Hi all,

I just purchased a 2002 WRX with 61K miles recently. The car has all the common issues that I have read from other 2002 WRX owners. The previous owner said that those problem didn;t bother him so he didn't have them fixed much earlier. Since the car came with the Added Security Gold Plus plan (80,000 miles), I wanted to get these problems fixed/corrected under the warranty if possible.

I called my local dealership, the raw gas small at the start-up is a no brainer. However, they told me that they can't help me with the cold clutch chatter as the car has more than 36,000 miles and that the clutch is a wear item. I thought that clutch chatter fix doesn't have to involve replacing the clutch. Therefore, I would like to know what you guys think.

Besides the clutch chatter, it's hard to get into gears when cold.

The brake is also terrible. No initial bite, and no hard brake as the ABS will kick in with a say -0.4G braking force.........

At low speed and low acceleration rate (say below 30-35 mph cruising), the front end of the car won't settle and keeps rocking like a boat. I guess that's just from the signature of the boxer engine vibration (same thing at idle)?

Let me know what other 2002 WRX issues I should pay attention to, and could fix under warranty. Thanks!

I have an 02 wrx and had a new clutch put in at 10k miles. I also had my cold weather fuel smell fixed and the cruise control recall and i have an appointment to get a new seat bolt. LOL, so other than that, no recallls that i know of.

As for not going into gear when its cold, mine does that too, i think its common and not something you can fix. As for the brake, the stockers are not great, maybe you need new pads or something?

I am betting you could use some pads and/or rotors. When was the brake system last flushed? That made a huge difference for me.

The clutch chatter is far more than just the clutch plate (new bearings/fly wheel etc) so I would try and argue the point - yeah maybe the clutch itself but what about all the other parts replaced to fix that?

Thanks for the replies!

The car just had the 60K miles service done at the dealership before I bought it, and I was told all fluid were replaced, so I am asumming that the brake fluid is flushed/bleeded. The brake pads are new. The rotors on the other hand are still the same stock ones as they are still within the service limit. I guess I'll go to the same dealership that the previous owner used, and find out exactly what was done at the 60K mile service, and maybe ask them to re-bleed the brake system again to see if it makes any difference. If not, I guess I'll replace the stock system with an aftermarket one.

Can anyone recommend a good aftermarket kit without burning a hole in the pocket (Kit needs to have Front Brake Pads, SS Braided Brake Lines, Front Brake Rotors)?

I'll definitely argue about the clutch chatter fix. Talked to the previous owner about it, and he said that he did tell his dealership about it before, but since it didn't bother him too much, he didn't ask them to fix it except causually mention it. He didn't think that they recorded that conversation as an offical complaint on the paper or whatever offical form of communication though, otherwise, I shouldn't have problem to get the fix under warranty.

The OEM rotors should serve you well and Axxis deluxe plus pads available from www.stoptech.com are EXTREMELY nice. Good bite and dust about the same as stock. If you bleed the brakes yourself Synpower brake fluid will fit the bill and is cheap. Doesn't get much less expensive than that. As for the SS brake lines most use goodrich.