SAFETY RELATED DEFECT NOTICE
To: Purchasers of Subaru Original Equipment Service Motor Oil Filters for certain Four Cylinder Engine Applications
THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NATIONAL TRAFFIC AND MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT. FRAM Group Operations, LLC (“Fram Group”) has decided that a defect exists which relates to motor vehicle safety in certain Subaru replacement oil filters. Specifically, this Notice applies to motor oil filters which meet each of the following criteria: a) Subaru Original Service motor oil filter model 15208AA12A used on certain Subaru four cylinder engines; b) purchased for purposes of either self-installation or installation by individuals or service centers not affiliated with Subaru of America (these purposes are referred to as “Self-Installation); and c) manufactured on one of twenty three dates, indicated by a date code. DO NOT INSTALL THESE FILTERS BECAUSE THEY MAY LEAK AND POSE A RISK OF FIRE OR ENGINE DAMAGE. In this Notice, motor oil filters meeting all three criteria are referred to as the “Affected Motor Oil Filters.” In Section D below, we will describe how to identify the model number and the relevant date code.
IMPORTANT: FRAM GROUP IS RECALLING UNINSTALLED AFFECTED MOTOR OIL FILTERS PURCHASED OVER THE COUNTER FOR SELF-INSTALLATION OR RESALE. PLEASE EXCHANGE UNINSTALLED AFFECTED MOTOR OIL FILTERS AT YOUR NEAREST SUBARU DEALERSHIP AT NO CHARGE.
A. Why is a Recall Being Conducted?
Fram Group identified a manufacturing process control issue resulting in a small number of motor oil filters manufactured on certain dates that were produced in a manner which does not allow the filter to fully contact with the engine block. In those instances, the gasket will either immediately fail or fail within 300 miles of operation. A gasket failure results in rapid loss of motor oil. Since the oil filter in your vehicle is in close proximity to the hot parts of the vehicle exhaust system, when motor oil contacts the exhaust system, the motor oil can cause smoking and possibly an engine compartment fire. Rapid oil loss may also cause engine damage.
B. What are we doing about the problem?
Fram Group is recalling all uninstalled inventory of Affected Motor Oil Filters to prevent them from being installed in vehicles. Fram Group has already recovered Affected Motor Oil Filters from Subaru Dealerships.
C. What You Should Do.
You should not install Affected Motor Oil Filters on your vehicle. Please return Affected Motor Oil Filters to your nearest Subaru Dealership for exchange at no charge.
D. How to Identify an Affected Motor Oil Filter.
This recall only applies to Subaru model number 15208AA12A motor oil filters
manufactured on certain dates, which you can identify by the date code printed on the filter. Please
reference the photo below, which will assist you to identify the Model Number and the Date Code on
your motor oil filter:
The date code is a six character alpha numeric code. In the above example, the Date Code is
A22713. For our purposes, the relevant characters are the first, second, third, fourth and fifth
characters. Again, using our example above, the relevant portion of the date code is “A2271.” So
long as the first five characters match one of the twenty three (23) date codes below, your filter is an
Affected Motor Oil Filter, regardless of the sixth character. Thus, we denote the sixth character as an
“X.” The date codes of the Affected Motor Oil Filters are:
A2187X A2219X A2255X A2278X
A2188X A2220X A2256X A2279X
A2191X A2223X A2262X A2282X
A2202X A2226X A2263X A2285X
A2208X A2240X A2270X A2286X
A2212X A2241X A2271X
In summary, if you purchased a Subaru Original Service motor oil filter model number
15208AA12A for Self-Installation or resale and the date code on that filter matches one of the
twenty three codes above, please return it to your nearest Subaru Dealership for exchange at
no charge. Do not install Affected Motor Oil Filters in your vehicle.
E. Who Should I contact if I have further questions of concerns?
Please contact Fram Group Operations, LLC. Our phone number is 1-800-890-2075. Please
select Option 2 when prompted.
We apologize for any inconvenience this safety recall may cause, but your safety is our first
concern.
Date Code
Model Number