Subaru of America is recalling a handful of vehicles equipped with improperly manufactured front driveshaft assemblies. The gist of it is that the outer race is prone to cracking. If the outer race breaks, that would obviously result in the loss of motive power.
No fewer than four part numbers are listed in the document attached below, namely front driveshaft assemblies 28321VC020, 28321SJ010, 28321FN030, and 28321FN000. Supplied by NTN Corporation, said assemblies fail due to a reduction in the flow rate of cooling water around the outer race during the heat treatment process. In other words, improper cooling to the inner surface of the race and quench cracking to the outer surface of said race.
Somewhat remarkable in this industry, the supplier informed Subaru about its blunder. Initial findings indicated that no potentially affected parts were shipped to Subaru for vehicle production, but alas, certain assemblies did slip through. Come November 2, the Japanese automaker determined that no more than 3,732 vehicles have to be inspected. Of those, 1 percent are believed to feature cracked outer races.
Subaru isn't aware of any field reports potentially related to said concern. The affected vehicles will be inspected at no cost to the owners, and – if necessary – be replaced with properly manufactured assemblies. Owner notification letters will be sent via first-class mail no later than January 8 of next year.
The Crosstrek is the most affordable nameplate included in the population of potentially affected vehicles, with Subaru recalling a total of 2,835 units produced for the 2024 model year between September 5 and September 13. Next up, the Forester numbers 328 units manufactured for 2023 and 2024 between September 4 and September 14 this year.
Photo: Subaru
328 units of the 2023 to 2024 model year Impreza also needs to be mentioned (also September 4 to September 14), as well as 413 units of the 2023 model year WRX (September 1 to September 13). Care to guess what these vehicles have in common other than their badges and flat-four engine layout? Of course, all are underpinned by the Subaru Global Platform.
Said vehicle architecture was updated for the freshly redesigned Impreza, Crosstrek, and Forester, with the latter being advertised as being all-new for the 2025 model year. In truth, you wouldn't dare call a vehicle with a similar platform, engine, and transmission as the former generation all-new, would you?
Rather than the Forester, the brand's most popular nameplate in the US market is – rather surprisingly – the Outback. Precisely 135,277 units were delivered from January 2023 through October 2023, whereas Forester deliveries totaled 121,824 examples. The Crosstrek fared better, clocking 128,400 deliveries.
Of the aforementioned nameplates, only the WRX can be had with a manual transmission. The only other Scooby available with a stick shift is the BRZ, which as you may already know, is twinned with the Toyota GR86. The 'Yota is manufactured by Subaru at the Gunma plant, where Subaru also produces the WRX, Crosstrek, Impreza, and Levorg station wagon.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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