Subaru and Saab preliminary evaluation PE11011
Front suspension control arm failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the control arm on 14 model years (2002–2008). Opened Apr 7, 2011, closed Sep 23, 2011 after 6 months. It led to safety recall 11V464000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn September 6, 2011, Fuji Heavy Industries USA, Inc, on behalf of Subaru of America, Inc notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (MY) 2002 through 2007 Subaru Impreza, MY 2003 through 2008 Subaru Forester, and MY 2005 through 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the District of Columbia (DC). For the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and DC. ODI's analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a salt belt state. Through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to ODI by Subaru, ODI identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a salt belt state. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2005 Saab 9-2X; 2006 Saab 9-2X; 2003 Subaru Forester; 2004 Subaru Forester; 2005 Subaru Forester; 2006 Subaru Forester; 2007 Subaru Forester; 2008 Subaru Forester; 2002 Subaru Impreza; 2003 Subaru Impreza; 2004 Subaru Impreza; 2005 Subaru Impreza; 2006 Subaru Impreza; 2007 Subaru Impreza.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE11011 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 11V464000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE11011 still open?
No. It closed on Sep 23, 2011 and led to recall 11V464000.
Which vehicles does PE11011 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 14 model years: 2005 Saab 9-2X, 2006 Saab 9-2X, 2003 Subaru Forester, 2004 Subaru Forester, 2005 Subaru Forester, 2006 Subaru Forester and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.