Subaru bulletin WRQ-23R
What it says(Subaru) has initiated a safety recall for certain 2021 model year Crosstrek vehicles, certain 2022 model year Forester, and certain 2021-2023 model year Legacy and Outback vehicles. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Subaru filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Mar 19, 2024, received Feb 2, 2024, about the equipment — 2 documents under this number. It names 8 model years (2021–2023). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) has initiated a safety recall for certain 2021 model year Crosstrek vehicles, certain 2022 model year Forester, and certain 2021-2023 model year Legacy and Outback vehicles. This recall may contain an inhibitor switch that was manufactured with an insufficient weld between the switch stator and cover allowing water intrusion.
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRQ-23R | Service bulletin | Mar 19, 2024 | 10252490 | PDF, 3,054 KB |
| WRQ-23R | Service bulletin | Jan 31, 2024 | 10249608 | PDF, 2,611 KB |
What the document itself lists
The manufacturer titles it “Safety Recall – Transmission Inhibitor”.
Part the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99804AN070 | — | — |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (19 pages), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches Subaru’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.
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The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 8 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,137 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 33 of them name Power Train — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
My new 2022 Forester Wildness is equipped with an automate "Start and Stop" function which (while driving) shuts the engine off if the sits still too long in traffic or a stop light. While the car has a button to disable this function. You must press the button every time you start the car to disable the auto SS.
2022 Subaru Forester · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Sep 6, 2022
Car intermittently will studder and not go into first gear or go into second gear dangerously having car bog down and almost stall and then it violently downshifts having car RMP Hague go very high then slip and have no power to wheels and then a few seconds later go into second gear violently taking off again.
2021 Subaru Legacy · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Nov 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, while downshifting gears the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure.
2021 Subaru Crosstrek · Power Train · filed with NHTSA Dec 1, 2021
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the equipment
Source: same model, same component group26 other manufacturer communications filed against these Subaru models under the same component group (equipment), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Subaru list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-249-23R | Service bulletin | May 13, 2026 | This bulletin announces the recommended cleaning procedures to followed when encountering vehicles with long time exposure to pollen on pain… |
| 15-130-08R | Service bulletin | Oct 29, 2025 | This bulletin details an important regulation issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which impacts the way som… |
| 17-17-13R | Service bulletin | Jul 10, 2025 | NOTE: The Airbag systems used on previous and current WRX, STI and Tribeca models are NOT equipped with EDR functionality. This Bulletin p… |
| 15-256-19R | Service bulletin | Jul 10, 2025 | This bulletin provides information on a new reprogramming procedure (FOTA) to optimize the Harman Gen 3.1 Audio and Navigation head units… |
| 03-91-23R | Service bulletin | Apr 23, 2024 | This bulletin announces the design change made to the front drive axle shaft assemblies to address cases of a clicking/cracking-type sound h… |
| FAQ 15-318-24R | Service bulletin | Apr 22, 2024 | T16 VoLTE Warranty Extension (15-318-24R) Frequently Asked Questions. |
| 09-118-24 | Service bulletin | Apr 4, 2024 | This bulletin the announces diagnostic procedures and availability of new Engine Control Module (ECM) reprogramming files to address DTC P24… |
| 09-80-21R | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2024 | This bulletin announces availability of a new thermo control valve assembly. The new valve contains an enhanced stainless steel internal sha… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Subaru, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Subaru WRQ-23R a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the WRQ-23R repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does WRQ-23R cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 8 model years: 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Forester, 2023 Subaru Legacy, 2022 Subaru Legacy, 2021 Subaru Legacy, 2023 Subaru Outback and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2021 Crosstrek: built 8 Feb 2021 – 30 Jul 2021; 2022 Forester: built 26 Jul 2021 – 27 Jul 2021; 2021-2023 Legacy: built 18 Mar 2021 – 25 Aug 2022 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.