Subaru U0162 and SRVD Warning? Check Both Radar Software IDs

U0162: Check Both Radar Ids

Until a Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection warning is resolved, change lanes as though the blind-spot alert is unavailable: use mirrors, signal early, and make a direct shoulder check. On a scoped Forester or Crosstrek with U0162 stored in the SRVD module, Subaru’s bulletin says to read the software identity from both rear radar sensors. An older ID on either side opens the reprogramming branch; current IDs send diagnosis elsewhere.

If both IDs are current and the service manual later calls for low-voltage or network evidence, a meter/scope such as the AUTOOL DM303 can support an identified power, ground, continuity, or CAN-waveform check. It cannot read Subaru’s proprietary radar ECU IDs, install FlashWrite files, decide that calibration is unnecessary, or prove that the navigation display caused U0162.

Treat the left and right radars as two separate records even when the warning names one system. A mixed software pair is precisely the kind of finding that disappears when both sides are casually described as “checked.”

Drive as if rear detection is unavailable

SRVD supports lane changes; it does not replace looking. If the warning lamp or message remains on, disable expectations before diagnosing electronics. Keep extra space, avoid unnecessary lane changes, and do not use an empty blind-spot indicator as proof that another vehicle is not present.

Record whether the warning appears at startup or after driving, whether both mirror indicators are affected, and whether it began after bumper work, a low 12V battery, audio/navigation service, water intrusion, or a collision. Those events can point outside the bulletin. Photograph the message while parked and save a complete module scan before disconnecting anything.

Confirm U0162 is stored in the SRVD module

Subaru’s condition is not merely any U0162 anywhere in the car. The code must be stored in the Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection control module, and the bulletin describes a rare communication error involving rear radar logic and the audio/visual navigation display module. Record which module reports the code, its status, and related communication or low-voltage faults.

Evidence	Branch
Wrong model/year or code not in SRVD	Use current normal diagnosis
U0162 in SRVD and either radar has 87611VC000 or 87611VC001	Follow the bulletin’s reprogramming path
U0162 in SRVD and both radars show 87611VC002	Diagnose U0162 through the service manual
Physical bumper/radar damage or recent body repair	Inspect mounting, wiring, and calibration requirements separately

Do not clear the code to make the mirror warning disappear before its location and status are documented.

Read the left radar ECU number

Using Subaru Select Monitor 4, the technician enters the left-hand SRVD radar work-support screen and records its ECU number. Treat this as an identity check, not a fault-code scan. A module can communicate well enough to identify itself while still running logic Subaru has revised.

Write the complete number on the repair order and capture the screen if permitted. Do not infer the left side from a label on the right sensor or from the vehicle build date. A replacement radar may have been installed previously, leaving the car with two different software states.

Read the right radar ECU number separately

Repeat the same check for the right-hand radar. The word “both” matters because the bulletin opens if either side reports the older identity. A work order that only says “radar software checked” does not show that both modules were queried.

This two-record method also prevents a return visit caused by updating one side and assuming the pair now matches. Record left before, right before, left after, and right after. If a sensor does not communicate at all, that is a different fault condition; software identity cannot be read from a silent module.

Let either older ID open the update branch

Subaru identifies 87611VC000 and 87611VC001 as the older IDs in this procedure. If either radar shows one, the SRVD control logic is reprogrammed to the current file. The module appears as RCR in the FlashWrite selection, a detail that prevents a technician from choosing a similarly named camera or radar entry.

The bulletin includes unusual prerequisites: ignition on with the engine off, parking brake applied, selector in Neutral, and a five-minute wait. It warns that Park may allow the ignition to switch off automatically and damage the module during programming. This is trained shop work with wheel restraint and controlled power—not a set of driveway steps.

Use current IDs to reopen normal diagnosis

If both sensors already show 87611VC002, Subaru says to perform the normal U0162 diagnostic procedure. That branch can include power and ground, connector contact, CAN communication, head-unit state, wiring damage, or a module fault as defined by current STIS information. Do not reflash current software as a universal reset.

Likewise, do not replace the navigation display because its name appears in the code description. “Lost communication with” tells you which conversation failed, not which participant caused it. Network diagnosis must account for shared power, grounds, splices, wake states, and other modules that may report the same event.

Protect power and follow Subaru’s unusual gear-position prerequisite

Subaru specifies an approved power-supply mode stabilized at 13.5 volts, with vehicle electrical loads switched off. It also warns that the named Midtronics units and mode are the tested equipment for this procedure; a generic battery charger is not automatically equivalent. Verify battery condition before starting and protect the diagnostic connector from movement.

If voltage rises too high or falls too low, stop according to the procedure instead of gambling on completion. After programming, repeat the ECU-number check. If either side remains on an older ID, the bulletin calls for repeating FlashWrite rather than declaring success from an absent warning lamp alone.

Verify both IDs, warning state, codes, and calibration status

The finished record should show 87611VC002 for both radar sensors, no returning SRVD warning, and a clean relevant code scan. Subaru states that radar calibration is not required after this reprogramming. That statement applies to this software-only procedure; it does not waive calibration after sensor replacement, bumper repair, mounting movement, or another condition that normally requires it.

Perform a controlled functional check in an appropriate environment without using another road user as a test target. If U0162 returns with both IDs current, resume normal diagnosis and preserve the new event. The owner’s most useful takeaway is not “we flashed the blind spot system,” but “both module identities were verified, the named update was completed, and the original warning did not return.”

Official references

• Subaru Bulletin 07-205-22R—SRVD Warning and U0162
• NHTSA Recall Lookup