2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca

WHILE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT ~55 MPH, HEARD A METALLIC NOISE, THREE INDICATORS WENT ON, SMELL BURNT RUBBER. A STEERING WHEEL STOPPED OPERATING PROPERLY AND WOULD TURN ONLY WHEN APPLYING MUCH EFFORT. LUCKY TO BE IN THE RIGHT LANE AND BE ABLE TO GRADUALLY PULL OFF WITHOUT CAUSING AN INCIDENT. THE INCIDENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIFE THREATENING, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT HIGH SPEEDS AND HEAVY TRUCKS ON THE ROAD. WAS ABLE TO REACH TO THE NEAREST SUBARU SERVICE. THE PROBLEM: PULLEYS, DRIVE BELTS, TENSIONERS BROKE DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR. DUE TO THE VEHICLE ENGINEERING DESIGN, THIS PROBLEM CAUSES NON-RESPONSIVENESS OF THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE HAS ~90K MILES AND HAS BEEN OPERATED IN A CITY CONDITIONS. TECHNICIAN SAID THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED WITH OTHER VEHICLES OF THIS MODEL; THESE PARTS ARE NOT NORMALLY INSPECTED DURING REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND THUS ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO BE DETECTED. THUS, THE PARTS THAT BROKE HAVE LIMITED LIFESPAN WHICH MAKES THE VEHICLE DANGEROUS TO OPERATE. CONTACTED SUBARU -- THEY SAY IT IS BEYOND THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY OF 3 YRS / 36 TH.MILES AND THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF ANY PART IS UNKNOWN. DOES IT MEAN THE SUBARU'S SAFETY PLEDGE IS ALSO VALID FOR THE TIME OF THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY?? *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 07 SUBARU TRIBECA ON A BUSY CITY STREET, AT ABOUT 35 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN MULTIPLE RED LIGHTS CAME UP AND I COULD NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. IT WAS NOT LOCKED, BUT IT REQUIRED SIGNIFICANT EFFORT TO MOVE IT EVEN A FEW INCHED TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT. IT WAS EXTREEMELY STRESSFUL TO BE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY AVENUE WITHOUT ANY CONTROL OVER YOUR VECHICLE. THE REPAIR SHOP CAME UP WITH THE FOLLOWING LIST OF BROKEN PARTS: BELT TENSIONER, IDLER PULLEY, 2 BOLTS AND AN AC BRACKET. THE TOTAL BILL FOR THE PARTS AND LABOR WAS $780. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MY CAR ON HIGHWAYS AND CITY STREETS ONLY, NEVER TOOK IT OFF THE ROAD. THE CAR IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD WITH 58K MILES ON IT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SUCH AN EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE CAR PARTS COULD HAPPEN OTHER THEN THAT IT IS FAULTY. IS SUBARU CONSIDERING A RECALL FOR THE ABOVE MENTIONED PARTS? THANK YOU. *TR