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We recently bought a 2004 Japanese inport 3.0 litre Subaru outback from a dealer in Auckland. We asked to have the large 'screen' in the centre of the dashboard ,that featured info written in Japanese, turned off as we are not able to read Japanese. However the messages in Japanese have continued. A female voice speaking Japanese alerts us to something that we are not aware of, at random unpredicable times for varying lengths of time. Sometimes it is every minute for 5 or ten minutes, at other times she doesnt bother us at all.

We have contacted the dealer concerning this, and they inform us that there is nothing that they can do about this. Is this the case? We live in Palmerston North and so feel that they are exploiting the fact that we live so far away. Do you have any suggestions apart from learn Japanese so that we can understand what she is trying to tell us?

The vehicle will be fitted with a Sat Nav system which is only suitable for use in Japan, so unfortunalely, learning Japanese isn't going to fix the situation as the very helpful Japanese lady is trying to find a Satellite to give you instructions to get to the centre of Tokyo (or some other Japanese location).
However, there may be a solution to keep her quiet. The system is CD ROM based and there will be a disc player (perhaps in the glove box or under one of the front seats). If you can find the unit, remove the disc and the lady should keep quiet! Hope this helps.