Crankshaft Bearing Warranty Extension – 2012-2014 Subaru WRX & 2012-2017 STI

NHTSA ID Number: 10160492

Manufacturer Communication Number: 02-181-19

Summary

In the interest of customer satisfaction, Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is extending the New Car Limited Powertrain Warranty coverage for the turbocharged 2.5L “EJ” short block assembly used in the above listed models and model years from the original five (5) years or sixty thousand (60,000) miles (whichever comes first) to eight (8) years or one-hundred thousand (100,000) miles (whichever comes first). This change is in response to an identified condition that can lead to isolated crankshaft bearing (main and / or connecting rod bearing) failures.

 

9 Affected Products

Vehicles

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
SUBARU	WRX	2012-2014
SUBARU	WRX STI	2012-2017

 

---

INTRODUCTION:

In the interest of customer satisfaction, Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is extending the New Car Limited Powertrain Warranty coverage for the turbocharged 2.5L “EJ” short block assembly used in the above listed models and model years from the original five (5) years or sixty thousand (60,000) miles (whichever comes first) to eight (8) years or one-hundred thousand (100,000) miles (whichever comes first).  This change is in response to an identified condition that can lead to isolated crankshaft bearing (main and / or connecting rod bearing) failures.  Our commitment remains to provide Subaru customers with added assurance regarding the function and overall performance of their vehicle.  Customers will be notified of this Warranty Extension by mail.

NOTE:  ALWAYS perform a Vehicle Coverage Inquiry on Subarunet to determine eligibility for this warranty extension before proceeding with any inspection or repair.  See sample inquiry result below.

IMPORTANT:  This crankshaft bearing Warranty Extension is subject to the same terms and conditions set forth in the New Car Limited Powertrain Warranty.  The warranty extension is only applicable to the original equipment short block assembly and Genuine Subaru replacement assemblies.  It does not apply to salvage yard engines, rebuilt, reconstructed or salvage vehicles, or engine assemblies which have been overhauled, remanufactured or rebuilt by parties other than those approved by Subaru of America, Inc.  See individual vehicle Powertrain Warranty coverage for details as outlined in the applicable Warranty and Maintenance Supplement booklet or the Claims Policies and Procedures Manual.

 

SERVICE PROCEDURE:

When a customer presents a vehicle for consideration of engine repairs to be covered by this Warranty Extension, a Retailer Technician will perform an “initial” inspection to determine if there are any obvious excluding conditions or other modifications to the vehicle which would exclude it from coverage.  A specific list of “Excluding Conditions” is provided below.  Any concerns found which would preclude coverage of a short block failure under the terms of this warranty extension must be documented fully following the process outlined in the Claims Policy and Procedure Manual, Section 8.4.45.2.  See Appendix A at the end of this bulletin for a copy of the report form.

• If the vehicle passes this initial inspection, the Retailer must secure advanced authorization from the customer for a more “in-depth” inspection or “tear-down” of the engine to the extent needed for determining the root cause of failure. The authorization amount is to be agreed upon between the Retailer and the customer.  It will apply if the root cause is determined to be the result of abuse or modification, including any of the “Excluding Conditions” listed below, or any other outside influence that would disqualify it from coverage under the Warranty Extension.
• If the in-depth inspection reveals the failure is not a result of abuse or modification, including any of the “Excluding Conditions” listed below or any other outside influence, then the engine repairs (including the tear-down expense) would be covered under the terms of the Warranty Extension.
• If the in-depth inspection reveals that the failure is the result of abuse or modification, including any of the “Excluding Conditions” listed below, or any other outside influence precluding coverage, then the engine repairs would not be covered under the terms of the Warranty Extension.

“Excluding Conditions” means any of the conditions listed below.  If any one of these conditions currently exists or previously existed in the vehicle, then it will be excluded from any coverage under the terms of this Warranty Extension.

• Any modifications to the Engine Control Module (ECM) or any ECM “tune” whether currently installed or “unmarried” (e.g. COBB Accessport, RomRaider, etc.)
• Any “piggyback” device designed to intercept and alter ECM signals or “standalone” ECM (e.g. UTEC, A’PEXi, MegaSquirt, etc.)
• Any aftermarket air-fuel controller
• Any device or modification designed to increase boost from the turbocharger
• Any type of “manual” boost controller
• Any type of aftermarket boost control solenoid
• Any use of aftermarket or modified Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor, Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor, other related sensors or electrical circuits / wiring
• Any type of waste gate pressure restrictor
• Any aftermarket or modified turbocharger
• Any front-mounted intercooler with aftermarket hot or cold-side piping
• Any modification to the Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) boost control system or related hoses
• Any aftermarket or non-factory specification camshafts
• Any type of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) injection system
• Any use of E85 fuel
• Any use of alcohol, methanol or water injection
• Any use of fuel injectors which have a non-OEM specification flow rate
• Any modification to OEM exhaust system components and / or emission control systems upstream of and including catalytic converters
• Any evidence of vehicle usage in a competitive automotive event (e.g. drag racing, street racing, road racing, SOLO competition, etc.) other than for static display
• Any broken connecting rod (e.g. broken from engine RPM above OEM-specified limit or “redline”)
• Any ECM data recovered showing Max Data values well over set limits (e.g. excessive engine RPM caused by a missed shift, improper downshifting or other cause).
• Evidence of any of the above listed Excluding Conditions having been removed prior to the vehicle’s arrival at the Retailer including those done by prior vehicle owners or drivers.

In addition to the excluding conditions outlined above and in accordance with standard Subaru warranty terms, failures caused by an outside influence would also be excluded from coverage.  Examples of outside influence include:

• Bearing failure due to engine immersion in or engine ingestion of water
• Bearing failure as a result of accident / collision damage
• Bearing failure as a result of engine overheating.

PLEASE NOTE:  The following conditions or modifications, whether currently or previously present in or on the vehicle, shall not alone or collectively exclude it from coverage under the terms of this Warranty Extension:

• Installation of a Genuine Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT) or aftermarket “cat-back” exhaust system installed after (or downstream of) the rear OEM catalytic converter
• Installation of an atmospheric “blow-off” valve
• Installation of an aftermarket “cold-air” intake and / or aftermarket top-mounted intercooler.

---

---

NUMBER: 02-181-19
DATE: 03/11/19

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=10160492

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10160492-9999.pdf

 

---

 

Last update on 2024-04-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

This product presentation was made with AAWP plugin.