I know there are a lot of Subaru owners in the audience, so you might want to know about this recall:
Attention cold climate drivers, Subaru said Thursday that it is recalling 660,238 vehicles.
The recall covers vehicles that are currently, or have ever been registered, in what Subaru calls the “20 salt belt states” – where salt is used to melt ice and snow in the winter months.
The Japanese automaker said brake lines in some vehicles run the risk of corrosion and may affect the driver’s ability to stop.
The models affected are 2005 through 2009 Legacys and Outbacks, 2008 through 2011 Imprezas, 2008 through 2014 Impreza WRX/STIs, and 2009 through 2013 Foresters.
This impacts me, my mother and my sister’s vehicles, but not my brother’s. Thought I would just pass this on.
Roger Moore
Somebody other than GM is being forced to recall cars?
Steeplejack
Just park ’em in a field and let God sort them out.
Helen
The world needs more subways.
K488
Yikes! Thanks for the tip. My mother’s Forrester is an older model, perhaps not covered here, but she lives in Maine, so salt is prevalent in winter. I’ll pass on the word. She’s 91 and still drives everywhere.
NotMax
Nothing good ever came from adding salt.
Violet
Thanks for the tip. Subaru household here and affected by this.
Victory
Subaru? Issuing a recall? If there is one thing Subaru is known for its knowing about wide spred issues with their vehicles and ignoring them.
Do they have new management or something?
Disclaimer: former 2001 Forester owner. Wellllll known head gasket and wheel bearings issues with the early aught Forresters which Subaru decided to blatantly ignore. Never buying a Subaru again. [/rant]
The Dangerman
Unquestionably important in places like NY; in West Virginia, just honk and keep going.
David Koch
Salt’s invisible hand
Davis X. Machina
I’ve had this or a similar problem with two Toyotas, a Volvo (Swedish, pre-Ford) and a Nissan. It doesn’t seem like anybody can really make a salt-proof brake line.
Violet
Good thing it isn’t against Subaru’s deeply held religious beliefs to repair brake lines.
zmulls
Phew. I have a Legacy Outback Sedan 2002. Missed the cutoff.
Poopyman
@NotMax: Just ask Lot.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: I’ve been happy with my RAV4.
schrodinger's cat
What about the mustard? Recalled along with the Subaru.
Helen
Any NYC people here? If so go look out your window to the West. It looks like Kansas right before Dorothy got hit in the noggin with the window pane. We’re in for some screaming rain.
Poopyman
Want to see your tax dollars at work in real time?
Don’t forget to click on the “More Detail” at the lower right corner, and get a load of some of those “Power Received” values.
The Other Bob
Haven’t replaced a brakeline since I owned a 1974 model year vehicle. Thought they were all stainless now.
PurpleGirl
… where salt is used to melt ice and snow in the winter months.
No, No, No, Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Salt does not melt ice, it LOWERS the temperature at which water freezers to prevent water from becoming ice. I don’t think this is rocket science. Why can’t “reporters” get this correct?
ETA: Yes, I’m being nit-picky. But when the reporters get the details of science wrong it makes science invalid to many people.
Baud
@PurpleGirl:
But it says “melt” right on the bag!
PurpleGirl
@Helen: Oh yeah. I was in my bedroom and was looking at the clouds (south-west windows.Dark and low.
PurpleGirl
@Baud: Grrrrrr!
(Not aimed at you but at packaging writers and designers.)
zattarra
The last job you want in the automotive industry is to be responsible for tubes and hoses. Somebody at Subaru messed up at their sucky job that they likely hated and you got this. Sad part is no OE makes their own brake tubes, some supplier had garbage quality control and Subaru gets the bad press – and some Japanese tube supplier keeps going clean. Obviously someone screwed up the coating operation for the tubes. For years.
trollhattan
@zattarra:
My first Saab ran the brake lines inside, on the floor. Take THAT, mister salt.
Glocksman
Meh.
So far my 2008 Kia Spectra is still going strong despite the salt using INDOT on our highways over the years.
If I get 5 more years of trouble free performance out of it, my next purchase will be a Kia.
If GM, Ford, or Chrysler had enough confidence in their vehicles to offer a 60k/5 year warranty, then I’d reconsider.
GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)
Mine is a 97, so I’m good. My ABS is kaput, so that’s…interesting in the winter.
Jay C
@Helen:
Yeah, today’s weather was definitely fun: I was driving up to the Berkshires from NYC this afternoon, and the Monsoon from Hell hit just after I got onto the West Side Hwy – it’s probably the only time I’ve been grateful for a 12-mph average speed – rain most of the way, varying from mere downpour to can’t-see-anything-even-at-30-mph-and-every-fucking-car-is-throwing-up-huge-sheets-of-fucking-water-over-my-windshield. Made it fine, though, so I can relax for a bit with my bon ami M. Hennessey…
Just Some Fuckhead
@Steeplejack: Like.
J R in WV
Our VW dealer also sells Chevy. We took the Tiburon SUV in for some work, and the place was jammed with vehicles. The small roads around the dealership were all parked up with chevys.
The phone system has gone from Sheryl saying “Folsum’s Chevy and VW How can I help you?” To an automated queing phone system telling you “Your call will be answered in the order in which it was placed, you are number 11 in the queue righrt now!”
I know it isn’t their fauly, GM engineers screwed them along with the chevy buyers, but it really in a cluster fuvk. They can’t even tell me when they’ll get to work on my VW, Glad we have a Ford F-250 for the meantime.
Mnemosyne
My Impreza is a 2013 and I’m in Southern California, so I can keep driving happy.
Ramalama
I suffered likely 150,000 miles (out of a total of 408,000) driving a Toyota Corolla through snowstorms until I could afford my swanky Legacy wagon (could finally fit my wolf-sled dog in the back). My first month after getting it, I literally drove through 4 huge white outs. The difference in driving that was amazing. Energy level was up. No clenched fists. No praying that the car wouldn’t be blown off the highway. Just night and day.
And now what the hell do I do? My car’s in that line up of recalls. What does one do with a recalled car?
Steeplejack
@Ramalama:
Call your dealer, or a dealer, and find out what the procedure is. They will surely know.
Eric S.
@Ramalama: typically just what steeplejack said. The dealer will have been notified of the repairs needed. Schedule an appointment and they will take care of it.i haven’t looked up the service bulletin on this but it’s likely the old brake lines are being removed and new ones installed. It’s probably a couple hour job. If it were me would plan on leaving the car at the dealer for the day.
My Caddy just made GM’s long list of recalls with those announced Monday. I’m sure getting an appointment is going to be horrendous.
JustRuss
@J R in WV: I wouldn’t put too much blame on GM’s engineers. GM management has a long history pushing the envelope on cost-cutting–they knew how to fix the faulty ignition switch, but it would require retooling at a cost of about a buck per car so it didn’t happen. Stupid. Hopefully that culture is changing, too early to tell.
I believe most of GM’s recent recalls are voluntary, could be a good sign that they’re not ignoring problems and hoping they go away, which has been SOP for a long time.