Just brought my 2011 Outback to dealer for state inspection. Car has 17k miles. Failed inspection. Needs new rear strut. Car has never been driven off road, only on paved highways/streets. Bought a Subaru thinking it would not need these kind of premature repairs. Asked about recall or tech bulletin on this - nothing had been issued by company. Has anyone heard of struts failing this soon?
Should be covered under the warranty. For one to fail this early, it would have to have suffered external damage which would be visible or it was defective from the factory. If it doesn’t have any external visible damage, then the dealer should replace it under the warranty.
Keith is correct.
This replacement will be covered under the 3 yr/36k mile Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty.
No, it is not “normal”, and more than likely the strut was defective when it was received from the supplier. I have the same vehicle, with almost 30k miles, and have no problems with the struts–or anything else for that matter. And, on my two previous Outbacks, strut replacement was never needed, even up to the 100k+ mileage point.
You have simply experienced an aberration, and you shouldn’t sweat it.
Strut failure on a Subaru is very rare and there is one thing you have not mentioned. Are they trying to charge you for a strut replacement?
This should be a warrantable issue short of any accident involvement and and if the above is true then the dealer should be on top of this and never attempt to charge for it.
I can only add my agreement to what’s already been posted.
Yes, will be covered under warranty. But I always ck repair record of cars before buying hoping to avoid this. Dealer didn’t have part, so need to make return trip, dealer is about 25 mi away and doesn’t give loaner cars. I’ll end up sitting at dealer for hrs. Never had anything fail on numerous hondas and toyotas during warranty period. I know I’m whining but hate wasting time. This is my 1st and probably last Subaru.
I certainly can’t see dismissing a Subaru based on sole complaint of a rear strut failure which is an anomaly; nothing more.
The dealer doesn’t have the part because there’s no sense in stocking something for which the failure rate is about zero.
Do a search on this forum and you will find plenty of complaints from car owners about problems with their Hondas or Toyotas. That doesn’t mean they’re bad cars nor should those be written off as being problem children either.
I think you should move next to the Subaru dealer so you won’t be inconvenienced like this. It is clearly his fault for where he located his dealership, so sue for your moving expenses/
Should be covered by warranty.
I think it’s natural for people to swear that they will never buy another car of whatever brand they just bought right after buying it. It represents a significant portion of the income most of us make. If smljab were to have an accident and the Subaru were totaled, he might not buy another one. But if he has this car for the next 5-10 years, it will have a chance to earn his respect. I think it will, its just getting off to a bad start.
Keith - very true. If car performs well w/out another major repair it will earn my respect. Had many, many cars but never had anything this major fail so soon. Thanks for your post.