Japanese automaker Subaru has issued a recall order for 198,900 cars in the northeastern United States due to the threat of brake corrosion. This is the third such recall for Subaru, and the vehicles in this order were already included in the previous one last summer. The recall is for the so-called Salt Belt, 20 northern and northeastern states as far west as Minnesota and as far south as West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia.
Vehicles in these areas are especially susceptible to corrosion due to the use of salt to prevent road icing in the winter. The affected models are the 2008–14 (third and fourth generation) Subaru Impreza compact and its high-performance counterparts, the WRX and WRX STI, as well as the 2009–13 (third generation) Subaru Forester crossover.
The issue, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is a gap in the fuel tank protector which can allow salt water to splash onto the brake lines, potentially corroding them. If that happened, brake fluid could leak, reducing braking capacity, requiring more time for the vehicle to come to a full stop and increasing the threat of a crash. Subaru says that, in the last recall, dealers received "incomplete repair instructions," hence the new order.
Beginning on January 26, owners can bring their cars to their dealers for the application of an anti-corrosion wax to the brake line system's four-way joint connector area. Subaru says a light on the instrument panel will alert drivers if there is a brake fluid leak, and added that brakes will continue to work, albeit with reduced performance, in the case of a leak.
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