Mid-2000s Forester/Impreza Recall

[speediva]

****Please check your mailings or check online to see if your year/make/model are affected by this recall. I have a 2005 (so this particular info below mentions 2005 specifically) Forester X. I took it to the closest Subaru dealer today, sat around for an hour, and was informed that my lower front control arms would have to be replaced because parts were nearly rusted through... the bad news was that the parts are presently backordered and my car was deemed unsafe to drive. The good news was that they sent me home with a "free" rental vehicle to use until the parts and replacement could be finished. Again, check your mailings to check for this recall notice, or read below to see if you are affected.****

Recall Date:
SEP 06, 2011
Model Affected:
2005 Subaru Forester
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.
Consequences:
A BROKEN CONTROL ARM CAN RESULT IN THE LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
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.
Potential Units Affected:
295123
Notes:
SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2005/...#ixzz1hlkecP5I

[Moppie]

Thanks for posting this, do you know if it only effects North American vehicles?

[hdwnkr53]

I have also been notified of this recall and all it mentions is cars sold and or currently registered in north america

[speediva]

Well, an update on what I'm presently dealing with.

I received a phone call yesterday (2 days after being told the car was unsafe and 1 day before the part would *hopefully* arrive) from my "local" Subaru dealer. They informed me that the front lower control arms were REbackordered and now will not be available until mid-January. I had opted for the additional rental insurance (because I have a fully-loaded SUV rental) so to help lower those costs the dealership is supposed to allow me to bring back the rental in exchange for a "dealership" car on which I would not have to pay additional insurance. Here's hoping they call soon so I can stop paying the extra insurance!

[speediva]

Well, I'm still waiting on my Subaru to be fixed. I returned my rental car for a dealer car... only to have them call me about 4 days later to tell me that car had been sold at Auction so I had to bring it back and get yet another car (now my 3rd). I now have another dealer car and my Forester has been in the shop waiting on the parts since December 27th...

[speediva]

And today I find out that the lower control arms may take until FEBRUARY to arrive. While I am fortunate and have my own personal car as well as a dealership car, it's still irritating not to have my SUV for hauling larger items.

[ricebike]

at least you are taken care of by using a loaner car

DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DEGREE OF CORROSION OF THE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARMS, AND WILL EITHER RUSTPROOF OR REPLACE THEM.

with a 2005 model & you're not really seeing snow/salt on your roadways, why didn't they just remove, rustproof, then re-install the control arms? taken into account to replace the balljoint & bushing...

[speediva]

Originally Posted by ricebike

at least you are taken care of by using a loaner car


with a 2005 model & you're not really seeing snow/salt on your roadways, why didn't they just remove, rustproof, then re-install the control arms? taken into account to replace the balljoint & bushing...

The car originated in Pennsylvania and spent its first 7 years of "life" in the rust belt. The control arms were not in good enough condition to be rustproofed:

From Original Post:
was informed that my lower front control arms would have to be replaced because parts were nearly rusted through... the bad news was that the parts are presently backordered and my car was deemed unsafe to drive.

I do have a loaner car, but I used my Forester to haul large items which now must be crammed into my own personal coupe or a loaner Civic sedan. After having had my large car in the shop for a month, I will look forward to having cargo space again.

[ricebike]

my bad; it was all crammed up into one paragraph, i missed it and went to reading the recall instead...

good info though; i have a neighbor with a Forester & will pass this along

[speediva]

It's all good. No harm, no foul!

Please do pass the info along! Hopefully not everyone is experiencing MONTH-LONG-PLUS wait times on parts like I am.

[speediva]

Well spank my butt & call me George! I received a call on February 9th that my Subaru Forester has finally been repaired! I thought the day might never come.

Unfortunately I have my rental car until Saturday because I work 3 different jobs and couldn't make arrangements to get the rental back any sooner. While it was fun to be "lazy" for a while because the rental was an automatic, I have to admit there were times where I really missed driving my stick and even took my own car out once just for the sake of running it and "really" driving. LOL

[ricebike]

for stick shift!

yea, the neighbor had 2 go into this recall... they're also playing the waiting game.

at least they picked up the tab for the rentals/vehicle lot vehicles...

and in the northeast, the dealer just opted to go full replacement as well!

[Ford Mustang1]

Originally Posted by speediva

****Please check your mailings or check online to see if your year/make/model are affected by this recall. I have a 2005 (so this particular info below mentions 2005 specifically) Forester X. I took it to the closest Subaru dealer today, sat around for an hour, and was informed that my lower front control arms would have to be replaced because parts were nearly rusted through... the bad news was that the parts are presently backordered and my car was deemed unsafe to drive. The good news was that they sent me home with a "free" rental vehicle to use until the parts and replacement could be finished. Again, check your mailings to check for this recall notice, or read below to see if you are affected.****

Recall Date:
SEP 06, 2011
Model Affected:
2005 Subaru Forester
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.
Consequences:
A BROKEN CONTROL ARM CAN RESULT IN THE LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:
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.
Potential Units Affected:
295123
Notes:
SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2005/...#ixzz1hlkecP5I

Why are they recalling Subarus?

[speediva]

Originally Posted by Ford Mustang1

Why are they recalling Subarus?

I'm not sure whether or not you are joking, but you quoted the recall which specifies that the front lower control arms are being recalled if the car was originally sold or now is within a "rust belt state".

My particular experience was that it took nearly 2 months for the parts to come in, with some dealerships in the "rust belt" having said they have 60+ vehicles waiting on parts due to this recall.