Subaru
Impreza

A CHILD OWNS THIS VEHICLE

The contact owns a 2002 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle felt as if there was a flat tire on the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the front driver's side tire was about to detach. Additionally, the driver’s side front lower control arm was fractured. Prior to the failure, the contact had driven over a railroad track and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle had previously been serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V464000 (Suspension). The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

The passenger side lower control arm was rusting out without my knowledge and while driving, a part of it broke in half which caused my front passenger side while to turn the wrong way and ripped apart the CV Axle causing me to swerve to the left and promptly stopping the vehicle causing cars behind me to swerve out of the way. Thankfully, I was in the far left lane which avoided me smashing into another car. After research, I found a recall that included my car's make, model, year, and VIN range but was not applied to my car due to it not being registered in a "salt state". Had this car been treated in the first place like other same model cars were, it would not have had this issue. The car was purchased and has been in the Northern Virginia area for its whole life. Virginia is not a salt state, however, this car has been in and out of WV, MD, PA & DC which are all salt states. This car was originally purchased in Alexandria, VA which borders Washington DC. The NHTSA Campaign Number is: 11V464000 (SUBARU’S SAFETY RECALL NUMBER WVX-34). I reached out to Subaru Dealerships in my area which helped me open a case with Subaru of America. My case representative said that Subaru of America is not authorized to add vehicles to a recall and that only the NHTSA can do that. I emailed the NHTSA who then recommended that I submit a formal complaint with the NHTSA.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HORN WOULD SOUND INADVERTENTLY WITHOUT BEING ACTIVATED BY THE DRIVER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AT FIRST THE HORN WOULD SOUND ONCE HOWEVER, RECENTLY THE FAILURE WAS MORE FREQUENT AND FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME. THE CONTACT HAD NOT TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 154,973. *BF

HELLO, I HOPE THIS MESSAGE FINDS YOU SAFE AND WELL. MY PROBLEM IS AS FOLLOWS: CONTROL ARM FAILURE EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED IN PREVIOUS RECALL FROM 2011 (LOWER CONTROL ARM BROKE AT HANGAR BRACKET; SAFETY RECALL: WVX34|NHTSA CAMPAIGN: 11V464000). I WAS NEVER PERSONALLY NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL, THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE LEADING TO A NEAR ACCIDENT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IS WHAT ALERTED ME TO THE PROBLEM. I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT, APPROXIMATELY 50MPH, WHEN THE HANGAR BROKE COMPROMISING THE STEERING AND CAUSING ME TO NEARLY CRASH. ACCORDING TO SUBARU OF AMERICA, THEY 'FIXED' THE PROBLEM WITH A RUST-PROOFING SPRAY, AND ARE DENYING ME ANY GOOD FAITH REPAIRS CITING THAT IT WAS ADDRESSED, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT FAILED ANYWAYS AND SUBJECTED MYSELF AND OTHERS TO POTENTIAL SEVERE PERSONAL INJURY. AFTER MANY (NOT RETURNED) PHONE CALLS, THEY HAVE TOLD ME THEY WOULD LOOK AT IT (INCURRING 'ASSESSMENT FEES') AND THE WOMAN I SPOKE WITH TODAY FROM SUBARU OF AMERICA TOLD ME THEY WOULD OFFER MINIMAL IF ANY FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE ISSUE. ALL I WANT IS MY VEHICLE TO FUNCTION AS THE MANUFACTURER INTENDED, NOT FOR SOMEONE TO SLAP A BANDAID ON THE ISSUE, CALL IT 'FIXED' AND BASICALLY GIVE ME - A LOYAL CUSTOMER TO SUBARU - THE FINGER. THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR A COMPANY TO BEHAVE IN THIS MANNER, ESPECIALLY FOR A PROBLEM THAT WAS CLEARLY INCORRECTLY ADDRESSED TO BEGIN WITH. MY CAR HAS BEEN SITTING FOR ALMOST 2 WEEKS AND IS NOT DRIVEABLE. I AM INCURRING INTENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL BURDEN FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE MY VEHICLE TO CARRY OUT TASKS THAT ARE REQUIRED OF ME AS A MEDICAL STUDENT. I HAVE INVESTED SIGNIFICANT TIME AND ENERGY INTO THIS, ONLY FOR SOA TO FEED ME THE SAME LINE OF BS THAT THEY'RE NOT AT FAULT AND THEY'VE 'FULFILLED THEIR OBLIGATION' FOR THIS RECALL. ATTACHED IS A PICTURE OF THE AFFECTED CONTROL ARM (FRONT PASSENGER).

PUT MY CAR IN PARK AND IT STARTED ROLLING BACKWORDS.... SAME EXACT DAY IN WAS AT A STOP LIGHT ON A INCLINE AND MY CAR ROLLED BACKWORDS FASTER THEN IT SHOULD WHILE IN DRIVE. CAR HAS 101000 MILES

STRONG SMELL OF FUEL UPON START-UP WHEN IN SUB-FREEZING CONDITIONS. IT HAS OCCURRED TWICE IN 2019, WHICH ARE THE ONLY RECENT TIMES IT HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO THOSE CONDITIONS. THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS IN FEBRUARY, 2019. THE SECOND WAS IN NOVEMBER, 2019. RECALL 09V468000 APPLIES TO MY MODEL VEHICLE, BUT ONLY IN CERTAIN STATES. THE RECALL, THEREFORE, DOES NOT APPLY TO MY VIN, ALTHOUGH THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECALL NOTICE APPEARS TO MATCH THE SYMPTOMS OF MY CAR. AFTER SPEAKING WITH SUBARU, THEY INDICATED THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE MY VIN IS NOT COVERED IN THE RECALL.

SAFETY RECALL: WVX34 I HAD THIS WORK DONE AT A DEALERSHIP. THEY DID A PUNCH TEST.THE LOWER CONTROL ARMS PASSED ON JULY 9, 2019 AND WERE UNDERCOATED AT 192630 MILES. TODAY AUGUST 10, 2019 THE PASSENGER SIDE CONTROL ARM BROKE WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY GET THE VEHICLE HOME AND TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY WERE UNABLE TO TELL ME IF THIS WOULD BE COVERED OR I WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. I AM CONCERNED SUBARU'S ACTIONS REGARDING THIS ISSUE ARE INADEQUATE.