Unfortunately, about 5000 cross-border trucks and cars have recently been recalled as potential failures related to the interpretation of driving distance. Subaru Australia specially released the recall notice of 2018 Subaru Outback and Reverty models. Why does this happen and what impact will it have on you? Let’s take a closer look at what happened.
Instrument panel cluster(CMD)
Subaru reported that there may be programming errors in the Outback and Reserve models. This error code is located in the CMD, so the distance indicator may not be correct. CMD is very important to ensure the correct fuel supply distance. If the interpretation is not accurate, the driver will be stranded due to no fuel. But Subaru quickly pointed out that if the fuel level drops to a critical low point, the low fuel warning light will still be on.
This may have more impact on some drivers
Many modern car drivers will soon begin to rely on various visual feedback devices. CMD also did not find any drivers paying attention to the low fuel warning. Nevertheless, CMD is a useful device, and Subaru knows that errors should be corrected. In the end, if the car runs out of fuel when it is least expected, the engine is likely to stall and cannot be restarted. In some cases, this may become a safety issue for vehicle passengers and other road users.
Scale of the problem
Subaru has recalled 4096 Outback and 187 Reserve models so far, and the VIN list of the affected vehicles can be easily found on the Internet. The affected production date is the beginning of the MY18 production cycle in 2018, as of August 1 this year. I contacted the car owner and suggested not to rely on CMD to obtain accurate distance data. The required CMD reprogramming will not be realized until February 2019 at the earliest. Subaru Australia made it clear that if the system is complete, it will contact the owners of the affected vehicles again to solve the problem. Of course, it is free, and you will do everything you can to solve the problem quickly.
What happens next?
This will be a game, waiting to start programming again sometime in February next year. Before that, drivers of affected Outback and Reserve models should be careful to refuel and use their cars. It is obviously a bad idea to rely on CMD at this time, so it is necessary to check the low fuel warning more frequently. Keeping refueling is also an effective strategy to avoid stranding.
