Dear Car Talk:

Two years ago, I purchased a brand-new 2018 Subaru Forester. I got the basic, no-frills model because I am cheap.

I don’t care that it doesn’t have a navigation system. But I do wish it had a compass. No problem. I went to the auto parts store and bought a compass to stick on the dashboard.

The only problem is, no matter which direction I am driving, the compass always points east!

I take it outside the car, and it works fine, but no matter where I put the compass inside the car, whether the engine is on or off, the compass always tells me that I’m driving toward the land of the rising sun. I asked the Subaru mechanic about this, and he had never heard of anything like it. Why does my car have a magnetic field stronger than the planet Earth and is there any way to degauss it? — Mike

I don’t know, Mike. But I have two guesses.

No. 1 is that there is something magnetic in the car that’s affecting the compass. And my first guess would be the car’s speakers.

If you bought the bare bones Forester, you probably have four speakers. The front speakers are larger than the rear speakers, and they’re either in the front doors or up on the dashboard, right near -what? — your compass.

It’s possible that the magnets in those speakers are screwing up the compass readings. Particularly if my second guess is correct.

My second guess is that you bought the cheapest compass money could buy. Why do I suspect that? Because you also bought the cheapest Forester money could buy. And when you combine a cheap, poorly shielded compass with a nearby magnet, you can only go east.

So what’s the solution? Well, you can go to your Subaru dealer and buy the auto-dimming rearview mirror with a built-in compass. It’s a Forester accessory, and it costs about $150. That’ll work. Guaranteed.

Or, you can try a better quality after-market compass. You can search around and read the reviews, and you’ll find options that were designed for cars by companies like Ritchie Navigation, ACECAR and Filfeel, among others. You’ll still be looking at $30-$60, rather than the $2 you spent on the stick-on compass at the auto parts store.