2012 Subaru Impreza

USUALLY IT SHOULD BE ON, WITH A PASSENGER SITTING IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WHILE DRIVING. BUT SINCE ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED ON WHEN THERE WAS PASSENGER SITTING IN THE CAR. THIS.HAPPENED ABOUT 5-6 TIMES DURING THE LAST 3 MONTHS. WE MADE AN APPOINTMENT AND SENT THE CAR TO GARAVEL SUBARU DEALER IN NORWALK, CT ON 9/5/13 AT THE MILAGE AROUND 29,000MILES. THEY LOOKED AT THE CAR FOR JUST 10 MINUTES AND COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUE RELATED TO THIS. SAME ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN ONCE AFTER ABOVE VISIT. I HOPE DMV COULD HELP ME TO SOLVE THIS SAFETY RELATED ISSUE BEFORE THE CAR WARRANTY EXPIRES AT 36K. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THERE WAS A KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT ALSO SAW OIL LEAKING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THERE WAS A ROD LOOSE IN CYLINDER FOUR. THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE WAS REPORTED TO THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 21,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 21,100.

FOLLOWED TOO CLOSELY THROUGH A DOUBLE INTERSECTION WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING LIGHT. POLICE OFFICER DIRECTED TRAFFIC THROUGH THE INTERSECTION BUT APPARENTLY WE HAD TO STOP BEFORE THE SECOND INTERSECTION. APPARENTLY I SLOWED DOWN ENOUGH THAT THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I INDICATED 20 BUT SURELY MY AIRBAG WOULD HAVE DEPLOYED AT THAT SPEED. WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR UNDER ITS OWN POWER OFF THE ROAD INTO A SUBWAY PARKING LOT. AS I WAS MANEUVERING INTO A PARKING SPOT THE ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. IT SEEMS STRANGE TO ME THAT IF I WAS GOING SLOW ENOUGH FOR THE AIRBAG NOT TO DEPLOY BUT FOR SOME COMPONENTS TO CATCH ON FIRE THAT THE CAR IS ROAD WORTHY. WORTH LOOKING INTO? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND ABNORMALLY TRAVELED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE UNTIL CONSTANT PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKES. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 11V562000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC); HOWEVER WAS ADVISED BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 47,000.

THIS ISSUE HAS HAPPENED TWICE, SO I FEEL IT'S NECESSARY TO REPORT IT TO THE NHTSA. THE FIRST TIME THIS ISSUE WAS HAPPENING, I WAS FOLLOWING ANOTHER CAR GOING SLIGHTLY DOWNHILL AT ABOUT 30MPH. THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT WAS 35MPH SO I FELT LIKE I WAS CONSTANTLY SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THROTTLE AND BRAKE, BUT NOT SO QUICKLY AS TO PRESS THEM AT THE SAME TIME. WHEN THIS ISSUE OCCURED, THERE WERE THREE SOLID YELLOW/ORANGE/GOLD (DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT COLORS) LIGHTS LIT UP SOLIDLY IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER: THE TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT, THE ABS LIGHT, AND THE HILL HOLD ASSIST LIGHT. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED INTO THE NEAREST PARKING LOT WHICH WAS ABOUT 15 FEET AWAY. I TRIED EVERYTHING TO GET THE LIGHTS TO GO AWAY BEFORE TURNING THE CAR OFF, AND WHEN NOTHING WORKED I FINALLY JUST CYCLED THE IGNITION OFF THEN BACK ON. ALL THREE MAGICALLY WENT AWAY BY DOING THIS. THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED WAS ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO AND I WAS LITERALLY JUST SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY ON A LEVEL SURFACE. MY HOUSE IS RECESSED INTO THE GROUND ABOUT 10 FEET FROM THE TOP OF MY DRIVEWAY, WHERE THE TOP IS ACTUALLY LEVEL AND IT IS WHERE I WAS SITTING AT. SITTING THERE, I REVVED MY ENGINE AND SLOWLY ROLLED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY (IN NEUTRAL, SO I DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE). BEFORE THE RPMS WENT BACK TO AN IDLE I STARTED ROLLING DOWN OUR DRIVEWAY (WHICH IS AT LEAST A 30 DEGREE SLOPE DOWNHILL) BUT WHEN ROLLING DOWN I WAS DEFINITELY ON THE BRAKES A LITTLE AS TO NOT GO EVEN PAST 1MPH -- SO VERY SLOW. I NOTICED ALL THREE LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN. THIS TIME I DECIDED TO LET IT SIT FOR A WHILE SO I CAN TRY EVEN MORE TROUBLESHOOTING. STILL NO RESULTS UNLESS I CYCLED THE IGNITION. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALER TODAY FOR AN ECM UPDATE THEY SENT ME IN THE MAIL, AND THEY SAID THEY DID SEE A "BRAKE SWITCH ERROR" FOR CODE "HISTORY" BUT THERE WERE NO CURRENT CODES. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH SHOWS HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.

I BACKED UP IN MY DRIVEWAY AND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE AND I NOTICED A LAG TIME OF ABOUT 2 SECONDS SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE. I CONTACTED THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND THE STAFF ASSURED ME THAT WAS NORMAL FOR THE CVT TRANSMISSION. WHEN I TOOK THE SUBARU IMPREZA FOR THE 2500 MILE CHECK UP AND SPOKE TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP, HE ALSO FELT THAT THIS WAS A SAFETY ISSUE ESPECIALLY WHEN BACKING UP INTO TRAFFIC AND WAITING FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND IT'S "SLOW ENGAGEMENT" INTO DRIVE. HE HAS EXPRESSED HIS VIEWS TO SUBARU AND LIKE ME HAS BEEN ASSURED IT'S OK. I STILL FEEL IT'S A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

THE AIRBAGS IN THIS VEHICLE TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING (DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE DASHBOARD ICONS INDICATE AIRBAGS ARE TURNED OFF). VEHICLE MUST BE STOPPED AND RESTARTED FOR THE AIRBAGS TO TURN BACK ON. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP TO ELECTRONIC INTERFERENCE - PASSENGER USE OF IPHONE OR IPAD MAY BE INVOLVED - BUT IT HAS HAPPENED WITH NO PASSENGER AS WELL. THIS HAPPENED 5 TIMES IN ONE DAY RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH ALTITUDE (PIKES PEAK, CO). PROBABLY RELATED: THE SEAT BELT ALARM HAS GONE OFF WHEN IPHONE IS PLACED ON EMPTY PASSENGER SEAT WHILE DRIVING. *TR