using my two iPod classics in my 2016 subaru forester, it plays for about 20 minutes and then stops requiring a reset. haven't hit the dealer yet becasue i got a runaround on problems with my 2010 subaru and use of same iPods that work on other cars

I think I found a solution to the iPod classic problem on Subaru. I also have a 2016 Forester and iPod was locking up all the time. The culprit seems to be album art. I used the following procedure to get rid of album art on the iPod:

1) copy your iTunes library for later replacement of library in which you will get rid of all album art.

2) erase all album art from the iTunes library. You can do this by selecting all albums, then Get info, click on the little icon on the upper left of the Get info panel and hit delete (iTunes 12). It takes a long time to erase all album art if you have a large library, so be patient.

3) Manually synch your iPod with you art-less library, music only.

4) Replace your modified iTunes library with copy that you made earlier to get the album art back.

Over the last week, the iPod has not locked up once. Some album art shows up on the music console, but that seems to be low-resolution preview art. I don't know where it came from.

This ^ solution is not acceptable to me. Erase my album art? Then restore it! Nope.

Do you think Subaru will bother with a radio update?

For now use your iPod in the AUX in port.

Overwriting a whole iTunes library from a backup is really no big deal. In any case, the problem with iPod classic is not unique to Subaru. People with BMW's and other cars have the same locking problems. Aux input works, but then you cannot control the iPod from the console or buttons on the steering wheel.

As someone pointed out on a Subaru forum, one does not have to go through the procedure I described above. A quicker way is to delete the Artwork folder from you iPod. The folder is hidden, so the procedure requires making all files/folders on the iPod visible.

- Make sure the iPod has Disk Use enabled and is visible on the desktop.

- If iTunes is open you can quit it.

- In Terminal, type the following to unhide files (be warned that this commands unhides all files on your Mac, including those in the root directory):

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE

killall Finder

- On the iPod, find iPod Control>Artwork folder and delete it and empty the trash

- In Terminal, to hide invisible folders again write:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE

killall Finder

If you re-synch your iPod with your iTunes library, the process will place the Artwork folder on the iPod again, so you will have to erase it again.

While this is more helpful than the first, it makes me wonder what about the artwork related to crashing.

Embedded image size? (assuming users embed photos..)

Referenced image size? (assuming users let iTunes manage their photos..)

iOS devices do not to have this issue. Why?

Thanks for the post. I did this and now my ipod classic works perfectly in my 2016 Subaru Forester. Album art still does sometimes show up and I don't know where it comes from but it doesn't cause a problem.

I have the same problem. According to the tech guy at the dealership, my 160gb 2.0.4 PC IPOD is too old to use with my 2016 Subaru Forester!

I can confirm that my 2016 Liberty has iPod classic has compatibility problems, the iPod freezes after a short while of being connected.

iPod Classic, software 2.0.5, format Windows.