2009 Subaru Impreza

EXCESSIVE BODY FLEX WHEN TURNING RIGHT, CAN FEEL AIR COMING IN. I RECENTLY NOTICED THAT MY WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED. THE WEIRD THING ABOUT THIS CRACK IS THAT THE CRACKS STARTED AT THE VERY TOP OF THE WINDSHIELD, DEAD CENTER WHERE THE ROOF MEETS THE WINDSHIELD. WHEN I INSPECTED THE CRACK TO SEE IF A ROCK HAD HIT IT, THE CRACK IS ABSOLUTELY SMOOTH WITH NO CHIP IN IT. I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF THE EXCESSIVE BODY FLEX AS BEING THE CAUSE. I ALSO HAVE THE SAME CLUTCH ISSUES OF GETTING THE CAR INTO REVERSE. MY CLUTCH ALSO MAKES A POPPING NOISE WHEN SHIFTING AND RELEASING THE CLUTCH. I NOTICED THIS IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASING IT AND INFORMED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY COULDN'T ANY ISSUE AND INFERRED THAT I WASN'T DRIVING THE CAR PROPERLY. I AM A FORMER US NAVY SEABEE HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR AND HAVE OPERATED NUMEROUS TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT AND I HAD NEVER HAD A CLUTCH MAKE THIS SOUND. ON THE NEXT SERVICE APPOINTMENT, I AGAIN INFORMED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT THE CLUTCH WAS MAKING A POPPING SOUND WHEN IT RELEASED. THEY AGAIN TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE ISSUE. AFTER READING ALL OF THESE COMPLAINT, I FINALLY FEEL JUSTIFIED AND I WILL BE IMMEDIATELY GETTING RID OF MY CAR BEFORE HAVING THE CLUTCH FIREWALL ISSUE. I HAVE ALSO HAD TO HAVE TO REPLACE THE HEAD GASKET, WHICH IS A KNOWN COMMON ISSUE WITH SUBARU. THANKFULLY, I HAD BOUGHT A 5 YEAR/100,000 MILE WARRANTY AND THE $1800 REPAIR WAS COVERED AT 98000 MILES.

I BOUGHT MY 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX HATCHBACK A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO BECAUSE IT IS SUPPOSEDLY A RELIABLE VEHICLE. I HAVE ALWAYS NOTICED A SLIGHT SHIFT IN THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN ENGAGING THE CLUTCH. WE WERE TOLD BY MANY SUBARU OWNERS THAT THAT IS NORMAL. ABOUT A MONTH AGO IT BECAME VERY HARD TO PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE. IT IS NOW ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT MY CAR IN REVERSE AS WELL AS SHIFT BETWEEN GEARS. WE WERE GOING TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH BUT AFTER LOOKING ONLINE NOTICED THE HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME EXACT THING. THE CLUTCH WILL NOT ENGAGE BECAUSE THE FIREWALL IS CRACKING WHERE THE MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER MOUNTS FOR IT ARE. APPARENTLY SUBARU IS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT BUT HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING TO REMEDY THE SITUATION.

REAR LEFT BRAKE STARTED MAKING A SCRAPING SOUND AS IF THE BRAKE PADS WERE WORN AND GOUGING THE ROTOR, ALSO THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS PULSATING AS IF THE ROTOR WAS WARPED. UPON INSPECTION I NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE PADS WERE NOT WORN BUT IN FACT THE SMOOTH SURFACE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE ROTOR WAS CHIPPING AWAY AND THE ROTOR WAS VERY ROUGH,. THESE ARE THE ORIGINAL ROTORS AND THE REAR LEFT WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM ALTHOUGH THE REAR RIGHT ROTOR WAS WORN BADLY ALSO BUT THE PADS BARELY SHOWED ANY WEAR. THESE REAR BRAKE PADS ARE THE SECOND SET SINCE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED NEW BY ME.

CAR USED AS DAILY DRIVER TO COMMUTE LESS THAN 14 MILES ROUND TRIP FOR WORK. CLUTCH BEGAN TO DEVELOP A POP NOISE WHICH THEN TURNED INTO A LOUD SQUEAK FOLLOWED BY MORE THAN A 1/2" OF MOVEMENT TO THE LEFT THAT THE BRAKE PEDAL WOULD START TO MOVE WHEN THE CLUTCH WOULD BE DEPRESSED. AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF READING LOCAL OWNERS THREADS AND ASKING AROUND I HAVE FOUND THAT THE WELDS THAT HOLD MY BRAKE AND CLUTCH TOGETHER HAVE BROKEN AND ARE CONTINUING TO BREAK WHICH COULD LEAD TO MY CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY FALLING DOWN TO THE FLOOR BOARD WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY RENDER ME FROM USING MY BRAKE PEDAL. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH ALL SUBARU IMPREZA WRX AND STI OWNERS WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MULTIPLE LOCAL OWNERS CLUB WEBSITES AND COULD AFFECT BODILY HARM TO DRIVERS OF THE CARS AND OTHER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD! SUBARU REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM AND IN MOST CASES WILL NOT COVER REPAIR COSTS! *TR

MY CAR STARTED MAKING THIS REALLY LOUD POPPING NOISE EVERYTIME I WOULD ENGAGE THE CLUTCH. WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST WHEN I PRESS ON THE BRAKE PEDAL MY FOOT HAS SHIFTED OFF THE PEDAL DUE TO A FAST SUDDEN MOVE FROM THE CLUTCH AND BRAKE ASSEMBLY. I DROVE THE CAR TO TEXAS TO VISIT FAMILY AND DECIDED TO TAKE THE CAR FOR OIL CHANGE BEFORE RETURNING TO CALIFORNIA. THERE THE SERVICE MANAGER AT SUBARU IN TEXAS, WHICH DROVE MY CAR TO THE SERVICE AREA, ASKED ME IF I HAD NOTICED THE CLICKING NOISE AND I TOLD HIM YES. HE THEN INFORMED ME THAT MANY 2008-2009 IMPREZA WRX HAVE PROBLEMS WITH WELD SPOTS WHICH HOLD THE BRAKE AND CLUTCH ASSEMBLY TO THE FIRE WALL THAT THEN FAIL AND BRAKE OFF. HE GAVE ADVICE ON HOW TO LOOK FOR BROKEN WELDS, SO AS SOON AS I ARRIVED TO CALIFORNIA I FURTHER INSPECTED FOR THE BROKEN WELDS AND SURE ENOUGH HE WAS RIGHT. SO I CONTACTED SUBARU OF AMERICA AND DESCRIBED THE DEFECT ON MY CAR TO HAVE THEM REPAIR IT SINCE IT'S A SAFETY DEFECT, SPECIALLY WITH CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THE CAR WHICH ARE THE CLUTCH AND BRAKE PEDAL. AS OF TODAY 11/5/2014 THEY HAVE YET TO DECIDE IF THEY ARE COVERING THE REPAIRS BECAUSE MY CAR IS CURRENTLY 85K AND ITS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. ALSO, THEY ARE BLAMING THE CLUTCH BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN REPLACED PRIOR TO ME PURCHASING THE CAR WITH AN OEM REPLACEMENT CLUTCH. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH A NIGHTMARE WITH ANY VEHICLE THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED. I REALLY HOPE NHTSA DOES SOMETHING BEFORE ANY FATALITIES OR ACCIDENTS OCCUR. I AM CURRENTLY GOING THREW THIS RIGHT NOW, SO I HAVE YET TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO WITH MY CAR. I REALLY NEED HELP FROM NHTSA, EVEN IF THEY FIX MY CAR, SUBARU NEEDS TO NOTIFY OWNERS OF THIS YEAR AND MODELS OF THIS PROBLEM. ALL OVER THE INTERNET THERE ARE PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE AND OTHERS THAT ARE YET TO GO THREW. OWNERS NEED TO BE AWARE AND CAUTIOUS ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT FABRICATION DEFECT. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON I-74 BETWEEN CINCINNATI OH AND INDIANAPOLIS IN I NOTICED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A ENGINE KNOCK AT AROUND SHELBYVILLE IN. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED BUT I PULLED OVER AND INSPECTED THE ENGINE AND COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING OBVIOUSLY WRONG SO I CONTINUED ON MY TRIP. AFTER REACHING I-465 IN INDIANAPOLIS THE KNOCK BEGAN TO GET PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. AT THE INTERSECTION OF I-465 AND I-65 THE CAR WITHOUT WARNING ENGINE SHUTDOWN AND I LOST ALL FUNCTIONALITY (POWER STEERING, TURN SIGNALS, ETC). AT THE TIME OF POWER LOSS I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH DURING RUSH HOUR IN THE FAST LANE. LUCKILY THE DRIVER BEHIND ME WAS FOLLOWING AT A SAFE DISTANCE AND I WAS ABLE TO AVOID A COLLISION AND SAFELY GET ONTO THE LEFT HAND SHOULDER. I WAS THEN ABLE TO GET THE CAR RESTARTED AND ATTEMPTED TO GET OFF OF I-465 FOR MY SAFETY. HOWEVER, AT THE NEXT EXIT THE ENGINE ONCE AGAIN SHUTDOWN. I WAS ONCE AGAIN ABLE TO SAFELY GET TO THE SHOULDER BUT WAS UNABLE TO GET THE CAR STARTED AGAIN. BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM THE DEALER AND MY EXPERIENCE AS A MECHANICAL ENGINEER I BELIEVE THAT THE CAUSE OF THIS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WAS A FAILED BEARING WITHIN THE ENGINE. THE FACT THAT THIS POTENTIALLY FATAL FAILURE COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING ON A CAR THAT IS LESS THAN 6 YEARS OLD WITH LESS THAN 100K MILES IS VERY CONCERNING TO ME. IF THE OTHER DRIVERS ON THE INTERSTATE HAD NOT BEEN PAYING AS CLOSE ATTENTION AS THEY WERE I BELIEVE THAT THIS CRASH COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL TO MYSELF AND POTENTIALLY OTHERS. MY CAR HAS HAD ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE AND OIL CHANGES AND IS WELL CARED FOR SO THE EARLY CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE ENGINE CANNOT BE DUE TO NEGLECT. SUBARU HAS ESTIMATED THE COST OF THE REPAIR AT $11K FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE ENGINE AND IS CURRENTLY NOT OFFERING TO COVER ANY OF THE COSTS EVEN THOUGH THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE ENGINE AND NOT DUE TO LACK OF MAINTENANCE. *TR

STARTING TO HAVE PROBLEMS SHIFTING INTO GEAR ESPECIALLY GETTING INTO REVERSE. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A LOCAL AUTO REPAIR SHOP. THE TECH WANTED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE BOX PEDAL CLUTCH ASSEMBLY. AFTER THE PEDAL BOX WAS RECEIVED THEY NOTICED IT WASN'T THE BOX AT ALL, BUT THE FIREWALL WELDS HOLDING THE CLUTCH/BREAK PEDAL BOX WERE BROKEN ON THE FIREWALL. BECAUSE THE WELDS SNAPPED THE CLUTCH/BRAKE CAGE MOVES AND IT CAN'T LET THE CLUTCH TRAVEL FAR ENOUGH TO PROPERLY ENGAGE CAUSING THE CLUTCH TO WORK PROPERLY AND ALSO THE BREAKS CANT BE PRESSED CORRECTLY TO STOP THE CAR. THE MECHANIC TOLD US NOT TO DRIVE THE CAR FOR SAFETY SAKE TILL THE WELDS WERE REPAIRED OR WE COULD HAVE AN ACCIDENT. *TR

WAS STARTING TO HAVE PROBLEMS SHIFTING INTO GEAR ESPECIALLY GETTING INTO REVERSE. TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A SUBARU DEALERSHIP FOR A CAUSE. THE TECH WANTED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY FOR 1800 BUCKS. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO ANOTHER SHOP FOR A SECOND ANSWER, IMMEDIATELY WAS TOLD IT WAS THE FIREWALL.THE WELDS HAVE SNAPPED. BECAUSE THE WELDS HAVE SNAPPED THE CLUTCH CAN'T ENGAGE PROPERLY CAUSING ONE TO HAVE EITHER TERRIBLE SHIFTS OR POSSIBLY GRINDING OF GEARS! *TR