2012 Impreza thread

[IHaveAHorse]

Apologies for the double post, but... does anyone know what the valve body failure rate is overall for the 2012-2016, or whatever year range it was before they last revised the CVT? I would be really curious to know if the failure rate of vehicles with say 150k+ miles is something like 0.1%, 1%, 5%, or what. I've been constantly on edge and especially worried about taking on work that involves a lot of driving ever since I read about this issue and how widespread it seems to be. It's hard to tell from online posts because of course people whose cars work fine don't tend to post much, so if you went based on various forums it'd look like the failure rate is 100% by 200,000 miles

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[2i2dk1ny2i3]

Originally Posted by IHaveAHorse

Apologies for the double post, but... does anyone know what the valve body failure rate is overall for the 2012-2016, or whatever year range it was before they last revised the CVT? I would be really curious to know if the failure rate of vehicles with say 150k+ miles is something like 0.1%, 1%, 5%, or what. I've been constantly on edge and especially worried about taking on work that involves a lot of driving ever since I read about this issue and how widespread it seems to be. It's hard to tell from online posts because of course people whose cars work fine don't tend to post much, so if you went based on various forums it'd look like the failure rate is 100% by 200,000 miles

I don't know failure rate but it is a common problem. Compare it to head gasket issues but way easier and cheaper to fix. I had to try 3 different times having used Valve Bodies from Imprezas at the Junk Yard but after doing it once, its not too difficult. A 5/10 in regards to difficulty.

Unlike other cars, just replace this first than Sensors, etc. Etc. As this is a known issue. I would say most Impreza can make it to 200,000 but its like a preventative maintenance around there imo


Good luck and hope this helps

[2i2dk1ny2i3]

Btw, is there a sub forum or another Thread for 4th Gen Imprezas?

[CLL_OBP]

2yrs 11mon 20days to get to 60K
February 4, 2015




9yrs 2mon later
April 4, 2024



Transmission still slips during normal acceleration between 1-2,000 rpm
It doesn't slip if you takeoff fast soooo.....I takeoff fast.
It will be that way until it completely fails because I'm not paying $3k+ for a used transmission.

[IHaveAHorse]

Does anyone know if 2008-14 non-STI WRX brakes use the same pads as the 2012-2017 Impreza? I'd like to replace my front pads with semi metallic ones for a better initial bite, but there are precisely zero available anywhere that I can find, at least not for any remotely reasonable price. I figure there might be some for the 2008-14 WRX though, and those might fit?

[cueball89]

Originally Posted by IHaveAHorse

Does anyone know if 2008-14 non-STI WRX brakes use the same pads as the 2012-2017 Impreza? I'd like to replace my front pads with semi metallic ones for a better initial bite, but there are precisely zero available anywhere that I can find, at least not for any remotely reasonable price. I figure there might be some for the 2008-14 WRX though, and those might fit?

I'm very happy with these, RAYBESTOS EHT1539H Element3 Hybrid Technology. They have very nice initial bite. The part numbers on Rockauto look to be the same. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...sfVpCnfUWghuEh

[IHaveAHorse]

Thank you

[meh679]

Jumping into this thread for a couple of questions which, after searching around, haven't been able to find really suitable answers to. She's a '13 Impreza Premium 2.0L 5MT with about 155k miles, still drives great (well, after doing my drivers side wheel bearing) but needs some TLC.

First question, which I also asked about on another OLD thread from 2012 is my engine makes this loud whine at all times when running, sort of sounds like it's supercharged and I believe it's coming from the A/C compressor clutch/pulley. I've searched around and haven't really found any definitive answer regarding whether or not this is a part I can replace or if I have to replace the entire compressor (which I'd rather not do of course because money). The other solutions I've seen is to check the idler pulley to see if it's causing the noise which I plan on doing once this cursed PNW rain lets up, but figured I'd check here as well to see if anyone has any advice.

Second is a bit more of a mystery and may just be down to electrical gremlins. Recently I put in a new aftermarket head unit and I've done this job before a couple times on a couple different cars so I'm fairly confident I didn't screw up any wiring or anything, the only thing different was I installed a backup camera, but right after I did that (may have actually been the same day) my E-Brake light on my dash wouldn't turn off and I lost hill assist. I've seen some people mention that if the brake fluid gets low that can happen but no dice, my brake fluid is right below the full line. The other solutions I've seen are brake pads being worn but I literally just replaced my pads last month. I took my center console apart and the little plunger that's supposed to turn that light off when you put the brake lever down doesn't seem to do anything anymore so I'm thinking maybe a wiring issue? I'm very confident I didn't sever any wires going to the E-Brake switch when I did my head unit, and even then, any wires I did cut was just to splice in an additional wire so they got reconnected anyways. One other thing I tried that worked for troubleshooting for someone else but not for me was disconnecting the plug going to the brake fluid reservoir, for them the light turned off but for me no change. I otherwise have no check engine lights, no codes, no nothing really besides no hill assist and the BRAKE light just stays on no matter what.

Any help is appreciated! These are fairly minor issues so if it's just one of those live with it things so be it but it'd be nice to get them sorted as I do intend on selling the car in the near future to upgrade to an STi

[dcon9999]

I would recommend buying an e-brake bypass and disconnecting your e-brake from the head unit. If it only started after you installed the head unit, that would be my first troubleshoot move

[IHaveAHorse]

If I recall correctly, I wired my e-brake wire from my aftermarket head unit to some chunk of metal somewhere nearby, and have never had an issue in all my years.


Random question- has anyone used decent LED high beam bulb drop ins? I wouldn't begin to think about doing that to my low beams, of course. But I'm wondering if I could get some better range with some high output LEDs drop ins for my high beams. Currently I've been using 9011 HIR (the new kind of HIR, not the one with a big bulbous spot on the bulb) high beams and they're good, but I feel like modern LEDs could easily blast them out of the water and beyond....

[dcon9999]

I'd recommend against the led High beam. 1. High beam LEDs are tricky since they also serve as drl. Since there is power going to them as drl, you'll be driving around with high beams on 24/7. You can disconnect/reroute your del easily (plug on the left side behind radiator) but without a reroute, you'll get 24/7 high beams

2. Since high beams are an addition on the car, color differences will definitely be noticable if you don't perfectly match. i.e. youll blast 3500k and 5000k and it'll look awful to you and to on comers.

Back to the e-brake. Interesting. Most modern head units want more than just a solid negative signal. Not sure.

Originally Posted by IHaveAHorse

If I recall correctly, I wired my e-brake wire from my aftermarket head unit to some chunk of metal somewhere nearby, and have never had an issue in all my years.


Random question- has anyone used decent LED high beam bulb drop ins? I wouldn't begin to think about doing that to my low beams, of course. But I'm wondering if I could get some better range with some high output LEDs drop ins for my high beams. Currently I've been using 9011 HIR (the new kind of HIR, not the one with a big bulbous spot on the bulb) high beams and they're good, but I feel like modern LEDs could easily blast them out of the water and beyond....

[IHaveAHorse]

Originally Posted by dcon9999

I'd recommend against the led High beam. 1. High beam LEDs are tricky since they also serve as drl. Since there is power going to them as drl, you'll be driving around with high beams on 24/7. You can disconnect/reroute your del easily (plug on the left side behind radiator) but without a reroute, you'll get 24/7 high beams

2. Since high beams are an addition on the car, color differences will definitely be noticable if you don't perfectly match. i.e. youll blast 3500k and 5000k and it'll look awful to you and to on comers.

Back to the e-brake. Interesting. Most modern head units want more than just a solid negative signal. Not sure.

I actually looked into it earlier today by coincidence. Thinking about trading my car for a family member's MKV Golf R32 since I've been longing for something more fun for a while. In the process of fixing up the Golf that's been sitting for years at this point, and I'll see how things look before I make a decision. Expecting the CVT to land me with a $2000+ repair bill any day now that I'm over 100k, so that'll probably influence my decision a bit. But anyway, was looking into car audio to see possibilities to upgrade the audio on that, if I do. Apparently in the past several years, head unit manufacturers wised up to the trick I described, and now need a bypass module or switch of some sort.

[dcon9999]

Yeah, the bypass send a pattern of signal based on the head unit itself. Run about $20 on good ole eBay

[Philiplt]

[quote=IHaveAHorse;46930544]Thank you[/QUOTE thank you

[Philiplt]

I don’t know

[dcon9999]

Old video I made for speakers:

https://youtu.be/dzJTQdYOHqI?si=cbBE1a1kR1ikhatC

Don't remember if I did one for head unit. I'll check

[Commander Keen]

First question, which I also asked about on another OLD thread from 2012 is my engine makes this loud whine at all times when running, sort of sounds like it's supercharged and I believe it's coming from the A/C compressor clutch/pulley. I've searched around and haven't really found any definitive answer regarding whether or not this is a part I can replace or if I have to replace the entire compressor (which I'd rather not do of course because money). The other solutions I've seen is to check the idler pulley to see if it's causing the noise which I plan on doing once this cursed PNW rain lets up, but figured I'd check here as well to see if anyone has any advice.

If it's compressor related, I'd expect the noise to vary depending on whether the clutch is engaged. The stock vane compressor has known defects. Mine seized up completely, stalling the engine when engaged. I replaced mine with a traditional piston type, which is still going strong.


Idler bearings can also fail. I installed some apparent counterfeits that failed inside of 10K and left me stranded. Healthy bearings should have a bit of friction. If the bearing freewheels, the grease is probably gone.


You'll probably have to remove the belt to narrow it down.

[meh679]

Originally Posted by Commander Keen

If it's compressor related, I'd expect the noise to vary depending on whether the clutch is engaged. The stock vane compressor has known defects. Mine seized up completely, stalling the engine when engaged. I replaced mine with a traditional piston type, which is still going strong.


Idler bearings can also fail. I installed some apparent counterfeits that failed inside of 10K and left me stranded. Healthy bearings should have a bit of friction. If the bearing freewheels, the grease is probably gone.


You'll probably have to remove the belt to narrow it down.

Yeah I'm planning on replacing the belt soon anyways as it tends to squeal when it's cold out and I have no idea when the last time it was replaced as I only bought the car 3 and some change years ago. Just hoping it's not the compressor clutch cause looking into it, those apparently aren't really replaceable and I'd have to replace the whole unit

Edit: also the noise does slightly change when the clutch engages, sounds exactly the same as this guy's

- YouTube

- YouTube

[meh679]

Originally Posted by dcon9999

I would recommend buying an e-brake bypass and disconnecting your e-brake from the head unit. If it only started after you installed the head unit, that would be my first troubleshoot move

Thing is, the e-brake isn't connected to the head unit anywhere. I actually had a bypass installed on my last unit which was a Pioneer AVH2300NEX I think, but this new one isn't compatible with bypass units as far as I'm aware. It's the T'Eyes CC3

When I installed it, as far as I'm aware, I never actually even touched the e-brake wiring. Was looking at it a couple weeks ago and the wire for the switch that turns the light on and off just kinda disappears into the wiring loom, so I'm wondering if it's maybe just a coincidence that it happened at the same time and I'm looking at electrical gremlins? Or maybe short to ground somewhere? I don't think I pinched any wires or anything but it was a fairly tight fit with all the different wiring harnesses and antennas and whatnot so it is possible

[Commander Keen]

Edit: also the noise does slightly change when the clutch engages, sounds exactly the same as this guy's

Mine let go before sounding anywhere near that bad.

Plan on a new compressor, expansion valve and condenser.

[NickMacPaddyWack]

Originally Posted by HipToBeSquare

The lighting and bumper cover designs did change, they always do from a flashy show car to an affordable production car.

But a lot of the Legacy concept went over to the Production version. Very unfortunately.

I agree with you
I am hoping that since I am much more pleased with the Impreza Design Concept, that the production Impreza will be similarly handsome, even if less flashy.

I kind of hope they keep the Aston-like, GT-R-like flush fit door handles, and keep the side mirror size to an allowable minimum, instead of the barn doors that seem to be fitted to new cars these days, since about 2010.

You ain't wrong

[NickMacPaddyWack]

Originally Posted by Philiplt

I don’t know

Me either

[NickMacPaddyWack]

Originally Posted by dcon9999

I would recommend buying an e-brake bypass and disconnecting your e-brake from the head unit. If it only started after you installed the head unit, that would be my first troubleshoot move

Interesting