NHTSA Complaint #10331201 — 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA

2009 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX, ~25K MILES. DRIVING ON A BACK ROAD, ALL OF A SUDDEN ENGINE STARTS KNOCKING. HAVE TO GET IT TOWED TO SUBARU DEALERSHIP. THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. I WAS ON MY WAY BACK TO BOSTON VISITING FAMILY WITH MY DOG IN THE CAR. THIS CAUSED ME TO HAVE TO PAY FOR A FLIGHT BACK HOME AND MISS HALF A DAY'S WORK. MY CAR IS OUT OF COMMISSION IN NJ WHILE I'M UP IN BOSTON FOR 2 WEEKS. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE SO FAR WITH THIS MODEL CAR. SUBARU ADMITTED A DEFAULT IN MANUFACTURING FOR THOSE PEOPLE WITH CARS IN A BUILD DATE RANGE OF 7/08 AND 8/08 BUT DID NOT SEND OUT LETTERS TO OWNERS IN THAT BUILD DATE RANGE. THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE AND SHOULD RESULT IN A RECALL, ESPECIALLY SINCE THEY KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE AND REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING TO NOTIFY THE USERS OR PREEMPTIVELY FIX THE PROBLEM. BY WILLINGLY KNOWING THAT A CUSTOMER'S ENGINE COULD FAIL AND WAITING UNTIL THE FAILURE OCCURS, CAUSING HARDSHIP ON THE OWNER, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT WARRANTS A RECALL. *TR