There are the car repairs you expect, the car repairs you don’t—and then the car repairs that completely baffle you.
Take the case of a 2021 Subaru with a strut going out after a little more than 30,000 miles. It was brought into Royalty Auto Service in St. Mary’s, Ga., one of the most prolific car creators on TikTok.
This video, posted on Aug. 22, has more than 225,000 views, and attracted at least another known auto repair online personality to its comments section.
What’s wrong with the Subaru?
The video begins with owner Sherwood Cooke, Jr., with a Topo Chico in hand, breaking down the situation for viewers.
“We have a pretty sad story—it’s not horribly sad, but still sad,” he begins. He explains how the 2021 Subaru Forester behind him was built in September 2020. However, it already has an issue unexpected on a car so relatively young.
“You look up here at this strut, it is just pourin’ strut, fluid out of it, so that strut’s no good,” he points out. “The other side’s fine. So it needs a strut. Unfortunately, it is out of warranty. Car’s got less than 31,000 miles on it. It’s crazy.”
He comments how while the driver may have a limit on the warranty, the number of miles is relatively small.
“I would think they could do that under goodwill,” he says. “We would normally do struts in a pair. But 31,000 miles, we’re going to put one strut on it, and it’ll be good to go.”
Cooke adds that the leak is “horrifically bad,” because they are not supposed to leak since they are sealed securely.
“So this one leaking, it clearly was defective from the factory,” he claims.
@royaltyautoservice This really sucks for them! #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #subaru #cartok #automotive #autorepair #stitch #fyp #foryou #viral @TopoChicoUSA ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm
How much is that part?
According to SubaruPartsPlus.com, the strut for a 2021 Subaru Forester costs $262.18. Other components cost anywhere from $1.98 for a washer to $88.15 for a coil spring.
A Railtek article further expounding on strut repair for Subarus, and the difference between shocks and struts, notes, “Faulty shocks or struts will make it difficult to control your vehicle properly. You will notice this when driving over a bump or a pothole, which will cause the vehicle to wander and/or oscillate excessively if poor performing shocks or struts are installed. This is why shocks and struts must always be kept in good working order.”
The article states that if you’re experiencing a bumpy ride, have difficulty steering, unusual tire tread wear, or notice leakage from the strut—as the car in the video experienced—it’s worth getting the struts looked at. The article also said you should replace struts every 50,000 to 100,000 miles.
Mr. Subaru enters the conversation
The video drew the attention of Mr. Subaru, a well-known online mechanic who famously, as the Daily Dot covered, got into online beef earlier this year with Dave’s Auto Center, another profilic auto repair creator.
“If the customer called Subaru of America, they’d likely goodwill warranty it if the dealer declined it,” Mr. Subaru said. “They goodwill engines and CVTs, I think they’ll handle a shock.”
Royalty replied, “They had the strut in stock and the repairs are done. But we will tell him to call and just see if they’ll reimburse possibly. It’s worth a shot. Worst thing that happens is they say no. Thanks!”
One commenter actually anticipated Mr. Subaru’s arrival, saying, “Mr. Subaru not gonna like this one.”
“We like Subarus and recommend them,” the creator clarified. “Every car has its issues. We would agree with him that these are solid vehicles!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Subaru via email and to Royalty via TikTok direct message and online contact form.
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