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Old 02-11-2013, 04:00 AM   #1
furiouswrx
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Post PSA: Subaru blue OEM oil filters recalled due to leaking gaskets

I haven't seen this anywhere on the Service and Maintenance forum..which is alarming to me.

Subaru is recalling some of their blue OEM 15208AA12A engine oil filters due to possibility of leaking at the O-ring gasket. Please see the PDFs below for the official information.

If you purchased any blue OEM oil filters between July 1, 2012 and December 15, 2012, check their date codes. Heck, check all of them anyway just to be safe.

The date code format is FYJJJS where:
F is the facility (S = Canada, A = USA)
Y is the last digit of the year (1 = 2011, 2 = 2012, 3 = 2013)
JJJ is the Julian date code (Google it if you are curious)
S is the factory shift number (1 = 1st shift, 2 = 2nd shift, 3 = 3rd shift)

Filters NOT part of the recall, which are OK:
-If the date code begins with S1 or S2
-If the date code begins with A2291x or higher (where x is 1, 2, or 3)
-If the date code begins with A2290x or earlier AND is adjacently marked with a dash + a number or initials indicating that it passed secondary inspection. You can see an example of this in the Subaru PDF.
-(Case Quantities) If the case packaging has a date code of 777

Filters recalled, which may leak:
-If the date code begins with A2290x or earlier (where x is 1, 2, or 3) AND has no other adjacent markings or a single white dot adjacent to the date code.

Example of recalled filter, which I purchased in October 2012.


-------------------------------

Specifics about how you will exchange both installed and unopened oil filters can be found in the Dealer Letter below.

PDF: Fram's Recall Notice (Official Site | Mirror)
PDF: Subaru's SNET Dealer Letter (Official Site | Mirror)

I happened to purchase 6 of the affected filters. 1 is installed on my car right now.
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Old 02-11-2013, 04:24 AM   #2
Yeeman19
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Thanks for the warning. Just checked my stock of filters and they're ok.
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Old 02-11-2013, 04:44 AM   #3
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Thanks. I guess I have 11 filters to check when I get home.
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Old 02-11-2013, 04:49 AM   #4
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i guess ill just buy the wix 57712 and forgetabout the garbage blue filters

Last edited by Uncle Scotty; 02-14-2013 at 02:46 AM. Reason: F F F....doh
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Old 02-12-2013, 01:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty View Post
i guess ill just buy the wix 55712 and forgetabout the garbage blue filters
57712?
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Old 02-14-2013, 02:47 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meebs View Post
57712?
doh....FFF

fixt
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Old 02-15-2013, 02:05 PM   #7
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Curious if anyone has been using a "bad" filter with a matching date code but no failure.

The Fram (manufacturer) document states "the gasket will either immediately fail or fail within 300 miles of operation." I just looked and the filter I installed at the beginning of this year has a matching date code for a "bad" filter but I have not a drop of oil leaking...

Called my service department (I know) and asked if they have had anyone come in with failures. They said they have only had a handful of them but most of the "bad filters" they checked have been okay/functioning properly. They seemed to think it was reasonable at this point for me to just continue to watch since I'm 600+ miles on the filter and it's functioning perfectly.

I know some will say (and I would usually say it as well) "why take the chance?" But I am uber busy these days and I'm well past the "immediate" or 300 mile mark and all is well...so thinking of leaving it on and watching.
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Old 02-15-2013, 02:58 PM   #8
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Plus, if you look at both the Subaru document and the Fram document they contradict. The Fram document is more to the point - if you have these specific date codes, you are effected. The Subaru doc makes it look like it depends on which shift the filter was made (someone in an earlier post made a comment that only 3rd shift manufactured filters were bad) but the Fram document says clearly that it is irregardless of shift. What a pain.

I called Fram directly and they were not much help. Was hoping for some more specific information but they weren't too helpful...nice, but not what I was wanting.

The Subaru doc has a link to a flow chart Subaru goes through to determine if the filter should be replaced. It clearly shows that, if the filter is over 300 miles, irregardless of any other factors, that it does not need to be replaced. Guess I'll go off that...
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Old 04-10-2013, 08:01 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garzdos View Post
Curious if anyone has been using a "bad" filter with a matching date code but no failure.

The Fram (manufacturer) document states "the gasket will either immediately fail or fail within 300 miles of operation." I just looked and the filter I installed at the beginning of this year has a matching date code for a "bad" filter but I have not a drop of oil leaking...

Called my service department (I know) and asked if they have had anyone come in with failures. They said they have only had a handful of them but most of the "bad filters" they checked have been okay/functioning properly. They seemed to think it was reasonable at this point for me to just continue to watch since I'm 600+ miles on the filter and it's functioning perfectly.

I know some will say (and I would usually say it as well) "why take the chance?" But I am uber busy these days and I'm well past the "immediate" or 300 mile mark and all is well...so thinking of leaving it on and watching.
I finally dealt with this today at my dealer. I bought 6 of the affected filters in october of 2012. I unknowingly ran one for a full oil interval with no oil loss for 3200 miles. I am currently on 800 miles on another affected filter with no oil loss of any kind.

The subaru tech on hand claims you lose about 1/2 a quart of oil if you just change the oil filter out. Since I run rotella t6 5w40 i was not interested in getting any replacement oil from the dealer.

The parts counter guy offered me 6 brand new filters and 2 crush washers in exchange for the 4 loser filters I brought in, to make me have 6 good filters and 6 crush washers sitting back in my garage. Showed my receipt, and the printed out link at the beginning of this thread. I didnt get any problems and they were more than happy to make me happy. I probably could have gotten more but they are very good to me and I was satisfied with the customer service. Thank you OP for posting this, I wouldnt have known without it.
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Old 02-11-2013, 10:42 AM   #10
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Good info thank you.
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Old 02-11-2013, 11:03 AM   #11
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Im still using my free oil changes, would my dealer notify of this? They have been the only people changing my oil since I have had my WRX Feb 2012.
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:07 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bottles View Post
Im still using my free oil changes, would my dealer notify of this? They have been the only people changing my oil since I have had my WRX Feb 2012.
The Subaru letter says that this recall does not apply to filters installed at the dealership. It only applies to filters purchased at the dealer parts counter or through an online wholesaler.

I don't understand how that works though, because I see service and parts staff at two of my local dealerships getting filters from the same cases.
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:16 PM   #13
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i guess what they are trying to say is all filters at dealership have already and will be checked prior to any service work. They already are aware and have removed them from their stock. You need to be worried if you ordered these from a vendor/dealer before the recall was made aware. thats jsut how i interepretted it
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:35 PM   #14
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Defiantly Good to know, Thanks!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by furiouswrx View Post
The Subaru letter says that this recall does not apply to filters installed at the dealership. It only applies to filters purchased at the dealer parts counter or through an online wholesaler.

I don't understand how that works though, because I see service and parts staff at two of my local dealerships getting filters from the same cases.
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:20 PM   #15
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Gotta watch out for those 3rd shift workers, lol
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:22 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pezcore View Post
Gotta watch out for those 3rd shift workers, lol
Hey! I'm one of those third shift workers.
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Old 02-12-2013, 06:50 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pezcore View Post
Gotta watch out for those 3rd shift workers, lol
I just bought three filters today, all made after the recall. But they were all made on 3rd shift.

What happens on third shift, stays on third shift.
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Old 02-11-2013, 12:28 PM   #18
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Thanks for the info

Last edited by ixwrxxi; 02-11-2013 at 12:36 PM.
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Old 02-11-2013, 02:08 PM   #19
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Glad i have a stockpile of the black filters!
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Old 07-02-2013, 03:26 AM   #20
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Glad i have a stockpile of the black filters!
Sell me some!!!!
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Old 02-11-2013, 04:29 PM   #21
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I noticed a drop of oil on the bottom of my filter at last change (about 3 weeks ago). No collection on the splash guard, though. Makes sense now. I just figured I didn't tighten it properly.

I guess I have to crawl under there and look. Yay...

Thanks for the info.
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Old 02-12-2013, 01:25 AM   #22
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OP, thanks for the heads up. How many miles do you have on the filter now? That's some scary chit that the affected filters will fail within 300 miles (at the latest)!!

I just checked my stock, all are S2 (made in Canada) so I lucked out. I've got over 3K miles on the installed filter so I figured it was ok. I already had a close call with a cracked pickup and don't want anymore oil surprises.

This reminds me of the guy on the forums recently who had the dealer do an oil change on his new WRX and soon afterwards he had a big oil leak from the filter causing engine damage. The dealer told him there was an issue with the filter and we were all BS, the tech must've double-gasketed the filter or something. Well, I guess the dealer wasn't BSing after all.
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Old 02-12-2013, 04:18 AM   #23
garzdos
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Great heads up!
Getting under my car tomorrow to check on this...I bought my last filter 3 days too early (December 12)! My local dealer said they did have to pull a few filters but didn't have too many of the bad ones...hope I bought a good one! I'm over 300 miles by far and haven't lost any oil so I figure I'm good...
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Old 02-13-2013, 06:47 PM   #24
furiouswrx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by esteve View Post
OP, thanks for the heads up. How many miles do you have on the filter now? That's some scary chit that the affected filters will fail within 300 miles (at the latest)!!
I had about 200 miles on the oil when I changed the oil filter last night (reusing the same oil). I checked the oil level before every trip just to be safe.

There was oil visibly pooling on the underbody cover and an oil droplet collecting on the bottom of the filter. Also oil dripping down nearby surfaces. Maybe about 1/16 quart in total.

Also to clarify, the 1-qt dealership oil reimbursement is liquid reimbursement, not monetary reimbursement, and you must provide a copy of an oil receipt for them. They gave me 1 quart of SM GF-4 Subaru Synthetic 5W-30.

Additionally, you must take off any installed recalled filter before they exchange it as a defective product through the service department - necessitating two trips to the dealer, unless you have a non-recall or different brand filter handy to swap it out with. YMMV at your dealer - maybe they can figure out how to do a refund on oil you did not purchase from them.
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Old 02-12-2013, 04:49 AM   #25
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Great heads up. I will be ordering a 6 pack soon. I know its well after the recall date, and I'm probably good, but you can never be too careful.
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