In the day or two prior to the event, the car felt out of alignment. In order to get the car to drive straight I had to keep the wheel turned ~15%. When I was driving on the highway at ~65mph, I hit an undulation in the road. This must have put increased load on the suspension component. All of a sudden the I heard a pop and the car started to go out of control. There was screeching from the tires and I struggled with the wheel to keep the car going straight as traffic was all around me. I managed to keep the car somewhat in control and merged to the shoulder where I came to a stop. It turned out the front passenger lower control arm had broken. The weld on it had corroded and it separated. This is vital to keeping the cars ability to steer. I got the part replaced, along with a new axle and sway bar end-link that were damaged in the incident. The total repair was over $1000.
2002 Subaru Impreza suspension complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 49 of 49, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2.5 ts with 49,093 miles. Wagon was always given best of preventative maintenance. Driving slowly on city street. Clunking sound from right front wheel area. Some difficulty with braking and steering. Assumed it was ice buildup on brakes/suspension. After about 10 minutes increased speed on country road and became much worse, almost lost control of steering but got off the road safely. Lower control arm had broken and caused rust-riddled front subframe to collapse. Replaced lower control arm, front stabilizer link and front subframe. $1218.02.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza wrx. While driving less than 5 MPH in the driveway, the front end of the vehicle collapsed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where they stated that the front passenger side lower control arm was cracked. In addition, the front driver side lower control arm exhibited a stress hairline crack. The front passenger and driver side lower control arms were replaced on the vehicle. The failure mileage was 79,000.
2002 subaru imprezza. Consumer states that the left steering control arm rusted and broke while driving. *gr it was also noted the vehicle needed rear a cross member.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 subaru impreza. The contact stated that water penetrated the radiator causing it to fail. The front subframe, front driver lower control arm, bushings, and ball joint were all corroded due to the water damage. The control arm broke in multiple pieces and resulted in loss of vehicle control. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the mechanic recommended that all of the parts be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer. The current and failure mileages were approximately 139,000. Updated 12/01/10. *lj the consumer stated the water/puddle shorted out the engine fans which caused the vehicle to overheat and was not the cause of the rotted subframe. Updated 12/08/10
I was driving down us rt 2 in bolton vt when had sudden steering wheel wobble. Car then veered to the right and off the road. Car went about 20 feet off the road. I was very lucky that a field was to the right. After getting out, I noticed that the left side front wheel was sitting several inches too far to the rear, rubbing against the body. My mechanic indicated that a lower control arm was severely corroded and broke off of the front subframe. The subframe itself is also corroded. This is only on the left side; the right side is fine. The car's body is generally in good shape. I would not have expected this part to be at all weak or corroded. I have the old control arm. My mechanic is going to replace the corroded portion of the subframe. *trw updated 01/13/11 *bp updated 02/14/11 *bp updated 03/11/11 updated 03/14/11 updated 03/30/11
Contact owns a 2002 wrx imperza. Current and failure mileage was 71,000. Contact stated while backing out of the driveway the driver side lower control arm broke in half due to rust. The manfacturer offered to pay for 50% of the repairs but the contact they should pay the total cost. Contact feels this is a safety issue because the vehicle could have been driving on the highway while the lower control broke and caused a crash. Jo updated 06/03/11
Dt*: the contact stated while depressing the brake pedal on bumpy roads, there was a longer stopping distance. This occurred on two other occasions and the dealer replaced the rear wheel bearings. The vehicle was driven to the dealer a third time, who determined the rear wheel bearings needed to be replaced again. Updated 10/17/2006 - the rear wheel bearing was replaced twice.
Vehicle's ABS controller went bad, ABS was getting activated ever in a dry non slip condition, contacted dealer, and they replaced the ABS controller. Reported problem about engine vibration at idle speed, dealer refuses to accept it, compared with a new vehicle at dealer's stock and the vibration in my vehicle was distinguishable. Still dealer refuses to accept it. Contacted 1-800-subaru3 and they said that they woul dget in touch with the dealership and see whats going on.
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