2005 SUBARU LEGACY Complaints

A combination of high temperature and exposure to sunlight is causing dashboard to become sticky/melted. The center for auto Safety is calling on car makers and the federal govement to address melting dashboards. The melting plastic coupled with sun glare makes it difficult to see through the windshield under certain conditions. I have the same issue that has been documented in the Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Mazda 3, Lexus IS 250 and the Lexus 350 according to the GibbsLaw Group. Upon contacting Subaru, I was offered a $500 credit to have the dashboard replaced. This may only be 25% of the cost for replacement. As a safety issue, this should be paid for in full under a manufacturers recall.

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while driving 30 mph and approaching a red light, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floor. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to the residence. The contact checked the brake fluid reservoir and noticed that the brake fluid was low. The brake fluid was topped off however, several days later the warning light reappeared. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake lines above the gas tank were leaking. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired in 2014 under NHTSA campaign number: 14V311000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but declined to offer a second free repair. The failure mileage was 160,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the brake pedal would go all the way to the floorboard while depressed. The contact became aware that there was brake fluid leaking onto the floor from the brake line near the rear passenger’s side tire. The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that there was a recall repair performed on the service brakes, hydraulic in 2014, where the affected areas were rustproofed with anti-corrosion wax. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 180,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SUBARU LEGACY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL FAILED AND DEPRESSED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT CONTINUED TO DRIVE WITH THE PARKING BRAKE APPLIED. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT CALLED AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND WAS INFORMED ABOUT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V311000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC). THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000.

DRIVING SOUTHBOUND ON HWY 17 AT 60MPH 11/15/2020 ENGINE SUDDENLY WENT TO IDLE. THROTTLE BECAME UNRESPONSIVE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. I DRIFTED TO SAFETY OFF THE HIGHWAY. ENGINE STILL IDLING, THROTTLE UNRESPONSIVE. AFTER CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD, I RESTARTED THE CAR AND NORMAL THROTTLE RESPONSE RETURNED. I CAUTIOUSLY DROVE HOME AND READ THE CODE FOR THE CEL: P2138 -- THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR VOLTAGE CORRELATION. A QUICK SEARCH FOUND OTHERS HAVE SOLVED THIS PROBLEM BY CHANGING THROTTLE CONTROL TO AN UPDATED VERSION THAT USES HALL EFFECT METHOD INSTEAD OF A RHEOSTAT. I INQUIRED WITH PREVIOUS OWNER OF THIS CAR AND FOUND IT HAD HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE.

PREVIOUS RECALL ISSUE WITH BRAKES WAS NEVER FIXED CORRECTLY, RESULTING IN A LARGE LEAK IN THE REAR RIGHT SIDE BRAKE LINE THAT CAUSED MY BRAKES TO ALMOST COMPLETELY GO OUT. PREVIOUS ISSUE, WHICH WAS SUPPOSEDLY FIXED IN 2014, WAS ONLY A STOPGAP MEASURE THAT DIDN'T PREVENT THE BRAKE LINE FROM COMPLETELY CORRODING AWAY.

THE CD PLAYER TURNS ON BY ITSELF WHEN RADIO IS ON. NOTHING SPECIFICALLY MAKES IT HAPPEN LIKE HITTING A BUMP OR ANYTHING IT DOES IT WHILE CAR IS STILL. CAR WAS TAKIN ON TO BE LOOKED AT BUT THEY SAID NOTHING COULD BE DONE. ALSO, GEAR SHIFT DOESN'T ALWAYS LOCK IN PLACE. WHICH MAKES THE CAR NOT ABLE TO START AND/OR MOVE IF ON A SLIGHTLY HILL.

I RECENTLY NOTICED THAT SOME ELEMENTS OF MY REAR HATCH ON MY SUBARU LEGACY WAGON WERE NOT WORKING. SPECIFICALLY, THE LIGHTS THAT ILLUMINATE THE LICENSE PLATE, THE REAR DEFROSTER, CENTER BRAKE LIGHT, HATCH LOCKING MECHANISM, AND RADIO ANTENNA WERE NOT WORKING. AN INSPECTION OF THE AREA WHERE THE WIRES ENTER THE HATCH DOOR FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE REVEALS THAT SEVERAL OF THE WIRES IN THE HARNESS WERE BROKEN COMPLETELY WITH SOME WIRES IN VARIOUS STATES OF DETERIORATION. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN UNUSUAL FAILURE AND NOT A TYPICAL WEAR ITEM. I AM CONCERNED AS I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO PROPERLY LOCK AND SECURE MY VEHICLE, TO CLEAR FROST AND ICE FROM THE REAR GLASS FOR PROPER VISIBILITY, LOST THE ABILITY TO ILLUMINATE MY LICENSE PLATE WHICH COULD RESULT IN BEING PULLED OVER BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. OVER TIME, CONTINUED DETERIORATION WILL RESULT IN THE INABILITY TO USE MY REAR WIPER AND REVERSE LIGHTS. THEY'RE SEEMS TO BE A DEFECT WITH THE WIRING USED IN THIS AREA. IT WAS NOT CAPABLE OF WITHSTANDING NORMAL USE REPETITIONS OF OPENING AND CLOSING THE HATCH DOOR. THERE ARE MANY MEMBERS OF THE SUBARU LEGACY AND OUTBACK COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE OCCUR. I BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN TO ALL SUBARU LEGACY OR OUTBACK MODELS 05-09 GIVEN ENOUGH TIME.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2005 SUBARU LEGACY AND WAS APPROACHING A TURN. WHILE BRAKING AT MAYBE 30% BRAKE FORCE I FELT A SLIGHT LOSS OF BRAKE PRESSURE. I KNEW RIGHT AWAY SOMETHING WAS VERY WRONG AND TRIED TO LIGHTLY FEEL FOR BRAKE PRESSURE TO SEE IF I WOULD BE ABLE TO EMERGENCY STOP IF NECESSARY. I WAS ABLE TO DOWNSHIFT AND KNEW THE ROADS VERY WELL TO DECREASE SPEED. ONCE STOPPED I WAS ABLE TO MODULATE THE BRAKE AND LOOK UNDER THE CAR. I OBSERVED BRAKE FLUID POURING FROM THE UNDERBODY TRAY DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE REAR PASSENGER WHEEL. THESE BRAKE LINES WERE TREATED BY SUBARU AS A PART OF A PREVIOUS RECALL APPROX. 2 YEARS PRIOR WITH A ANTI-CORROSIVE RUST SOLUTION. I'M LEAD TO BELIEVE THERE WAS A SECOND RECALL NOTICE REGARDING THE SAME ISSUE, BUT WHETHER IT WAS COMPLETED BY THE DEALERSHIP AT THAT TIME I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE. I DON'T BELIEVE IT WAS THOUGH. I TOOK MY SUBARU TO THE DEALERSHIP 6 DAYS AGO AND THEY HAVE ORDERED PARTS TO FIX THE ISSUE, AND I'M LEAD TO BELIEVE IT'LL BE PAID IN-FULL BY THE DEALERSHIP. THIS WAS A SUDDEN AND BAD SITUATION, STOPPING DISTANCE WAS GREATLY AND QUICKLY REDUCED. I'M CERTAIN THERE ARE OTHER DRIVERS WOULD NOT HAVE NOTICED THE ISSUE UNTIL MUCH LATER.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 SUBARU LEGACY. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE. THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V297000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO SUBARU OF JACKSONVILLE (LOCATED AT 10800 ATLANTIC BLVD, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32225, (904) 641-6455) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000.