— A Subaru fuel pump recall has been ordered for more than 200,000 model year 2019 Subaru Impreza, Outback, Legacy and Ascent vehicles because the pumps may fail.
This will cause the engine to stall and leave the driver unable to restart the vehicle.
The vehicles are equipped with Denso low-pressure fuel pumps which contain impellers that may crack and absorb fuel, deforming the impellers. The deformed impellers can interfere with the bodies of the fuel pumps and cause the pumps to stop working.
Subaru received 32 complaints about the fuel pumps between July 2019 and January 2020, with 24 complaints indicating the engines wouldn't start. The other eight reports said the engines lost power while driving at low speeds or immediately after the vehicles were started.
In addition, a separate report was filed later from outside the U.S. where the engine lost power while driving at highway speeds.
Engineers collected the failed parts and determined the impeller was deformed. Although no crashes or injuries have been reported, Subaru has received at least 245 fuel pump warranty claims about the vehicles.
A driver will see an illuminated check engine warning light and the engine will run rough and finally stall. The stranded driver won't be able to restart the engine until the fuel pump is replaced.
Subaru says the faulty fuel pumps were built between April and July 2018, when the low-density impellers were exposed to solvent drying for long periods of time. The drying process is what caused the impellers to crack.
More than 188,000 of the vehicles are recalled in the U.S. and 13,744 are recalled in Canada.
Subaru dealers will replace the Denso fuel pumps with pumps that were built with higher density impellers once the recall begins June 5, 2020.
If you have questions about your 2019 Subaru Impreza, Outback, Legacy or Ascent, call the automaker at 844-373-6614 and ask about fuel pump recall number WRD-20.
CarComplaints.com has complaints about the 2019 Subaru Impreza, 2019 Subaru Outback, 2019 Subaru Legacy and 2019 Subaru Ascent.
Subaru owners shouldn't feel too alone concerning the recall because the same defective fuel pumps caused Toyota to recall nearly 2 million vehicles. And the Toyota recalls got the attention of attorneys who sued the automaker over the Denso fuel pumps.
