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Massive Subaru recall - Ascent soon to be?

11K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  robn30 
#1 ·
Here's the link:

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/400000-subarus-recalled-for-engine-issues

This is not click-bait, there's a recent thread in this forum where at least 2 people had that PCV valve replaced, one of them destroyed the engine due to a loose spring that fell into the engine. Seems to me this is exactly what they describe in this recall for the Imprezas and Crosstrek, isn't it?
 
#3 ·
Perhaps or perhaps not... but, at least (1) they stepped up quickly, including publicly stating they're replacing any damaged engines or any engines where they cannot remove a complete PCV valve or all its parts and (2) it should be pretty easy to determine when people bring their cars in for regular maintenance.

I suspect dealerships will start checking to be on the safe side, and affected models will have PCV valves replaced before it happens.

I am not sure if we use the same PCV valve, or have it made by the same manufacturer.
 
#8 ·
Sure, I don't question Subaru's good will. How quickly they stepped up is relative: they are recalling 2017s, 2018 and 2019, so pretty much the problem went undetected for 3 years, this wasn't an isolated problem with one batch. Quick was the B pillar welds, which they caught in 3 days, this one I wouldn't call quick.
Given the huge number of vehicles recalled, there's a significant cost to do the recall. Replacement isn't complicated, but 200k vehicles the cost sure will add up. On the other side, replacing the complete engine of very few cars would be a lower cost, so to justify such a large recall, I think the expected number of engine replacements must be quite high.
But it would be dumb to replace them with the same valve, there must be a new revised version that doesn't break. This means they detected the problem, reengineered the valve and now that they have a part in production that doesn't fail they can do the recall.
Given that on a much smaller sample we saw 2 failures with valves falling the way it's described in the recall, it's probably a matter of time for them to recall the Ascents as well. They may not be at that stage of the process yet.
 
#4 ·
My 2018 Crosstrek is on the recall list and just traded it in the other day for my 2020 Ascent. No issues with the Crosstrek in 22,500 miles. It was perfect. Subaru did extend the full warranty on the CVT trans in the Crosstrek's to 10 years/100k miles. Since my 2020 Ascent was just built maybe they addressed the problem already with my build delay. Not worried because Subaru will always have us covered. By the way my 2020 Ascent is awesome and loving it.
 
#6 ·
Worst part of recalls is the availability of loaner cars. Thankfully I have a 2nd vehicle already so it’s not a huge issue; also thankfully I haven’t had to go to the service department recently. There was a couple visits earlier this year where I wasn’t offered a loaner because everyone getting their brakes switches replaced had them.
 
#10 ·
The relative labor & parts costs of preemptively replacing all PCV valves or waiting to replace the very few engines that fail is one consideration, but an engine failing while driving can lead to accidents and very large liability exposure so I presume Subaru prefers doing the former rather than the latter.

AFAIK, it's the normally aspirated 2 liter engines that have the electrical and PCV valve issues. IDK if the same parts are used in the Ascent engine.
 
#12 ·
I found this from https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RMISC-19V744-0683.pdf through a link from a CNN article (https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/24/us/subaru-recall-trnd/index.html).

Chronology of Defect / Noncompliance Determination
Provide the chronology of events leading up to the defect decision or test data for the noncompliance:

July 25, 2017 – Subaru received the first technical report from the U.S. market alleging that the owner
experienced engine vibration and a visible change in the amount of tailpipe exhaust while driving. Parts
were collected and it was observed that the PCV valve was separated. The PCV valve was replaced and
the issue was resolved. Since this was the first case, and the symptoms did not appear to indicate a
change in risk to relative safety, Subaru continued to monitor the field for additional data.

August 12, 2017 – January 24, 2018 - Subaru received a second technical report from the U.S market and
the supplier conducted an investigation of the collected parts. From the results of that investigation, it
was estimated that a loose washer moving inside the caulking could cause scraping in the aluminum
valve case potentially resulting in PCV valve separation. The cause of the loose washer was estimated to
be an improperly assigned press force value for the PCV valve. To expedite a preventative measure,
Subaru decided to change the material used for the PCV valve case from aluminum to steel, which began
on the engine production line on January 24, 2018.

February 22 – July 23, 2019 – Subaru received the first technical report related to this condition from a
foreign market alleging that the vehicle experienced a loss of motive power. Subaru received two
additional reports alleging loss of motive power; one on March 11, 2019 and the other on July 23, 2019.

October 10, 2019 –Subaru has received ten technical reports related to PCV valve separation from the
U.S. market, none of which allege a loss of motive power. Out of an abundance of caution, Subaru
decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall.
 
#14 ·
To expedite a preventative measure, Subaru decided to change the material used for the PCV valve case from aluminum to steel, which began on the engine production line on January 24, 2018.
I know- party foul to quote yourself, but since I'm really just quoting the NHTSA doc...

Does this mean that Subaru switched to the steel valve case for all vehicles in Jan 2018, and hence the Ascent? (Perhaps I could look, if only I knew where.)
 
#18 ·
Recall the old one. Recall the new design that showed a few of those ten issues.

And I suspect that they were mass built and shelved until needed.
 
#20 ·
Before anyone criticizes Subaru for their recalls, keep in mind that many car companies will do everything they can to avoid recalls, including putting their customers at serious risk. Recalls are costly and create bad publicity.

I really don't mind when I receive or hear about a recall. I feel this is far better than having an unknown, potentially dangerous issue which a company tries to cover up. This happens all too often and many companies do not take action until people are injured or lives are lost and then they're forced by the NHTSA to fix the problem.

So please give credit to Subaru for being proactive and willing to take the consequences. They appear to place customer safety and satisfaction above corporate greed. That's rare these days.
 
#21 ·
From what I have told after the replacement PVC is installed which has a small screen in it you need to come back for a another inspection in 1k miles or so. If the screen has debris in it the engine is replaced! There has been early build 19 Forester's that have failed along with the Ascent documented in this forum. So I expect a expanded PVC recall. With the SGP implementation a lot parts are shared
 
#22 ·
With the SGP implementation a lot parts are shared
Except ours is not shared with anything but the Outback.
1950

But that doesn't mean that the same supplier didn't mess up twice. Time will tell.
 
#27 ·
Still no reports of loss of motive power for the Crosstrek or Impreza, or Ascent... but the Ascent's PCV valve has been added to the list of ones to be checked and potentially replaced.

Keep an eye on this link for more details as they come out:
 
#28 ·
Just called my local dealer to setup an appointment to have the WUV07 recall performed and they told me that the ECU and PCV recall were both in the system for me as well. They told me there were no parts available for the PCV recall. I will have the CVT and ECU recall done. I have had roughly 4 instances of hard starts with extended cranking and I think the ECU recall addresses that. My CVT was just replaced but on the advice of folks here I am doing the recall. All the folks saying their ride is smoother after has me wanting to get this done. Altgough my CVT has been replaced, the low speed performance and full throttle performance is still poor. Anything to make it smoother and more responsive with less fake shift lag would be welcome. The low speed jerkiness is irritating to say the least. Accelerating mildly is never smooth but putting a little more foot into it makes it palatable.
 
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