Car Quality Is Slipping

Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:20PM (#31990201)

My 2014 WRX has had a myriad of reliability issues. Bone stock, always maintained, and just constantly going into the dealer for issues. Thankfully I have an extended warranty.

Issue #1: 19k miles - OEM turbo blows. Subaru FSE determines a bearing seized prematurely. Turbo replaced.

Issue #2: 23k miles - Replacement turbo starts making more sounds mimicking the same noises the OEM turbo made before it blew. Subaru replaces it again.

Issue #3: 28k miles - Third turbo goes bad yet again. I cause more of a ruckus at Subaru and they call in an another FSE. FSE determined that all of the turbos blowing caused metal shards to shoot into the engine and that's why the turbos keep blowing. They ended up replacing the long block as well.

Issue #4: 8/1/16 - Car goes back after I keep hearing a rasp. Subaru determined that it wasn't the exhaust shields as suspected and called in an yet another FSE. The FSE determined that the clutch that went bad prematurely. Other misc issues they addressed during this visit:

- Rear seat driver side window has some sort of regulator issue/noise - Plastic bezel on the radio is peeling - Creaky clutch and brake pedal

Issue #5: Burning odor from transmission. Subaru says its not an issue.

Issue #6: Yesterday, driving home from Burlington VT to NYC. Reverse gear fails. No reverse option. Third gear also pops out.

It's one of the most fun cars I have ever driven but Jesus it's a nightmare to go to Subaru non-stop. I am contemplating getting a 2022 WRX and attributing all the issues to it being a Lemon...

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by UniverseHacker on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @02:21PM (#31991836)

Your WRX makes 265hp from a 4 cylinder engine, that's as much power as Porsche was getting out of their 6 cylinder 2.7 engines at the time, in cars that cost far more...

The WRX is a really cheap family car with a small 4 cylinder engine tuned to the absolute performance limit with TONS of turbo boost, and the corresponding massive amounts of heat and stress that includes. I would expect it to be incredibly unreliable! Just a little unreliable is impressive. I'm always impressed about the interesting cars Subaru is willing to sell to the public (XT anyone?).

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @04:01PM (#31992988)

You bring a very valid point up here! Thanks for putting things into perspective :)

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dugmartin on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @01:40PM (#31991292)

> it wasn't the exhaust shields as suspected

Ah, the Subaru exhaust rattle. We had it in our Outback and I hear it in every Subaru over a couple of years old here in Western Massachusetts. It is as distinctive as the exhaust note on MGs used to be.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by notacoward on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @04:51PM (#31993532)

My favorite was my 2000-ish Impreza "Outback Sport" which lost all four hubcaps in pretty short order. Looking around, I could see that the problem was common for that model and year. Still, the only serious issues I had in almost 10 years and ~60K miles were one CV joint and one muffler, both relatively cheap to replace. My wife's much later Forester, on the other hand, succumbed to frame rot much sooner than it should have considering its usage and maintenance. I think they do pretty well on TCO for the budget segment, but anything more upscale not so much.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @04:02PM (#31992997)

Yep! SoA just informed me my warranty expired in Nov of 2021 and that I need a new synchronizer and shift forks! Woohoo. $4k repair.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by oldstrangers on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:21PM (#31990221)

Subaru and the WRX is just notoriously unreliable, and that's always sort of been the case unfortunately.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by notacoward on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @01:04PM (#31990801)

The word among mechanics I've talked to is that yes, Subarus break down more often than other Japanese brands, but they're also cheap and easy to repair so the total cost is similar. The repair cost for even basic stuff on a Toyota is eye-watering.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @02:17PM (#31991783)

Subaru just called me and said my shift fork and synchronizer, need to be replaced. Ironically, my extended warranty expired in Nov 2020 and I now have to pay nearly $5k to fix it! Better off getting a new tranny!

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:26PM (#31990292)

Yep, my alternative which I don't even know if its a good idea or not is to get a used E350 off BringATrailer or if I really want reliability I should probably get a 1980s Mercedes 300D. The W123s are insanely reliable.

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dieselgate on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:30PM (#31990365)

Or basically any pre-2004 diesel from VW, Ford, Mercedes, or Dodge :)

Edit/addendum: I personally strongly encourage the use of biodiesel or appropriate diesel alternatives where applicable, pre 2004 are often more compatible with biodiesel. Would still take any diesel vehicle over gas

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dispatchapp on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:34PM (#31990411)

Yeah, but man, the WRX sure is a fun car :)

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Re:Car Quality Is Slipping by dieselgate on Tuesday July 05, 2022 @12:47PM (#31990573)

Haha yep right onthat made me smile

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