Owner-reported complaints naming the powertrain system, filed with NHTSA
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Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1992 Subaru Svx submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 32 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 32, in the owner's own words
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1992 SUBARU SVX. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSION SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER, WHO ADVISED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 151,000.
TRANSMISSION FAILED WITH 64000 MI. TRANS SHOP "REBUILT" IT AND ADDED A TRANS COOLER FOR 2200$ AS SOON AS I FIST DROVE IT I NOTICED THE CAR "BINDING UP" DURING TURNS AT SLOW SPEED. SHOP OWNER SAID HE COULDN'T REPLICATE OR FEEL ANYTHING WRONG, WITH ME IN THE CAR AND IT WAS CLEARLY BINDING DURING SLOW TURNS, HE REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY PROBLEM. ALSO THERE IS A NOISE, LIKE A BOLT INSIDE THE TORQUE CONVERTER THAT I HEAR WHEN I AM OFF THE THROTTLE. ALSO HAVE REPLACED BOTH REAR WHEEL BEARINGS. CABIN TRUNK RELEASE HAS FAILED AND ALL OF THE HOOD/TRUNK STRUTS HAVE FAILED. *TR
THE BATTERY GAUGE OCCASIONALLY DROPS TO THE LOW END WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED, IDLING WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON, WITH THE HEATER ON AND RADIO ON CAUSING THE DASH LIGHTS TO DIM BUT ONCE THE GAS PEDAL IS DEPRESSED THE VEHICLE WOULD RETURN TO NORMAL OPERATION, THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE AIR COMPRESSOR, ALTERNATOR AND BATTERY BUT THERE HAS BEEN NO CHANGE, THE HEADLIGHTS STAYED ON ALTHOUGH THE SWITCH WAS OFF, THE LIGHT ON THE STEREO IS INOPERATIVE, AT TIME THE VEHICLE WILL CRANK BUT NOT START THE DEALER REPLACED BY PASS VALVE, PCM AND DA PUMP BUT THERE WAS NO CHANGE. NLM
WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED NUMEROUS TIMES, AND DEALER SAID IT WAS NORMAL WEAR. ALSO, SAME HAS HAPPENED WITH TRANSMISSION. *AK
WHEEL BEARINGS CONTINUE TO FAIL REQUIRING REPLACEMENT. *AK
THIS CAR HAS HAD TO MANY PROBLEMS SUBARU SHOULD HAVE TO REPAIRED OR RECALLED THE TRANSMISSON AND REAR BEARINGS I HAVE REPLACED THE WHEEL BEARINGS 3 TIMES AND I HAVE HAD THE CAR NOT EVEN A YEAR WHEN I CONTACTED SUBARU THEY SAID THEY WOULD GIVE ME $500 TOWARDS A NEW SUBARU. THAT DOESNT MAKE UP FOR THE $7000 I OWE ON THE CAR THOUGH. AND THE COST TO HAVE A TRANSMISSON PUT IN IS AROUND $3900 TO $4500 THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH EVERY SUBARU SVX SOME OF THEM HAVE GONE THROUGH 2 TO 3 TRANSMISSONS IN ONLY 20 TO 30 THOUSAND MILES. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.*AK
WHILE CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ABOUT 45MPH HE HEARD A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE. PULLED OVER, AND NOTICED WHEEL BEARING WAS DEFECTIVE. *AK
I HAVE PURCHASED THIS CAR THROUGH A SMALLER DEALER, I THOUGHT THAT MY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR WERE ONLY BECAUSE OF POOR BUSINESS THROUGH DEALER, I HAD TO PAY OUT $1,900 FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND $400. FOR THE BEARINGS. I THEN LEARNED THAT THESE ARE VERY COMMON PROBLEMS WITH THIS MODEL AND YEAR AND ALL SVX STYLE CARS UP UNTIL 97'S. *AK
CONSTANT PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION. HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH LOW ORIGINAL MILES ON IT. REAR BEARING FAILED. 4 TIMES ON REAR PASS SIDE, 1 TIME ON REAR DRIVER SIDE. ALL FAIL AT LOW MILES ON CAR. UNDER 60K, ALL HIGHWAY MILES
TRANSMISSION AND DIFFERENTIAL FAILED WITH VERY LOW MILEAGE FOR SUCH MAJOR FAILURES.
DEAR NHTSA, PLEASE LOOK INTO THE CASES INVOLVING REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILURES BECAUSE UNDER THIS SEARCH IN YOUR COMPLAINT FILE I SAW MANY. THE NUMBERS MAY NOT BE OVERWHELMING BUT THAT IS BECAUSE SUBARU ONLY PRODUCED AROUND 20000 OF THESE VEHICLES. I AM ALSO HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY TRANSMISSION AND SURGING WHICH I SEE AS A SAFETY HAZARD AND COULD CAUSE AND ACCIDENT. IF YOU WANT MORE INFO AND DATA YOU CAN CHECK OUT WWW.KINETICCONCEPTS.COM WHICH IS TAKING A SURVEY ON CAR OWNERS AND THEIR PROBLEMS. I FIND IT HARD TO DISMISS THE PERCENTAGE OF 136 PEOPLE RESONDING 41% HAD TO AT LEAST REPAIR ONE WHEEL BEARING AND ALSO 40% HAD TO REPLACE A TRANSMISSION. SO PLEASE LOOK INTO THESE PROBLEMS THAT SUBARU HAS HAD WITH THEIR SVX WITH CONCERN FOR THE CONSUMER AND FOR THEIR SAFETY. *AK
REAR PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL BEARINGS HAS GONE OUT 4 TIMES IN LAST 20,000 MILES, CAUSING A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL.*AK
LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING COMPLETELY DEFECTIVE - HAVE HAD REPLACED. WHEN FIRST STARTING THE CAR, THE TRANSMISSION WILL NOT OPERATE UNTIL THE CAR HAS WARMED UP AT LEAST 5 MINUTES. ENGINE SOMETIMES DIES WHEN CAR IS PUT INTO REVERSE GEAR. GEARS CHANGE WITH A JOLT AND CAR JERKS WHEN TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS. TRUNK LATCH IS INOPERATIVE FROM DRIVER'S SIDE CONTROL. BRAKES "CATCH AND RELEASE" WHEN APPLIED.
TRANSMISSION AND WHEEL BEARING FAILURES OCCUR VERY FREQUENTLY ON THIS CAR. SOME ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO HOLD THE MANUFACTURER RESPONSIBLE.
THE TRANSMISSION BLEW OUT AND HAD TO BE REPLACED, AND I HAVE CONTINUED TO HAVE PROBLEMS. THE WHEEL BEARINGS HAVE TO BE REPLACED ON BOTH REAR WHEELS, AND AS WELL THE FRONT BEARINGS ARE STARTING TO GET DOWN. THE CV BOOTS ON BOTH SIDES <FRONT> ARE WORN AND CRACKED. *AK
AIR CONDITIONER REPAIRED, COST $800. ALSO, REPLACED RIGHT AND LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARINGS, COST $500. *AK
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEEL BEARING FAILURE IS VERY COMMON WITH SVX'S. WHY WERE SVX'S WITH VIN# NH106286-NH108731 EXCLUDED FROM THE TSB'S WHICH ADDRESSED TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN SVX'S. I AM TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OTHER SVX'S WITH TRANSMISSIONS IDENTICAL TO THOSE EXCLUDED RECIEVED THESE MODIFICATIONS? THANK YOU
CAR HAS A SURGING PROBLEM AT IDLE WHEN COLD. STARTED CAR, PUT IN GEAR, FULLY DEPRESSING ACCELERATOR AND CAR BARELY MOVES, THEN SECONDS LATER, CAR GAINS POWER SUDDENLY AND SURGES FORWARD. ALSO, WHEEL BEARINGS WENT BAD, AND HAD TO BE REPLACED 3 TIMES IN LESS THAN 20,000 MILES (13 MONTHS). TRANSMISSION SLIPS WHEN SHIFTING WHILE ACCELERATING. CAR SOMETIMES LOSES POWER THEN SURGES FORWARD BETWEEN GEARS. *AK
APPOX 6 WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED STARTING AT 30K MILES SOMETIMES AT INTERVALS OF LESS THAN 5K MILES. TRANY WENT OUT AT 72000 MILES. CAR HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED, NOT ABUSED. TRANSMISSION REPAIR ESIMATE. IS $3K. *AK
POWER TRANSMISSION FAILED. YH
MY PROBLEMS STARTED WHEN I NOTICED MY SPEEDOMETER FLUCTUATING LAST SUMMER. IT WOULD WAVER ABOUT 20MPH UP AND DOWN AT EVERY SPEED. SOON AFTER, IT STATED GETTING EVEN WORSE. I ALSO NOTICED THAT EVER SO OFTEN, MY TRANSMISSION GEAR SEEMED TO RAPIDLY JUMP BACK AND FORTH (BETWEEN THE CURRENT GEAR AND THE NEXT LOWEST(?)) BETWEEN 20000-2200 RPM ON THE TACHOMETER. I TOOK MY CAR TO A SUBARU DEALERSHIP (MAC HAIK SUBARU, I-10 & KIRKWOOD, HOUSTON, TEXAS (713) 497-6600) AND WAS TOLD THAT MY SPEEDOMETER, WHICH IS ELECTRONIC, WAS A CONTROL UNIT WICH FITS INTO THE TOP OF THE TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION WAS GOING BAD, AND WAS BURNING OUT THE CONTROL UNIT. WHEN ASKED IF THE REMEMDY WOULD BE TO BUY A NEW ($200) CONTROL UNIT, I WAS TOLD THAT IT WOULD SOON BE BURNED OUT BY THE TRANSMISSION, ALSO. THE SOLUTION WOULD BE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION, SINCE IT WAS AT FAULT. I HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY READ REPORTS CONCERNING SUBARU'S 1992 TRANSMISSIONS IN MY CAR BEING IMPROPERLY GEARED, AND THAT SUBSEQUENT YEARS HAD DIFFERENT WORKINGS THAT CURED THIS PROBLEM.
THE BEARING FAILURES AND TRANSMISSION FAILURES HAVE BEEN INHERENT WITH THE SUBARU SVX. THIS I ONLY FOUND TO BE TRUE SINCE LOGGING ON THE INTERNET ON WEB SITES PERTAINING TO THE SVX. IT IS UNJUST THAT JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE RELATIVELY FEW SVX ON THE ROAD THAT THEY SHOULD, WE OWNERS, BE OVERLOOKED. DEFECTS SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY THE MANUFACTURERS AND WE OWNERS SHOULD NOT BE HELD, OR BE EXPECTED TO BE FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE SINCE IN MY CASE EVERY YEAR I HAD TO GO TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THIS REPAIRED. AND RECENTLY, A NEW TRANSMISSION REBUILT. I KNOW THAT ANY INVESTIGATION WILL PROVE THAT THIS DEFECT IS TRUE FOR ALL OF THE SVX PRODUCED AND I AM PRETTY SURE THAT THE OWNERS WILL HAVE A PILE OF REPAIR WORK THAT CAN JUSTIFY OUR CLAIMS. THANK YOU
TRANSMISSION/AXLE WHEEL BEARING FAILURE.
AXLE SHAFT BEARING FAILURE.
LEFT REAR AXLE SHAFT BEARING FAILURE.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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