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 | |||
| 09/20/2011 | 72000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he noticed a loud clunking noise. he later inspected the vehicle and discovered that the driver side front lower control arm was fractured due to corrosion. the vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they advised him that the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 11v464000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm). the failure mileage was approximately 72,000. kmj | |||
| 09/20/2011 | 72000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 subaru impreza. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds he noticed a loud clunking noise. a day later he inspected the vehicle nad noticed that the drivers side front lower control arm had fractured due to corrosion. the vehicle has not been inspected by a dealer nor has it been repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they advised him that he was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 11v464000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm). the failure mileage was approximately 72,000. tb | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER BALL JOINT | |||
| 10/08/2005 | 12400 | 1 | 12/21/2004 |
| My brother was driving his 2005 wrx sti on a clear morning on dry pavement and lost control. the car slid off the shoulder of the road and then crossed back over the road where it collided sideways with a tree. the vehicle made contact with the tree on the driver's door post, killing him instantly and injuring the passenger. upon inspection of the car, we found that the driver's side ball joint seperated from the a-arm. it appeared that the threads on the ball joint were worn excessively and may have seperated or were seperating prior to the collision. we suspect that this could have even caused the loss of control. i know the car has an excellent safety record, but we contacted subaru about the ball joint/a-arm. their response was that it is not a known problem. in addition, there have been no recalls or service bulletins on this. when we sold the car for salvage, the dealer who bought it told us that he deals in wrx sti parts. he told us that this is the fifth subaru impreza he has purchased with the lower ball joint seperated from the a-arm. because of the frequency of occurence, i think it warrants tracking, even if the ball joints are separating during collision. the purchaser wished to remain anonymous and again, we sold the car for salvage, but we have pictures of the car and of the a-arm and balljoint. in addition, there was no apparent damage from impact to the wheel or tire. *jb | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 11/23/2006 | 10000 | 3 | 06/21/2005 |
| Rear struts on my 2005 subaru impreza have blown tree times since vehicle purchase in june 2005. subaru has changed the pn# to an updated part number but refuse to replace again stating my vehicle mileage has surpassed their warranty limitation. this is known defect with many documented cases. subaru is aware of the issue and has issued an updated part to remedy the situation. defective struts are a safety concern and can cause an accident and or death. a strut should not be defective three times in a little over a year on a brand new car. *nm | |||
| 09/19/2005 | 5900 | 1 | 07/13/2004 |
| With around 6,000 miles on my 05 impreza wrx sti a clunking noise appeared in the rear right side suspension assembly. the dealer inspected and found a damaged strut. *nm | |||
| 04/23/2005 | 5000 | 5 | 02/12/2005 |
| I was travailing 40-45 mph on a 2 lane road in my 2005 subaru wrx sti. i came out of a small s curve and went over a rough patch of road, and the tail end of the car started sliding out to the right, the next thing i knew i had ran into the bank and i was facing traffic, i hit the bank at least 40 mph, there was a car in front of me and one behind me, and one coming in the other lane of traffic. it felt like the tail of the car had tightened up and sent power to the rear wheels and kept me sliding until right before i hit the bank it swung the car around like it had sent all power to the front witch in turn put me into the bank. nothing worked. no air bags deployed. the seat belts did not restrain me, i hit my head on the side window because none of the safety features worked on the car i sustained injuries including: whip lash, severe headaches and i may have a fractured a vertebra in my back. contacted subaru of america and they blew me off saying that there was no defects in the car, and that they waited till the government told them to fix something before they would fix any problems. | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SHOCK ABSORBER | |||
| 03/27/2005 | 10000 | 2 | 09/03/2004 |
| The left rear strut of my 2005 sti has failed twice in less than 13k miles. the first failed at around 10k and the second at 12.6k miles. strut failure on a bumpy road at high speed could cause loss of vehichle control and could result in very serious injury or death. subaru should issue a recall and remedy the problem immediately. on a website for sti owners, there are over 100 owners reporting this same problem. | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS | |||
| 12/24/2004 | 3000 | 1 | |
| After ~3,000 miles on my 05 impreza wrx sti a clunking noise appeared in the rear driver side suspension assembly. i do not know if this is potentially hazardous, but it definitely is an annoyance. the dealer diagnosed it as a misaligned spring and corrected the problem for 3 days, but then it reappeared. many other owners i've spoken to have the same problem and it's supposedly a mfr defect with the strut assembly. *ak | |||