Although it took a month, I finally had my meeting with a SOA rep. Since I took delivery of my WRX in May, I've had nothing but spqeaks, rattles, poor-fitting/misinstalled interior pieces - the thing feels like a Kia or Daewoo...

Anyway, the rep was nice, but do you believe the GD CAR DID NOT MAKE ONE SINGLE NOISE. On my way to the dealer I spent an extra half hour scoping out specific roads that made specific noises happen, like dash & window rattles, and was able to reproduce them. When I drove with the rep, NOT ONE NOISE. NOT ONE! And, I swear on my life, the minute I got back in the car after my meeting, squeaks and rattles...this gd thing KNOWS...it's possessed...

So, after all of these months, I look like a moron because the car that annoys me nearly to tears every day of my life decided to shut up on the one day it should have talked the most, and I am stuck with a car that feels like it's held together by spit and rubber bands.

Thinking about eating the $6000 in inequity already and getting another car. My dealer is being less than sympathetic to the situation - they're not offering to buy back my car for any more than any other non-Subaru dealer is.

Keep the car, or get the only other thing i can afford right now (base Acura RSX)?...

Have you met up with Subaru owners in your area? Perhaps have a "problem solving picnic" where they try to help you find and fix your NVH issues?

If you couldn't recreate any of the issues that you were having, then IMO, I don't think that they could be that bad.
I wouldn't trade it for an RSX. damn ugly!
keep it and drive it, and learn to live with its idiosyncracies.
BTW, spit hardens nicely.

-A

Tog,

Have you sat in, or taken rides in anyone else's WRX? I'm wondering if you can find your issues present in other examples. This would bear out if you got a lemon or if it is a prince-and-the-pea syndrome and this is simply not the car for you.

It's funny because I do tech support for a living and whenever a user cannot recreate a malfunction in my presence, I always make the joke, "The car never makes the funny noise when the mechanic drives it, does it?"

Sadly you had to be living proof of this.

If you decide to sell, shoot me a PM or email, I'll take a ride and see if I mind the shakes rattles and rollz.

Did you meet R.J.? He works for Subaru Distributor's Corp. ;)
Good guy.
Do you have a camcorder? That might be good for catching intermittent problems.
There are meets all over NJ and there are usually a few WRX's. You could ride with someone and compare.

Good luck,
Dennis

My wagon has some rattles coming from the rear passenger area. Turned out to be the rear seat belt adjustes on the b-pillar. I just moved them down a notch and noise is gone. For the whistle from the drivers mirror when your window is down I used a small piece of velcro (fuzzy portion) in the leading edge of the mirror seam. Whistle is gone. Creaking passenger seat when someone is in it I have yet to figure out. Screeching window glass as it goes up and down is caused by some debri in the rubber next to the mirror. Take your finger or a cloth and wipe it clean. The screech will come back within days which is too bad.
Greg D.

Originally posted by gpd323
My wagon has some rattles coming from the rear passenger area. Turned out to be the rear seat belt adjustes on the b-pillar. I just moved them down a notch and noise is gone. For the whistle from the drivers mirror when your window is down I used a small piece of velcro (fuzzy portion) in the leading edge of the mirror seam. Whistle is gone. Creaking passenger seat when someone is in it I have yet to figure out. Screeching window glass as it goes up and down is caused by some debri in the rubber next to the mirror. Take your finger or a cloth and wipe it clean. The screech will come back within days which is too bad.
Greg D.

Greg,

I have the same rear passenger rattle. Did you mean to say C-pillar or is it B-Pillar? I'll have to give it a try..

Thanks - Neil

I've tried moving the seat belt adjusters up and down, to no avail...

Brief (haha) list of mr. scoob's noises, which seem to be worsening with the cold:

1. Dash rattle - near base of windshield
2. Dash squeak - sounds like from behind vents, have tried removing cupholder (still noisy)
3. Driver's seat belt holder sqeaks like dying rodent - when I pull on the belt I can reproduce this
4. C/F trim pieces on front window switched fit so poorly that they actually make cracking noises when I pull on the door handles, and even from putting the windows up and down
5. Rear passenger window rattle
6. Center console aremrest extension makes constant "clicky" sound when my arm is resting on it, have already attempted adjusting latch et al...
7. oh, and THE DAMNED CAR WON'T START 3-4x A WEEK NOW AFTER IT'S BEEN DRIVEN THEN COOLS DOWN FOR AWHILE...

All of this stuff is intermittent, but worsening, annoying as hell, and makes getting 150K miels out of this thing seem unlikely.

I've driven the RSX a few times - less power, more roll & less poised around corners, no AWD (ikky), almost WRX-like seats, but DAMN at least the thing's put together well - solid doors, nice, unrattling interior, and I know I could get 150-200K out of it no problem...if I don't get stuck in the snow that is...

Sorry to hear about your noisy car. I have a rattle in the dash of my domestic family cruiser that drive me nuts. The dealer said that yes we can take the dash apart to fix it, but many times the fix is worse than the original issue....... How's that for honesty ?

It's amazing to me how different the same car's can be. It makes me wonder about the old saying, never buy a car made on Monday or Friday.....

In any event, keep at it. You deserve to have a car free of squeaks. Do not feel bad that the day you went the car was squeaks free, sooner or later they will hear it.

Good luck.

PS, I thought I had a squeak in front passenger door, but, one day I flipped down the Sun visor on the Passenger side, the squeak went away........... amazing...

Most cars rattle. Some sooner than others. Some worse than others. Never owned one that didn't (and I've owned Acuras, BMWs, and a few Subes).

gi.

Just a note... the mirror noise is actually a sticker... pull the mirror back and you will find it remove it the whistle will be gone and you can enjoy!

Nick

What do you do, roll the windows up turn down the radio and try to find sounds? All cars make noise.

It's all part of the Subaru charm. Just try remember that when you pass that slow (but quiet) RSX.

Togar-
Sorry to hear you are so disappointed with your car. I've got a few rattles as well but they don't seem to bother me that much. I don't have any magic fixes for problems 1-6. But for #7 you might want to try putting the key in the ignition turning it two clicks forward and wait for two dings before you turn it over. It's worked for me, starts first try every time even in the cold. Good luck with 1-6.

With the exception of a rattle from the driver side speaker and the heat shield rattle on decelleration, I've had no strange noises from my WRX. And you know what? I'm not going to cry about it or make a fool of myself with the dealership about them unless they get out of hand. I expect to hear some over time as all cars develope rattles after a while. Let me repeat, all cars develope rattles and squeaks after a while. Go on other boards and you'll see other people bitching about little squeaks and rattles.
And if you think that Subaru takes the cake, God forbid you should ever step foot in a Jeep. Those things make more noise than two rabid racoons stuffed into a burlap sack.