On August 30, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a recall of 802 examples of the 2021 Subaru Impreza. In an announcement sent to dealers from Subaru that same day, the automaker warned that the affected vehicles should not be driven.
The issue stems from a left front lower control arm with an improper weld near a connection joint between the lower control arm and the crossmember. Naturally, a weakened joint could be dangerous. In the event that the weld breaks, the car could collapse onto the wheel resulting in a loss of vehicle control and an increased risk of a crash, per NHTSA.
An investigation found that the problem was caused by damaged equipment on the control arm assembly line that resulted in contact between the part ejector rod and the welding torch. The interference meant that the torch was unable to trace the proper welding path and the weld at the joint was incomplete.
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Per Subaru, the fault affects vehicles produced between February 25 and March 9, 2021, though not all of the vehicles produced between those dates are affected. Fortunately, it should be relatively simple to determine whether or not a given vehicle‘s control arm is affected, since the affected parts can be traced to vehicle production thanks to their LOT number.
Subaru says that it will warn owners of affected vehicles that their Impreza should not be driven until it can be inspected by an authorized retailer. The automaker says it will advise owners by first class mail and email on Friday, September 3.
Fortunately, Subaru says it is not aware of any reports of accidents or injury related to the issue. Replacement parts and any associated work to affected vehicles will be carried out free of charge.
