Sorry to hear about your issues! Please keep us informed as how things progress. It is not great when Subaru won't cover the repair when the engine is just out of warrantee.

 

@tilop Terrible news. Never even heard of tumble generators. Add them to the growing list of repairs that cost more than the Gold Plan extended coverage.

 

for completeness' sake, the "lack of proof of maintenance" -- was this actual lack of maintenance? or just lack of documentation that you did it? What maintenance does Subaru claim would have helped prevent this problem from happening?? I would think you should argue the last point, they haven't explained how dealer maintenance could have prevented anything.

 

Another question: What is a "tumble generator"? I have never heard of that before.

 

 

"just upstream" may not apply to direct injected engines though

 

It's my understanding that the DOHC engines have had them for years. Maybe always?

The SOHC (EJ253) did not have them.

Lack of having the intake cleaned might cause failure, but only if it was mechanical.

 

It would still affect the airflow into the combustion chamber, "tumbling" to help the fuel spray to be better distributed.

It must be of some benefit, or else they would have eliminated the tumblers when they went with direct injection. It would be a pretty big production expense for zero benefit.

I guess the EJ253 AVLS also doubled as tumblers, as the two different flow rates for the intake valves would achieve the same result.

 

How often did you replace the air filter and do you have receipts?

 

I wonder if this is more of a reason to use Subaru’s top engine cleaner on a regular basis. How else do you maintain a tumble generator? Could be a freak failure? Subaru should definitely step further up to the plate for further goodwill repair assistance.

 

from 2017 technician reference booklet, "Chain Drive Valve Train Boxer Engine"

From "2019 FORESTER NEW CAR INFORMATION"

 

from 2017 technician reference booklet

It's interesting that the illustration is a direct injection engine. But then that may not be Forester specific.

 

Since it doesn't block both intake paths, it makes me wonder why the engine stalled. It should have at least ran halfway decent at lower RPM. Just down on power at midrange to redline.

If it is the actuator/solenoid that failed, their lack of maintenance records argument is pretty weak.

It like saying since you didn't keep track of oil changes, we aren't going to warranty your alternator.

 

Hello everyone. I am a new Subaru owner, I have own a 2019 Subaru Forester for 2 years. On 30 December 2021, my vehicle stalled out in the middle of the highway on I-95S in Massachusetts as I was driving around 55-65 mph. The engine lost power, the steering wheel got really stiff, and the vehicle started sputtering.
I shut off the vehicle a few times and tried to start it back up with no luck. I maneuvered to get the car to the breakdown lane and ultimately had it towed to the dealership. Diagnosis revealed that both tumble generators in the air intake manifold failed and the car also needed the gas line to be replaced.
The car is 2 years old and is approaching 65,000 miles. The dealership and Subaru America refuse to cover the full cost of the repairs under the claim that it is no longer under warranty and lack of proof of regular maintenance for the past 2 years.
They are offering $750 as credit toward about $1900 of work to fix the vehicle.
I have spoken to a number of mechanics and no one can remember the last time they had to do work on an intake manifold, especially on such a young vehicle, and some didn't even know what a tumble generator was.
After looking into this a little further, Subaru has a number of complaints and recalls with the NHTSA related to this issue and it is a miracle that no one has gotten hurt yet from these incidents. So far both the dealership in the Massachusetts Metrowest area and Subaru America have refused to cover the cost of the repairs.

I wanted to share this experience and shed some awareness regarding this vehicle and also learn if anyone has had
a similar experience recently. Subarus are supposed to be reliable vehicles and the company should stand by its brand, I am not sure what is going wrong here. Perhaps, I am a little naive but I feel this is something that should be covered by the dealership/Subaru
Appreciate any feedback or comments you may have.

Hello ,
I had the same thing happen to me twice in one week with my 2019 Subaru sport ,it happened last week on a busy street just completely broke down I was able to just barely maneuver off the road luckily a couple people pushed me into an alley ,I got it towed to the nearest dealership and they said it was a gas cap issue and that I had 2 litres of extra oil in my engine???so they drained the oil and put fresh oil in it ..I had the oil done at a shop in my area because it would have been a 3 hour turnaround for me to go to the dealership and they said it would be okay for me to get it done somewhere else as long as the shop is certified which I checked..so a week later it happened again on a busy street completely broke down I was barely able to drive it off the road , I called a tow truck to bring to the dealership 60 k away so now the dealership said it looks like a manifold problem the flap
Is stuck and it will be covered by the warranty but they are still holding the excessive oil on record? Which I wasn’t even showed any proof to me ?
So far my car has been in the shop for a week and was told I cannot have a loaner car because they don’t have any .. I feel for my safety if I ever get stuck again in my forester I was so lucky not to get into an accident when I broke down twice ..the warranty runs out this may 22 and I’m feeling like I lost faith in the reliability and safety of Subaru it’s making me feel sick to my stomach…