[SPA941]

Subaru faces lawsuit for piston ring defects leading to potential engine failure

Subaru allegedly violated a consumer fraud act leading to faulty piston rings in select vehicles that increase oil consumption and may lead to engine failure without warning.

A lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Camden, New Jersey claiming affected vehicles were burning off engine oil prematurely and/or in excessive amounts and that Subaru has not fixed the problem, dumping the responsibility of costly repairs on customers. A prepared statement from law firm Chimicles & Tikellis even says Subary may have even passed off the problem as normal. Plaintiffs on record are Keith Yaeger from Escondido, California and Michael Schuler from Lakeland, Florida. Yaeger owns a 2014 Forester while Schuler had a 2013 Outback. The two are looking to give the lawsuit class-action status.

The lawsuit seeks an order requiring Subaru to recall affected vehicles to address the problem, but remuneration for damages are unspecified. Affected models include: the 2011-14 Forester, 2013 Legacy and 2013 Outback, all with 2.5-liter engines, as well as the 2012 Impreza and the 2013 XV Crosstek, both with 2-liter engines.

The oil consumption issue is problematic because it can lead to engine failure regardless of the mode of operation in an affected vehicle at any time under any kind of driving speed or condition. No one has actually been reported to have suffered engine failure in any of the listed vehicles with the defect but the problem still exposes drivers and passengers and others on the road with them to increased risks of accident or injury and even death.

Subaru released a statement saying the company is aware that a lawsuit has been filed against them. "While we believe the oil consumption of our vehicles to be within acceptable levels, we continually work to reduce the amount of consumable goods, such as oil, that our vehicles require to operate," added Michael McHale, Subaru spokesman.

In September and December 2013, Subaru issued "technical service bulletins" which alerted dealers to rising complaints about the excessive consumption of engine oil. Revised bulletins were issued in May of this year as well. This means that Subaru has acknowledged the problem and even suggested a repair, but said repair should have been covered by the company's powertrain warranty for nearly all affected models.

Just this month, Subaru also recalled over 660,000 vehicles due to a problem in brake lines that leads to rusting and fluid leakage, potentially increasing the time it takes for a vehicle to stop.