Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | ||||||||||||||||
| 11V464000 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | from 09/05/2000 to 11/26/2007 | V (Vehicle) | 295123 | 12/31/2011 | ODI | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 09/06/2011 | 09/08/2011 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 impreza, model year 2003-2008 forester, and model year 2005-2006 saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured from september 5, 2000 through november 26, 2007 originally sold, or currently registered in, massachusetts, maryland, michigan, new hampshire, new york, pennsylvania, vermont, wisconsin, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, maine, minnesota, missouri, new jersey, ohio, rhode island, west virginia and the district of columbia. the front lower control arms may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion if the hanger bracket is exposed to salty and humid environments such as roads containing snow melting agent. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Subaru will handle their vehicles and saab will handle theirs. dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them. this service will be performed free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin during december 2011. owners may contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | This is subaru's safety recall number wvx-34.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | ||||||
| PE11011 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 04/07/2011 | 09/23/2011 | Front suspension control arm failure | 11V464000 | |
| On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries usa, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the district of columbia (dc). for the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and dc.odi's analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a salt belt state. through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to odi by subaru, odi identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a salt belt state.accordingly, this investigation is closed. | ||||||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | ||||||
| PE11011 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 04/07/2011 | 09/23/2011 | Front suspension control arm failure | 11V464000 | |
| On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries usa, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the district of columbia (dc). for the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and dc.odi's analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a salt belt state. through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to odi by subaru, odi identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a salt belt state.accordingly, this investigation is closed. | ||||||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | ||||||
| PE11011 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 04/07/2011 | 09/23/2011 | Front suspension control arm failure | 11V464000 | |
| On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries usa, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the district of columbia (dc). for the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and dc.odi's analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a salt belt state. through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to odi by subaru, odi identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a salt belt state.accordingly, this investigation is closed. | ||||||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | ||||||
| PE11011 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 04/07/2011 | 09/23/2011 | Front suspension control arm failure | 11V464000 | |
| On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries usa, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the district of columbia (dc). for the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and dc.odi's analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a salt belt state. through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to odi by subaru, odi identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. all of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a salt belt state.accordingly, this investigation is closed. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 01/05/2012 | 115000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 subaru forester. the contact stated that he received the recall notice associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v464000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm). the contact notified an authorized dealer and scheduled an appointment to have the vehicle repaired. the vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that his appointment was rescheduled because the parts necessary to remedy the failure were not available. the manufacturer was not notified and the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileages were 115,000. sm. | |||
| 01/05/2012 | 115000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2006 subaru forester. the contact received the nhtsa campaign id number: 11v464000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm) recall notice in the mail. the contact stated that he made an appointment with the dealer and when the contact went in to have the repairs done, the dealer told the contact that they changed the appointment time without notifying the contact, as well as not having the necessary parts to perform the recall repairs. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 115,000. nw | |||
| 11/04/2011 | 70000 | ||
| I purchased my 2006 subaru forester brand new from the subaru dealer in catonsville, md; russell subaru. there were no miles on the vehicle when i bought it. both rear bearings wore out on my car at almost the same exact time. every mechanic with which i have spoken says this is common on these vehicles. my bearings wore out at about 70k miles. the subaru dealer charged me approximately $800 to replace one of them. the other cost about $600 at an independent mechanic. the mechanics won't replace the bearings because they can't warranty the work so you end up replacing the hub assembly. that is why it cost so much. when it wears out it first starts to squeal and make a noise that gets progressively louder as you accelarate to moderate speed. my car now has 140k miles and my wheel bearings have begun making noise again. at a cost of ($600 - $800) x 2, this clearly seems like a poor design defect. i have owned many cars over the years and have never had to spend so much money for the same part in such a short time. the part wore out almost precisely after the extended warranty expired. every person i know with a subaru forester has the same complaint. there are numerous forums on the web from owners with the same complaint. subaru should pay the cost for replacement parts and labor to correct this problem, which is not typical of what a buyer would expect with routine maintenance for a nearly $30k vehicle. aside from the premature wear of the rear wheel/hub assembly, i have basically been pleased with the perfomance of my subaru. | |||