According to a recall notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the brake lines on affected vehicles may corrode over time if they’re splashed by salt water through a gap in the fuel tank protector. Subaru spokesman Michael McHale said that the company was still calculating the total number of cars affected, but it has already reached the 200,000 mark.

However, the recall is only limited to cars either currently or formerly registered in 20 states, and Washington DC. These are states that salt their roads during the winter to allow cars more grip while on the road. So, if you live in a state that salts the roads (as opposed to using a sand mixture, perhaps), you’re mostly affected.

McHale says that there havn’t been any reports of accidents as a result of the brake line issue, but the company doesn’t want to take any chances, and McHale notes that Subaru is being “super conservative.” McHale notes that the issue was actually discovered during testing phases of one of their cars, where it started exhibit corrosion on the brake line. Aside from recalling vehicles earlier last month, Subaru also recalled a whopping 600,000 vehicles back in January.

[via CNN]

The hybrid version will be called the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid and promises the same benefits as the standard version of the Crosstrek with improved fuel economy. Subaru says that it reengineered the chassis to handle the additional weight of the battery system and improved handling, steering, and ride quality. The hybrid version of the SUV shares the same Subaru full-time all-wheel drive system of the standard version.

The gasoline-powered engine in the hybrid is the 2.0-liter Subaru BOXER engine combined with a 13.4-horsepower electric motor. The electric motor is integrated into the CVT transmission of the vehicle. The battery is a 100-volt 13.5-kilowatt nickel-metal hydride battery located under the revised rear floor area of the vehicle.

The hybrid vehicle also has an automatic start/stop feature and the complete hybrid system weighs 95 kg. The hybrid version of the Crosstrek ways about 136 kg more than the standard gasoline version. Subaru also fits the vehicle with a regenerative braking system to help keep the battery charged longer. Subaru is aiming for fuel efficiency of 28 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on highway.

[via Subaru]

Subaru says that their focus for this WRX concept is based around “sharp handling, AWD grip, and turbo power.” Overall the new concept sits a lot lower and has a more streamlined design than the 2013 Impreza WRX, and it’s just a few inches wider at the wheel base. The car also has a larger grille and an impressive set of headlights.

The car also has a carbon fiber roof top to cut down on weight, which is certainly an interesting approach, given that most manufacturers go with a carbon fiber hood in order to cut down the weight of a car. However, the car comes with that iconic hood scoop that proves it’s a true WRX. The car keeps the 4-door style, but it looks a lot more like a coupe now.

Overall, it’s a completely new car, but you can tell that Subaru left some things alone so that it still has some classic WRX styling to it. Again, this is only a concept, so some of the features you see may not hit the actual production model, and it’s not said when this car will hit the assembly line, but hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.

It turns out that if owners accidentally drop the remote starter key fob, it could trigger a glitch that starts the engine without any button on the fob being pressed. It’s said that the engine may run for up to 15 minutes, and could even continue to start and stop until the remote starter battery is dead or the vehicle runs out of gas.

The NHTSA documents mentioned no reports of any accidents or injuries from the glitch, but one of the biggest safety concerns with this issue is the chance of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide buildup if the vehicle is parked in an enclosed garage. It’s also said that all the vehicles affected have either automatic or continuously variable transmissions.

The recall is expected to begin by the end of April, and it only affects Subaru vehicles that are equipped with the remote starter accessory kits, meaning that OEM keyless entry fobs integrated on the vehicle key don’t apply. Subaru has said that the defect doesn’t pose a risk while driving, so the chances of getting an accident due to the glitch are extremely low.

[via Reuters]

The luxury vehicles earned the brand a score of 79, with Consumer Reports having looked at Lexus models specifically instead of looking at all Toyota brands and giving a combined score. It did this across the board, with Subaru and Mazda coming in at second and third place. Competition included all the big names and many more, including Chrysler, GM, Ford, Honda, and Nissan.

Both Subaru and Mazda came in tied with a score of 76, just a tad below Lexus’ score. Subaru scored some points for the “sportiness” of some of its vehicles, while Mazda was ranked as having some of the most reliable cars available. Both brands were reported as offering good fuel economy, handling, and versatility wrapped up in a package with decent price tags.

Not surprisingly, 80-percent of the top ten brands are Japanese, with Honda’s Civic being noted amongst them for its refreshed design, but it didn’t do as well as some of its competition due to the CR-Z and Insight, both of which scored low. Among the lowest of the top Japanese brands was Nissan, with both its trucks and SUVs receiving low scores for being unreliable. Its Altima and Infinti, however, helped keep the brand afloat.

[via Consumer Reports]

Subaru is showing the system off at CES and the system is also integrated with some smartphone applications such as Aha. The Subaru connectivity suite allows drivers to access thousands of web-based radio stations and podcasts via streaming. Drivers can also access on-demand music services such as Slacker, Rhapsody, and others.

Subaru promises that Starlink will continue to grow with new partners and connectivity capabilities coming over time. The system will debut in the 2014 Subaru Forster and will be available in all versions of that vehicle at are factory navigation equipped. The system will also come to 2013 Legacy and Outback models as an upgrade if they are equipped with factory navigation.

Starting this summer, all 2014 model year Impreza, BRZ, and XV Crosstek models with factory navigation will also begin getting the service. Subaru is also talking up its new EyeSight driver assistance system. The system integrates adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, pre-collision throttle management, and vehicle lane departure display warnings. Subaru says under certain circumstances the EyeSight system can bring the car to a complete stop, avoiding a collision. The system uses two CCD cameras mounted inside a car on the upper edge of the windshield view the road ahead.

The good news is that there haven’t been any fires reported, though there has been one reported instance of smoke. More good news: it seems that not every car recalled even has this accessory light, with Subaru saying that it believes only 54,000 vehicles are truly at risk. Still, risk of fire is enough to worry Subaru, so it wants check all of these vehicles out just the same.

Here’s the problem: moisture containing salt could potentially work its way into the light’s housing, and if it comes into contact with the circuit board, a fire might not be far off. Thankfully, there haven’t been any reported injuries, so Subaru is getting to this problem before it causes any real damage. The cars affected by this fault includes Forester models released between 2009 to 2012, Outback and Legacy models from 2010 to 2012, and Tribeca models from 2006 to 2012.

If you own one of those cars, you should get in touch with your dealer. If you have one of the faulty lights, your dealer will install a harness on the lamp, which helps cut out the risk of fire. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments with the recall, so stay here at SlashGear for more.

[via NBC News]

Subaru walked away with the win in the Design Competition with a concept called the SHARC. The Subaru design concept is an unmanned drone capable of operating on the land and in the air that is designed to operate on renewable resource fuels and has a topographical scanner integrated. The design concept operates autonomously eliminating the need for a large staff of officers.

All concepts submitted in the competition had to meet the strict Hawaii carbon-neutral environmental regulations. The Subaru concept has four wheels each with their own electric motors. The wheels and tires themselves can turn into rotors allowing for air operations.

The design concept also shows a wearable remote control system allowing officers to control the vehicles when needed. One of the more interesting features of the SHARC is that vehicle is inflatable rather than being a rigid frame vehicle.

Subaru Canada notes that the WRX and WRX Limited Package will both be available again for 2013. The 2013 version of the car is a four-door design that Subaru says has a “wide and low” design to give the car an aggressive road presence with fenders that are stretched wider than the rear tail lamps. This is a common look in racing where fenders have to be stretched to fit over wider wheels and tires.

The 2013 model is available in a 4-door and a 5-door version both getting power from a 265 HP turbocharged and intercooled 2.5-liter Subaru Boxer engine. The cars use five-speed manual transmission and the engine produces 244 pound-foot peak torque at 4000 RPMs. The WRX is famous for its full-time all-wheel drive system and the 2013 model carries on with Subaru’s symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive.

The 2013 WRX also gets a viscous-coupling limited slip center differential designed to distribute torque 50/50 between the front and rear wheels. The new 2013 model also includes a standard six speaker audio system with Bluetooth. Safety features include four-wheel disc brakes with a four-wheel, four channel, for sensor antilock brake, system that also includes electronic brake force distribution and brake assist. Brake assist analyzes the force and stroke placed on the brake pedal by the driver and will increase hydraulic boost in emergency stopping situations.

What’s strange is this is the first time I’ve ever seen a recall issued on the car that doesn’t have to do with mechanical or safety issues. The two car companies are recalling the automobiles because of a misprint in the owner’s manual. The recall will affect about 1156 Scion FR-S cars.

About 1600 Subaru BRZ cars will be affected. The problem in the owner’s manual has to do with an improper description of the passenger airbag. Exactly, what is improperly described is unknown. Both cars have been on sale for a short time and are in relatively high demand. The recall could mean it takes longer for the vehicles to get into buyer hands.

[via WSJ]

Mostly, the talk has centered on the fact that the cars start at around $25,000-$26,000 making them dirt cheap in new sports car terms. I suspect that both cars will be some of the most difficult to beat in the right hands at your local track day or autocross. First drive impressions hit the web in force this week, and the consensus is that it’s a fantastic car with excellent handling.

The power is described as good by most publications. Two hundred horsepower isn’t a lot, but a small and lightweight car doesn’t need a lot of power to perform. The standard transmission is a 6-speed manual along with a standard Torsen limited slip differential. The downside, as with most small cars, is that getting a couple full-size adults in the backseat is going to be a big challenge. If one of those adults is over 6-feet tall, you can probably give up on it. You can check out hands-on-driving impressions from around the web from Motortrend, Jalopnik, Automobile, and Car and Driver. This sounds like a very interesting vehicle, are any of you planning to add one your garage?