NHTSA Complaint #10168246 — 1998 SUBARU IMPREZA

98 SUBARU IMPREZA 2.5RS. I HAD THE HEAD GASKETS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY THE FIRST TIME . AROUND A YEAR AFTER THAT,THE CAR OVER HEATED AGAIN. I HAD IT TOWED TO A AUTO REPAIR SHOP THAT I WORKED AT AND HAD THEM TEST THE CAR TO SEE THE PROBLEM. IT WAS A BLOWN HEAD GASKET AGAIN. THEY DETERMINED THIS BY TESTING FOR ANY EMISSIONS IN THE COOLANT. THERE WAS ALSO A LARGE AMOUNT OF SLUDGE BUILD UP IN THE COOLANT RESERVOIR(OIL)AS WELL. SUBARU WOULD NOT WARRANTY THERE ORIGINAL WORK SO THE CAR SAT FOR A BIT BEFORE I COULD AFFORD TO HAVE IT FIXED. WHEN I SAVED UP SOME MONEY FOR THE REPAIR, I BROUGHT IT TO THE SUBARU DEALER TO HAVE THEM DO THE WORK ON IT. I WAS EXTREMELY UPSET WITH THE WORK THEY DID BUT GOT THE CAR BACK WITH A FUNCTIONAL ENGINE. NOT MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF LATER, THE SAME THING HAPPEN(OVERHEAT). AGAIN, I PULLED OVER RIGHT AWAY TO LIMIT ANY FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. AT THAT POINT, I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MY HOME AND IT SAT FOR ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE THE BAD CHOICE TO REPAIR IT AGAIN. THIS TIME I SENT IT TO BOFFO AUTO REPAIR. THEY RECOMMENDED A NEW MOTOR BECAUSE THE LAST TIME THE "HEADS" HAD BEEN DONE, THEY MILLED THE HEADS SMOOTH AND NEW "HEADS" WERE NOT TO FAR OF THE PRICE OF A USED ENGINE. BOFFO FINALLY FOUND A USED ENGINE FOR MY CAR THAT APPARENTLY IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND. THE ENGINE HAD 32K ON IT AND WAS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN CHECKED OVER AS A SAFE,RELIABLE MOTOR. AFTER SPENDING OVER $4000 THIS TIME AROUND, I HAD A WORKING CAR AGAIN. THE CAR CAME BACK TO ME NOT EVEN 3 MONTHS AGO. THE ENGINE OVER HEATED "AGAIN" THE OTHER DAY AND AGAIN I HAVE A HEAD GASKET LEAK(OIL INTO THE COOLANT). I HAVE BEEN LOOKING ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND IT SEEMS TO BE A BIG ONE ON THE 98 VEHICLE. I FOUND OUT THAT THEY ONLY MADE THAT MOTOR FOR THE MODEL YEAR 98 ONLY. WHY IS THIS? I HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY A SUBARU EMPLOYEE BECAUSE OF THE HEAD GASKET PROBLEM. I NEED YOUR HELP. I HAVE CONTACTED AN ATTORNEY THIS MORNING AND WILL HAVE HIM GET IN TOUCH WITH SUBARU. *NM