Before I tell you what happened, why it happened and what happened after it happened. I want you to know I am not making excuses and what happened is totally my fault
So if your comment back to me is, you are an idiot, save your self the trouble.
(AGAIN NO EXCUSES) But, I have been quite busy lately, really busy, more so than I need to tell you. I had also gone on a few long trips with the car, Toronto a couple of times, NYC, etc… and somewhere between work and life, totally forgot about the Oil Change. How much you ask? well lets say I over shot it by 4K.
I was driving to Toronto, car loaded, and about 3 hours in. I hear a hissing noise. When I heard it, it hit me that the car has not been going as fast as normal, and the noise seemed to come on when I press the gas. I exited, got to a gas station and looked at things. checked the oil and lets just say it was LOW. So I added some, and hit the HWY again. By the time I ramped up to 120, the noise was really loud. So I dropped down the speed and put it on cruise, wanted to get to the next exit and get off again. Within a minute, the car made a weird noise, then the cruise came off, the check engine light came on, and the traction control light came on as well. Luckily there was an exit close by, got off, parked, and called road side assistance.
They offered to take the car to the closest dealer, which I asked them to do in the morning. They where very helpful except that the one thing I really wanted / cared for when its that late at night, and cold, is the safety of my family, which the road side assistance does not care to cover. I had written a blog post on that in the past you can read it here
In the morning the car was taken to Whitby which was the closes dealer to where I was
As soon as they looked at the car, the decision was clear and instant.
a) The Turbo is gone
b) It was my fault for neglecting the car
Since it was Saturday they could not source the part to work on it, but they promised to work on it on Monday and get it fixed. The only question was, who will pay for the damage.
Long story short, the dealer called me on Monday afternoon and informed me that Subaru Canada would like to have a word with me. within 30 minutes, a lady and a gentleman from Subaru was on the phone. They where very pleasant, and did a good job letting me know that I was at fault. Informed me that the cost of replacing the Turbo was close to $2000 and that it is not covered by warranty. No argument from my side. What can I say. However they had a proposal… They would pick up the cost of the turbo IF, I am willing to do an engine flush and the 24K service at the dealership. That sounds like a great offer, Deal. With that Subaru was generous to pick up the tab, and I got off with a $600 bill for maintenance that had to be done anyway.
So the moral of the story is, PLEASE, learn from me, Change your OIL on schedule, its very important… TRUST ME
Before I warp up, I want to give a plug to the Whitby dealership, they were nice and Mark the shop manager was very helpful.
I started to think after why Subaru would do that I don’t have the answer yet but I have 3 theories
1) I know the Subaru folks that called knew about my blown engine and maybe they feel bad so they paid for the Turbo
2) The Subaru folks thought if I pay for the Turbo, I wont do the engine flush, and by the time I get back home, I will need a new engine
3) The Subaru Folks know about this blog and want me to say something nice about them
Maybe its a combination of all of the above, and that is fine by me.
What do you think?
Hey man, sorry to hear about your turbo/engine problem.
I THINK Subaru helped you out because of your honesty. My relative recently dropped her iPhone in the sink while washing dishes, she was upfront to the Apple store clerk about what happened and was given a replacement.
From what I’ve read, a lot of other iPhone owners weren’t so lucky. The Apple employee even said that most people with water damage try to blame the company for various reasons, such as design flaws, etc.
I happen to be friends with a official Subaru mechanic and he told me that oil changes are the MOST critical part of owning a turbo model car. He recommended that I go full synthetic after my free initial oil change and to change my oil every 4,000km, especially if I plan to do any tracking at all this coming spring.
Comment by 2010 STi — December 21, 2009 @ 7:31 am
I am considering buying a WRX 265 and your comment is very useful. Speaks tons for the car maker. Been a long time GM nut but my last car (CTS) has been plagued with a series of problems. While it’s a low mileaged thing (102,000 km) that obvisously is dating (2003 model), I still consider it should not let me down (engine stop for no reason) after I just had a full injectors clean up, gaz filter change and plugs replaced. Anything done on this car costs an arm and a leg.
If Subaru only requires regular oil changes, and remains problem free on the long run (5-6 years), I’m a serious prospect. Did you run into other maintenance problems? Again, thanks for your article.
Comment by Joce — January 1, 2010 @ 11:31 am
Joce
I bought 2010 wrx in october and have had zero problems with it.(well I did have a problem with stalling be it was from hybrid bov that I installed not a subaru problem.) If you test drive it you will love it. I have had other sports cars in the past and I would have to say its the fastest car for the money. For about $2,000 you can get a cobb access port with a stage 2 perrin map and whole new exhaust. Easily 300 whp. It should be one of the fastest cars on the road with that stage 2 kit. I will be getting the stage 2 kit in the spring. If you are looking for a fast car this is the car to buy. Good Luck with the new car purchase.
Comment by mwrx — January 1, 2010 @ 8:18 pm
Treating customers well is just good business and Subaru gets that. At least, that has been my experience and, now, yours too.
Comment by Geoff — January 7, 2010 @ 11:27 am
I have the same problem. just happened tonight. but i am not sure if its turbo. will bring the car in tomorrow to Subaru MIssissauga.
Comment by andriy — July 12, 2010 @ 11:25 pm
what was the result in the end, what happened?
Comment by Samer Forzley — July 27, 2010 @ 8:19 am
I wish I came across this before I bought my 2009 Wrx. You can check your oil as much as you want but burning almost two quarts of oil in 1800 miles is ridiculous. My car currently has 22,000 miles on it. I brought my car to my local Subaru dealer and they put me on an “oil consumption” test. That means I have to bring it in every 1000 miles so they can check if there is an issue. I think they will keep checking until my factory warranty is over. At that point I guess I will have to trade it in for an Evo.
Too bad nobody else makes a decent awd turbo hatchback.
Comment by Warren — March 6, 2011 @ 9:06 pm
I just had the same thing happen to my turbo. What a joke. I took it to a dealer and after paying the $400 for them to take it apart to see what the problem was, finding out it was the turbo…. I was told flat out that the warranty will not cover it. The car has 59000 km on it, 2010, serviced regularly (but not always by Subaru….maybe that’s why they turned me down) and because i don’t have all my service records (only 6 of 10) after moving twice while my wife was battling terminal cancer with chemo the last 9 months…I was told that there is nothing they can do and that i’m stuck with the $2700 bill.
What a let down….
Had Hondas all my life and never a problem. A year with Subaru and nothing but problems. Muffler, speakers, screaming belts, an now turbo.
Anybody out there with any helpful advice would be appreciated
Comment by subaru let down — April 28, 2011 @ 4:23 pm
I am having an oil issue with my ’09 hatchback. The Subaru dealer in Bremerton, WA is stringing me along with an “oil consumption test” to see if something is wrong. I am the second owner, the car has 26,000 miles on it and burns a quart and a half in 3000 miles. The car, with the exception of cat back exhaust, is totally stock.
Subaru doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong with it. I have to drive 50 miles one way every 1,000 miles so they can check it. When the factory warranty is up next year, they might finally find a problem at the 36,001 mile mark. I used to like Subarus, I had an ’03. I didn’t have any problems with that one. I think they need to go back to being owned by Fuji and not GM and Toyota. I am pretty sure that’s where the issue happened.
Comment by Warren — July 22, 2011 @ 8:28 pm
Oh man, sorry to hear that, and that is not a cheap repair either. 2700 is a lot of cash. What sucks is that you are left hanging and not really ready for such a big bill. And the worst is the guilt trip you get
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:17 pm
Warren
so what happened in the end, what was the result of the compression test.
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:21 pm