I have yet to hear back from Subaru top brass. I'll give them a few more weeks. There is no way I'll be paying anything out of pocket to have this repaired.
The more folks who raise this directly with Subaru, the more likely they will take responsibility for their product. It may be the case that legal options are required, but right now I'm holding off on this. Got exams coming up, a heavy roster, and little spare time. I'll sound out a few mates in the silly wig and silk cape club when I have the chance
My email to Subaru (Not going to publish verbatim responses, but my own correspondences I'm happy to publish here)
Dear Mr Senior,
I have been in communication with your customer relations unit for the past several weeks, and with Subaru in general over the past several months regarding a developing fault with my Subaru Liberty Premium, MY2006. As is extensively detailed in the forwarded correspondences, the vehicle is suffering a disintegration of the dashboard material in the same manner as Subaru vehicles in America. The degradation has an impact on both the cosmetics of the vehicle and on safe operation in some circumstances. Subaru America has offered a full replacement on similarly affected models going back to 2004, regardless of mileage.
Thus far, Customer relations denies that this is a known issue with Subaru vehicles in this country, and state that Australian vehicles do are not likely to suffer the same issue as the parts were sourced from a different factory. I have been in direct correspondence with a number of fellow Subaru owners in Australia who are experiencing identical failures in a similar time frame. I also know that several have had their vehicles inspected by Subaru dealers and have received similar responses to mine. Others are in the process of organizing group inspections to try to highlight the extent and uniformity of this issue. Multiple Subaru owners have also raised this issue on your official Facebook page, with little in the way of satisfactory response.
It is clear to a reasonable person that there is an issue with the materials used in the construction of the vehicles in question (as well as vehicles manufactured by Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and Lexus, all of which have been since subject to recalls or warranty extensions). To maintain otherwise is illogical. I am quite certain that Subaru was not aware of the potential for failure when specifying the materials used in these vehicles, and it is certain that with the benefit of hindsight, different methods and materials would have been employed.
The unfortunate fact remains that Subaru Australia is now, to my knowledge, the only distributor affected by these issues that has not offered a full replacement. The choice facing your company is whether you are willing to deal in good faith with Subaru owners, and thus maintain your corporate image. By leaving this unaddressed, you would unfortunately have a small but significant number of clearly defective vehicles in the marketplace and in the public eye. Potential customers will certainly weigh this up when considering purchasing a new Subaru. By addressing this issue in a proactive and amicable manner, you have the benefit of maintaining the reputation of Subaru as a producer of some of the finest mid price and performance vehicles on the road today.
Kind regards,
Dr Joel van der Meulen