Service bulletin 02-196-26R

Manufacturer communication, from NHTSA Manufacturer Communications

Published by NHTSA: Sep 3, 2026
Manufacturer: SUBARU
NHTSA ID: 11036811
NHTSA category: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
Applies to, as stated by NHTSA: SUBARU ASCENT 2019-2026; SUBARU LEGACY 2020-2025; SUBARU OUTBACK 2020-2026; SUBARU WRX 2022-2026
Component, as stated by NHTSA: ENGINE

Text of the manufacturer communication

This service bulletin outlines the diagnostic and repair procedure for white smoke emitted from the exhaust after startup. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.

Manufacturer document number: 02-196-26R
Date of the communication: 2026-08-20

View original source on NHTSA.gov

NHTSA reuses some ID numbers across record types. If its page lists more than one record, this one is the manufacturer communication dated Sep 3, 2026.

For the 2020 Subaru Outback

Premium

Ignored

Relevance of 85% is one half or more, but attention of 49% and interrupt probability of 34% are both under one half.

Vehicle relevance: 85%
Attention: 49%
Interrupt probability: 34%

Importance to this owner: 2.3 of 4, worth knowing
Vehicle area the notice is about: Engine

This manufacturer communication does not appear to warrant attention for this vehicle.

Decided by jev-1.13.0 in 116 ms from 1,599 input tokens. Jev returns these figures and nothing else. It gives no reasons, and none are written for it here. The figures describe how relevant the notice is, not the condition of any vehicle.

Checked by code against NHTSA's fields

A plain comparison with the structured fields NHTSA filled in. Separate from Jev's decision.

YesNHTSA names this make
YesNHTSA names this model (listed as OUTBACK)
YesNHTSA lists model year 2020 for this model

The same notice, every vehicle

Relevance	Attention	Interrupt	State
85%	49%	34%	Ignored
2%	6%	6%	Ignored
2%	6%	5%	Ignored
2%	5%	6%	Ignored
2%	5%	6%	Ignored
1%	3%	4%	Ignored
1%	5%	6%	Ignored
1%	5%	6%	Ignored
1%	4%	5%	Ignored
1%	5%	5%	Ignored
1%	5%	6%	Ignored
1%	7%	7%	Ignored
1%	4%	5%	Ignored
1%	5%	5%	Ignored
1%	4%	4%	Ignored
1%	4%	4%	Ignored

Select a vehicle to see its attention and interrupt figures above.