NHTSA Complaint #11186642 — 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA

WHEN I BROUGHT MY 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA INTO COLONIAL SUBARU (IN VA) 2 WEEKS AGO, THERE WERE MANY ISSUES, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THE CAUSE OR IF THEY WERE RELATED. THE STRANGEST THING WAS ALL THE ISSUES STARTED OCCURRING OUT OF NOWHERE OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS. MY UNCLE IS A CERTIFIED SUBARU MECHANIC IN NJ AND HAS BEEN SERVICING MY CAR SINCE I BOUGHT IT IN 2013. I ALSO TOOK METICULOUS CARE OF IT FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS, AND IT WAS RUNNING PERFECTLY UNTIL NOW. THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT WHEN HE LOOKED AT IT IN SEPT. AND IT PASSED NJ INSPECTION IN OCT. THEN BETWEEN OCT AND FEB (ONLY 4 MONTHS), IT'S FALLING APART AND NEEDS A NEW ENGINE AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER? I ALSO DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL RESEARCHING THE ISSUES (RIGHT BEFORE I TOOK IT INTO COLONIAL) THAT THERE WERE STILL 2 OPEN RECALLS ON IT ' BRAKE LINE AND AIR BAGS (I WASN'T DRIVING MY CAR A LOT AT THE TIME OF THE RECALLS BECAUSE I WAS UNEMPLOYED, AND NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT THEM, SO I HAD NO IDEA). WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO COLONIAL, I ASKED FOR THE FREE DIAGNOSTIC AND RECALL REPAIRS, BUT ALSO TOLD THEM EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG. THE FULL LIST I GAVE TO THEM IS IN THE ATTACHED DOC. THEY LIED ABOUT THE REAL PROBLEMS, MY CAR WAS TOWED TO HYMAN BROTHERS SUBARU, THEY FOUND THE CAUSE OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER DAMAGE (HEAD GASKET LEAK), BUT THEN REFUSED TO DIAGNOSE THE OTHER CRITICAL PROBLEMS THAT ARE PROVEN LINKS TO THE NEW BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH RECALL...WHICH CAUSES AN ELECTRICITY FLOW INTERRUPTION (CLEARLY SPELLED OUT IN THE NEW RECALL), THAT IS DOCUMENTED AND PROVEN TO CAUSE ELECTROLYSIS (MUTATING THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN THE COOLANT MAKING IT HIGHLY CORROSIVE, EAT THROUGH THE HEATER CORE CONNECTORS, LEAK OUT AND DAMAGE THE HEAD GASKETS (THEN LEAK COOLANT/OIL INTO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER). ALL NEEDED REPAIRS SHOULD BE FREE OF CHARGE BECAUSE THEY ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF THE FAULTY BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH INTERRUPTING THE FLOW OF ELECTRICITY.