Another electronic glitch where the key fob can remotely start the car without any driver action.
Subaru is recalling various 2010 through 2013 models equipped with an Audiovox remote engine starter that was sold as an accessory. The key fob may run wild and randomly start the engine without the driver pressing the button.
Crosstrek, Impreza, Legacy, Outback models can start and run for up to fifteen minutes. The engine on about 50,000 vehicles can continue to start and stop until the fob battery goes dead, or until the Subaru runs out of fuel.
In a required safety defect filing with NHTSA, Subaru said if the vehicle is parked in an enclosed area, there is a risk of carbon monoxide build-up, which may cause headaches, dizziness, or, in extreme cases, unconsciousness and/or asphyxiation.
Subaru said if the fob is dropped, the fob might malfunction and randomly transmit an engine start command. The fobs were manufactured without adhesive that protests the circuit board from damage. Original equipment keyless entry fobs integrated on the vehicle key are not affected.
Affected vehicles equipped with optional RES are as follows:
- 2010 – 2012 model year Legacy and Outback vehicles with and automatic transmission or CVT
- 2012 – 2013 model year Impreza vehicles with CVT (except WRX/STI models)
- 2013 XV Crosstrek models with a CVT
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RES key fobs, free of charge as is required by U.S. safety regulations. The recall is expected to begin by the end of April 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783 for more information Subaru’s recall campaign number is WQF-42. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.safercar.gov.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
