My 2005 Legacy GT is part of the Takata air bag recall and (so far) it involves the front passenger-side air bag. I have been dragging my heels on taking it in partly because of the parts availablity (or I should say lack thereof), but moreso because I want the techs to have some experience under their belts with this procedure. Has anyone had this repair performed yet, or have any of the techs that are on here done any of these yet? I'm willing to go to any dealer in the metro if someone has had good luck with one particular shop. I realize it is an eleven year old car, but my dash is in really good shape cosmetically and I have no rattles and I would like to keep it that way. Any info or experience is appreciated. Thanks.
Here's the status here at Miller Hill Subaru in Duluth. I assume other dealers will be similar, I know Subaru was providing parts based on region (Hot and Humid areas are at much higher risk of contamination) and my understanding was that we were some of the last to get them, but that could be wrong. '05-'09 Legacy/Outback inflators are readily available. We (Miller Hill Subaru in Duluth) typically have between 10 and 20 in stock, and have done almost 350 since they started to trickle in in February. We also stock '04-'05 Impreza inflators. Those are even more available as the recall is about a year old. They just added most 2003 and all 2004 Legacy/Outback models and '03-'06 Bajas, those inflators are available but not quite as readily. I guess some '06-'11 Imprezas (Including WRX and STi), '09-'11 Foresters, '10-'11 Leg/OBK and '06-'11 Tribecas are effected as well. No parts availability yet for those. Subaru's website for more information: http://www.subaru.com/vehicle-recalls/airbags.html And VIN search to see if your vehicle is included: http://www.subaru.com/vehicle-recalls.html
I received a letter from Subaru over a year ago, it stated that I was not to bring the car in until I received another letter letting me know that the parts are in.
That's what I remember too...been awhile since I read that letter. A number of people on LegacyGT.com have had the work done and that has been in the back of my mind and prompted me to inquire about it. I find it interesting that Chux states the inflator I need is "readily available", but I have yet to receive another contact from Subaru. Maybe I need to take a road trip to Duluth. (Thanks for the info Chux).
Subaru probably figures it's less money out of their pocket if the average consumer doesn't take the initiative to have the recall done. I'll likely call White Bear or Morries soon and bitch a fit about pregnant wife, unborn child, claymore mines in my dashboard worse than what I faced in Iraq, really make it into a production and see if I can get this stupid thing settled.
That is very interesting. As of this moment, there are 32,180 of those inflators ('05-09 Legacy/Outback) in distribution warehouses in North America, and while that's probably not enough to cover all the cars effected, I wouldn't call that a shortage. Every batch of them that we've ordered for the last several months has arrived the next day. I have very little information about the notification side of it, but it's possible that they're still in the process of staggered notification to get the higher-risk cars done first. I got a call from a woman last week who had received the notification on her '04-'05 Impreza over a year ago that said they would notify when parts were available, and she still hasn't received it; service got her in here the next day. What I do know, is we have them, and AFAIK we haven't turned anybody away for probably 4 months (again, on the '05-'08 Legacy/Outback parts, '09 is the same part, but was only added to the list a few weeks ago).
I really should know what Chux does at the dealership (technician, service writer, salesman, owner, etc), but I am sad to say I haven't retained the necessary clues. Do you have any idea the extent of disassembly needed for the 4th gen Legacy? I have seen conflicting info as to whether or not the whole dash has to come out, or if the glove box, end panel, and center stack is all that is needed to access the air bag. Thanks again Chux.
Sorry, I should have said. I'm in the parts department, which is why I don't know all the details on notifications and such... The service bulletin says to take the whole dash out. But from what I understand from the techs, it is possible to sneak the inflator out without removing completely.
I'm not familiar with that. I see a TSB for '05-'06s that involves taking out the dash and modifying some of the mounting clips, I assume that's what you're referring to. AFAIK, that's not SOP, but I'm sure if you mention it, they'd do it.
The whole effing dash???...I might just take the front passenger seat out and call it good. There is NO way something is not gonna get borked during that.
My Saabaru is due for recall on air bag and control arms. Had to call 1800 Saab line to get info. Schmelz offered to do it but only during the convenient hours of 8-430 m-F. Something about control arms take a bit to get in the shop and the airbag could be done in an hour? Do most dealers do body work also? Some stupid lady rear ended me on the way to work. Cracked my rear bumper. Was very slow speed... Maybe I could just bring to dealer to have them do all these at once?
We don't do body work in-house, but we can contract it out, and have it all on the same repair order/bill, and drop off and pick up the car here. AFAIK that's fairly normal.
Well, I decided to bite the bullet and have this done. Service writer said they have a tech at the dealer dedicated to air bag replacements and he has done many of them. So I think "maybe this will go OK after all". I had the cooling system serviced and a rear wheel bearing replaced at the same visit, so they had the car two full days (it was pronounced finished before noon on there second day however). While waiting in line to pay for my service, I watched the shenanigans going on in there service drop-off line of cars. It appeared to be a sales person installing new plates or something on a recently purchased vehicle. He was dinking around with the plate and frame on the front of a Crosstrek with a cordless drill/driver. Why anyone would need such a tool when the screws thread into only the plastic bumper cover I have no idea. Anyway, he had the plate and frame spinning around against the bumper like a propeller - based on the clock-wise rotation I think he was trying to insert the first screw. I told the service writer that I didn't think it was a good idea to let the sales staff handle the tools...I'm not sure he understood what I was referring to. So...I get my car home (it was raining quite hard on the drive home so I was concentrating more on driving than on inspecting the condition of my interior) and the next day once I get the car out into the sunlight I find a couple of things. Let's just say I none too surprised with what I found. And my wife wonders why I am the pessimist that I am.
My guess for the first pic is wedding ring. Mine has done that to my steering wheel multiple times. Second is just uncalled for altogether. They should be able to work on the vehicles without them leaving their shop with less value than they came in with.
Miller Hill in Duluth did my 04 Sti, I called and they had the parts the next day. The repair took them a little over a half hour.
Where did this all take place? I hope it wasn't Morrie's Minnetonka Subaru. I can't explain the steering wheel but the nick by the vent is uncalled for. We have specific plastic tools for that. As for the plate installation shenanigans, the sales staff are very much not supposed to touch the cars for anything remotely mechanical. This was expressed again, quite thoroughly, during a meeting I attended this morning. I hope the monkey fisted SOB pays for the paint correction out of pocket.
The scuffs on the steering wheel are at the 2 o'clock position and I am sure they were not there before (plus wrong hand position for wedding ring). From the dash removal threads I have looked at it appears that the dash pad will come out without removing the steering wheel. I suspect there is something rough or sharp on the bottom of the dash pad and it scraped the wheel when the dash was lifted out (or back in) over the steering wheel. I thought about taking the cubby/vent assembly out (as I too have those plastic tools), but I have never had it out and am not sure where exactly the tabs are and how I should be prying it out. I figured that someone who has done a few should have a better chance of doing it without damage than I would have. I did remove the shifter bezel and the trim on the sides of the radio as I had those painted and knew Subaru wouldn't paint them again if they got scratched. At this point in the car's life (11 model years old, but only 71,000 miles), I really don't expect anyone to give a rat's a$$, but I'm unsure if I should pursue complaining. I know some of the detail guys can work miracles with all sorts of defects on used (and new) cars, so maybe they would have him take a shot at making things look better. Another part of me says to just save the aggravation and move on with life.
