NHTSA Complaint #10513133 — 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA

I NOTICED A CONSISTENT SQUEAK WHEN THE CLUTCH PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, AT ALL SPEEDS, AT ALL TIMES, EVEN WHEN THE CAR WAS OFF. I TRIED TO LUBRICATE IT, BUT THE NOISE DID NOT GO AWAY. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY ALSO TRIED TO LUBRICATE IT, BUT THE NOISE DID NOT GO AWAY. THE DEALER ASKED TO KEEP THE VEHICLE FOR A DAY SO THE CLUTCH COULD BE DISASSEMBLED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. I HAD PURCHASED A NEW CLUTCH FROM THE DEALER FOR $1600 IN SEPTEMBER, 2012 WHICH WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. THE DEALER DETERMINED THE CAUSE WAS BROKEN WELDS BETWEEN THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY AND FIREWALL. THE DEALER AND I BOTH CALLED SUBARU OF AMERICA TO FIND A RESOLUTION. MY CASE NUMBER WAS SR #:[XXX]. I TOLD THE SUBARU REP THAT THIS WAS A COMMON AND WIDESPREAD PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL OF SUBARU BASED ON MY OWN INTERNET RESEARCH, BUT THE REP DENIED ANY KNOWLEDGE OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH IMPREZZA WRXS. THE REPAIR IS EXPENSIVE (>$2000) BECAUSE THE ENTIRE DASH OF THE VEHICLE MUST BE REMOVED IN ORDER FOR THE BROKEN WELDS TO BE FIXED BY A THIRD PARTY BODY SHOP. THEN, THE DASH MUST BE REPLACED. THE REPAIR TOOK TWO FULL WEEKS. OTHERS HAVE REPORTED REPAIR TIMES OF UP TO TWO MONTHS. WITH NEW WELDS, THE CLUTCH SQUEAK IS GONE. SUBARU INFORMED ME THAT THE DEALER WOULD COVER THE REPAIR EXPENSE AS A "ONE TIME GOOD WILL GESTURE" AND I AM GRATEFUL ABOUT THAT, BUT CONCERNED FOR OTHER OWNERS THAT SUBARU IS SWEEPING THIS PROBLEM UNDER THE RUG. IF THE CLUTCH COMPLETELY BREAKS APART FROM THE BODY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE TRANSMISSION COULD BE SEVERELY DAMAGED AND LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL MAY RESULT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR