Refinishing and Collision Repair Precautions – 2015-2021 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid

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Bulletin Number: 12-310-21; Date: 02/11/21 Page 1 of 3 SERVICE INFORMATION BULLETIN Continued… CAUTION: VEHICLE SERVICING PERFORMED BY UNTRAINED PERSONS COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY TO THOSE PERSONS OR TO OTHERS. Subaru Service Bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians ONLY. They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur in some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper servicing of the vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do the job correctly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that this Service Bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. Subaru of America, Inc. is ISO 14001 Compliant ISO 14001 is the international standard for excellence in Environmental Management Systems. Please recycle or dispose of automotive products in a manner that is friendly to our environment and in accordance with all local, state and federal laws and regulations. NUMBER: 12-310-21 DATE: 02/11/21 APPLICABILITY: 2019-21MY Crosstrek Plug-In Hybrid 2015-16MY Crosstrek Hybrid SUBJECT: Refinishing and Collision Repair Precautions INTRODUCTION: This Service Information Bulletin provides important guidelines for collision repair facilities to follow when repairing and refinishing Crosstrek Hybrid vehicles. VERY IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS: The high voltage system operates at ranges from near 200VDC on the earlier model up to 650 VDC on the newer plug-in model. Proper working precautions MUST always be followed whenever working on or around high voltage systems to avoid personal injury. Always use appropriate personal protective equipment, tools, and testing equipment whenever working around these high voltage systems. Additional details regarding proper Hybrid servicing safety can be found in the 2014MY and 2019MY Crosstrek Hybrid Technician Reference Booklets. Whenever welding of the vehicle body is required or the vehicle needs to be pushed to a work area to initiate repairs on a Hybrid vehicle, the orange Safety Plug or Service Disconnect Plug for the Hybrid system must always be removed and stored in a safe place. Doing so reduces the risk of damage or electric shock should any welding processes or damaged vehicle components come in contact with high voltage harnesses. For Crosstrek PHEV (2019-21MY) vehicles: • Disconnect the negative (-) ground terminal from the battery. • Remove the rear cargo area floor mat. • Remove the access cover for the orange Safety Plug. ATTENTION: GENERAL MANAGER q PARTS MANAGER q CLAIMS PERSONNEL q SERVICE MANAGER q IMPORTANT – All Service Personnel Should Read and Initial in the boxes provided, right. © 2021 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Bulletin Number: 12-310-21; Date: 02/11/21 Page 2 of 3 Continued… • Remove the Safety Plug as shown: 1. Slide the lever to the left. 2. Raise the lever to vertical. 3. Pull the lever straight up to remove the orange Safety Plug. For Crosstrek Hybrid (2015-16MY) vehicles: • Disconnect the negative (-) ground terminal from the battery. For the 12v restart battery, disconnect the negative (-) ground cable from the battery sensor. IMPORTANT: Whenever reconnecting the ground cable, torque the 12mm retaining nut to 7.5 Nm / 5.5 ft. lbs. (66 inchpounds) while holding the sensor securely in position on the battery post to prevent it from rotating. DO NOT OVER-TORQUE. • Remove the rear cargo area floor mat. • Remove the orange Service Disconnect Plug as shown: 1. While pressing lock claw (a), pull up on the lever until it touches the stopper. 2. Pull straight up on the orange Service Disconnect Plug to remove it from the battery. It is common practice to “bake” the new finish to achieve the best results after application. For purposes of this bulletin, SBR has supplied the following guidelines: Bulletin Number: 12-310-21; Date: 02/11/21 Page 3 of 3 VERY IMPORTANT: • ALWAYS remove the Safety Plug / Service Disconnect Plug before baking / curing the refinish repair. In a case where the vehicle was exposed to temperatures below the ambient indoor temperature (e.g. the vehicle was outside overnight or for a period of time to cold “soak”) then brought inside, there must be ample time for the vehicle temperatures to normalize. This step is particularly important to prevent potentially damaging the hybrid battery resulting from thermal shock. The recommended time is 6 hours. • The oven temperature and baking / curing time should never exceed 50 degrees C (122 degrees Fahrenheit) for a maximum duration of 1 hour. These guidelines are applicable to both the Crosstrek Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) with LI battery and the previous model Crosstrek Hybrid with Ni-Cd battery. In the case of spot and panel refinishing repairs, infra-red (IR) finish curing methods can be used as long as the equipment manufacturer’s guidelines are followed closely. IR equipment eliminates the need to “bake” the entire vehicle, inside and out. Instead, the IR curing “heat” is directed to only the areas where it is needed to obtain the desired results. NOTE: When using IR finish curing equipment, NEVER allow a direct line of sight between the IR equipment and the hybrid battery. IMPORTANT REMINDERS: • SOA strongly discourages the printing and/or local storage of service information as previously released information and electronic publications may be updated at any time. • Always check for any open recalls or campaigns anytime a vehicle is in for servicing. • Always refer to STIS for the latest service information before performing any repairs.

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