Skyboss-alpha1 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 (edited) Greetings Everyone, My 18 limited is at a Subie dealer in NJ while traveling for our thanksgiving get together with my parents., we heard a small rattle at an intersection as soon as the traffic light went green I accelerated and heard a loud explosion. The car was inoperable and we safely pulled over, I popped the hood and chunks of metal fragments were scattered towards the back end of the engine it appears the torque converter had a catastrophic failure. I managed to get safely home however my car is now 100+ away. I am awaiting to contact Subaru corporate because the dealership can't look at the car until Monday before they can determine if I can get a loaner or rental car, the problem is I have no vehicle to get around and need to be at work at the base @ 1730hrs. What would cause this to happen on a car that just hit 1yr of ownership mileage is at 44,768k. Attached is a picture of just one piece of the metal fragments. * going back and forth with corporate to authorize a rental car. Edited November 29, 2019 by Skyboss-alpha1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubieN8 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 I’m sorry this happened! I don’t have an answer for you, but keep us posted. Unfortunately, the trans is a weak point for Subaru at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grnlantern1 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Greetings Everyone, My 18 limited is at a Subie dealer in NJ while traveling for our thanksgiving get together with my parents., we heard a small rattle at an intersection as soon as the traffic light went green I accelerated and heard a loud explosion. The car was inoperable and we safely pulled over, I popped the hood and chunks of metal fragments were scattered towards the back end of the engine it appears the torque converter had a catastrophic failure. I managed to get safely home however my car is now 100+ away. I am awaiting to contact Subaru corporate because the dealership can't look at the car until Monday before they can determine if I can get a loaner or rental car, the problem is I have no vehicle to get around and need to be at work at the base @ 1730hrs. What would cause this to happen on a car that just hit 1yr of ownership mileage is at 44,768k. Attached is a picture of just one piece of the metal fragments. * going back and forth with corporate to authorize a rental car.Definitely a New and Serious issue.. Yes there is a Bulletin out there to check the Tranny for Fluid leaks but didnt think the 2018 was on the list.. Well keep us posted and hope things get worked out.. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 (edited) I am starting to lose faith at Subaru the build quality is definitely going down. My last legacy had problems so did my ex-wife's outback and now this car has this issue, like what gives man. All three of these vehicles haven't even reached a hundred thousand miles and have had problems. Other problems I have had with this car: Moonroof rattle Driver's seat squealing like a bad mattress * 2nd seat installed Passenger side door plastic trim rattles Trunk area rattles Windshield upper corner when it's really cold rattles so does the rear window around the seal. Edited November 30, 2019 by Skyboss-alpha1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 (edited) Curious to know what went wrong, hope you keep us posted. I don't know much about automatic transmissions and how they work, but I think that metal fragment is part of the flexplate. I have no idea what would cause a flexplate to explode, I don't even know what a flexplate does. Like a flywheel for AT's? https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2018_Legacy-25L-CVT-4WD-Limited-Sedan-wEyeSight/PLATE-DRIVE/49224600/12332AA150.html https://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2018_Legacy-25L-CVT-4WD-Limited-Sedan-wEyeSight/_54102_6464135/FLYWHEEL/B15-011-01.html *Oh, of course as you noted, the torque converter may have exploded and taken out the plate above. Edited December 2, 2019 by apexi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pronkie1 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Transmission shop that rebuilt the transmission on our 71 Ranchero said a new transmission for our 2016 Legacy is 8,000 because of the CVT... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldguy Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Don't forget that this CVT is warranted for 10 years and 100,000 miles in the USA and Canada. Cost to replace is the inconvenience. Further, this is an exceptional situation. Failure happens to anything mechanical, and this is the first report on this 6th Gen forum of anything like this. I'd be more concerned at multiple incidences. If you want to answer questions about overall reliability, read the reviews on Cars.com or Edmunds or Consumer Reports for a more balanced view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncted Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Holy Cow! You put almost 45k miles on your car in a year!? Your transmission is going to be out of warranty in just over two years at this rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pronkie1 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Don't forget that this CVT is warranted for 10 years and 100,000 miles in the USA and Canada. Cost to replace is the inconvenience. Further, this is an exceptional situation. Failure happens to anything mechanical, and this is the first report on this 6th Gen forum of anything like this. I'd be more concerned at multiple incidences. If you want to answer questions about overall reliability, read the reviews on Cars.com or Edmunds or Consumer Reports for a more balanced view. Isn’t 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first? Mine has 82,000 miles and is a 2016.. Course I bought the extended warranty when I bought it new... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grnlantern1 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Isn’t 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first? Mine has 82,000 miles and is a 2016.. Course I bought the extended warranty when I bought it new...That extended warranty won't cover after the 100k on the CVT I would start looking for fluid leaks.. I had 94k on my 2015 when I discovered fluid leaking. Had a wet tranny pan..Ended up getting a New Tranny.. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 I am even more confused by the 10 year 100k as stated above, Subaru told me its 60k Power Train. And yes I put that many miles commuting 100+ to NE Philly but that commute has now ended, my commute now is much shorter and is now in Delaware however, I do use the car to visit family and friends which are not around the corner. If anything I will save a few miles still and I am going to be getting a used car to offset some of the miles. I am stressed out waiting for Subaru to do something I have no way of getting to work after tomorrow afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCobbs Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Curious if you had a 3.6 or a 2.5? This could be road debris to cause that much damage. You have anymore pics and also which dealer did you use here in NJ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldguy Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 More info on the warranty in this thread: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cvt-warranty-extension-my-2016-2017-and-now-my-2018-275654.html You can download the PDF of the TSB attached to the first post by ammcinnis. The warranty also applies to Canadian vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 Curious if you had a 3.6 or a 2.5? This could be road debris to cause that much damage. You have anymore pics and also which dealer did you use here in NJ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I have a 2.5, the vehicle was towed to a Subaru dealership in Avenel. I doubt that this was road debris because how would road debris managed to work its way up there and we'll have to go around the shield at the bottom of the engine. And I can assure you I haven't hit anything on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 More info on the warranty in this thread: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cvt-warranty-extension-my-2016-2017-and-now-my-2018-275654.html You can download the PDF of the TSB attached to the first post by ammcinnis. The warranty also applies to Canadian vehicles. Many thanks for that information, do you think that there will be any stipulations being at the vehicles of 2018 and I noticed that the PDF covers up to 2017 model legacy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crudzinskas Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 I am pretty sure this is something you should have received in the mail, but the extended warranty on the CVT was certainly extended to the 2018 model year. (I can't confirm if 2019 has been included as well - I thought I saw that it was, but I can't find any documentation on it). https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/cvt-tsb-16-117-18-dated-10-9-18-applies-to-2018-outback.500493/page-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldguy Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Attached is the 2018 Subaru announcement from the outback thread, as well as the 2016-2017 announcement re: default CVT warranty extension.2016_2017_CVT_Customer_Letter_Sept_2018.pdfSubaru 2018 CVT 100K 10Yr Warranty Extension.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 I just received an email from Subaru of America representative she has informed me that a Subaru engineer will be taking a look at the vehicle as a result of the failure of the vehicle within the next day or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 That chunk you took a picture of is part of the flex plate, i bet it was cracked from factory and warped and exploded when you hit the gas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 Update : Spoke with the service manager he has informed me that the engine block has also broken, and that he is awaiting on Subaru Corporate to decide what they want to do. In the meantime I am stuck with a rental car that I am paying out of pocket, they said they would reimburse me 50 a day but to when is anyone's guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkshooter Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Wow. Good luck, watching with interest. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammcinnis Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Spoke with the service manager he has informed me that the engine block has also broken ... This is a highly unusual failure. Please continue to keep us posted. "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." ~ The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Update : Spoke with the service manager he has informed me that the engine block has also broken, and that he is awaiting on Subaru Corporate to decide what they want to do. In the meantime I am stuck with a rental car that I am paying out of pocket, they said they would reimburse me 50 a day but to when is anyone's guess. Did the dealer not provide you a loaner? I would ask for one as soon as one becomes available. also ask them to document it in pictures and provide them for you. They should be able to explain what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyboss-alpha1 Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 I received an update from Subaru Corp., they have informed me that a field engineer has revised the vehicle and that they are going to be replacing the following items: 1) Lower Block Assembly 2) Torque Converter Unit 3)I can't recall the other item but it's not the transmission at this time. The other problem I have been facing is that the vehicle is in New Jersey and I live in Delaware. According to the dealership loaner vehicles are for in-state purposes only. I have been forking out of my pocket for a rental vehicle which is getting to be very expensive. According to Subaru, they will be reimbursing me $50 a day, however, the rental is 57 a day plus additional taxes and fees. At this time I do not have any more money for a rental vehicle as I have already paid close to 700 dollars. And when exactly would I receive a check from them is anyone's guess. I find it hard to believe that a car manufacturer does not have a better relationship with its dealerships, and customers. Since this incident manufacturers default, the customer should not have to pay anything out of pocket. Lastly, my upmost concern now is overall vehicle safety what is going to guarantee me that I don't end up driving this car say to Florida and have another issue where I end up being stranded all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeuEmMaiMai Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 That dealer out of state thing is everywhere... unless you are on the border, they are not typically flexible in that regard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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