Front Suspension Lower Ball Joint Problems of Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza outback sport 2002, passenger lower control arm had corrosion bad enough to cause complete separation and failure causing loss of vehicle steering control while driving on a highway at approximately 40 mph. Contacted Subaru of America and Subaru dealership, Subaru was not within the VIN numbers specified under the current recall to repair this identical issue of corrosion of the lower control arm. Also the u frame brace was so extremely corroded that it crumbled and fell apart similar to the control arm corrosion. Other damage directly related to the control arm failure include, damage to body and fender when tire was stuffed backward into the fender during the failure at speed. Damage to tire, damage to anti roll bar end link, damage to drive axle and drive axle boots and damage to seal and housing at transmission differential, damage to lower ball joint.

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My brother was driving his 2005 wrx sti on a clear morning on dry pavement and lost control. The car slid off the shoulder of the road and then crossed back over the road where it collided sideways with a tree. The vehicle made contact with the tree on the driver's door post, killing him instantly and injuring the passenger. Upon inspection of the car, we found that the driver's side ball joint seperated from the a-arm. It appeared that the threads on the ball joint were worn excessively and may have seperated or were seperating prior to the collision. We suspect that this could have even caused the loss of control. I know the car has an excellent safety record, but we contacted Subaru about the ball joint/a-arm. Their response was that it is not a known problem. In addition, there have been no recalls or service bulletins on this. When we sold the car for salvage, the dealer who bought it told us that he deals in wrx sti parts. He told us that this is the fifth Subaru Impreza he has purchased with the lower ball joint seperated from the a-arm. Because of the frequency of occurence, I think it warrants tracking, even if the ball joints are separating during collision. The purchaser wished to remain anonymous and again, we sold the car for salvage, but we have pictures of the car and of the a-arm and balljoint. In addition, there was no apparent damage from impact to the wheel or tire.

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