If you review this blog, my feelings on this car when from a Love this car, to a Love – hate, to now HATE.
Another day, another tow truck. This time, I am driving minding my own business, and smoke is coming out of the engine like crazy. called the dealer, they said it must be towed. Fine, towed it and got the call this morning
The oil pan is dripping. the seal on it is leaking. Fine, well this is not warranty approved. Why not? because the previous time this was touched, it was not done properly. HELLO, it was done by Subaru, I never taken the stupid car anywhere else, you guys messed it up and now I have to pay. Yes Sir said Mr Happy pants at the dealership. $210 is the cost. But you guys did it. Well Sir, its not covered. You guys did it – its not covered.
So far this car has gone through
A new engine
A new turbo
A new clutch
A oil pump
A timing belt
And a bunch of other things. A new car should NOT go through this much repair.
A car that is supposedly fast, that you cant drive fast or it snaps. A car that “well built” the breaks all the time. I am just tired of it.
The car is junk, and the dealer, Otto Subaru in Ottawa, today pissed me off, so add them to the Junk list. JUNK
I just feel bad for whatever sucker they sell this car too after the lease is up.
Counting the days till the lease is up, NEVER AGAIN will I buy a Subaru. NEVER
And you should not either.
I have owned several, never had a bad experience with any of them.
Sounds like more of a bad dealer issue than a bad car issue.
Good luck man.
Comment by "E" — March 1, 2011 @ 10:31 am
In this case, its a bad car, a lemon of a car, and the deal is not helpful
Comment by Samer Forzley — March 1, 2011 @ 10:34 am
So sorry to hear that.
Maybe you could publish the VIN number after you return the car. At least you tried to warn the “sucker”.
I think you had bad luck with the defective engine. Then you had bad luck with the dealership that wasn’t very knowledgeable about changing the engine. Probably they are not doing it on weekly basis. And I think you had very high expectations from a car that is, at the end of the day, a cheap performance car. It is more of a street than a track car whereas the STI tries to be the opposite.
Good luck with your next car!
Comment by cata_o — March 21, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
Hey, going to share my experience here, 2010 Base WRX leaser here, ottawa, oglivie dealer.
First, dealers: I found when I was negotiating the lease for my WRX, the otto dealership was not great at all. They would not negotiate the price with me to anything reasonable, and given I did my research, they were looking to make ~5.5% profit off of me, and I just didn’t “feel” their attitude. They were on this high-horse that they are the best, and that subarus are impeccable machines that you should be paying a premium for. I walked out, went to oglivie, and they gave me what I wanted. Their service guys there are amazing. They will go above and beyond to make sure you are treated well, I have at least 3 concrete examples of them doing a really good job…
But let’s talk about the car, yes, I am disappointed too.
- I got this car straight from the back of the truck, <20Km on the clock. Drove it out, first thing I notice is a strange "crackling" noise from the back of the car. Second year, noise is still there. Basically, it's something, somewhere that's not fixed well and when the car "bends" something rubs. Not a biggie, but goes to show the quality of the interior.
- Interior, average, but this is not why you get this car, also it's a significant improvement over earlier models, and the looks of the 2009+ models are significantly better. I love the design
- Once I started pushing the car I started noticing that my clutch has a weird feel if you floor the car in first gear (even if the clutch is completely engaged). And I have to pump the clutch to get rid of this strange effect. I am getting this checked out soon, but this was a problem from the first day I got the car…
- Second year, I am starting to hear my muffler vibrating on idle, at least, something there is vibrating and making a pretty loud noise. I suspect something came loose. But 2nd year into the lease and full 1 year checkup, I dunno, I feel like this is not a well built car
Having said all this, I think subaru shouldn't be all hush about the purpose of the WRX. It's a modder's car.
This means, if you want a commuter car that's reliable, you get an impreza.
If you want to mod the crap out of your car, you get a base WRX, replace crappy stock components
If you want a track-ready performance car, you get the STI.
That being said, my experience with the WRX is making me shy from getting the STI, as much as I would love to. I feel like if the same issues persist there I will be truly disappointed… but, the components in the STI should be more robust…
Comment by A — March 23, 2011 @ 11:26 am
Sucks, man. I wish you had had a better experience. I hope you your next automotive adventure is kinder to you.
I’m lovin’ my ’10 WRX. It has been rock solid all the way through the 21K miles that I have driven it.
Comment by Geoff — March 24, 2011 @ 10:33 am
I have 70k in 2 years on my WRX…no major issues except a leaking strut which was replaced under warranty. I guess all you can do is try a different dealer and see if they can make it right!
Comment by "E" — March 25, 2011 @ 2:29 pm
I have a 2010 WRX STI.. 34,000km.
No major problems so far.
Sorry to hear about your problems
Comment by Jonstar — April 29, 2011 @ 10:36 am
I have a 2009 WRX Premium 5 door. No problems at all with over 30200 miles on it. Best car I have owned so far. Sorry for the issues you had. I agree with the first post, sounds more like a dealer issue. Unfortunately a dealer can make or break a car when it comes to service and the overall experience of ownership.
Comment by Vance — May 2, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
I did notice a small sqeeking noise when the clutch was compressed first thing in the morning around the 1 yr mark. Took it in to Prestige Subaru in Santa Rosa CA and they ended up replacing the whole clutch and flywheel at 26k. Yes that was great BUT the noise came back and I took it back to them, they didnt want to do anything. The clutch was 500 miles old and evidently something is still wrong, maybe not the clutch at all. SO still have the noise and will try my best to not let Subaru owners go to Prestige due to there incompetence. Other than that ive had my 09 since Aug 09 and its has been true and strong.
Comment by Lacey — June 9, 2011 @ 6:36 pm
I had my 09 wrx sedan towed last night because of an engine knocking noise. The dealer called today and said they are replacing the “short block”. Basically a new engine. I only had 26667 miles on it. It’s ridiculous that this is happening to these cars. I’m probably going to trade it in.
Comment by Arron — August 2, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
Thank Cata
I think at the end of the day I was just disappointed at the number of times it failed me, and all of it was major work. I never enjoyed the feeling for being made to feel guilty about it either.
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:11 pm
I think you are right, I think the STI is more of a proper car, the WRX in my opinion is not well thought out, if you put a fast engine on parts not designed for it then you end up with problems, and that is the issue, 265 horses for parts designed for half that power
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:14 pm
Awesome Geoff, that is good to hear. Enjoy the ride
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:15 pm
Hi Vance, good to hear, enjoy the ride, I agree its a fun ride
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:19 pm
Lacey, did you every find the source of that noise, I mean a clutch should not go that fast, it just shouldnt.
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:20 pm
Arron
that suck big time, a new engine for sure. it is ridiculous for sure, keep us posted. BTW I love your DNA Art, did you do that with DNA11.com?
Comment by Samer Forzley — August 3, 2011 @ 1:22 pm
Hold on, this is coming from a guy who can’t even be bothered to replace your WRX’s oil on schedule? You’re a fucking idiot mate, and apparently blame the dealership for problems you could easily deal with.
You’re driving a performance car. It’s not a Camry peoplemover, it’s a delicate machine that can be used to drive pretty ridiculously. I think the biggest problem with your car is not the machine itself, but whatever is residing between the steering wheel and the driver’s seat instead.
*This is coming from a 2009 WRX owner as well, with 30k+ miles on it and not a problem.
Comment by seriously? — August 4, 2011 @ 3:47 pm
Maybe it’s another case of bad dealership service. Next time, just ensure that you will be entering a better customer-service oriented car dealership. I’m sure you already learned your lesson. I feel bad for you while reading this post.
Comment by Edmonton Dodge — August 9, 2011 @ 7:37 am
Awesome, i’ve got a Honda Civic EP3 Type R, Supercharged with JRSC, think i’m going to get rid of it though i’m fancying an RS4 now. What do you think?
Comment by Andrew H — September 8, 2011 @ 11:20 am
I agree, the worse car I ever owned – 2010 Subaru Forester JUNK, rattles, engine pinging (on the verge of blowing up). Subaru Canada unreal (know there is a defect, but they using me to find the problem) and Otto’s worst dealer ever, they don’t give a hoot, comments “so sorry”, stay away. My first and LAST subaru.
Comment by carly — September 23, 2011 @ 9:04 pm
Thank you!
I was going to buy that same year type of car today. I won’T
Just in case it would be the same one or having the same type of troubles.
Comment by D. Goulet — October 27, 2011 @ 8:19 pm
I love my 2011 wrx, I have 1700 miles on it and its working fine.. I just hope it stays that way
Comment by Caleb — November 16, 2011 @ 10:44 am
I owned the 08 WRX, then traded it for the 09.
I finally get the car. And I love it.
They both handled well and had great power,
they are just set up for different things is all.
The interior isnt cheap plastic, its light weight plastic.
And the 5 door is sexy looking.
Subie understands that people modify their cars, and why.
Youve got to give Subie credit.
They modified the Imprezza for us into the WRX and the STI.
And they sell it covered by a warranty.
You can push any car too far.
The more powerful ones can get there sooner.
FYI.
I let my dealer do all my work, and they havent let me down yet.
Comment by mitch — December 1, 2011 @ 4:44 pm
“It takes a thousand nuts to put together a car, but only one to knock it apart”
Comment by mitch — December 1, 2011 @ 4:48 pm
After owning 5 Subaru’s, all standard, over the past 20 years I finally bought a new 2010 WRX. I did put the pedal to the floor on a few occasions but never launched it. At 29,000 miles I noticed the clutch slip when passing on the highway, Took it to Subaru and was told that it was self correcting. Now at 31,000 miles The clutch slips horribly and has been in my garrage since. Its not covered under warrenty and will cost me $1200.00 to fix. Now COME ON! The brochure for the car boldly states that the clutch is “bullet proof.” I think I would like it better if it worked as a clutch. Maybe I can save the old one and make a vest or something. I’m a Subaru Fan for sure, but man am I pissed. My second Subaru, a Loyal wagon had 400,000 miles on it when it finnaly bit the dust as a field car. My 99 2-door 2.5rs never had a problem right up until I sold it for $2000 over KBB at 180,000 miles. The 2010 WRX in my garage cost a good deal more than any of my previous Ru’s and sits useless.
Comment by Derbonic — December 5, 2011 @ 11:29 am