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© 2018 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Subaru Service and Technical Support Line Newsletter

SPECIAL EDITION
01

QMR OF THE MONTH - TRIP WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

Subaru of America, Inc. is extremely excited to announce the second quarter 2018 QMR of the
Month SIA / Indianapolis Motor Speedway Trip winner! As previously mentioned in the January 2018
edition of TECH TIPS and a Subarunet announcement on January 15, 2018 titled “QMR of the Month
Program Enhancement - Trip to SIA and Indianapolis Motor Speedway”, SOA has added yet another
great new feature to the QMR of the Month program. One National winner from each 2018 calendar
year quarter (a potential of 4 winners annually) will win a trip to Lafayette, Indiana to visit and tour
both the Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant, and the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In
addition, each winner will receive two plaques which include the following: 1) an SBR Appreciation
letter from SBR Corporate Vice President Hiroki Kurihara, and 2) an SOA Appreciation letter from
Subaru of America President and CEO Tom Doll, and Vice President of Service & Quality, Michael
Campbell!
The Winner for 2018’s second quarter is:

Jeremy Hughes from
Wilsonville Subaru in Wilsonville, OR
This highly-detailed QMR outlined diagnosis of a customer’s complaint stating both their key fobs
only communicate with the car intermittently. Jeremy verified the condition and began his diagnosis.
He noticed the interior lights were inoperative which led him to a blown Fuse #26. Using his testing
equipment, he determined the amperage draw on the circuit to be normal at that time. He installed
a new fuse and all systems operated normally so, another call was made to the customer for more
details about the condition. Jeremy then started looking into other related circuits powered by Fuse
#26 which eventually led to the sun visor vanity mirrors. With his testing equipment still connected, he
could see the current draw on the fuse jump to over 18 amps when moving the driver’s visor along
with a flickering of the right-hand vanity lamp. Upon closer inspection, Jeremy found a screw in the
lamp housing which was intermittently shorting between one of the bulb sockets and the frame. It was
the same type of screw used to secure the lamp to the visor but, all the other screws were in place
and tight. Since there was evidence of arcing, Jeremy replaced the visor assembly then proceeded
to test all the involved circuits to confirm normal operation before releasing the vehicle back to the
customer. Numerous excellent quality photos were provided in his report along with a progression of
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CAUTION: VEHICLE SERVICING PERFORMED BY UNTRAINED PERSONS
COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY TO THOSE PERSONS OR TO OTHERS.

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. IS
ISO 14001 COMPLIANT

The Subaru TechTIPS newsletter is intended for use by professional Technicians ONLY. Articles
are written to inform those Technicians of conditions that may occur in some vehicles, or to
provide information that could assist in the proper servicing of the vehicle. Properly trained
Technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do the job correctly
and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that your vehicle has or will have that
condition. Impreza, Legacy, Justy, Loyale, Outback, Forester, Subaru SVX, WRX, WRX STI,
Baja, Tribeca, BRZ, XV Crosstrek and “Quality Driven” are Registered Trademarks.

ISO 14001 is the international standard for
excellence in Environmental Management
Systems. Please recycle or dispose of
automotive products in a manner that is
friendly to our environment and in accordance
with all local, state and federal laws and
regulations.

Special Edition TechTIPS

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each diagnostic step used to isolate the root cause of the condition.
(L to R): Western
Regional Parts &
Service Manager
Gary Huckle, Field
Service Engineer
Randy Ontko,
Master Technician
Jeremy Hughes,
District Parts &
Service Manager
Jon Wenger, and
Service Manager
Mark Kuhns.

To celebrate this achievement, Subaru of Spokane emptied out their showroom to be able to bring
all the personnel in for the announcement and group pictures. General Manager Mike Keegan said
congratulatory words and introduced Western Regional Parts & Service Manager Gary Huckle for
words of encouragement and congratulations.
Subaru then sponsored a cookout at Subaru of Spokane with burgers, a local food truck, and ice
cream! The cookout was held across the street at their outside parking lot. A selection of custom mac
and cheese dishes, FSE Randy Ontko crafted burgers, and ice cream with toppings was enjoyed
along with good company all around. The weather was absolutely perfect, which truly topped off the
event with all happy people and full stomachs.
Jeremy will join William Ertl (first quarter winner) and up to two other (to be determined) winners in
visiting Indiana for their award trip during the Spring of 2019.
Remember, any Subaru Technician can be a QMR of the Month national winner. Please refer to
January 2018 edition of TECH TIPS for more information regarding the award trip.

Picture of cookout at Subaru of Spokane to celebrate Master Technician Jeremy
Hughes winning the second quarter QMR of the Month Award Trip!

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PROGRAM DETAILS
•

Subaru of America, Inc. reserves the right to cancel or amend this program at any time.
All determinations are final.

•

A Subaru Service Technician designation does NOT include retailer employees having
multiple or separate titles including but not limited: to Retailer Principal, General
Manager, Sales Manager, F/I Manager, Service Manager, Parts Manager, Shop
Foreman, Dispatcher, Service Advisor, Warranty Administrator, Salesperson, or other
titles.

•

To receive any award(s), qualifying Subaru Service Technicians must be actively
employed by an active Subaru retailer throughout the program period and at the time
any award(s) is / are claimed.

•

It is the responsibility of the Retailer to make all decisions regarding the employment
status and to inform SOA, SDC or SNE of any changes in that status. SOA, SDC and
SNE shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the Retailer’s reporting of
the employment status of Subaru Service Technicians.

•

No awards will be distributed to a Subaru Service Technician not meeting all program
requirements.

•

Awards must be redeemed by the individual Subaru Service Technician who earned
the award. Awards are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged or substituted in any
way.

•

All prize winners are responsible for any and all associated taxes on winnings. Consult
with your personal tax advisor for specifics.

•

If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact your local FSE.

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