Recall - Exhaust Leak/Noise
NUMBER: WZQ-45DATE: July 15, 1991
APPLICABILITY:
All 1987-1990MY Justy Vehicles
SUBJECT:
EPR Exhaust Noise
Subaru of America has determined all 1987-1990 Model Year Federal/California Justy vehicles may experience breakage of the flex joint in front of the rear exhaust pipe (EPR) resulting in an exhaust leak upstream of the rear catalytic converter. The cause of the failure is oxidation of the flex joint under high exhaust gas temperature (high engine speed and high engine load) which exceeds the design temperature of the flex joint material. A crack occurs in the flex joint as a result of the stress of vibration during the severe driving condition. Once a crack occurs, exhaust noise may be heard by the vehicle operator.
Therefore, Subaru of America will notify all potentially affected 1987-1990MY Justy vehicle owners that if their vehicle has developed a noticeable exhaust noise, they should contact their Subaru Dealer who will replace the rear exhaust pipe with an improved part and a new muffler at no cost to the owner.
VEHICLES INVOLVED
The vehicles included in this campaign are all 1987-1990MY Federal/California Specification Justy models.
Potentially affected vehicles have been identified by Vehicle Identification Number computer listings. These computer listings contain the complete Vehicle Identification Number, owner name and address data, and are furnished to the dealers with this bulletin. Owner name and address data furnished will enable dealers to follow-up with owners involved in this campaign.
These listings may contain owner names and addresses obtained from State Motor Vehicle Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any other purpose is a violation of law in several states. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this listing to the follow-up necessary to complete this campaign. Any dealer not receiving a computer listing with the campaign bulletin has no involved vehicles currently assigned.
OWNER NOTIFICATION
SOA will prepare and mail an Owner Notification Letter and a two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form to the owners of all potentially affected vehicles. The owner notification mailing is scheduled for mid-July 1991. A copy of the Owner Notification Letter and a sample two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form are included in this bulletin.
DEALER CAMPAIGN RESPONSIBILITY
Dealers are to promptly repair all affected vehicles presented for repair which have developed a noticeable exhaust noise in the EPR with an improved part and a new muffler assembly at no cost to the owner regardless of the vehicle's age or mileage. When you are presented a two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form by a Subaru owner, follow the instructions presented in the Service Procedure section of this bulletin.
In accordance with the service procedure of emission campaign WZQ-45 there is no reimbursement without the new EPR/muffler kit replacement. (Please refer to section "Parts Information" for parts applicability.) Rear exhaust pipe/muffler kit replacement is based on your confirmation that the vehicle has developed the exhaust noise/leakage symptoms in the flex joint portion of the EPR and the vehicle is included in the VIN ranges specified. Replacement of the rear exhaust pipe/muffler assembly for vehicles which were previously repaired in accordance with Campaign WZQ-45 is not necessary. For further details, please refer to the sections entitled "Service Procedure" and "Recall Impact on Customer Satisfaction.")
Whenever a vehicle subject to this campaign or any open campaign is taken into vehicle inventory, or is in your dealership for service in the future, you should check for exhaust noise/leakage symptoms. If a rear exhaust leak exists, be sure the campaign correction has been made before selling or releasing the vehicle.
Owners of vehicles recently sold from your vehicle inventory within the VIN range listed are to be contacted by the dealer, and arrangements should be made to make the required correction according to instructions contained in this bulletin.
PARTS INFORMATION
Quantities of the EPR/muffler and replacement exhaust gaskets are only available as a kit through your normal parts supply.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
1) Verify that the vehicle is included in the VIN range listed and has not been repaired.
2) Lift the vehicle and remove the existing EPR assembly following the procedures in the applicable Justy Service Manual Section 2-9 and retain all attachment hardware.
NOTE:
UNDER THIS CAMPAIGN, ONLY ONE EPR/MUFFLER KIT REPLACEMENT IS ALLOWED PER VIN. DUPLICATE CLAIMS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE EPR/MUFFLER WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.
IF YOU ENCOUNTER A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT INVOLVING A RATTLE IN THE NEW EPR ASSEMBLIES P/N'S 744007870, 744007880, 744007890 AND 744007900 PLEASE REFER TO SUBARU TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 09-29-91.
3) Install a new EPR/muffler kit using new exhaust gaskets included in the kit and the attachment hardware from Step 2. See campaign bulletin section entitled "Parts Information" for parts applicability.
4) Apply the Campaign Completion Label.
5) All replaced EPRs must be handled according to the current SOA warranty parts policy.
CAMPAIGN IDENTIFICATION LABEL
Each vehicle corrected in accordance with the instructions outlined in this bulletin will require a "Campaign Completion Label." This label is to be affixed to the surface of the radiator core support which will be visible when the vehicle is brought in for periodic servicing by the owner. Apply the "Campaign Completion Label" only on a clean dry surface.
A quantity of 50 labels are being provided to each dealer with this bulletin. Additional quantities of these labels are available through your local regional office or Distributor.
CLAIM PROCESSING INFORMATION - REIMBURSEMENT
Credit for the performance of the rear exhaust pipe/muffler kit replacement plus applicable exhaust gaskets will be provided from the two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form. Therefore, it is very important that all information on the form be completed and correct.
All claims for reimbursement should follow the procedures outlined below.
You must complete the repairing dealer section of the two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form and remove and retain the first copy for your records.
Star System Dealers may enter the applicable information using the Campaign Claim (RY) routine.
Non Star System dealers will be reimbursed upon submission of the remaining copy of the Recall Certification/Repair Order Form to your Distributor/Region in an envelope with postage prepaid.
Dealers will be credited with 0.6 labor hours at their approved warranty labor rate plus dealer cost and handling allowance for the rear exhaust pipe replacement/muffler kit and applicable exhaust gaskets on the two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form. Retail states will receive reimbursement at suggested retail cost.
As indicated in Step 3 of the Service Procedure, attachment hardware should be reused. However, if it is necessary to replace the attachment hardware an MSA-400A must be submitted listing individual part numbers. The MSA-400A must be submitted following normal procedures, using operation number 101-101 (0.0 hours), failure code WZQ-45 and override code WZQ-45.
OWNER REIMBURSEMENT
If an owner of an affected vehicle inquires about reimbursement for the rear catalytic exhaust pipe plus applicable exhaust gaskets and attachment hardware repair costs which was performed prior to this campaign (WZQ-45) and the owner paid for these repairs, please instruct the owner to follow the procedures stated within 90 days from the date on the owner notification letter.
The owner must forward the original or original carbon copy of the repair invoice, which has complete information including date of repair, vehicle mileage, vehicle identification number and name, with correct address and telephone number, to the address listed below:
Subaru of America
Attention: Recall Headquarters
Subaru Plaza
P.O. Box 6000, 2235 Rt. 70 West
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
Please have the owner send original receipts only and retain a photocopy for his/her records. Please assure the owner that we will attempt to process his/her reimbursement request as quickly as possible, but it may take as long as 90-120 days for this process to be completed.
RECALL IMPACT ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
The recall is a positive effort on our part to satisfy our owners and should be presented as such to the customer.
If a customer has an exhaust system problem that is not directly related to Campaign WZQ-45 take the extra effort to explain your findings to him/her. This may address the customer's concern in the event that additional diagnosis and/or service is required at the customer's expense. This extra effort to explain the situation will show the customer that you value him/her.
Recognize and respect the inconvenience this situation may be for the customer and thank them for their interest in keeping their Subaru properly maintained.
OWNER NOTIFICATION MATERIALS
OWNER LETTER
July, 1991
SUBARU OF AMERICA
Subaru Plaza
P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
Dear Subaru Owner:
Subaru of America has determined that some 1987 through 1990 model Justy vehicles may experience a possible exhaust gas leak upstream of the rear catalytic converter. If your vehicle has developed a noticeable exhaust noise, you should contact your Subaru Dealer who will replace the rear exhaust pipe with an improved part and a new muffler at no cost to you regardless of your vehicle's age or mileage.
Please contact your Subaru Dealer for corrective action. The labor time to perform this campaign procedure is approximately 40 minutes. However, please plan to leave your Subaru vehicle at your Subaru Dealer for the full day of your scheduled appointment to allow the dealer some flexibility in scheduling other customers.
You must present the enclosed two-part Recall Certification/Repair Order Form to our Subaru Dealer at the time this determination and repair procedure is performed. If you lose this form, please contact the Customer Relations Department of the Subaru Distributor/Region responsible for your area shown on the map in this letter. You will then be sent a new form. If you are no longer in possession of this vehicle, please complete the enclosed prepaid postcard and mail it to us so that we may update our records.
In the event that you paid for these repairs, you may be entitled to reimbursement for the rear exhaust pipe and attachment hardware repair costs. Please send the original service repair order, which has complete information including date of repair, vehicle mileage, vehicle identification number and your name, with correct address and telephone number, to the address listed below within 90 days from the date of this letter.
Recall Headquarters Subaru America P.O. Box 6000 Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000
Please send original receipts only and retain a photocopy for your records. Please be assured that we will attempt to process your reimbursement request as quickly as possible, but it may take as long as 90 days for this process to be completed.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause you. However, we have taken this action in the interest of your continued satisfaction with our product.