NHTSA Complaint #11419632 — 2019 SUBARU FORESTER

I just received Subaru Safety Recall WRD-21 issued May 2021. It says there is a DEFECT that can cause a crash. It says “overtime, due to initial variation in rear stabilizer bracket dimensions, the rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and possibly detach”. I purchased my Subaru Forester Touring model 2-2-2019. On 7-20-2020 with only 19;413 miles I experienced a very loud rattle in the rear. My local dealer in Albuquerque, NM found that both rear stabilizer bolts were very loose and about to fall out. They retorqued them to specification and checked for a recall. Of course they found none and said someone at the factory probably didn’t torque to the correct value. Now I receive this WRD-21 notice. I called Subaru customer service to find out why this defect is fixed by a simple retorquing of the bolts. Based on their own statement the loosening is caused by a manufacturing error in the stabilizer bracket dimensions. Simple retorquing in my opinion will not fix the defect but only fix the symptoms and probably the bots will become loose again over time due to the imperfections in the stabilizer bracket dimensions as they admitted. Subaru told me all recalls are approved by the NHTSA before it is sent out. So some engineer at NHTSA must have analyzed the problem and their proposed solution and approved it. I disagree with the approval and believe the bolts will loosen again under normal use. Many Subaru owners buy the Forrester model for off road use on rough roads. I fear it will happen to me again. I request NHTSA re-examine this recall and require Subaru to issue another recall to perform a permanent fix to this admitted safety defect in their product. Please me know your decision at [XXX] [XXX] Bernalillo, NM. [XXX] Or at [XXX]