NHTSA Complaint #11538910 — 2014 SUBARU IMPREZA

The transmission on my 2014 Subaru Impreza failed suddenly while I was driving about 70 mph in the middle lane of the interstate. My car began to decelerate rapidly, and I lost all ability to accelerate or even put my car in park. I was able to navigate to the side of the interstate and use the car's emergency brake to come to a stop. The event was extremely traumatic, and I have nightmares about losing control of my vehicle on that interstate with cars whizzing past me. I was stranded in a very remote area, barely making it onto the shoulder of the interstate, over an hour from my home and in a different state. During the three hours I waited for a tow on the side of I-5N, I discovered the many NHTSA bulletins issued regarding CVT transmission issues with the 2014 Impreza and the consequent extended warranty. Thus, I paid out of pocket to have my 2014 Impreza towed the thirty miles to the closest Subaru dealership, expecting the repair to be covered by the warranty. My car’s mileage is 71,612, and it is under 10 years old, falling within both requirements of the extended warranty. There had never been any indication of transmission trouble, and Subaru never contacted me to inform me of the known CVT transmission issues. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms ever appeared regarding the transmission. After inspecting my vehicle, the Subaru dealership verified a transmission issue, and claimed that the car was roughly 3 quarts low on CVT fluid. Despite NHTSA safety bulletins about known transmission fluid seepage issues in the 2014 Impreza, Subaru is trying to skirt responsibility for the known defect, and instead, they are claiming that it is the fault of a reputable independent mechanic stating that they *suspect* that since it was 3 quarts low because the independent shop did something wrong. However, records show otherwise. Subaru is not standing by its extended warranty and attempting to shirk responsibility for known CVT defects. Permission to inspect.