Subaru “Take a Break” or “2 hours from ignition on”. Explanation

The new Subaru vehicles changed their distraction control systems very significantly. Previously, they would say “2 hours from Ignition on” to let you know it’s time to have some rest. The system was pretty straightforward – it just counted time and didn’t care about your driving style or whatever. But things have changed.

If you get the “Take a Break” message in your Subaru vehicle very often, it means your car detects that your driving style is not really careful. The computer gathers data from numerous sensors and makes the conclusion that you need to have a rest because you may be sleepy or distracted from driving.

While in many cases the system will react to you being distracted by kids or pets, or maybe typing a message on your phone (which is pretty much illegal), sometimes the system just gets on your nerves and needs some settings to be changed. I’m going to cover that in my today’s article!

By the way, I also posted the article about the new Impreza engine that really surprised me – you may want to have a look!

What’s the “Take a Break” message in Subaru?

The new Driver Monitoring System that comes standard in a lot of new 2023-2024 Subaru cars is pretty good, as claimed by Subaru on their official website. However, a lot of owners will disagree and they keep calling this feature “annoying” and “intrusive”.

I believe, Subaru combined this feature with time-bound notifications. So, you will get the “Take a Break” message in several different situations:

• when you drive longer than 2 or 3 hours (depending on the software settings);
• when you don’t look at the road;
• when your driving habits change dramatically;
• when your movements and eyes take the pattern of sleepy behavior;
• when the car starts moving closer to the lane mark or crossing it unnecessarily;
• when the system is not calibrated or properly set.

I should say that the Driver Monitoring System is cool in terms of the additional features it offers. The system has a camera and it can recognize your face. So, if several drivers use the car, it will automatically adjust some features once it recognizes you. I mean the seat, the seat heating, the mirrors’ position, etc.

But for this, you will need to dig up settings a little deeper and find where you can instruct your Subaru to do this.

It all sounds cool but in reality, the system seems to be pretty raw. I got hundreds of questions from Subaru owners about the “2 hours from ignition on” message which was pretty misleading really, and now I start getting even more questions about the “Take a Break” message that suddenly pops up with a beep out of nowhere.

What exactly does the Driver Monitoring System monitor?

Here are the things that your Subaru monitors to detect your possible distraction or drowsiness:

• your eye movement;
• the angle of your head (it deducts whether you are looking at the road);
• the driving style;
• the time after you started the engine;
• possible distractions for the camera to see your eyes.

There is an entire set of factors that Subaru doesn’t reveal due to competition in the market of safety systems. I believe it totally controls the driving style and compares it with your usual style to promptly tell you that you may need a break.

But since the system has been just created by Subaru, it has a lot of strange effects when the message just pops up unexpectedly and really distracts you from looking at the road.

Why can this system trigger wrong alerts?

The problem is that very often you’ll be seeing this “Take a Break” message and hearing the beep at the wrong time when you actually pay attention to the road and drive carefully. In this case, you may conclude that the system is distracted by something. And I’ve seen hundreds of cases where it was distracted and gave the wrong alert.

Here are just some well-known examples of when this may happen:

• you are wearing mirrored sunglasses – the system can’t see your eyes;
• you are wearing a hat that doesn’t allow the camera to see your eyes;
• the camera of the Driver Monitoring System is fogged;
• you set your seat higher or lower than usual;
• you changed your position on the seat and now the alert goes on;
• someone else was driving your car and changed the settings (consciously or by chance).

As with nearly all modern systems, it initially sounds cool to have the Driver Monitoring System in your Subaru but, in the end, you will not be using it much because it has some glitches, and may send you wrong warnings and alerts.

I once got the “Take a Break” message in the rented Ascent when I leaned over the armrest and moved my body a little to the side. And the system happily instructed me to take a break. The alert went off immediately after I sat straight and started looking forward. It went crazy again once I put on my glasses.

Can you change the settings of the Driver Monitoring System in Subaru?

Yes, fortunately, you can change the settings of this system and this is the good news. And it won’t be that hard.

Here’s what exactly you should do to solve the “Take a Break” message problem in your Subaru Forester:

1. Hit the Info button on the left side of the steering wheel.
2. Then, press and hold the Info button to enter the settings menu.
3. Use the Up and Down buttons on the left side of the steering wheel (behind it, actually) to navigate the menu.
4. Choose the “Driver Monitoring System” and press the button in the middle between the up and down buttons to enter the system’s settings.
5. Here, you can register the used – it will remember your face and you will get access to several great functions.
6. Also, you can deactivate the system by choosing the appropriate command in the menu down the list.

In the Ascent and some other cars with big touchscreens, it will be even easier:

1. Hit the Settings.
2. Choose the Car tab above.
3. Go to Driver Monitoring System.
4. Here, you have a switch you can tap to turn it on or off.
5. You can separately control the Monitoring System, the Recognition System, and other things.

I know a lot of you will want to deactivate the feature because you feel like it’s spying on you. But to be honest, I can’t imagine how and why would Subaru pay billions of dollars to set up a huge data center to save the videos from your car and try to spy on you. So, probably, the information from that camera doesn’t go anywhere further than your car’s systems.

Why will you still want to keep this feature on?

First of all, this is the cool feature that can automatically recognize you and adjust your seats and mirrors when you are in the car without you touching a single button. This is great and really convenient especially if you share a car with your spouse or a kid.

Also, the Subaru will greet you once you get into the car. It will say “Hello!” and you can also save your name so it will say “Hello, Dmitry!” My two friends saved Master and My Lord instead of their names. Now, their Ascents greet them with “Hello, Master!” and “Hello, My Lord” when they hop into the car. Sounds pretty fun!

Also, this is the safety system. So, when you are actually sleepy or are distracted from the road by something, the system will grab your attention and advise you to get some rest. Believe it or not, once it can save your life!

Have you had any experience with the “Take a Break” message in a Subaru vehicle? Please write in the comments below!