DETROIT -- Subaru said on Tuesday it was recalling an estimated 127,580 vehicles sold in the United States because of a possible defect in their cruise control system that can leave throttles sticking wide open.

"This condition could occur at any time without prior notice and control of the vehicle could be affected," the automaker, a unit of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., said in a statement.

It identified vehicles affected by the recall as certain Subaru Outback H-6 and Imprenza WRX turbo vehicles from the 2001-2004 model years.

No accidents or injuries have been reported in connection with the problem, which occurs when a wayward cruise control cable on the vehicles comes out of its track, the company said.

 

Subaru.com link to news page with recall info.

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"SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY RECALL OF CERTAIN 2001, 2002, 2003 AND 2004 SIX CYLINDER OUTBACKS AND 2002, 2003 AND 2004 IMPREZA WRX VEHICLES
-- Campaign to address possible Cruise Control Cable Problem --

CHERRY HILL, N.J., March 16, 2004 -- Subaru of America, Inc. today announced a voluntary recall on certain 2001-2004 six cylinder Outback models, and 2002-2004 Impreza WRX 2.0L models to address a possible cruise control cable problem.

This recall involves certain 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 model year Subaru Outback H-6 3.0L and Impreza WRX 2.0L turbo vehicles. The potentially affected Outback vehicles were produced at Subaru Indiana Automotive, Inc. between March 15, 2000 and February 19, 2004, and the Impreza WRX vehicles were produced at Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. between September 5, 2000 and February 12, 2004. Approximately 127,580 vehicles are potentially affected.

It is possible for the cruise control cable to come out of its track on the cruise control throttle lever and lodge on the control lever tab when the accelerator pedal is released. If this condition occurs, the throttle will not return to the idle position and instead remain in an open position. This condition could occur at any time without prior notice and control of the vehicle could be affected.

Although we believe the percentage of vehicles likely to actually experience the failure is very low, a cruise control cable retaining clip will be installed on all potentially affected vehicles. The cruise control cable retaining clip will be fitted to the cruise control lever tab on the throttle shaft in order to prevent the cruise control cable from coming out of its track.

The campaign was launched as a result of Subaru field inspections and quality assurance testing. There have been no accidents or injuries attributed to this problem.

In early April, we will notify all owners of potentially affected vehicles of this potential problem by first class mail and ask them to contact their dealer to arrange a service appointment to have the cruise control cable retaining clip installed at no charge to the owner. We will also advise owners in the notification letter of the action to take if they encounter this condition."

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I've never had an issue like that before...recall. How does it work?

My car is an early 04.

 

If you get the letter from Subaru, you could bring it in and they'll check it out. Or, you could just drop in the dealership and have it check without the letter since there is a recall out. You could also have them do it in conjunction with your regular service.

 

If you call ahead to the dealership, they can tell you if they have the clips in stock. I would guess that they will get the clips before the notices are mailed off to us.

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i guess its all wait and see if i get the letter and then head to the dealership in mid april to have the clip intsalled!

 

i had a problem with this once... though i dont think it was aproblem wiht the cable slipping... i was in cruise, pulled my car out of gear to coast for a bit (which should shut off cruise control)... coasted for a while then all of a sudden my engine started revving and bouncing off the rev limiter... scared the isht out of me... hasnt happened since though...

 

The cruise control will disengage when you step in the clutch to pull the tranny out of gear, but the cruise control isn't actually off unless you toggle the switch on the dash. If the wheel-mounted cruise control paddle is accidentally pushed up when coasting, the cruise control will be re-engaged even when the tranny is in neutral. This will cause the engine to race because it's trying to match the vehicle speed to the last setting according to the speed sensor reading. If this ever happens again, I think you can quickly stop it by pulling the paddle to disengage or step in the clutch pedal (this should also disengage it quickly) and put it back in gear.

It can be turned off with the main switch but that takes longer to look down to find it first.

This is unrelated to the recall announcement.

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I've seen this happen on a Taurus rental I drove in CO Springs. I set the cruise control to about 40 MPH and then slip the transmission (AT) to N and the thing just shoots off to redline. It was fun in the rental car, but I wouldn't do it in my own car.

 

Ok about this recall, I have a question. Say I do get the letter for my 04 WRX. I have mods on my car that could void my warrenty, like downpipe and intake or whatever. If I take my car in to get the recall done should I put the car back to stock so they don't they don't take note of my car for the next time I bring it in? Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Raymond

 

I know in CA there is a law stating that the manuf. must first prove that the modifications you performed were the actual cause to the problem for which you are attempting to receive warranty service. I imagine there would be a similar law in Texas, however, either way, they've admitted their own fault for this problem so I don't see why they could deny you repair (unless your vehicle has a salvage title).

 

When I bought my 04 on Saturday they told me they had just got a fax about the recall and since I was there they did it before I left the dealership. It's a clip roughly the size of a nickel and it takes about 15 seconds for them to install it.

 

Would it be possible to get a pic of that clip installed? Maybe those owners, who for various reasons don't want to bring their cars in, can fabricate a working fix on their own.

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Or i am sure you could just go and buy it at the dealership. Parts from a campaign is WAY cheaper than if you were to buy it normally. It's a way so manufacutre won't charge themself so much or something like that.