Recall - Throttle Body Inspection/Replacement
NUMBER: WXI-66DATE: 4/27/98
APPLICABILITY
1997 Legacy Models (As noted below)
SUBJECT:
THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLIES
Subaru of America, Inc. has determined that some 1997 Legacy vehicles manufactured from August 9, 1996 through March 21, 1997 may have a defective Throttle Body Assembly. Due to a supplier manufacturing error, the throttle shaft ball bearing on the sensor side of the throttle body assembly may not have been installed in certain throttle bodies.
Subaru of America, Inc. will notify all owners of the affected vehicles by first class mail and instruct them to contact their nearest servicing dealer for an inspection to determine if the ball bearings are missing. If so, necessary repairs will be made.
VEHICLES INVOLVED
The affected vehicles are 1997 Model Year Legacy Sedans and Wagons, and 1997 Legacy Outback Wagons.
Vehicles with potentially defective throttle bodies are identified in Chart 1.
^ These vehicles have production dates of August 9, 1996 through March 21, 1997. ALL VEHICLES SHOULD BE CONFIRMED AS APPLICABLE USING THE VEHICLE COVERAGE INQUIRY IN THE DEALER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (DCS).
OWNER NOTIFICATION
SOA will prepare and mail an Owner Notification Letter to the owners of the potentially affected vehicles. The owner notification is scheduled for mailing on May 15, 1998.
DEALER PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITY
Dealers are requested to promptly inspect, and if necessary, repair all potentially affected vehicles in their inventory (new, used, demo) in accordance with the instructions in the Service Procedure Section of this bulletin. Potentially affected vehicles taken into dealer inventory in the future should be corrected by following these service procedures. Dealers should contact owners of potentially affected vehicles sold since the date of the computer address listing and provide them a copy of the owner notification letter and arrange to make the required inspection and repairs according to the service instructions enclosed. A copy of these supplemental owner notifications should be forwarded to SOA Government Affairs Department for our records.
PARTS INFORMATION
Parts Availability
Each Subaru Dealer with vehicles affected by this Recall Campaign will receive at no charge an inspection tool with your VIN list. New Dealers should contact your area service office for the inspection tool. If a Dealer finds a throttle body that is missing the ball bearing after inspection, they should order the applicable replacement throttle body assembly (Chart 2), from the PDC by calling the Parts Information Coordinator and provide the affected VIN. No orders will be processed without the VIN. Replacement throttle body assemblies will be sent to Dealers NEXT DAY AIR. If it is necessary to keep the customer vehicle overnight, the cost for a rental vehicle will be covered for this repair by entering applicable rental charges (maximum $25.00/day) in the rental field during the claim submission. Replaced throttle body assemblies should be tagged and maintained for inspection by your DTM.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
THROTTLE BODY CHECK PROCEDURE
1. Affected Vehicles: 1997MY Legacy vehicles only (early and late 97MY Legacy's will fall outside of the date code range).
2. Purpose of check: To verify the bearing installation on the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) side of the Throttle Body.
3. Subject Throttle Bodies: (See figure "1" for location of date code)
4. Check Procedure.
THROTTLE BODY REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
1. Caution:
On a cool engine, remove air intake duct.
2. Disconnect accelerator cable(1).
3. Disconnect cruise control cable (2) (With cruise control model)
4. Disconnect connector from throttle position sensor.
5. Disconnect engine coolant hoses from throttle body.
6. Remove bolts which install throttle body to intake manifold.
7. Installation is in the reverse order of removal.
CAUTION:
Use the new gasket supplied.
Throttle body mounting bolt torque:
22 +/- 2 N-m (2.2 +/- 0.2 kg-m, 15.9 +/- 1.4 ft-lb)
8. Confirm proper adjustment of the throttle position sensor using the Subaru select monitor.
Specification:
Throttle plate fully closed.
Throttle opening angle 0.00%.
Throttle sensor voltage 0.45 - 0.55V.
Throttle position sensor mounting screw torque:
2.2 +/- 0.2 N-m (0.22 +/- 0.02 kg-m, 1.6 +/- 0.1 ft-lb)
CLAIMS REIMBURSEMENT AND ENTRY PROCEDURES
Credit to perform this recall will be based on the submission of properly completed repair order information. Dealers may enter the applicable claim information through their Dealer Communication System (DCS).
All properly submitted claims will receive an automatic credit of 0.2 labor hours for inspection.
Claims that require Throttle Body assembly replacement will be credited a total of 0.5 labor hours. This includes 0.2 hours for inspection and 0.3 hours for replacement. Parts will be reimbursed at suggested list price.
Listed is claim entry information.
Inspection Only - No Part Replacement Necessary (0.2 labor hours will be automatically added to the claim upon submission).
Inspection & Part Replacement - Part Replacement Necessary - use labor operation 144-301 for 0.3 labor hours.
Note:
A total of 0.5 labor hours will be credited. This includes 0.2 hours automatically added to the claim for inspection.
SERVICE PROGRAM IDENTIFICATION LABEL
Each vehicle corrected in accordance with the instructions outlined in this bulletin will require a "Recall Campaign" completion label. Each label provides a space to include the dealer code performing the service program. The information may be inserted with a typewriter or permanent ink pen and placed on the upper radiator cowl.
A quantity of 25 labels are being provided to each dealer with this bulletin. Additional quantities of these labels are available through your area/distributor service office.
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