NHTSA Complaint #10000758 — 1999 SUBARU OUTBACK

JAN 6, 2003 (YOUR WEB SITE WON'T LET ME SELECT THE CURRENT YEAR, SO I SELECTED 2002, THE LAST AVAILABLE DATE THAT CAN BE SELECTED, BELOW) I OWN A 1999 SUBARU OUTBACK. IT CURRENTLY HAS APPROXIMATELY 43,000 MILES ON IT. THE CLUTCH MECHANISM HAS FAILED TWICE, ONCE AT 18,651 AND ONCE AT 42,500. BOTH TIMES THE THROW-OUT BEARING FAILED. I'VE OWNED 8 CARS AND DRIVEN THEM IN 10 STATES AND THREE PROVINCES. I'VE DRIVEN IN THE DESERT, THE MOUNTAINS AND BY THE OCEAN WITH MOST OF THESE CARS. IN ALL CASES, I'VE NEVER HAD TO REPLACE A CLUTCH BELOW 75,000 MILES! I'VE DRIVEN STANDARD/STICK MY WHOLE LIFE AND HAVE NEVER, EVER SEEN CLUTCH FAILURE LIKE THIS SUBARU. I DON'T RIDE THE CLUTCH, I ENGAGE AND DISENGAGE IT PROPERLY, ETC. AND YET THE THROW-OUT BEARING KEEPS FAILING PREMATURELY.