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Alas, may have to quit Subaru

Model Years 2018 to 2023 
4K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  Montanan 
#1 ·
I went from a 2011 Forester which started to have major problems to a 2019 XV with 25,000 miles. Had the car about a week then it wouldn't start. The Subaru dealer sent a flatbed with a loaner and brought the XV back.

They had the car for a week and incidentally burned a half a tank of gas, probably a worker took home to verify repair. They sent it back to me and took the loaner away. Got in the car and it wouldn't start. The dealer sent the flatbed and repeated the above.

OK, so it's been towed twice, spending more time at the dealer than in my driveway. Quite alarmingly, My Subaru app shows the ECM recall has yet to be completed. They told me the module was replaced but did not go into further details. According to this Subaru Recalls they should have reprogrammed the coil and replaced it if damaged.

I am going up to the dealer today and if they cannot give me a 100% guarantee the problem is fixed, they said they would buy the car back, no questions asked. At this point, I am just about fed up with my dealer and consequentially Subaru. This recall affected 460,000 vehicles and I cannot believe all of those are on the road and not able to start. So again I will assume the recommended fix does work and that Subaru is not replacing the modules with defective units. I will also assume that plugging in the car to diagnostics did not find any other problems such as the starter and/or the entire ignition system.

I am curious to know if any of you have had the ECM recall fixed and if it subsequently went bad again. If so, then Subaru is in fact either using a defective component or their ignition engineering is horribly flawed. Google "Subaru ECM recall" and you will see tons of owners with this problem.

I had my heart set on this car but this current fiasco is pushing me back to Toyota or Honda, two companies with a time-tested proven track record. I will update later on today.

Thanks for your time.
 
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#3 ·
And it could be a dealer thing, not Subaru.
 
#5 ·
Done with Subaru
Bought a white Certified 2019 RAV4 Limited, loaded up the wazoo, pristine condition, 6-cylinder.
Subaru makes fun cars to drive but they have a LONG way to go to match Toyota as far as engineering, and critical parts lifespan, in my honest opinion
Enjoy your cars, I'll enjoy mine
 
#8 ·
While this is a frustrating thing and I have my own problems with Subaru (at this point I don't see another in my future) I think offering to buy it back at full price shows good faith. I know that it is difficult when the car you bought is not trustworthy so I understand your anger. Personally I've had a clunker or two and never had a dealer pack up the problem car and bring me a new one while offering my money back. It would be understandable if you took the $ and left the company and I think that's about as much as a company can do when they screw up.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, not criticizing this OP specifically, but threads that start like this are nearly always about using the Internet for revenge, rather than actually attempting to diagnose a problem. And though it's super-illogical to use a single experience to paint an entire brand with such a broad brush, it can definitely be human nature to do that ...
 
#20 ·
LOL
No problem guys, knew I’d get blowback. Yes, the dealer gets props for taking the car back, and, yes the RAV is only FWD (my bad).
And yes again, all car companies will have fanboys and anti-fanboys.
If you go to Forester forums you’ll see my 2011 was costing me a fortune to keep running, with 140,000 miles. My personal experience with 5 Toyotas and one Honda was outstanding.
The main issue with this Crosstrek was that it was sold with the ECM recall not addressed. And when they did address it, it still refused to start. So I had a very bad feeling from start to finish including only having one master key and having the interior polluted with fragrance that we could not get rid of.
So pummel me if it makes you feel better. You’re in the car of your dreams and I am in a Toyota. The world has a slew of crises bigger than all of our car problems put together.
And so it goes.....
 
#28 ·
Good for you for changing brands. If they don't support you, drop them(should apply to any brand). Subaru burned us on a 2011 Outback, so my patience is slim for them on the 2018 crosstrek in the family. Warranty denial seems to be their standard M.O. Good luck with the Rav4.
 
#30 ·
Zero warranty support, and poor local dealer who denied all warranty issues(fuel pump, cvt trans, inner tie rod ends, motor/trans mounts, control arm bushings, etc..). And that Outback was driven by a 78 year old lady, just if you think it was being driven off road. It could just be our local dealer is moribund.
 
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