Rear tailgate hydraulic struts fail and tail gate falls! this has happened 3 times on my 2006 Subaru forrester ll bean edition. The struts have been replaced twice since the original equipment failed each time with the authorized factory replacement part. The first time it failed the tailgate hit me in the head and almost knocked me out. The second and third times I was more aware and while the tailgate still hit me it was like the first time ( the rear tailgate is fairly heavy). These failures have occurred over the past 12 months- I would have to pull the repair information to give you the exact dates and repairs done. However, the third failure was this morning (28 Apr 08). It was working ok when I loaded my two briefcases in the vehicle at approx. 0730am edt. When I made a stop at 0800 to remove one briefcase it immediately failed- no warning, no indication that it was going to occur. The vehicle is still under the original manufactures warranty and has approx 31,431 miles on the odometer.

- Vienna, VA, USA