I am a new member of this forum. My 2014 Crosstrek has a problem, but my mechanic found the cause and it's weird.
On page 3 of this sub-forum, I found two posts for the exact same problem. But the posts are many months old, and I know some forums disapprove of reviving old posts. No one replied to the two posts with the correct diagnosis, which I have. So here it is:
Two weeks ago, I turned the fan control knob from off to 4 (high). Fan does not come on at all so no air coming from vents. I pulled and examined all four fuses marked as "blower fan" in the manual. All were good. So, I suspected the fan motor was broken.
My mechanic (not dealer) said it could also be the resistor. So, they take a look. After a while, the mechanic tells me both the fan motor and the resistor were ok - the problem was the melting of the plastic parts on the wiring harness and the control unit. The cause was overheating due to the wiring being too thin causing too much resistance resulting in too much heat - a design flaw. The mechanic said this is very common with GM cars. The problem seems to be 2017 and earlier Crosstreks (could be other models also). Both the control unit ($$$) and the wiring harness have to be replaced. Fortunately the replacement after-market wiring harness has thicker wires. Parts are on order and with labor, I'm out approx $550.
Anyone been through this? In my opinion this problem should have resulted in a recall by Subaru. After all, things melting under the dash is a serious problem and Subaru surely must know about this because they corrected it in 2018 and later model years.
Opinions?
On page 3 of this sub-forum, I found two posts for the exact same problem. But the posts are many months old, and I know some forums disapprove of reviving old posts. No one replied to the two posts with the correct diagnosis, which I have. So here it is:
Two weeks ago, I turned the fan control knob from off to 4 (high). Fan does not come on at all so no air coming from vents. I pulled and examined all four fuses marked as "blower fan" in the manual. All were good. So, I suspected the fan motor was broken.
My mechanic (not dealer) said it could also be the resistor. So, they take a look. After a while, the mechanic tells me both the fan motor and the resistor were ok - the problem was the melting of the plastic parts on the wiring harness and the control unit. The cause was overheating due to the wiring being too thin causing too much resistance resulting in too much heat - a design flaw. The mechanic said this is very common with GM cars. The problem seems to be 2017 and earlier Crosstreks (could be other models also). Both the control unit ($$$) and the wiring harness have to be replaced. Fortunately the replacement after-market wiring harness has thicker wires. Parts are on order and with labor, I'm out approx $550.
Anyone been through this? In my opinion this problem should have resulted in a recall by Subaru. After all, things melting under the dash is a serious problem and Subaru surely must know about this because they corrected it in 2018 and later model years.
Opinions?