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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | ||||||||||||||||
| 02V240000 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | from 08/19/2002 to 08/30/2002 | V (Vehicle) | 555 | 09/12/2002 | MFR | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. | 09/13/2002 | 09/16/2002 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | On certain sport utility and passenger vehicles equipped with 4-cylinder engines, the water pump pulley center hole was improperly machined. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | In some instances, the interference fit between the inner wall of the pulley center hole and the water pump drive shaft was not as tight as specified in the drawing specification. this could result in the water pump pulley dislodging from the water pump shaft, which can cause severe engine damage/seizure during vehicle usage. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will replace the water pump. owner notification began september 12, 2002. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236). | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 118006 | 11/08/2006 | 10020697 | Throttle position sensor. vehicles equiped with h-6 3.0l engines. *kb | 12/28/2006 | |
| 029605 | 09/09/2005 | 10016869 | 2.5l remanufactured sohc short block release. *tt | 10/13/2005 | |
| 09012003 | 09/01/2003 | 10016482 | Rough idle/check engine light after battery disconnect. *sc | 09/13/2005 | |
| 93 | 09/01/2002 | 10000102 | Improperly manufactured engine water pump. recall campaign wwi93. *tt | 02/12/2003 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||||
| 02 | 02/01/2006 | 10019343 | Rubbing mark on timing belt. subaru. *tt | 03/09/2006 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 12/13/2008 | 46457 | 1 | |
| Vehicle had coolant flush in dec 2007 (39,924 miles). coolant leaked after this service. in jan 2008 (40,912 miles) subaru dealer put additive in coolant to seal leak and indicated manufacturer extended drivetrain warranty for this model. in dec 08 coolant leaked. head gasket replaced 6 weeks after warranty expired (46,457 miles). there was no extension to the drivetrain warranty despite being told such by service advisor (apparently that ended in 2002). subaru did pay for all by $500 of work. subaru also indicated they would not guarantee the drive train belt from failing and recommended replacement at my cost. *tr | |||
| 12/04/2008 | 105578 | 1 | |
| Took vehicle in for regular maintenance and it was discovered that my head gasket is leaking. will need to repair for $1,200-1,500. *tr | |||
| 10/01/2008 | 54000 | 1 | |
| Both head gaskets blown on a 2003 subaru legacy with about 54,000 miles and regularly maintained by the dealer car just 6 weeks out of warranty. *tr | |||
| 04/01/2005 | 1 | ||
| 2003 subaru legacy is leaking anti-freeze. *mr coolant leaked due to a defective engine design. the aluminum block and head did not contract together causing the problem. *sc *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 08/01/2005 | 65000 | 1 | |
| Noticed the smell of coolant when exiting the car after driving. i investigated this and found a small coolant leak coming from the back of the left cylinder head. the car is a 2003 subaru legacy gt w/ the 2.5l engine. i have owned the car since new,and had the first few services performed @ the dealer purchased,and even had a trans recall repair performed there as well.the car had around 65000 mi. on it when the leak was first noticed by me not the dealership,even though it is a known issue as told by a service rep when i questioned them on it. it took several visits to get info from them on this because they didnt want to reveal too much info to me,the consumer.apparently if subarus coolant additive was added before 100,000 mi. and documented @ a certified service center,subaru would cover the bill for a new cylinder head gasket, if not then it would not be covered. my question is if the additive was so important for the head gasket to survive being run then why wasnt it added at the factory or dealer before sale,and whose job was it to tell the consumers that it needed to be added.the bill is around 1200$ and from my research and observations of vehicles w the same motor (i work in the auto body repair business) this happens to most fairly early in the engines life.i think that this needs to be addressed by subaru the manufacturer,and result in a total recall and repair of this problem.they have already lost me as a customer, and actually the last time i tried contact w them theyre response was we will remove you from our contact list. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 10/01/2010 | 88000 | ||
| Cylinder head gasket failure | |||
| 10/05/2003 | 7513 | 4 | 03/16/2003 |
| The car hesitated starting up, but drove ok to post office ( 5 miles from my house). when leaving the post office, the car stalls. it then started up, and then stalled again as it entered the highway. had to physically get out of the car, unscrew the gas cap and start car in traffic. it died 500 feet later. i was able to steer the car to the edge of the road , where i unscrewed the gas cap and waited for 5 minutes. i got the car to start long enough to pull into the nearest store parking lot. it stalled again. car wouldn't start at all. went into store and shopped. came out and unscrewed gas cap. car started , then stalled. repeated this three times until the car finally ran. was able to drive 7 miles and park the car at my office. it never started up again. *la | |||
| 07/26/2003 | 5530 | 1 | 03/16/2003 |
| The car suddenly stalled. suddenly i had nothing, no power to do anything. then the transmission froze and i was in the middle of a freeway off ramp. i got out and motioned people around me. i took a deep breath. the car eventually unfroze and after several tries started up long enough for me to pull over. i took another deep breath, pulled towards the parking area but the car died before i pulled in. after a few minutes parked, it started up weakly and i was able to get it going. so i decided to take a chance (thinking it was something odd and wouldn't happen again) and pulled back into traffic. it stalled just before i merged into 70 mile an hour traffic. i felt absolutely terrified. by the grace of god, i was able to coast to the shoulder. i waited a few minutes, got it to start again and backed up to a safer place, trembling so hard i could hardly drive. *la | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 07/20/2007 | 1 | 04/10/2004 | |
| Car has 78,000 miles. during reg oil change it was discovered ;hat my head gaskets are leaking oil. if not repaired will crack my heads. cost is $2,2oo-$2,400. this seems very premature for such a serious, expensive repair to be needed. of course warranty ran out @ 75,000 miles. didn't extend warranty because in the past i have found that they never cover what breaks. *tr | |||