2002 Subaru Impreza: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Dec 16, 2021 · Suspension · 170,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2002 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle felt as if there was a flat tire on the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the front driver's side tire was about to detach. Additionally, the driver’s side front lower control arm was fractured. Prior to the failure, the contact had driven over a railroad track and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle had previously been serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 11V464000 (Suspension). The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

Filed Jun 8, 2021 · Steering, Suspension · VA

The passenger side lower control arm was rusting out without my knowledge and while driving, a part of it broke in half which caused my front passenger side while to turn the wrong way and ripped apart the CV Axle causing me to swerve to the left and promptly stopping the vehicle causing cars behind me to swerve out of the way. Thankfully, I was in the far left lane which avoided me smashing into another car. After research, I found a recall that included my car's make, model, year, and VIN range but was not applied to my car due to it not being registered in a "salt state". Had this car been treated in the first place like other same model cars were, it would not have had this issue. The car was purchased and has been in the Northern Virginia area for its whole life. Virginia is not a salt state, however, this car has been in and out of WV, MD, PA & DC which are all salt states. This car was originally purchased in Alexandria, VA which borders Washington DC. the federal safety agency Campaign Number is: 11V464000 (SUBARU’S SAFETY RECALL NUMBER WVX-34). I reached out to Subaru Dealerships in my area which helped me open a case with Subaru of America. My case representative said that Subaru of America is not authorized to add vehicles to a recall and that only the federal safety agency can do that. I emailed the federal safety agency who then recommended that I submit a formal complaint with the federal safety agency.

Filed Aug 5, 2020 · Suspension · 54,000 miles · NY

Hello, I hope this message finds you safe and well. My problem is as follows: control arm failure exactly as described in previous recall from 2011 (lower control arm broke at hangar bracket; safety recall: wvx34|the federal safety agency campaign: 11v464000). I was never personally notified of the recall, the catastrophic failure leading to a near accident at highway speeds is what alerted me to the problem. I was driving straight, approximately 50mph, when the hangar broke compromising the steering and causing me to nearly crash. According to subaru of america, they 'fixed' the problem with a rust-proofing spray, and are denying me any good faith repairs citing that it was addressed, despite the fact that it failed anyways and subjected myself and others to potential severe personal injury. After many (not returned) phone calls, they have told me they would look at it (incurring 'assessment fees') and the woman I spoke with today from subaru of america told me they would offer minimal if any financial support for the issue. All I want is my vehicle to function as the manufacturer intended, not for someone to slap a bandaid on the issue, call it 'fixed' and basically give me - a loyal customer to subaru - the finger. This is totally unacceptable for a company to behave in this manner, especially for a problem that was clearly incorrectly addressed to begin with. My car has been sitting for almost 2 weeks and is not driveable. I am incurring intense psychological and financial burden from not being able to utilize my vehicle to carry out tasks that are required of me as a medical student. I have invested significant time and energy into this, only for soa to feed me the same line of bs that they're not at fault and they've 'fulfilled their obligation' for this recall. Attached is a picture of the affected control arm (front passenger).

Filed Aug 10, 2019 · Suspension · 195,000 miles · IA

Safety recall: wvx34 I had this work done at a dealership. They did a punch test.the lower control arms passed on july 9, 2019 and were undercoated at 192630 miles. Today august 10, 2019 the passenger side control arm broke while driving at 70 MPH. I was able to safely get the vehicle home and towed to the dealership. They were unable to tell me if this would be covered or I will have to pay for the repair. I am concerned subaru's actions regarding this issue are inadequate.

Filed Mar 25, 2019 · Suspension · 150,000 miles · NE

Subaru impreza outback sport 2002, passenger lower control arm had corrosion bad enough to cause complete separation and failure causing loss of vehicle steering control while driving on a highway at approximately 40 MPH. Contacted subaru of america and subaru dealership, subaru was not within the VIN numbers specified under the current recall to repair this identical issue of corrosion of the lower control arm. Also the u frame brace was so extremely corroded that it crumbled and fell apart similar to the control arm corrosion. Other damage directly related to the control arm failure include, damage to body and fender when tire was stuffed backward into the fender during the failure at speed. Damage to tire, damage to anti roll bar end link, damage to drive axle and drive axle boots and damage to seal and housing at transmission differential, damage to lower ball joint.

Filed Mar 1, 2019 · Suspension · 85,000 miles · IL

The front passenger side control arm broke into two pieces causing loss of control of the vehicle. This caused the right from tof the vehicle to drop down, it caused the tire to contact the fender at rear of wheel opening and caused the front wheels to point in two different directions. The occurred on a city street (luckily) while backing and turning after exiting a driveway. There is a recall, but it allowed subaru to "inspect" the control arm back in 2011 and not replace it, which allowed it's failure anyway and so was ineffective.

Filed Feb 18, 2019 · Steering, Suspension · 127,500 miles · KY

The federal safety agency campaign id 11v464000 (subaru safety recall wvx-34) covers 2002-2007 imprezas, as well as other models. The safety recall covers cars registered in 20 rust belt states. My vehicle has never been registered in those states, so it is technically not covered, but it is driven there regularly since we live only a few miles away. Subaru of america did not treat or replace my lower control arm since it technically didn't meet the recall criteria. The control arm broke due to rust while driving - control of the vehicle was luckily maintained at time of failure. The safety recall states "the front lower control arm may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion", which it did. The safety complaint here is that surrounding states for safety recalls that cover specific states. Vehicles, weather and road treatments do not stop at states borders. The vehicle was exposed to the same road treatments as vehicles in the neighboring states and failed, as predicted by subaru.

Filed May 15, 2018 · Suspension · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza. While reversing out of the driveway, the front lower control arm factured and seperated. Both front wheels turned outward and the front suspension failed, which lowered the front end of the vehicle to the ground. The vehicle was unable to be driven due to the failure. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension) and the federal safety agency action number: pe11011 (suspension). The vehicle was towed to the dealer (autobarn subaru of countryside, 6191 joliet rd, countryside, il 60525, (708) 497-3999) for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no open recalls to provide a remedy. No further assistance was provided other than suggesting that the dealer replace the parts. The failure mileage was not available.

Filed Aug 9, 2017 · Suspension · 163,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza. While driving 30 MPH, the lower control arm rusted and fractured, the front passenger side wheel began bouncing uncontrollably, and the steering wheel began moving and vibrating uncontrollably. The contact forced the vehicle off the road and into a ditch on the left side of the road on a two lane highway. The vehicle was towed. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and stated that the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension) was already inspected on the vehicle. It was determined that the lower control arm did not need to be replaced. The failure mileage was 163,000. ..updated 10/25/17 *bf consumer stated front lower control arm corroded in exact spot that was inspected during recall. This important safety recall test is inconsistent way to inspect vehicles. The rust proof coating applied was ineffective if at all applied. Updated 10/4/18

Filed Feb 7, 2017 · Steering, Suspension · 145,466 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza. While reversing from a parking space, a popping sound emitted from the vehicle and the steering wheel seized without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front driver and passenger side lower control arms fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension). The failure mileage was 145,466.

Filed Nov 7, 2016 · Suspension · 172,509 miles · MA

I brought my subaru impreza 2001 wagon in for oil change into my subaru service on 11/4/2016. I was informed that the front subframe was rusty and they could stick a screw driver through a hole. I was able to leave with the car but they were concerned for the future and recommended repairing if we are keeping the car. I have already had the control arm replaced before the control arm recall on this model due to excessive rust; luckily it broke in a parking lot and not at high speed. This is logically the same issue where the front subframe part did not get treated well enough just like the control arm that caused the recall. Please make subaru cover this as a recall. I would like to keep this car for more years to come, but the cost of the subframe part, that should not be this rusted out, is as much as the blue book value of the car. Plus I searched up "subframe" here on the site for subarus from 2000 through 2005 and found 31 complaints; and that is obviously people that took the time to come to this site. How many complaints does it take to hold a car company accountable for a defect that is clearly the same issue as another part that has already been recalled?

Filed Sep 19, 2016 · Suspension · 71,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza. While turning into the driveway at approximately 2 MPH, the front passenger side wheel collapsed from the axle and fractured. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the lower control arm was rusted and fractured without warning. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to a local dealer. The manufacturer stated that there was no recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.