This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I bought car new & it developed issue @ 3 1/2 yrs. I also have the Subaru extended warranty.car has only been serviced by Subaru, including tire changes. 10/11 @ 38,000 noticed front & rear passenger tires were losing air. I have TPMS w/ metal valve stems. Brought car to dealer, they found nothing wrong. I have two sets of tires so I brought car in 11/11 to put on snows. Monitored tire pressure every few days and was still losing air. 10/12, I spray soap/water mixture on tires, bubbles form at the base of the tire valve. Four valves should not be failing prematurely. Over time, the both drivers side tires developed slow leaks as well. 10/12, I called Subaru warranty department & explain that I'm losing air from the valve. I ask if TPMS failure is covered & was told it is. 11/12 45,044 bring car in to put on snows. Tell dealer that all four valves are leaking. I'm told it may be corrosion & that's not covered under warranty. I explain that for all four to be leaking is premature. Tech confirms that three are leaking & replaces them. Dealer states that there isn't a warranty code for air leaking but will find a way to make sure it's covered. The TPMS unit is one piece so if the valve stem fails or a rubber sealing gasket the whole unit needs to be replaced. I don't know if this is a design flaw and corrosion can cause the metal valve stems to fail prematurely. I check my tire pressure every two weeks by rule & don't wait till the TPMS light comes on.
On 3/31/09 @ 13,454 miles is when the driver's front left tire started making a rotational metal clicking/squealing sound. It can be heard under 25mph and the sound was intermittent. I told dealer I thought it was the wheel bearing. Several times, I brought it to the dealer only to be told that because it wasn't making a noise there was nothing to fix. They checked all components, ball joints, steering etc. And checked the bearings said car was safe to drive. I noticed there were other owners w/2005-06 Subaru issued a recall for wheel bearing. If you look at 08 Legacy a few others have wheel bearing failure. On 6/21/10 @26,351 a tech rode w/ me to confirm the noise I have dealt w/ for over a year. My service invoice states technician found internal failure of left front wheel bearing assembly. Replaced hub unit. It's dangerous to drive on a failed bearing, tire can seize and lose control of car and damage other parts of car such as axle. I drove for a year like this and was lucky nothing happened. Though, I don't know the long term damage done to my vehicle. I contacted Subaru to tell them of my issue and explain that perhaps they need to look into the mfg. Who makes the bearings and study why their bearings are failing prematurely. This is definitely a safety issue and recall. I hope that this is the last time I have to have it replaced, since it could get quite expensive to fix each time. I take excellent care of my vehicle and want it to last. I didn't pay $24,000 to have it fall apart.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- East Providence, RI, USA