2011 Subaru OUTBACK - SERVICE BRAKES Failure Complaint (#b0af35)

2011 Subaru OUTBACK

• Date of Incident: Jan-02, 2024
• Date complaint filed: Mar-24, 2024
• Failed components: SERVICE BRAKES

The parking brake actuator has failed. A recall already exists for this exact component but only extends to manual transmission vehicles. The recall for manual transmission vehicles is # 18v626000; the latest version of the part in question is subaru part #26002aj01e. The recall refers to a manufacturer defect. The quoted repair price for this issue is over $1300; the part alone is $850. At that price, many people (including me) simply cannot afford the repair and will have to forgo the added layer of safety provided by the parking brake. It is clear subaru is aware of a manufacturer defect impacting a safety critical part but has minimized their costs by restricting the recall to a small subset of vehicles. Additionally, given that subaru is charging $850 for a relatively simple component, subaru may be seeking to profit from their own mistake. I request that nhtsa require subaru to extend the recall to all vehicles with that component, not just the ones with manual transmissions. While automatic transmission vehicles have the parking gear manual transmission vehicles lack, i can think of a number of circumstances in which a parking brake could be critical. Barring that, i request nhtsa order the manufacturer of that component to provide repairs free of charge in the event of a failure.

Vehicle VIN Info