NHTSA Complaint #10211298 — 2001 SUBARU OUTBACK

I AM THE OWNER OF A 2001 OUTBACK, 2.5L ENGINE, ONE OF THOUSANDS OF SUBARUS IMPACTED BY SUBARU'S BULLETIN FOR DEFECTIVE HEAD GASKETS. ON DEC. 6, 2007, I PAID THE OFFICIAL SUBARU DEALER IN ALASKA, CONTINENTAL SUBARU, $1,330 TO DO A HEAD GASKET REPAIR JOB (ALSO A TIMING BELT CHANGE). GO HERE FOR THAT BULLETIN: HTTP://WWW.SUBARUPROBLEMS.COM/INDEX.HTM. ON DEC. 6, 2007, I CALLED SUBARU OF AMERICA'S CORPORATE OFFICE IN AND SPOKE WITH A REP NAMED "DAVE." (HE WOULD NOT GIVE A LAST NAME.). HE SAID HIS COMPANY WOULD NOT COVER THIS WORK (THOUGH IT IS PART OF SUBARU?S RESPONSE TO A FAILURE IN POTENTIALLY THOUSANDS OF SUBARU ENGINES FROM 1999-2002). THE CAR HAD LITTLE OVER 93,000 MILES WHEN THE PROBLEM WAS DISCOVERED AND SERVICED. THE EXPLANATION THAT "DAVE" AND CONTINENTAL SUBARU PROVIDED WAS THAT THAT THE HEAD GASKET FAILURE/LEAKING PROBLEM WAS INSIDE THE BLOCK, NOT AN EXTERNAL COOLANT LEAK, AND THUS NOT COVERED BY THE SERVICE BULLETIN/RECALL. THAT A LEAK INSIDE SOMEHOW IS NOT CONSIDERED IMPACTED BY THIS DEFECT, RATHER THAN A LEAK OUTSIDE SEEMS SPURIOUS AT BEST. I HAVE NO WAY OF VERIFYING THAT THE CONTINENTAL SUBARU MECHANIC THE CORPORATE OFFICE SPOKE WITH WAS TELLING THE THE FULL STORY. ALL I CAN SAY IS, I CANNOT TRUST THE WORD OF THIS DEALER BECAUSE THEY FAILED TO RAISE THE BULLETIN ISSUE AND THE ISSUE OF WELL-KNOWN PROBLEM FOR THIS ENGINE WHEN I BROUGHT THE CAR IN. THEY BARELY ACKNOWLEDGED THIS WARRANTY POSSIBILITY ONLY AFTER I TOLD THEM I KNEW ABOUT IT. I'M WAITING TO SEE IF SUBARU'S CORPORATE OFFICE WILL REIMBURSE ME IN PART OR FULL FOR THE GASKET JOB. I WAS TOLD TO SEND THEM EVERY SERVICE RECORD FOR THE CAR THAT I HAVE. I DID. THIS PROBLEM WITH SUBARUS OF THIS VINTAGE IS WIDESPREAD. GO HERE: HTTP://SCOTT.MCGERIK.COM/2004/02/18/SUBARU-OUTBACK-HEAD-GASKET-LEAK/; AND HERE: HTTP://WWW.CARSURVEY.ORG/VIEWCOMMENTS_REVIEW_56499.HTML. *TR