2015 Subaru Impreza

THE VEHICLE WAS PARK AT MY HOME. UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. SUBARU OF AMERICA WAS CONTACTED AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS SET UP WITH THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP. THE VEHICLE WAS DROPPED OFF THAT EVENING AND WAS LOOKED AT THE NEXT DAY. AFTER INSPECTING THE VEHICLE I WAS NOTIFIED THAT THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR HAD AN ISSUE AND THE PASSENGER SEAT WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEY CLAIMED THIS WAS DUE TO THE SEAT BEING WET. THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED USED IN 2018 WITH 35,278 MILES AND NOW HAS AROUND 46,000 MILES. THE SEAT HAS NEVER BEEN WET IN MY TIME OWNING IT AND WAS NOT WET PRIOR TO OWNING IT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH HEATED SEATS AND I BELIEVE THIS ISSUE IS IN LINE WITH LAST YEARS FORESTER PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR RECALL IN WHICH 366,000 VEHICLES WHERE RECALLED FOR A VERY SIMILAR ISSUE. I HAVE NOT YET HEARD BACK FROM THE DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY AWARE IF SUBARU OF AMERICA IS WILLING TO COVER COST TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. SINCE THEY ARE UNSURE WHEN SUBARU WOULD GET BACK TO THEM, I PICKED UP THE VEHICLE AND IT IS CURRENTLY PARKED AT MY HOME. I WAS INFORMED TO AVOID SAFETY RISKS TO NOT HAVE OCCUPANTS TRAVEL IN THE PASSENGER SEAT FOR THE TIME BEING AS THE PASSENGER AIRBAG COULD TURN OFF AT ANY POINT. SINCE PICKING UP THE VEHICLE, THE AIRBAG LIGHT DOES ILLUMINATE UPON START, BUT NO LONGER STAYS ON. IF A FOLLOW UP CONTACT IS REQUIRED I WOULD PREFER AN EMAIL OVER A CALL.

THE CAR WILL STOP RUNNING ABRUPTLY AFTER RUNNING FOR SEVERAL HOURS AND GETTING LOW ON FUEL. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR OTHER LIGHTS COME ON. NO GAS LIGHT COMES ON. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO 2 DEALERSHIPS WHO CANNOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ALL STAY ON, BUT THE MOTOR WILL NOT RUN. THE VEHICLE WILL START AGAIN WHEN FUEL IS ADDED TO THE TANK, OR WHEN IT IS ALLOWED TO COOL. I AM 100% SURE THAT THE FUEL PIMP IS OVERHEATING, BUT NEITHER THE DEALER NOR SUBARU WILL REPLACE IT, THOUGH IT IS UNDER WARRANTY. IT HAPPENS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN THE TANK IS BELOW 1/4 AFTER DRIVING FOR AROUND 2-3 HOURS OR MORE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HWY THE HOOD SPONTANEOUSLY UNLATCHED AND FLIPPED ONTO THE WINDSHIELD, CAUSING IT TO SHATTER. DRIVER WAS UNINJURED, NO OTHER VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED. HINGES WERE SNAPPED AND IT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE FRON FENDERS ALSO. HOOD HAD BEEN OPENED THE DAY PRIOR FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE CHECK AND HOOD APPEARED TO LATCH AT THAT TIME.

INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE CVT SELECT SHIFT MECHANISM THAT CAUSES THE KEY TO GET LOCKED IN THE IGNITION SWITCH WHEN THE CAR IS IN PARK. THIS PROBLEM IS A RESULT OF THE FAILURE OF PLATE GUIDE-B, PART NUMBER 35122FJ033. THIS ONGOING PROBLEM IS SUBJECT TO SUBARU SERVICE BULLETIN 16-112-18R DATED 03/15/2018 AND REVISED AS OF 02/20/2019. THIS SUBARU IDENTIFIED SAFETY ISSUE AFFECTS MULTIPLE MODELS. COST OF PART REPLACEMENT IS NOT OFFSET BY SUBARU WITH 100% OF THE COST REQUIRED BY THE VEHICLE OWNER.

WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL ON THE INTERSTATE, THE ACCELERATOR SUDDENLY WAS UNRESPONSIVE, ALMOST AS IF THE CAR WERE IN NEUTRAL. ONCE PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE CAR IT DROVE NORMALLY. TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE AND THE DEALER COULD NOT REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND THERE WERE NO ERROR CODES. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM

AFTER TURNING THE STEERING SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE RIGHT (FULL LOCK IS NOT NECESSARY), THE CAR THEN *OFTEN* PULLS SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE LEFT. THE SAME THING *SOMETIMES* HAPPENS AFTER A LEFT TURN. AND, THE 'FLOATY' STEERING IS A LOSS OF ON-CENTER FEEL AND THE STEERING GENERALLY FEELS LIKE I'M DRIVING A 1970S ERA BIG-OLD-BUICK... ABSOLUTELY NO ROAD FEEL OR FEEDBACK. MY MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THIS PROBLEM AS A DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK -- A $2000 REPAIR. THEY ALSO SAID THAT THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THEY HAD SEEN THIS PROBLEM IN A 2015 SUBARU IMPREZA WITHIN A MONTH! INDICATING THAT THIS IS A LARGER, SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH THE DESIGN OR PRODUCTION OF THE 2015 IMPREZA! THE DEALER HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE STEERING RACK IS DEFECTIVE AND DISCOUNTED THE REPAIR BY $1500. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT GOOD-WILL GESTURE, AND I ACCEPTED IT. HOWEVER, I REMAIN CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OTHER IMPREZA'S. IN PARTICULAR, MOST DRIVERS MAY NOT NOTICE THE PROBLEM AND IT MAY RESULT IN THEM DRIFTING FROM THEIR LANE OR OTHERWISE LOSING CONTROL OF THEIR VEHICLE.