NHTSA Complaint #11298879 — 2013 SUBARU IMPREZA

WHILE I WAS BACKING THE VEHICLE OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY I BECAME AWARE THE I HAD NO POWER STEERING. I PARKED THE CAR IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AND TOOK MY SECOND CAR TO A SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT. UPON RETURNING HOME I MOVED THE SUBARU IMPREZA TO THE FRONT OF THE DRIVEWAY. IT STILL DIDN'T HAVE POWER STEERING. I CALLED THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY 1/8/2020 AND LEFT THE CAR PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY. FORTUNATELY THE CLOSEST SUBARU DEALERSHIP IS APPROXIMATELY 2.3 MILES FROM MY HOME. I WOKE UP AT 5:30 AM TO AVOID TRAFFIC AND I CAREFULLY (SLOWLY) DROVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP ON LOCAL STREETS. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED AND THE MECHANIC CONCLUDED THE POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE PARTS HAD TO BE ORDERED SO I OPTED TO LEAVE THE CAR UNTIL IT WAS REPAIRED. THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR WAS $839.95. THE CAR IS A 2013 SUBARU IMPREZA WITH ONLY 17,450 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE CAR REMAINED AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR TWO DAYS AND I PICKED IT UP ON 1/10/2020. AFTER THIS INCIDENT I RESEARCHED VARIOUS WEBSITES TO DETERMINE WHETHER OTHER SUBARU OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE. MY INTERNET SEARCH PROVED TO BE ENLIGHTENING. I DISCOVERED THAT THERE ARE/WERE ENUMERABLE COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET REGARDING SUBARU IMPREZA POWER STEERING FAILURES. GO TO THE AUTO RECALL FOR CONSUMERS WEBSITE (ARFC) FOR CONFIRMATION OF MY ASSERTION. THE COMPLAINTS GO BACK TO 2009, 2010, 2011,....EVERY YEAR THROUGH 2019, THERE ARE ENUMERABLE COMPLAINTS RECOUNTING POWER STEERING FAILURES FOR THE SUBARU IMPREZA. I ALSO CAME ACROSS A SUBARU SERVICE BULLETIN NUMBER: 04-21-18 DATED 07/24/18 SUBJECT UNEVEN STEERING EFFORT. I CAN'T FATHOM HOW THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DESIGN FAILURE HAS NOT RESULTED IN A NATIONAL RECALL BY THE NHTSA.