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recall in my mail today

9K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  man show 
#1 ·
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#5 ·
Did not receive one....*looks at states listed, then looks at state I live in* I should have gotten one. Funny how Subaru sends out these letters to all these owners about recalls, yet me being the only owner of my car and I haven't gotten a single one. *goes to Google Subaru of America in anger*
 
#6 ·
I have seen that that notice before, and heard of people talking about that before. Its a good idea to be a little more aware of the underneath of a car living in/on the east coast. Thats where I grew up, I miss it, but when you think of things like that, its a good thing I moved sometimes also.
 
#9 ·
I have seen that that notice before, and heard of people talking about that before.
Nope, this is a brand new recall. Subaru notified dealerships a couple weeks ago, before they mailed them out (a few days ago). What the recall consists of is first a test, using a (powerful) spring loaded straking tool that you ping the control arm with. There is a set of criteria that determines a pass or fail. If your control arms fail, Subaru will replace them. We've only had one in, an '03 Forester from VT, and it passed.

The notice is certainly causing mild hysteria, as we received lots of calls Wed. and Fri. Many seem to think they need immediate attention, which is amusing. We're talking about cars that are as many as nine years old here. Just because Subaru sent the letter out doesn't mean the part is going to fail in the next 100 miles !
 
#12 ·
I think we have had about 30 or so foresters and imprezas, with various levels of maintenance through the shop. 4 have failed the recall test and require control arm replacement. The ones that failed were all foresters that have suffered a hard life of neglect. I doubt anyone here will have a car that needs repair. That being said, I'd still recommend taking it in to have them checked.
 
#13 ·
Does replacing the Control Arms require an alignment? I just had my car aligned and my Subaru dealer said they would charge me $80 to check the alignment after they replace the Control Arms.

I was just under my car and the arms are pretty rusty so I think my car will fail. I have rust proofing on my car so the arms are the only place with any rust.

I would think that taking apart the whole front end would warrant an alignment.
 
#15 ·
Great. They said they've already done 7 cars without doing alignments. I guess I'll have to call Subaru and get them to authorize an alignment. I still have the receipt and print out of the specs from my alignment last month.

I tried calling Subaru but was on hold for 30 minutes and had to give up.

I just hate that every time I call my dealer they are complete jerks about everything.
 
#16 ·
If the dealership is doing the job right, it should NOT require an alignment, since the ball joint is the only part that gets removed from the steering knuckle. (you get new ball joints along with the control arms) Toe and camber won't be affected, unless they botch it ;)
 
#19 ·
I'm back from my recall appointment. The ticket says,"front lower control arms inspect, punch test (passed) and rustproof / both sides"

Last night I looked at the arms and I saw that there was rustproofing already on them from Ziebart. It's due for it's yearly rust inspection and touch up. I also noticed a minimal amount of rust on the seams of the arms regardless. Unless Subaru has some magic potion in their rust proofing that is better than Ziebart (I doubt it) they will rust no matter what!

This car has been parked outside every winter since I got it back in 2003. They use tons and tons of salt and sand on the roads around here. I plan on keeping this car as long as possible. The only rust on my car in on all the welds under the body and these arms.

My question is, are the aluminum arms still available? And is there some way I can deal with the rust on the welds?
 
#23 ·
My advice is: If you take care of your car, like wash the undercarriage regularly, wait a couple of years until corrosion could really be an issue to respond to the recall (they never expire) If you have the recall done now, you'll never be able to get your control arms replaced for free later. No need to rush out to get confirmation that they're not falling apart, unless you've never actually been under your car and are worried about it.

Most of us maintain our rexes to a level that the control arms are not likely to fail the test. Only a really neglected bug-eye, or maybe an '04 is going to fail now. I state this from first hand experience (working for dealer in new england) ;)
 
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