Recalls: Your Subaru Baja May Self-Immolate
It is our solemn duty to inform you that your Subaru Baja could be trying to light itself, and by extension, you, on fire.
The problem is a leaky fuel hose which could spray enough gas around your engine to light it on fire. As you can imagine, this is not ideal for you. The problem affects 2005-2006 Bajas, of which there are 15,633.
If you own one of these cars, you may contact Subaru to have a new fuel pump installed, free of charge: 1-800-782-2783
SUBARU / BAJA [NHTSA]
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Comments:
Wow, I knew the Baja didn't sell well, but only 15,633 over two model years? Sheesh.
It looks better on fire.
@AreYouConfusedYet?HowAboutNow?: But factor in how many of them can drive WELL and you have about 15,633 drivers, none of them with Bajas. The fact the numbers match up is merely coincidence. =P
I drive a PT Cruiser. It is, in fact, uglier than the Baja and if it were to explode it would only be an improvement.
Yeah, but 30 years from now all the rappers will be begging to put one in their music videos.
Yeah, if your Baja does this, it is doing you a favor. Just hope you aren't in it and it isn't in your garage when it happens.
Ghostrider sees no problems here.
I can't believe they even sell 7,000 of those... things per year. Are Subaru's generally good cars?
Why does it only apply to Bajas? It's mostly a Legacy, certainly any part under the hood. It's an ugly car, but I'd have one. I always kind of liked it.
@cordeduroi: Subarus are excellent, particularly for those of us who deal with 5 months of snow every year. The Baja is rather ugly, though, and the back "cargo area" is too small to be useful for anything.
1. Buy crappy car.
2. Let crappy car explode.
3. ????
4. PROFIT
@SagarikaLumos: Often times you'll see recalls that only apply to a thousand or less of the same car from the same year... it could be something as simple as a temporary malfunction with a piece of equipment at the factory.
I think these Bajas are trying to off themselves because they're angry for being Bajas.
Quick, before the patriotic nincompoops chime in with "buy american"...
My mother had to deal with a similar issue in her '89 Ford Escort back in the day. There was a flaw in the ignition switch that could cause the car to start on its own, and worse, the resulting spark could start the steering column on fire. It was a $5 fix (changing out one tiny piece of plastic) but that's little consolation to someone who just had their garage burned down by their car. Thankfully, my mom's car never went boom, though that garage IS long gone now, for different reasons...
@cordeduroi: Subies are AMAZING cars, which is why I'm really surprised to see this. My almost-10-year-old Legacy is still in almost perfect shape. Especially if you live in a snowy climate, you cannot get a better car for the price than a Subaru. (I don't work for them, I'm just a fangirl.)
NICE
@cordeduroi: My wife says her 2000 Forester is the best car she's ever owned. It has needed very little in the way of repairs, and it'll probably last at least another five years.
My friend bought one of these. Kinda fails on all fronts. Small storage (compared to a truck). Gets the same gas mileage as a truck (bad), has a turbo, but is relatively slow, while being expensive to maintain (parts). Guess it was a good idea on paper.
My husband has a 97 Subaru Legacy that he absolutely loves. It has just under 200k & the biggest repair was a waterpump. That car is great in the winter months & he has ever intention of driving it until it dies.
I'm beginning to think the beast has a life of it's own & mocks me for wanting to trade it in for a newer model. As for the Baja, maybe they want to die a firey death because they could never live up to the Subaru name.
@roothorick: I wasn't going to say "Buy American", but I was going to ask if Subaru was taking design tips from Ford. FoMoCo seems to have a knack for designing cars susceptible to fires due to various causes.
Baha ha ha ha!
@Preyfar:
I drive a PT Cruiser ... if it were to explode it would only be an improvement.I think i like you.
Except for that whole "driving a PT Cruiser" thing.
Consumerist, obviously no recall is ever something you want to happen in the first place, but I think your wording is a little sensationalist. "...a leaky fuel hose which could spray enough gas around your engine to light it on fire". The recall refers to lines coming off the fuel pump, which is in the back of the car underneath the area between the rear seats and the trunk, and is very near the underneath surface of the car (ie. its not just hanging out in the open). under no conceivable circumstance could i imagine fuel spraying from there to the the engine. obviously any gas leaking would be a problem, but any ignition source would probably come from the rear driveline elements, or perhaps rocks flying up into the underbody of the car.
Just trying to avoid confusion... If the problem were in the engine bay then that would be another story, but its not
That's 15,633 too many. That is one ugly car.