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An official Health Canada notice concerns Subaru. On certain vehicles, a manufacturing defect could cause the windshield wipers to become inoperable. If an obstruction (such as snow or ice in the cowl area of the windshield) prevents the wipers from returning to the “park” position when wipers are turned off, the wiper arms would be forced to "park" at a higher than intended position on the windshield. The wiper arms will continuously attempt to return to the normal park position, generating an excessive amount of electrical current in the wiper motor bottom cover, possibly resulting in overheating. This could result in the windshield wipers becoming inoperable, or a possible fire in the bottom cover area of the wiper motor. These issues could impair the driver’s visibility and increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the front wiper motor bottom cover assembly with a countermeasure one. Published 2016-10-03.
What to do now
Please see corrective actions section below
Recall number
68638
Official notice
2016-10-03
The hazard
The hazard
On certain vehicles, a manufacturing defect could cause the windshield wipers to become inoperable. If an obstruction (such as snow or ice in the cowl area of the windshield) prevents the wipers from returning to the “park” position when wipers are turned off, the wiper arms would be forced to "park" at a higher than intended position on the windshield. The wiper arms will continuously attempt to return to the normal park position, generating an excessive amount of electrical current in the wiper motor bottom cover, possibly resulting in overheating. This could result in the windshield wipers becoming inoperable, or a possible fire in the bottom cover area of the wiper motor. These issues could impair the driver’s visibility and increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace the front wiper motor bottom cover assembly with a countermeasure one.
How to check if you're affected
How to check if you're affected
Compare the VIN on your vehicle against the official list. If your VIN is listed, follow the official notice.
Recall Numbers
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Affected products
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Risk / hazard
Where it was sold
Where it was sold
The source does not list specific retailers. See the official notice for where affected products were sold.
Location 1
Affected area 1
Company & contacts
Company & contacts
Brand: Subaru.
Source & status
Source & status
Source
Tier
Category
App estimate
Recall details
Recall details
Recall number
Source tier
Documents, notices & source
See the official notice and source documents for full details.
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