Subaru Response to Clutch Stink

I had my car serviced the other day, im at 13k kms and still getting the clutch stink. Subaru of course said they have never heard of the problem and that "under normal usage" the problem doesnt/shouldnt occur. I have pasted my emails to them and their response so you guys can see more evidence of Subaru's denial of this problem...I have gotten no response as of yet to my last email...

 

--------------------------------

Hi Leo,

 

We spoke today after my white 05 LGT was serviced regarding my issues

with an acrid sulpher smell coming from the vents after clutch

slippage.

 

I have attached a link to a www.legacygt.com, an owners forum where

this issue, as well as the low-rpm stuttering and other issues have

been *extensively* discussed. You will find dozens of complaints

similar to the ones I mentioned.

 

I love the car, but I dont believe these problems should be present on

a $41,000 vehicle aiming to compete with BMW, Audi and the like.

 

Please look into this and mention it to headquarters.

 

Thanks for your time,

 

PW

 

------------------------------------------------------

Hello Mr. W,

 

As promised I would address your concern with technical help at head

office, as you will see in the following emails.

 

 

Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 8:39 AM

To: Ron C

Cc: Normand G

Subject: FW: clutch numbers

 

Hello Ron,

 

I have customer complaining about a clutch smell/stink on his '05 Legacy

GT, have you heard of any such issue? Also he directed me to an internet

forum and one person

 

There said that a dealer, in the US, replaced his clutch with the part

numbers down below and that seems to have corrected the problem. Can you

let me know if you heard of any such repairs or concerns.

 

1 / 30100AA810 / DISK CP CLUTCH

1 / 30210AA550 / COVER CP CLUTCH (Believe the TOB is included in this

item)

1 / 12345AA010 / FLYWHEEL DUAL MASS (Believe the PB is included in this

item)

1 / 800910340 / STUD

1 / 44059AA010 / BOLT

1 / 010110250 / FLANGE BOLT

1 / 802008270 / NUT

5 / 902370029 / NUT

 

Thank you,

 

Leo

Service Manager

 

As you will see from his reply to that email, the condition is normal, I

also read on the forum that if you take off between 1000-2000 RPM's that

there is no smell which is where the engine revs should be on take off.

 

Discussed , with Norm. We both agree, that this customer must be

slipping the clutch, to create the smell. If he continues to do so, he

will wear-out the clutch, prematurely, and then will be looking, to us

for assistance.

 

The parts listed below, are old part numbers, that the US dealer

installed. As for us we do not recommend, the parts listed.

 

Leo: Please forward a QMR on this condition. If the engineers get enough

feedback on this condition, they may changed the clutch material.

 

Regards

 

Ron.

 

Thank you,

 

Leo C

Service Manager

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hi Leo,

 

Thanks for looking into the issue. I assure you that the clutch stink

occurs under quite normal usage, the day after my car was serviced my

mother had to borrow my car and she got the stink, and believe me she

isn't doing dragstrip launches, just trying to get to the store for

some milk. To replicate the issue without "abuse" reverse the car up

an incline or sit in stop and go traffic where the clutch must

constantly be engaged and disengaged, preferably on an incline.

 

Clutches do indeed smell when burnt, but usually not bad enough to

make someone want to be sick. The smell is acrid and intense, reeking

of sulpher and rotten eggs, exiting through the a/c vents. This is not

normal, such an issue has never occured on any other standard car that

I or anyone else I know has driven. And as I am sure you will agree no

person will look at Subaru as being anywhere near the quality of some

of the German or even higher-end Japanese manufacturers when there are

not only quality problems, but service people that wont attempt to fix

or even acknowledge the issue, instead blaming it on the customers

that spent lots of money with them, saying that problems are due to

driver abuse.

 

Subaru, im sure will continue to insist that there is no problem and

any problem is caused by abuse to avoid replacing parts/doing service

on thousands of cars. I will certainly keep this in mind when looking

at purchasing another vehicle and when people ask if they should

consider a Subaru. And might I add so will the hundreds of Legacy and

Outback owners who have reported the EXACT same problems with their

cars, dozens of times on various internet forums, especially

www.legacygt.com. These people will also be informed of your response.

It comes as no surprise as those who have submitted this complaint at

other dealerships in Canada and the US have gotten the same response

from Subaru.

 

Denying the problem exists and blaming the customers for it are sure

ways to please and keep people loyal.

 

Sincerely,

 

PW

let's see if SOA will do what SOC did.

I believe they have already responded with the company line "oh really, clutch stink? Youre the first person to mention that to me..." my a$$.........

I believe they have already responded with the company line "oh really, clutch stink? Youre the first person to mention that to me..." my a$$.........

 

And they are probably telling the truth. If dealers do not report the concerns people are bringing cars in for to S.O.A., then how would expect S.O.A. to respond. In the original post is the most informative suggestion:

 

Leo: Please forward a QMR on this condition. If the engineers get enough feedback on this condition, they may changed the clutch material.

 

If you are having this concern (or any concern for that matter) request that the dealer submit a QMR to S.O.A., if they don't, S.O.A. will never know anyone complained.

 

...we still haven't had one complaint or mention of "clutch stink" from a single Legacy owner...

And they are probably telling the truth. If dealers do not report the concerns people are bringing cars in for to S.O.A., then how would expect S.O.A. to respond. In the original post is the most informative suggestion:

 

 

 

If you are having this concern (or any concern for that matter) request that the dealer submit a QMR to S.O.A., if they don't, S.O.A. will never know anyone complained.

 

...we still haven't had one complaint or mention of "clutch stink" from a single Legacy owner...

 

Thanks Opie I will request a QMR be submitted.

 

Once before I brought the car back to the dealership after I first noticed the stink. The manager that assisted me said that he had noticed it on some of the cars he had driven there.

 

The issue has been widely reported and complained about on this forum and others, which Subaru should be aware of. Never mind the fact that most people who have complained here have also complained to their dealers.

The service manager sent me a polite response. We will see what happens with their findings...

 

---------------------------------------------

Mr. W,

 

I understand your frustration and concern with this matter, I have

personally contact the quality control center at Subaru Canada. They

have relayed the concern to Japan so that they may look into the matter

and hopefully have an answer for your concern. I will inform you of the

findings as soon as I hear from them.

 

Thank you,

 

Leo

 

---------------------------------------

 

Thanks for your understanding Leo.

 

PW

Interesting that my clutch repair information was included in the post from SOA so now they have at least one dealer that has done the right thing and fixed the problem.

 

SBT

funnay, my clutch stinks as well. but only when i abuse it. hmmmmm...... tried a couple of 5k launches at the strip. and it takes practice. you can heat it up immediatly if you are not careful. but i managed to make a few with out stinking the clutch. hmmm...... my impreza has an act in it and it really lets you know when it gets warm. ..... hmmmmm.......

Interesting that my clutch repair information was included in the post from SOA so now they have at least one dealer that has done the right thing and fixed the problem.

 

SBT

 

Reading the response from the dealers it sounded like the part numbers listed were NOT the latest part numbers. Could it be that your dealer use replacement parts for an earlier version of turbo Legacy. Before the clutch stink thing started?

I think part of the problem is the ventilation system. I notice all kinds of smells coming into the car from the area of the engine compartment, including an alcohol smell when I use the windshield washer.

See :: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=196108 :: for a resolution

No clutch stink and I drive my car hard. Nothing on uphills, in reverse on inclines, zilch, nada. This isn't my first AWD/turbo car either. I think its either a driver issue or something that affects only the earlier 05s.

or something that affects only the earlier 05s.

We know that already. Why Subaru hasn't released a TSB yet, boggles my mind. Post your build date.

 

Find problem: Check

Change part in production: Check

Change part on replacement parts order: Check

Spare older customers the hassle and headache of arguing with dealers: Go to hell and die

We know that already. Why Subaru hasn't released a TSB yet, boggles my mind. Post your build date.

 

Mine's a 12/04 car and it definitely has the stinky clutch

In 2006 I had the dealer's mechanic drive my wagon up to the service desk. Stunk. Zone service rep and service writer standing there both agreed "it sure stinks, and laughed'. Since it only had 3500 mi on it, they said it takes a while to burn the protective coating off the disc (not true, still stinks at 22,000).

 

I wrote LETTERS to SOA CEO, Chief of Engin. and Service Complaint department. All my letters were simply forwarded to the same SOA Service rep I had talked to on the phone.

 

Don't waste your time.

Congrats on bumping a 4-year, 10-month old thread! I believe that's a new record!!