminder?

You certainly can change the time period for this reminder to come up and you will also be able to turn it off if the “2 Hours from Ignition On” message bothers you. I don’t recommend getting rid of this feature.

Now you know what it means and it will not bother you as much as before. Also, you will be able to set the needed period for this warning to appear. Maybe, you want to set 3 hours and then your Subaru will helpfully tell you that you need to take a break.

Here’s how you can change it:

• Park your car so that you can access settings easily.
• Go to settings using your infotainment or buttons on your steering wheel.
• Find “General” tab in the settings and see what you have there.
• The needed settings may have several names, so you will need to deduct it on your own.
• Once you are in the menu, you have two options – to change the period of the notification popping up or to turn the feature off.
• After you choose the needed option, just leave the settings and continue driving.

Although you may not need this reminder, I strongly recommend keeping it. This is a great feature that you can use to plan your trip and to drive safely. Unfortunately, the driver will not feel drowsiness when it comes, but we all have this limit when we don’t pay enough attention to the road anymore.

Having a break every two or three hours when you are driving on highways is a really great idea that can sometimes even save your life!

What if your Subaru shows this message too often?

In case you see the "2 Hours From Ignition On" notification much earlier than after 2 hours of driving, you should know that there is a slight chance of a malfunction. I can only think of two general problems that can trigger this message while it actually shouldn't be there:

• The low battery and/or bad alternator. When the system doesn't get proper voltage, it may glitch. And one of the symptoms of such glitches is random error message on the dash. For example, the ECU may think that you've been already driving two hours and need some rest.
• The glitch in the ECU. If the ECU was in contact with water or extreme heat, there is a chance that it's not completely OK. It may have gone mad and is about to burn completely. But before it burns, it will send you some messages on the dash to get on your nerves.

Actually, these situations are very rare, that's why we are only telling you about them in the final part of the article. But still, they are worth knowing. Also, checking the battery and the alternator will not be a bad idea for any Subaru owner.

Why is it important to take some breaks when driving?

In Europe and in the UK they have the regulations that a driver can’t drive continuously for more than 4 and a half hours straight. Here’s the link to the law if you want to check that.

In America the rules are different. Drivers can be up to 14 hours on duty and then 10 hours off duty. Within those 14 hours, they are allowed to have 11 hours of driving time (10 hours for passenger transport). This is all about professional drivers, not about you and me.

But those limitations tell us one precious thing: you have to limit the time you are driving your car without a stop. These laws are written by the blood of those people who died in car accidents caused by fatigue.

If you feel sleepy or if you want to just walk around and breathe some fresh air, just stop and spend five minutes outside your car. This will help you recharge your batteries and get ready for another 2 hours of driving.

The best way to travel long distances is to have two drivers and change every 2 hours. But if you are the only driver in the car, you will just need to take breaks. Please consider those reports and make sure your driving is safe enough.

How many car crashes happen because of fatigue?

We decided to investigate more and we’ve found out that over 20% of car accidents happen because of fatigue. This is huge! Virginia Tech Transportation reveals in one of their recent studies that drivers’ fatigue causes more deaths on the road than many other factors like drunk driving or technical failures.

The study says that young drivers are particularly vulnerable to driving when fatigued. The scientists say that the drivers were actually falling asleep in all those cases when they were about to crash their cars.

This study shows that good guys work in Subaru and they know for sure that the rest reminder is not the bad thing to have in your car. We hope that after learning about the investigation and the results you won’t feel like turning this feature off in your Subaru.

Verdict: Subaru saving lives

Well, Subaru is actually the only car manufacturer that offers this kind of a reminder in American cars. In Australia, you will find many more cars with such a feature. And we don’t recommend turning the feature off or modifying it in any way.

The 2-hour driving session can be quite exhausting, so you better consider those reminders and have a little rest at the nearest petrol station or just outside your car. After 5 minutes of rest, you’ll be ready to drive for another 2 hours with much better safety and lower risks of falling asleep and getting into a car crash.