ATTENTION:
GENERAL MANAGER

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PARTS MANAGER

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CLAIMS PERSONNEL

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IMPORTANT - All
Service Personnel
Should Read and
Initial in the boxes
provided, right.

SERVICE MANAGER

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© 2020 Subaru of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

SERVICE PROGRAM BULLETIN
APPLICABILITY:

SUBJECT:

2015-2016MY Legacy 2.5L
2015-2016MY Outback 2.5L

NUMBER: WUJ-95R

Exhaust Pipe Front (EPF) Bellows Cracking

REVISED: 07/30/21

DATE: 02/11/20

INTRODUCTION:

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service campaign for certain 2015-2016MY Legacy
and Outback 2.5L models which may experience an exhaust noise and/or odor coming from cracks at
the bellows section of the front exhaust pipe which includes the catalytic converter. A leak occurring
at the front exhaust pipe may result in deterioration of emission performance. As a result, the vehicle
may fail to meet emission levels certified by the EPA and/or California ARB.
AFFECTED VEHICLES:
Vehicles included in this service campaign are 2015-2016 Legacy and Outback 2.5L. This recall will
affect approximately 243,750 vehicles. Coverage for all affected vehicles must be confirmed by using
the Vehicle Coverage Inquiry function on subarunet.com. The affected VINs will be made available
in phases, as the owner notification letters are scheduled for release. Please refer to the ‘Owner
Notification’ section of this bulletin for more information.
Model Year

Carline

Affected Production Dates

2015-2016

Legacy

12/16/2013 - 9/30/2015

2015-2016

Outback

12/09/2013 – 9/30/2015

DESCRIPTION OF THE REPAIR:
Subaru retailers will replace the front exhaust pipe.
RETAILER RESPONSIBILITY:
Retailers are to promptly perform this repair on all affected vehicles in their inventory. Additionally,
whenever a vehicle subject to this service program is taken into inventory or in for service, necessary
steps should be taken to ensure the repairs have been made before selling or releasing the vehicle.
OWNER NOTIFICATION:
Affected vehicle owners will be notified in phases based on their physical location, the emissions
specification of their vehicle (Cal-spec or Fed-spec), and parts production schedules. Listed in the
table below is the current phased mailing plan:
CAUTION: VEHICLE SERVICING PERFORMED BY UNTRAINED PERSONS COULD
RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY TO THOSE PERSONS OR TO OTHERS.
Subaru Service Bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians ONLY. They
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 this
Service Bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition.

Subaru of America, Inc. is
ISO 14001 Compliant
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.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUJ-95R Revised: 07/30/21

Page 1 of 14

Date

Emissions
specification (spec)

Mailing
Phase

Assigned Retailers’
Facing RDC(s)

Applicable WUJ-95
Kit Part Number

Approximate
Quantity

February 2020

California-spec (PZEV)

PZEV 1

Coppell RDC
Ontario RDC
Portland Lombard RDC

SOA635156

50,000

February 2020

Federal-spec

FED 1

Aurora RDC

SOA635157

16,000

FED 2

SNE, SDC
Coppell RDC
Ontario RDC
Portland Lombard RDC

SOA635157

18,000

March 2020

Federal-spec

April 2020

California-spec (PZEV)

PZEV 2

SNE

SOA635156

27,000

June, 2020

California-spec (PZEV)

PZEV 3

SDC

SOA635156

19,000

July, 2020

California-spec (PZEV)

PZEV 4

Florence RDC

SOA635156

30,000

September, 2020

California-spec (PZEV)

PZEV 5

Aurora RDC Douglasville
RDC Lebanon RDC

SOA635156

19,000

October, 2020

Federal-spec

FED 3

Douglasville RDC
Florence RDC

SOA635157

25,000

October, 2020

Federal-spec

FED 4

Lebanon RDC

SOA635157

40,000

RETAILER AFFECTED VIN LISTS:
Each Subaru retailer will receive an affected VIN list for each phased mailing from their Zone office
as the owner notification letters are released. Vehicles will be assigned to retailers in the affected VIN
list as follows. Please note that this logic has recently changed:
1. If there is a preferred retailer on file, the VIN will be assigned to the preferred retailer.
2. If there is no preferred retailer on file:
a. Original vehicle owners are assigned to the original selling retailer if their current DMV
registration address is within a 50-mile radius of that retailer.
b. If the original selling retailer is inactive, the VIN is assigned to the nearest active retailer.
c. If the owner is not the original owner, the VIN is assigned to the nearest active retailer.
PART INFORMATION:
During transportation from the supplier, the spacing between the exhaust flanges may change due
to vibration. Although the amount of this change is small, it is enough to require more force than
normal to install the EPF onto the engine during vehicle assembly. The amount of force may have
caused cracking to develop in the bellows section of the EPF resulting in exhaust leakage. Since the
area of the leak is upstream of the catalyst, emission system performance may be compromised. In
some cases, customers may notice an unusual noise and / or exhaust odor.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUJ-95R Revised: 07/30/21

Page 2 of 14

Description

Part Number

Application

Cal Spec. (PZEV) Kit

SOA635156

PZEV (Cal Spec) Vehicles

Fed Spec. Kit

SOA635157

Fed. Spec. Vehicles

Insulation Pad Adhesive

SOA868V9690

Both Fed and PZEV Vehicles

IMPORTANT NOTE: When checking a VIN for an open WUJ-95 recall, hover over Open Recall /
Campaign in the upper right corner of the Vehicle Inquiry result screen. Confirm the emission
specification (Fed or Cal) to make sure the correct Front Exhaust Pipe kit is ordered to complete the
repair.

SERVICE PROCEDURE / INFORMATION:
REMINDER: Customer satisfaction and retention starts with performing quality repairs.
The service procedures for removal and reinstallation of the EPF assembly remain unchanged.
See “APPENDIX A” beginning on page 9 for additional Helpful Hints.
NOTE: The new EPF kit is supplied without heat shields. The heat shields used on the original EPF
will need to be CAREFULLY removed along with their fiberglass insulators and transferred to the
new part. The kit includes a complete set of replacement fiberglass insulation pads.
EPF heat shield -related repair guidelines are provided below. Always refer to the applicable
Service Manual and review the full requirements of the repair being performed. The Service Manual
procedures contain information critical to performing an effective repair the first time and every
time. This includes but is not limited to: important SAFETY precautions, proper inspection criteria,
necessary special tools, required processes and related one-time-use parts needed for a complete and
lasting repair.
Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUJ-95R Revised: 07/30/21

Page 3 of 14

(3) PREPARATION:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Record the customer’s radio station presets (and Navigation favorites where applicable) then
disconnect the ground cable from the battery sensor.
Remove the engine under cover.
Verify the recalled part is installed. If an aftermarket replacement part is found, no further work
is required.
CAREFULLY disconnect the Air Fuel Ratio and Oxygen Sensor harness connectors.
Disconnect the center exhaust pipe at the spring bolt connection. New nuts and spring bolts are
supplied in the hardware kit but, the springs are to be reused.
Remove the center bolt from the hanger bracket but do not unhook the exhaust pipe from it yet.
Loosen / remove and discard the six one-time use EPF flange nuts at the cylinder heads. New
nuts are also supplied in the hardware kit.

NOTE: See “APPENDIX B” on pg. 11 for more helpful information related to the removal of these
nuts.
IMPORTANT REMINDER / CAUTION: The EPF assembly is heavy. Use a helper if necessary
to avoid dropping it during removal.
•
•
•

Remove the center exhaust pipe from the EPF. CAUTION: The pipe may be hot.
Once the EPF has cooled (or if necessary), apply a penetrating oil (e.g. PB Blaster® or
equivalent as directed on the product’s container) to the sensor threads to help with removal.
CAREFULLY remove the Air Fuel Ratio and Oxygen Sensors from the EPF assembly.

NOTES:
• Both EPF kits (SOA635156 for CAL-spec and SOA635157 for FED-spec. vehicles) include:
○
○
○
○
○
•

A new EPF WITHOUT heat shields
All new fiberglass heat insulation pads
4 new clamps for the small heat shields closest to the cylinder head flanges.
A replacement hardware kit for the heat shields and spring nuts / bolts
A replacement exhaust gasket kit (cylinder head flange (2), front pipe (1) and center “donut”
(1) gaskets).

Insulation Pad adhesive p.n. SOA868V9690 must be ordered separately
and is used to secure the new insulation pads to the inside of the heat
shields prior to reassembly. The part number to use for Warranty claim
entry is SOA635314 (qty. 1). Each quart-sized (32 oz.) container has a
brush applicator cap and contains enough adhesive to repair approximately
20 cars. IMPORTANT: Always keep the cap tightly sealed between uses
for longest life. Replace the adhesive if it becomes dried out or cannot be
applied properly using the brush.

(4) HEAT SHIELD TRANSFER:
IMPORTANT NOTE: All heat shields are intended to be reused. USE HAND TOOLS ONLY
when removing them from the EPF to avoid breaking off the retaining studs.
Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUJ-95R Revised: 07/30/21

Page 4 of 14

•
•
•

ALWAYS wear proper eye protection
Use a wire brush to remove any loose rust/scale from the heat shield retaining fasteners.
Apply a penetrating lubricant (e.g. PB Blaster® or equivalent) as directed on the product’s
container to the heat shield fasteners to help loosen and remove them without breakage.
In some cases, VERY CAREFUL use of a torch or an induction heating tool may be
necessary to loosen / remove rusted / siezed heat shield hardware.
When the fasteners initially begin to loosen, work them back and forth while applying
additional penetrant to help lubricate the threads. TAKING YOUR TIME during this
step will help prevent breaking off fasteners and avoid heat shield replacements. Repeat as
necessary until all the heat shields have been removed from
the EPF.

•
•

IMPORTANT: As each heat shield is CAREFULLY removed,
use a permanent marker to outline the shape and positioning of each
fiberglass insulation pad found on the inside of it whenever possible.
A complete set of new insulation pads is included in the EPF kit and
ALL are to be replaced at reassembly.

Use a wire brush to remove any insulation and / or adhesive residue. Proper positioning of the new
insulation pads is key to achieving a rattle-free repair.

TIP: Replacing the insulation pads and swapping
each (pair) of these small shields over to the new
EPF one pipe at a time will help avoid confusion.

•

Before applying any of the new insulation pads, wipe the inside and outside of the shields
clean of any residual oil / penetrant used with a mild solvent on a clean shop cloth. Use
caution to not remove the position markings for the replacement insulation pads.

TIP: Have all the stud threads and shields going back onto the new EPF cleaned and their respective
heat insulation pads ready to apply. Doing it this way avoids having to open and close the adhesive
container repeatedly.

Continued...
Bulletin Number: WUJ-95R Revised: 07/30/21

Page 5 of 14

•

Remove the brush cap from the adhesive container and apply a small amount of the material
to each shield toward the center of where the new insulation pad will be positioned. Marking
an outline for where the adhesive should be applied can also be used as shown below.

•

For reference, a “dab” or two of adhesive about the size of a silver dollar is plenty. There
is no need to cover the entire insulation pad area. Keep in mind, the adhesive is only
used to hold the new insulation pads in place during EPF reassembly as they will be held
(“clamped”) in position once all the retaining hardware is tightened.

•

Apply the adhesive to the shield then press the new insulation pad onto it and all the
contours of each shield. Repeat for each remaining shield and insulation pad.

IMPORTANT: Keep the adhesive bottle tightly sealed at all times.
•

BEFORE installing the shields onto the new EPF, confirm the new EPF fits into place on the
cylinder head exhaust studs properly without any prying or other manipulation.

•

When all the insulation pads are in place and proper EPF fit is confirmed, proceed with
reassembling the heat shields onto the EPF.
Fastener
Nm
Ft. Lbs.

EPF Fastener Torque Specifications:
•

Reassemble the exhaust system and install