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Takata airbag recall now includes 2005-2008 Legacy and Outback


WraithAkaMrak

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I just had an informative conversation with NHTSA, trying to follow up on my question of whether it's safer to disable the airbag or to risk the "energetic disassembly" hazard. Of course, they said I had to talk to SOA, but when I persisted, I got the direct number of a guy who's supposed to know more, with whom I left a message.

 

But I was told one useful thing. They said I could get the Subaru dealer to disable the airbag or to install an off/on switch. They said I needed to get approval from NHTSA, and the voicemail guy will supposedly send me the forms. Of course, local Subaru dealer said they could do no such thing, but backed off when I mentioned the NHTSA conversation. They also said they've had a waiting list of about 100 vehicles, so probably they wouldn't be able to disable the thing until they're ready to repair it anyhow. It also gives me confidence the mechanics might be reasonably experienced with the job once they get to me.

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I called my dealer as soon as I confirmed the online VIN/recall website - I checked that when I heard here the recall was expanded to cover my car.

 

I waited exactly a month from first call to work being done.

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Just saw this thread. I've been calling about this recall since late December and no word on when parts will be available. I'm scheduled to drop my car at the dealer tomorrow and pick up a rental in the meantime.

 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Current: 16 Crosstrek Premium w/ Eyesight & 05 Outback XT 5MT

Past Subies: 14 FXT Premium, 14 WRX hatch, 06 Legacy 2.5i SE 5MT, 98 Outback wagon

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Of those who have already had yours fixed, were you notified that the parts were in stock and to contact your dealer, or did you ignore the notice to ride it out without a passenger until they send another letter?

 

I'm thinking about calling my local dealers, but living in the land of Subaru I'm sure there's a few thousand on the list ahead of me.

 

I actually had mine fixed before I got any notification from Subaru. At the end of December or beginning of January I had heard on the news that the recall had gone through another expansion. I looked my VIN up and both safercar.gov and the Subaru website showed my car as now being under the recall. It previously hadn't been. I decided to wait to see what official notice I would receive. In the meantime, I didn't let anyone ride in the passenger seat.

 

Near the end of January, I was at my local dealer picking up a friend who was dropping his WRX off for some non-recall work, and asked the service rep about the recall, since I still hadn't received any notice. She looked it up and confirmed my car was recalled, and said it would take about 2 weeks for the parts to come in, so I had them go ahead put in the order. About 10 days later, the dealer sent me an email that said the parts were in. I called them and made a appointment for the following week, and they had it done in one day.

 

I received the notice letter via email on the day that my car was at the dealer getting the airbag replaced, the one that said my car was recalled, but there is a parts shortage so don't allow people to ride in the front passenger seat. I was to be notified with another letter once parts were more readily available, and at that point would have to schedule a time with my dealer. I received the same letter via mail the next day, the day I got the car back with the replaced airbag.

 

Oh, so just because one gets the letter, doesn't mean your car is definitely involved ?

 

No, I think you only get the letter if your car IS involved. My letter has my VIN on it, and it says, "Subaru of America, Inc. has decided that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in certain 2005-2008 model year Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. You received this notice because our records indicate that you currently own one of these vehicles."

 

Out of curiosity, I looked up my VIN a couple of times after I got my car back, and it was just over a week before it showed up as having no open recalls.

Edited by csaari
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Just saw this thread. I've been calling about this recall since late December and no word on when parts will be available. I'm scheduled to drop my car at the dealer tomorrow and pick up a rental in the meantime.

 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

So does the dealer have the part in now?

 

If not, who is paying for the rental? How long are you going to be in that rental?

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Of those who have already had yours fixed, were you notified that the parts were in stock and to contact your dealer, or did you ignore the notice to ride it out without a passenger until they send another letter?

 

I'm thinking about calling my local dealers, but living in the land of Subaru I'm sure there's a few thousand on the list ahead of me.

 

I called my dealer every few weeks. I did not allow a passenger to ride in the front seat. For our Valentine's dinner date, I chauffeured while my wife rode in the back. I was thinking about whether or not there was anyone I knew who needed to disappear. :icon_evil

 

The last time I called, they gave me the same generic response about how the part won't be in until April. They the guy put me on hold for 5 minutes, and when he came back informed me that they had one in stock and that my car would be the first one they did. I probably should have waited until they had done a few but I'm impatient.

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  • 4 months later...

So my airbag replacement is finally ready, and I have to drop it off Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. I asked the service desk, and they definitely thought I should remove my custom wiring (from the radio up to the cubby). SO I'm thinking of simply pulling the entire head unit, and the cubby and bringing it in like that (I told them that and they seemed ok with it).

 

But, one big question: will the car actually function properly with the head-unit removed ? I'm not sure why it wouldn't, but there's a lot of stuff in there (just HVAC, audio, and the emergency flasher button though, I guess).

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What else?

 

Center console box between seats needs to come up to allow the shifter trim to clear the e-brake boot without scratching the leather surface. EDIT: Actually, the e-brake boot can come up on its own, but the shifter trim does tuck slightly under the trim in front of the cup holder, so it should come up to be safe.

 

Then the trim on either side of the shifter trim and up the sides of the radio

 

The radio/HVAC unit comes out

 

The lower trim on the dash comes out (above your feet)

 

Glove box comes out

 

I believe the panels at the side of the center stack have to come out but I'm not positive.

 

The A-pillars come out

 

The gauge cluster comes out

 

The cubby/vents comes out

 

The dash comes out

 

 

I did end up with a few minor scratches and a glove box that doesn't latch as easily, but I'm surprising rattle-free. :rolleyes:

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So I need mine done what should I look at now while everything is in good shape before any monkeys get to it? I thought it was a dash end cap? Now I heard glove box? What else?

 

They have to take down the whole dashboard to access the passenger side air bag, but to do that they need to remove glove box and some other items as well so any custom installations you have may get messed up.

 

Just empty the glove box and center console too, the less stuff that you have in the car the better.

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Just to add my experience, I had a "custom" boost gauge and "custom" bluetooth mic on my steering column. The dealership charged me an extra $60 to do the recall because of it...after the recall fix, I don't think they even touched the two items on my steering column.

 

Negatives: my lighter door wasn't locking (the arm linkage was knocked loose) and a couple of nicks on the upper cubby trim where they obviously were in a rush to yank it out.

 

Pros: I don't hear a lot of loose rattles behind the dash anymore. They finished it in about 4 hours. I was on the waiting list for about 6 weeks though. They saw I needed a new cabin filter - they wanted to charge me regular parts and labor (despite the dash being taken apart already). It's only a pro because they called before doing it and I graciously declined their offer (took 15 minutes and all of $9 charcoal filter to do).

 

Overall, this just further supports why I never go to the dealerhip to have ANY WORK done.

Edited by rougeben83
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I waited until the dealer had done a dozen+ recalls before I bought my car in. It's been a couple months since mine was done and my dash is still rattle free as well.

 

Center console box between seats needs to come up to allow the shifter trim to clear the e-brake boot without scratching the leather surface. EDIT: Actually, the e-brake boot can come up on its own, but the shifter trim does tuck slightly under the trim in front of the cup holder, so it should come up to be safe.

 

Then the trim on either side of the shifter trim and up the sides of the radio

 

The radio/HVAC unit comes out

 

The lower trim on the dash comes out (above your feet)

 

Glove box comes out

 

I believe the panels at the side of the center stack have to come out but I'm not positive.

 

The A-pillars come out

 

The gauge cluster comes out

 

The cubby/vents comes out

 

The dash comes out

 

 

I did end up with a few minor scratches and a glove box that doesn't latch as easily, but I'm surprising rattle-free. :rolleyes:

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Center console box between seats needs to come up to allow the shifter trim to clear the e-brake boot without scratching the leather surface. EDIT: Actually, the e-brake boot can come up on its own, but the shifter trim does tuck slightly under the trim in front of the cup holder, so it should come up to be safe.

 

Then the trim on either side of the shifter trim and up the sides of the radio

 

The radio/HVAC unit comes out

 

The lower trim on the dash comes out (above your feet)

 

Glove box comes out

 

I believe the panels at the side of the center stack have to come out but I'm not positive.

 

The A-pillars come out

 

The gauge cluster comes out

 

The cubby/vents comes out

 

The dash comes out

 

 

I did end up with a few minor scratches and a glove box that doesn't latch as easily, but I'm surprising rattle-free. :rolleyes:

 

 

Wow so what if you don't have it done? There is a chance you could bet peppered with crap or you will get peppered with crap? There are unfortunately some techs who don't care about their work as much as I care about my car.

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Center console box between seats needs to come up to allow the shifter trim to clear the e-brake boot without scratching the leather surface. EDIT: Actually, the e-brake boot can come up on its own, but the shifter trim does tuck slightly under the trim in front of the cup holder, so it should come up to be safe.

 

Then the trim on either side of the shifter trim and up the sides of the radio

 

The radio/HVAC unit comes out

 

The lower trim on the dash comes out (above your feet)

 

Glove box comes out

 

I believe the panels at the side of the center stack have to come out but I'm not positive.

 

The A-pillars come out

 

The gauge cluster comes out

 

The cubby/vents comes out

 

The dash comes out

 

 

I did end up with a few minor scratches and a glove box that doesn't latch as easily, but I'm surprising rattle-free. :rolleyes:

 

 

And we have to put with a scratched dash? And glove box issues? Maybe worse why? That does not seem right

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So I recently bought a new touchscreen HU and a sub for my '08 OB. This thread makes me think that maybe I should hold off on installing them until I get the recall done. Yes?
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My dealer did a garbage job putting together the dash and glovebox. I have a dash replacement tentatively scheduled for October, and if they screw that up, I'm going to let them have it.

 

 

This is exactly what I'm afraid of. Sorry to hear this. I would be on the phone with soa giving them a piece of my mind. If I have taken care of my car for 8 years and some monkey just throws it together so he can get done because of how he is paid by the job and not hourly screw that crap.

 

 

And yes I understand that not all techs are that way but I will stress this if and when I decide to have it done.

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My dealer did a garbage job putting together the dash and glovebox. I have a dash replacement tentatively scheduled for October, and if they screw that up, I'm going to let them have it.

 

 

How did they do a garbage job?

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