STP RUST BELT DRIVERS

She also filed a complaint with NHTSA, telling them, 'I don’t want anyone to lose their life over this part malfunction.' Other Recalls in 'Salt Belt' Radcliffe, who experienced the failure in Wisconsin, said Subaru confirmed the Forester she bought last year had also completed the recall with the anti-rust spray. 'They basically masked the rust problem, and allowed it to continue rusting,' Savage said. Savage filed a complaint with NHTSA claiming Subaru of America 'did the recall on the cheap,' and NHTSA permitted it. Remember, this part was rusting from the inside. The spray was cheaper, quicker, option, to be sure, Savage figured. Savage said his car got the anti-rust spray, not a new part. Savage ran his vehicle’s VIN number through a Subaru website and found the recall on his vehicle had been completed.Ĭome to find out, the vehicle's previous owner did get a recall notice from Subaru, instructing them to go to their nearest dealer for repairs.īut dealerships were given a choice: Replace the control arm for $300 if the part’s integrity had been compromised by corrosion, or, if the part appeared to be in good condition, simply spraying it with an anti-rust treatment. The ‘salt belt’ states include Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The defect, according to NHTSA and Subaru, was a bracket holding the control arm was breaking, because a drain hole would clog, causing corrosion from the inside.īut the recall was for only vehicles registered in twenty so-called 'salt belt' states, including Minnesota, where salt and corrosive chemicals are used on roads in the winter.

The recall affected more than 318,215 vehicles. Ten years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a recall for the front control arm, also known as the transverse link, affecting more than 318,215 Subaru Forester’s (2003-2008), Subaru Impreza’s (2002-2007), and a smaller number of Saab 9-2x’s (2005-2006). Savage ran his vehicle's VIN number through an NHTSA database, and found there was, in fact, a recall for his Subaru Forester. There was a message from a Canadian family who said they 'were lucky' because they 'could be in the obituaries' after their car crashed into a guardrail.

STP RUST BELT DRIVERS

On Subaru message boards you can find drivers and owners complaining about the same problem: a catastrophic failure of the control arm from rust and corrosion.

I’ve never heard of anything happening like that before to anybody else,' she said. Next thing she knew her car was 80 feet into a cornfield, barely missing a telephone pole and a culvert. Nothing was working at all,' Radcliffe said. 'And at that split second, I realized I had no steering.

The only warning she heard was the sound of a 'clunk.' The same thing happened to Lydia Radcliffe on July 8 while driving her 2005 Subaru Forester on a busy county road near Stoughton, Wisconsin. Rust and corrosion on Daniel Savage's 2008 Subaru Forester.

Stp rust belt