Subaru of America, Inc.: Exterior Lighting
Subaru of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Dec 26, 2012 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 633,842. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2010 and 2011 Legacy and Outback vehicles, certain model year 2006 through 2012 Tribeca vehicles sold before January 2012, and certain model year 2009 through 2012 Forester vehicles sold before January 2012. Up to 78,650 of these vehicles may have been equipped with accessory puddle lights that, when illuminated, brighten the area under the doors of the vehicle. A short circuit can develop when either the puddle light or connector are exposed to an electrolytic moisture source (such as road spray that has road salt in it) and it penetrates the circuit board of the puddle light or the pins of the puddle light connector(s).
The risk
Over time, migration of the moisture into the circuit board and/or into the connector cavity, may result in a short circuit of the puddle light system. This may generate heat which may melt the plastic resulting in smoke or fire.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will install an additional fused-harness, free of charge. The recall began February 19, 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783 for more information.
15 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Subaru B9 Tribeca | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 Subaru Forester | 106 | 15 | 5 | 15 |
| 2011 Subaru Forester | 147 | 16 | 6 | 21 |
| 2011 Subaru Legacy | 167 | 16 | 2 | 7 |
| 2011 Subaru Outback | 653 | 16 | 6 | 24 |
| 2011 Subaru Tribeca | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 Subaru Forester | 262 | 17 | 6 | 21 |
| 2010 Subaru Legacy | 151 | 18 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010 Subaru Outback | 360 | 18 | 3 | 12 |
| 2010 Subaru Tribeca | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Subaru Forester | 178 | 18 | 7 | 19 |
| 2009 Subaru Tribeca | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 Subaru Tribeca | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 2007 Subaru Tribeca | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 Subaru Tribeca | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 12V602000.
Full record for the 2012 Subaru B9 Tribeca → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →