I know I’m likely in the minority saying this, but I enjoy looking through the owner’s manual when I buy or drive a new (to me) car. I find the little technical illustrations very endearing and cute (awww, they made the car, but small), and there is almost guaranteed to be at least one hidden feature that I would never have known about had I not actually looked inside the manual. I work at a Subaru dealership and have a personal interest in unique car features, but even I did not know about the feature I’m going to share with you today: Subarus can be unlocked by inputting a 5-digit numerical passcode using a special trunk button.
What I particularly enjoy about this feature is that it’s just convoluted enough to be a bit funny. The steps that you have to go through in order to set it up are reminiscent of inputting old video game cheat codes; anyone remember up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start and you’ll get 30 extra lives?
The feature is intended for the very specific use case of leaving your key, purposefully disabled, inside the car so you won’t risk losing it while embarking on an outdoor Subaru-owner-esque activity like hiking running or canoeing. Then once you return to your car, you can input the code, unlock your doors, and reactivate your key fob, which is safe and sound and not at the bottom of a lake! 
Since I work at a Subaru dealership as mentioned previously, I knew I had to try this out for myself. The instructions as printed in the owners’ manual are a bit needlessly confusing, so I’ve tried to reproduce what I did here in more of a plain-English way.
To begin the process of setting up the trunk PIN code, I made sure the ignition was off and all doors were closed. Then, I simultaneously held down the key fob LOCK button and the button on the right side of the trunk handle until I heard the Subaru chirp several times in a row.
Next, I pressed the UNLOCK button on the key fob. According to the manual, I could then input my new PIN code. To do this, I pressed this special trunk button (which, as far as I can tell, exists specifically for this feature) the same number of times as the digit I wanted, then waited to hear the car chirp. After I entered all 5 digits and the car had chirped to register each one, I entered the same 5 digits again to confirm. After I’d done this a second time, I was all set! I opted to input “12121” as my test code like you’ll see in a few tutorial videos online, because it’s easy to remember and requires relatively few total button presses.
To delete a PIN code, you have to go through that same registration process but enter “22222.” Then there will be no PIN code access until you register a new one. If you make an error during the process, simply pressing the UNLOCK or TRUNK RELEASE buttons on your key fob will cancel it, and you’ll have to start over from step 1.
Lastly, since this is intended for situations in which you’d want to leave your key fob locked inside the car, the PIN code vehicle-unlocking function can only be performed while the key is disabled, which you can do by rotating the driver’s door lock lever forward to lock the car manually, then pressing and holding the LOCK and TRUNK RELEASE buttons on the key fob simultaneously for 5 or more seconds. Once the Subaru chirps, your key fob has now been disabled, and it can be locked inside the car. So you better hope you remember that PIN code.
According to the owner’s manual you can also disable the key by opening and closing the driver’s door in a specific pattern and hitting the UNLOCK button inside the door at certain points during the pattern. It’s so silly!:
Imagine, someone’s sitting inside their 2015+ Subaru, flapping their driver door open and closed a bunch of times just so that they can lock their key in their car, and then returning to the car after a jog or bike excursion and having to stand by the trunk hatch for a minute or so while they tap a hidden button a bunch of times just to get back in there. It’s delightfully endearing that it exists at all!
I always appreciate a practical and creative feature that’s useful, even if a bit convoluted. It kind of reminds me of using the paperclip method to read OBD-I codes on my 1992 Previa — using a paperclip or other metal wire to connect two ports in a diagnostic connector together, then putting the car in accessory mode and counting the number of Check Engine light flashes. That stuff always makes me feel a little bit like a CIA agent solving puzzles and decoding ciphers to gather intelligence. [Ed Note: On my OBDI Jeeps, I just turn the key on, off, on, off, on. Then the check engine light flashes to tell me the code, which I match up to a list to figure out what’s wrong. -DT].
Interestingly, during my brief research on this topic, I did not find any other car manufacturers that offered a code entry system that didn’t use a numerical keypad. Ford’s SecuriCode is by far the most commonly known code-based entry system on passenger vehicles, as well as one of the simplest — a small keypad with 5 buttons and 10 digits (two per button) allows you to preset a PIN code and use that code to lock or unlock the vehicle without getting out your key.
It’s super useful, but it’s not as fun as this hidden Subaru feature, which uses a tiny dedicated trunk button in a really primitive way to create a PIN to access the car. I love that it exists, and I love how ridiculous it is.
Top credits: Subaru; Konami/Nintendo
My son’s 1997 Town Car is laughing at you, Subaru.
Meanwhile, Hyundai/Kia – wait, so it’s a feature not a bug? Why didn’t marketing think of this?
The 2019 2.0i does not have this feature.
Wow, now I know what the keypad on my Ford is good for. I could never think of a reason I’d need it, but I do go kayaking and stuff where it might be nice to leave the key in the car.
The Subaru system is waaay too complex, but it’s nice that it’s there. Thanks for the article.
We use the Ford keypad all the time! When we are skiing someone without the key can get in and grab whatever they need. And it is sometimes handy to lock the fob inside the car too. It’s a shame they are phasing they keypads out
Modern versions of Ford securicode are so invisibly hidden in the b pillar trim (much less visible than a tesla b pillar camera). Most loaded Focus STs had it. I imagine whatever big blobby crossovers/suvs they sell now do too.
I love the detail you included, such a process is like 25 steps too many for the typical motorist. For car nerds, such a cool hidden thing to include even if you do have to get the book out to set it up.
I’d never set this up for someone else though, the whole needing to go through steps to disable the key each time makes it way too “intentional” and people would expect to be able to use it if the car accidentally allows you to lock the key inside.
Reading the owners manual is the first thing I do when I get a new to me car home. Then I go sit in the car and dink around with all the new things I learned.