2012 Impreza thread

[IHaveAHorse]

Am I misremembering, or did I hear that valve covers leaking is common on FB20 engines? I have a friend with a 2014 Crosstrek and there's a fairly small amount of oil on the floor of his garage below the right side of his engine block. The grounding strap on the right side of the engine appears to be saturated in oil and very dirty. And you can see a little bit of an oil film spread out on a part of the frame right below the right side of the engine block. Sorry I don't have any pictures currently.

He said he accidentally hit (fairly slowly in a parking lot) a hitch that was sticking out a few weeks ago, and neither he nor I noticed oil on the floor of the garage until the past few days. It seems unlikely that a slight bump that only slightly cracked the front bumper cover and didn't do anything more would have damaged the engine block or anything in that area enough to leak oil, right? My first and currently only suspicion is a valve cover leak, and the timing was just a coincidence.

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[IHaveAHorse]

Am I misremembering, or did I hear that valve covers leaking is common on FB20 engines? I have a friend with a 2014 Crosstrek and there's a fairly small amount of oil on the floor of his garage below the right side of his engine block. The grounding strap on the right side of the engine appears to be saturated in oil and very dirty. And you can see a little bit of an oil film spread out on a part of the frame right below the right side of the engine block. Sorry I don't have any pictures currently.

He said he accidentally hit (fairly slowly in a parking lot) a hitch that was sticking out a few weeks ago, and neither he nor I noticed oil on the floor of the garage until the past few days. It seems unlikely that a slight bump that only slightly cracked the front bumper cover and didn't do anything more would have damaged the engine block or anything in that area enough to leak oil, right? My first and currently only suspicion is a valve cover leak, and the timing was just a coincidence.

[dcon9999]

Not sure who is still subscribed to this thread and who's still even driving, but checking in.

At 212k, it's time for control arm bushings and I'm gonna finally replace the front axle to be rid of the clicking from the pin hole in my cv boot the last 2 years. Was shocked that the dealer was cheaper than my mechanic by almost $1000...$1500 at the dealer is still less than 3 car payments.

Still driving towards 250k

[CLL_OBP]

I browse the site but not like I used to. My car will be 12 years old next month and this thread is older than that. Not much interest as it used to be but I'm still subscribed. I am over 255k miles.

This car has been reliable for me. I last three recent jobs I've done were replace both control arms, all four struts and resealed the oil pan. Other than the timing chain cover being resealed under warranty, I never had any other leaks.

Now I need another transmission as it slips between 1,000 to 2,000 rpm. Above 2k is fine but who knows how long it will run like that before it completely breaks.

It was time for a bigger vehicle anyway so I got a replacement on Wednesday. A 2024 Honda Pilot Elite. I had an Odyssey for 16 years so I'm very familiar with the silky smooth Honda V6.

I considered the Subaru Ascent but i really didn't want a turbo engine and that massive touch screen that controls everything was a turnoff. Give me buttons and knobs.

[R5Ryder]

I have one issue and one question about my 2012 Sport Limited that I'm hoping someone can help with.

Question: I really want to upgrade the head unit to have CarPlay, but all of the ones I've seen that might fit seem to require a separate SiriusXM tuner and antenna, as it seems like the stock harness isn't compatible. Any ideas if there's a later-model stock Subaru radio that's compatible and has Carplay? The ones I've seen have custom bezel sizes that would not fit. Any ideas how to get CarPlay and SiriusXM? Google and even Crutchfield have been no help.

Problem: Re: SiriusXM, I've had my car with satellite subscription for 11 years. All of a sudden, SiriusXM drops 100% "no signal" as soon as I get outside of my city (Phila) despite driving the same roads for those 11 years. Liteally once I leave the city, it goes full stop. No fading in and out, just full "no signal". I've been on advanced tech support with them but every test has passed (checked wires going into head unit, did power cycle, refresh, etc.) The only thing I've yet to do is pull out the ceiling and check the wires going to the top antenna (rubber style, not the shark fin) but I fail to see how that's an issue if I get reception in the city. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

[CLL_OBP]

If signal drops at the same spot every time, I would think its gotta be 100% an antenna problem. Have you tried a different one?

[19std]

I got an aftermarket cheapo single din head unit in mine with a roof mounted cheap plastic antenna (they went through the wind shield seal, hasnt leaked in 10 years).

Perfect reception, consider trying this option if xm is very important to you.

Maybe try the external antenna first??

[JayS]

New to the forum, wanted to post a help thread over in tech but guess i have to make 3 posts first so going to post it here for now.

Got my daughter a 2012 Impreza Sport Limited wagon, 93k miles. Runs great, no codes, but sometimes gets a long crank to start. Almost always starts perfectly when it's cold. Much more likely to get a long crank if you drive it until it's warmed up, park, and then restart it within an hour or two. Turn key off, try again, most of the times it starts right up. Every now and then it takes a 3rd try. When it starts it runs perfect. Throttle response is great, car NEVER stumbles or misses.

What I've done so far.
Checked battery, fine. Load tested at Autozone. Battery is a Duralast from 2022.
Scanned for codes, nothing, not even pending.
Replaced the crank sensor, no change.
Replaced the plugs, no change. Old plugs looked good.
Removed and cleaned EGR valve. Had a decent amount of carbon buildup. No change.
Removed and cleaned the throttle body. Wasn't that dirty honestly. Did the idle relearn after this job. No change.

I did see there was a service bulletin about this issue so going to stop by the dealer and see if they can lookup by VIN to see if that update was ever applied. Kinda out of ideas at this point. Don't think it could be fuel pump since it runs perfect once it starts. Tried reading some real time data but didn't see any options to read fuel pressure like I can on my wife's Buick Enclave. Going to hook up a physical fuel pressure tester to see what's happening during a long crank next.

[cueball89]

Originally Posted by JayS

Much more likely to get a long crank if you drive it until it's warmed up, park, and then restart it within an hour or two. Turn key off, try again, most of the times it starts right up. Every now and then it takes a 3rd try.

How quickly are you turning the key from off to start? Does leaving the key in the on position until the fuel pump stops making noise make a difference?

[JayS]

Most of the time just turning the key because that's how she learned to start any other car, but I have seen it happen while turning the key to on, waiting a few seconds, then cranking it. I tired that while troubleshooting it.

Also had her try a single pump of the gas pedal to the floor and release before cranking but that didn't seem to make any difference.

[JayS]

Most of the time just turning the key because that’s how she learned to start any other car, but I have seen it happen while turning the key to on, waiting a few seconds, then cranking it. I tired that while troubleshooting it.

Also had her try a single pump of the gas pedal to the floor and release before cranking but that didn’t seem to make any difference.

[CLL_OBP]

Originally Posted by JayS

Also had her try a single pump of the gas pedal to the floor and release before cranking but that didn't seem to make any difference.

LMAO. Wow! That brought back memories of starting my first car, a 1979 Plymouth Volare two barrel carburetor Slant 6. Pumping the gas pedal went away about 35 years ago. Matter of fact, the last car with a carburetor is the U.S. was the Subaru Justy.

There was a TSB but I don't think it included MY12. I experienced this a few times and it went away. Whether cold or warm, I always wait for the gauge sweep and then turn the key.
Can't recall what or if I did anything else because I've done maintenance on this car religiously since it was new.

You've done the most likely stuff, i.e., change/check battery and spark plugs. Less likely stuff would be fuel pump/filter and injectors. Is the air filter good? I only buy Shell gas and fill up at half tank.

[JayS]

Originally Posted by CLL_OBP

LMAO. Wow! That brought back memories of starting my first car, a 1979 Plymouth Volare two barrel carburetor Slant 6. Pumping the gas pedal went away about 35 years ago. Matter of fact, the last car with a carburetor is the U.S. was the Subaru Justy.

There was a TSB but I don't think it included MY12. I experienced this a few times and it went away. Whether cold or warm, I always wait for the gauge sweep and then turn the key.
Can't recall what or if I did anything else because I've done maintenance on this car religiously since it was new.

You've done the most likely stuff, i.e., change/check battery and spark plugs. Less likely stuff would be fuel pump/filter and injectors. Is the air filter good? I only buy Shell gas and fill up at half tank.

Yeah, I get how fuel injection works. My only thought on trying to pump the throttle was if there was something with the throttle position sensor that forcing it through a full range before trying to start might make a difference.

Air filter looked really clean. I had it out when I changed the plugs because that required pulling the air box for access. I ran a bottle of techron fuel cleaner through it a few weeks back.

Last night I took it over to a friend's shop that had the software to read all the sensors, but he thinks his software didn't have the right configs for this specific Impreza. Specifically he wanted to see the readings coming off the fuel pump. He was able to dump the ECU file so he was going to look into why he couldn't see all the systems he normally could and rescan it when he figures that out. He and I are both confident it's a fuel issue with something causing the ECU not to deliver enough fuel on warm start.

[IHaveAHorse]

You said you tried letting the fuel pump prime, but did you try turning the ignition on and off say 2 or 3 times (or even more, if you wanted) before starting?

Sounds like you have an extreme case of the warm engine no start issue, I still don't think anyone's truly figured out what the cause is. Some subaru engineer probably knows, since they had several TSBs for different models/years for the issue. Wish I could offer some advice but all I suggest is maybe try letting the fuel pump prime multiple times, if you haven't already.

[IHaveAHorse]

double post isn't my fault, this site is barely functional on a good day anymore (only hit reply once), nevertheless - my apologies

[JayS]

It was the ECU software update. Took it to the dealer tonight, showed it never got the update that came out in 2015. Flashed the ECU and it’s started perfectly since.

[Leonardo]

So there was a software update for which years? My 2014 might need it if thats the case.

[JayS]

Don’t know what years. My 2012 definitely needed it. Dealer needed to hook the car up to see if it had already been loaded or not.

[Leonardo]

thanks! I'll stop by and check!

[dcon9999]

If you're still looking to do this, hit me up. I have an aftermarket pioneer head unit and run Sirius XM also

[dcon9999]

Also just checking in with this forum. At 218,000, it sounds like my water pump is starting to go. Classic rattle noise and a little bit of a high-pitched noise when driving at speed. Expecting it to be under a thousand bucks so think I'm going forward with it. This car still drives amazing.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

So there was a software update for which years? My 2014 might need it if thats the case.

update to my ECM done but it was for the inaccurate low oil level light that I kept getting and its actually a service bulletin on it for the 2012-2014 crosstrek/impreza and needs an updated oil level sensor along with the reflash.

[IHaveAHorse]

Has anyone had a starter die on one of these cars? My battery is fine, high quality AGM one only 2 years old and tests fine. Even when my engine is warm and the battery is freshly charged by the alternator, the starter turns over like it's been sitting in below-zero (fahrenheit) temps for a few days. It's not super sick sounding, but it's noticeably slower than it's been in the past. Only guess is the starter is starting to go. I have around 105,000 miles.

[Commander Keen]

Has anyone had a starter die on one of these cars? My battery is fine, high quality AGM one only 2 years old and tests fine. Even when my engine is warm and the battery is freshly charged by the alternator, the starter turns over like it's been sitting in below-zero (fahrenheit) temps for a few days. It's not super sick sounding, but it's noticeably slower than it's been in the past. Only guess is the starter is starting to go. I have around 105,000 miles.

Mine is still going strong at 145K, though it's a manual with a different starter than yours.


The stock sheet metal battery clamps are trash and I replaced mine long ago with ones made from solid aluminum.


If you're still on the stock clamps, that could be your issue.

[IHaveAHorse]

Originally Posted by Commander Keen

Mine is still going strong at 145K, though it's a manual with a different starter than yours.


The stock sheet metal battery clamps are trash and I replaced mine long ago with ones made from solid aluminum.


If you're still on the stock clamps, that could be your issue.

I'll try replacing them with something better, thanks for the tip.