Recall Register

1988 Subaru GL: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for the 1988 Subaru GL. The newest campaign is 95V103006. NHTSA received the report on 24 May 1995. The NHTSA record gives the component Seat Belts / Front / Buckle Assembly. NHTSA has 17 complaints on file for this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of the newest campaign, 95V103006, in the NHTSA record

Owners should promptly check the condition and operation of both front safety belt buckles and carefully inspect the red release button for any breaks or cracks. They should ensure that both buckles are operating properly by inserting each latch plate into its buckle, tugging on the belt to make sure the latch is securely locked, and then pressing the release button. The latch plate should pop out of the buckle when the button is pressed. If either release button shows a sign of breaking or cracking or if either buckle fails to operate properly, owners should promptly contact their authorized dealer to schedule an appointment to have the buckle replaced or repaired, free of charge. The manufacturer is developing a remedy designed to prevent failure of the buttons that are not currently broken.

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

2 campaigns, newest first. 160,825 units in total.

  1. 95V103006Received . 100,825 units.

    Seat Belts / Front / Buckle Assembly

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    The front safety belt buckle release buttons can break. These red plastic release buttons are marked "press." if a button breaks, pieces can fall into the buckle assembly causing the buckle to operate improperly.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    The safety belts would not provide adequate protection to an occupant in a vehicle crash.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Owners should promptly check the condition and operation of both front safety belt buckles and carefully inspect the red release button for any breaks or cracks. They should ensure that both buckles are operating properly by inserting each latch plate into its buckle, tugging on the belt to make sure the latch is securely locked, and then pressing the release button. The latch plate should pop out of the buckle when the button is pressed. If either release button shows a sign of breaking or cracking or if either buckle fails to operate properly, owners should promptly contact their authorized dealer to schedule an appointment to have the buckle replaced or repaired, free of charge. The manufacturer is developing a remedy designed to prevent failure of the buttons that are not currently broken.

    Report filed by SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

  2. 88V052000Received . 60,000 units.

    Seat Belts

    Defect, in the NHTSA record
    Omission of information specified by FMVSS 210 from owner manual.
    Consequence, in the NHTSA record
    Fails to meet requirements of FMVSS 210 regarding childrestraint systems.
    Remedy, in the NHTSA record
    Adhesive backed inserts will be furnished with the correct information.

    Report filed by SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

17 complaints, 22 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. This model year has fewer than 50 component mentions, so the table shows the number of mentions only.

1988 Subaru GL: component mentions in complaints
ComponentMentions
Seat Belts12
Engine and Engine Cooling3
Service Brakes, Hydraulic2
Suspension2
Electrical System1
Vehicle Speed Control1
Power Train1
Complaints that report a crash
3
Complaints that report a fire
0
Injuries in the complaints
1
Deaths in the complaints
0
Date of the newest complaint
28 Jan 1999

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 1988 Subaru GL, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 1995, with 10 complaints.

Investigations

The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

  1. 19801
  2. 19811
  3. 19821
  4. 19831
  5. 19841
  6. 19852
  7. 19862
  8. 19872
  9. 19882
  10. 19890
  11. 19930

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

Official channels

Cite this page

Recall Register. 1988 Subaru GL: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/subaru/gl/1988/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .

Sources

Source
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence
US government work, public domain
Recall file through
29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through
29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file
1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file
SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 1988 Subaru GL?
160,825 units in 2 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Subaru GL have for all model years?
NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for the Subaru GL, model years 1980 to 1993. 2 of them name the 1988 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 1988 Subaru GL name most often?
Seat Belts: 12 of 22 component mentions.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 1988 Subaru GL open?
The NHTSA investigation file has no investigation that names this model year.