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Service bulletin 03-70-12R

A bulletin is a manufacturer's communication to its dealers, as NHTSA indexes it. The summary is NHTSA's. The document is the manufacturer's: read it at NHTSA. A bulletin is not a recall, and listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned.

The communication, as NHTSA indexes it (as of 2026-10-19)
TypeService bulletin
NHTSA id10141537
Published by NHTSA2018-06-18
Manufacturer's number03-70-12R
Manufacturer's date2013-05-22
NHTSA componentPOWER TRAIN; EQUIPMENT

NHTSA's summary

This Bulletin provides production change, repair procedure and parts information to address a customer concern of a high-pitched sound coming from the transmission extension housing area. In cold temperatures, thermal contraction causes shrinking of the transmission case. In high temperatures, expansion of the case occurs. These temperature changes affect the amount of preload on the transfer driven shaft bearings. In some rare cases, when preload is very near the limit of specification combined with unusual driving conditions, this thermally-induced pre-load change may cause damage to the bearings and result in the sound heard by the customer. A change has been made to the extension case and a new ?Dish Plate? added. The machining depth of the extension case has been increased to accommodate the new dish plate. When used along with a selective thrust washer, the spring tension of the dish plate helps to maintain a consistent amount of pre-load on these bearings throughout varying temperature conditions.

The document

The document is the manufacturer's. This site does not hold it. NHTSA files a document at one of these two addresses; we have not asked NHTSA which.

Components

Equipment and accessories, Transmission and driveline

Vehicles listed
SUBARU LEGACY2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
SUBARU OUTBACK2000 to 2004
SUBARU OUTBACK2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned: the document says which.

Recalls for the same vehicles and component
20022002002-11-05. Powertrain
02V2820002002-10-30. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
99V2490001999-09-17. POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:CENTER SUPPORT BEARING

A recall listed here may apply to some of the same vehicles. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle.

Other bulletins for the same vehicles and component
SubaruNet Announcement (R2026-06-01. Other. This announcement provides information on the remanufactured CVT transmission program.
03-97-262026-05-04. Service bulletin. This bulletin announces the service manual correction regarding clutch master cylinder reservoir service procedures.
Subaru Service Technical2025-09-02. Other. Subaru Service Technical Support Newsletter special edition.
Subarunet Announcement2024-08-05. Other. This annoucement provides parts personnel information about remanufactured transmissions that will no longer be available.
01-168-09R2023-09-05. Service bulletin. The purpose of this bulletin is to provide replacement key and immobilizer information along with an overview of the Subaru Lock Information web-site.
12-249-23R2023-08-02. Service bulletin. This bulletin announces the recommended cleaning procedures to followed when encountering vehicles with long time exposure to pollen on painted surfaces on vehicles imported from Japan. This bulletin does not apply to SIA built vehicles.
1691142023-04-24. Service bulletin. Correction to Diagnostics for 5AT-Related DTCs
037012R2023-04-24. Service bulletin. This Bulletin provides production change, repair procedure and parts information to address a customer concern of a high-pitched sound coming from the transmission extension housing area.
036812R2023-04-17. Service bulletin. 5MT Transfer Driven Gear Bearings
18170132023-03-20. Service bulletin. Service Manual Corrections