2009 Impreza WRX motor issues

[Michael Yount]

Buh-by

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[fog hat]

Originally Posted by TunaRider

This thread worries me. Last time I drove my car (in November), I started to notice it making a weird rattling noise under load. I bought it October 10th, so I'm sure it's one of the ones built in August or so. It has about 2700 on it right now I believe.

You havent drivin your var since Nov. ????

Forget about engine failures, Thats the real crime here!

[TunaRider]

Originally Posted by fog hat

You havent drivin your var since Nov. ????

Forget about engine failures, Thats the real crime here!

Yeah, for some reason they wouldn't pay to have it shipped to Iraq with me.

[26525]

Originally Posted by BIGSKYWRX

I think a lot of folks have concluded that the factory fill is a 5W20- it's evidently common for the factory fill to have slightly different properties than "normal" oil- supposedly to enhance break in- one of the reasons many advocate for waiting 1000 miles before the first oil change

I think turbo applications get 5w-30 mineral oil at the factory and 5w-20 goes in everything else. Probably what we are seeing in these low mileage UOAs is the viscosity shearing down to a 20wt.

[Michael Yount]

Mineral oil --- "Perhaps the single most common use for white mineral oil is to remove makeup at the end of the day. Mineral oil has the ability to cut through the minute amounts of grease and dirt that tend to cling to makeup over the course of the day, making it possible to strip off the layer of makeup easy and prepare the face for cleansing. Along with removing makeup from the face, mineral oil is often used as a beauty treatment, as it is an excellent amplifier that helps the body to absorb ultraviolet rays without drying out the skin. While not everyone is aware, baby oil is simply mineral oil that has been enhanced with a small amount of fragrance."

Dino oil for sure. Castor bean oil - from days past. Mineral oil in the crankcase? Not so much.

[BIGSKYWRX]

didn't realize Michael's UOA was from a different company- little different layout, but the #'s are all there :

[Michael Yount]

Buh-by

[26525]

Originally Posted by Michael Yount

Mineral oil --- "Perhaps the single most common use for white mineral oil is to remove makeup at the end of the day. Mineral oil has the ability to cut through the minute amounts of grease and dirt that tend to cling to makeup over the course of the day, making it possible to strip off the layer of makeup easy and prepare the face for cleansing. Along with removing makeup from the face, mineral oil is often used as a beauty treatment, as it is an excellent amplifier that helps the body to absorb ultraviolet rays without drying out the skin. While not everyone is aware, baby oil is simply mineral oil that has been enhanced with a small amount of fragrance."

Dino oil for sure. Castor bean oil - from days past. Mineral oil in the crankcase? Not so much.

If we really want to get picky

Groups I and II are commonly referred to as mineral oils (or dino oils), group III is typically referred to as synthetic (except in Germany and Japan, where they must not be called synthetic) and group IV is a synthetic oil. Group V base oils are so diverse that there is no catch-all description.

[JJL330]

Originally Posted by BIGSKYWRX

didn't realize Michael's UOA was from a different company- little different layout, but the #'s are all there :

Critical amounts of silver eh?

[veedub0]

Originally Posted by incongruity

http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7...3885--,00.html:

Count the days -- as soon as it hits thirty, you've got yourself a lemon under Michigan law, as far as I can see from the above... personally, I'd make 'em buy it back and start over with another vehicle unless you feel strongly attached to *this* WRX (note: a new vehicle may well be another WRX, but a lemon is a lemon, if you want to make lemonade... or something)

That's alright. I am not interested in enacting the Lemon Law. I got a sweet forester to bang on for a month.

[09wrx265]

Originally Posted by fellstar

Bought 25th of February 2009

802XXX vin...

not sure of build date but we can extrapolate from above. I've been reading through this and saw the above quoted problem. I had my transmission fail as well. I bought the car with nearly 200 miles on it, and was able to put 100ish miles on it before the trans went. 300ish miles on the machine. They had it for a week and a half before doing anything to it, waiting for a regional service manager to see it. I've been keeping to the breakin schedule.

2009 WRX 5-Door Premium

It has now been 15 days since I took it in, and I'm supposed to have it back by Tuesday.

I guess on the upside if the engine does go, they've already used up half of the 30 days in the Indiana Lemon Law to fix my trans, and I might get a full refund if it happens.

And you know what ? I got my car back on a Thursday afternoon, and 10 days later the whole thing happened AGAIN. I knew right away when I heard the sound re-starting to happen. Brought it IMMEDIATELY back to the dealer and they were stunned when I told them the issue was starting again. This is the explanation from a very good mechanic:

The tail housing of the transmission houses a viscous coupler, as well as a transfer shaft which puts power to the rear of the car. On either end of the transfer shaft there are two tapered bearings. Being tapered they require whats called preload, this is achieved by a minor calculation and a shim of X thickness.

The problem with the transmission is simple the preload from factory was incorrect, resulting in the shaft being overheated and bearings damaged. So being that the 265 is brand new our supply of parts in NA are virtually NIL, thus the long wait for the transfer shaft.

First time they changed the tranny. Not the second time.


I got the car back since last Thursday and works fine. But for the 2 times it stayed at the dealer because of the problems, I didnt have my car for a little under a month(total).

[Michael Yount]

Buh-by

[FooHead]

Hmmm, just finished reading this entire thread. I'm seriously looking at picking up a 2009 WRX here in Canada. But now after reading all this, I'm not sure I want a Subaru at all!

Anyone in Canada have their motor blow up?
Is the non turbo version still have no reports of failure?
Am I just over reacting?

Help a noobie Subie potential owner out!
Thx,
Foo

[KAT_Ayanami]

Originally Posted by FooHead

Hmmm, just finished reading this entire thread. I'm seriously looking at picking up a 2009 WRX here in Canada. But now after reading all this, I'm not sure I want a Subaru at all!

Anyone in Canada have their motor blow up?
Is the non turbo version still have no reports of failure?
Am I just over reacting?

Help a noobie Subie potential owner out!
Thx,
Foo

Lie...

[26525]

Originally Posted by Michael Yount

26525 - just doin' a bit of chain jerkin'. I remember the smell of castor oil at the track back in the days when they were racing the 'vintage' racers the first time.

Ha, sorry hope I didn't sound brash. After taking a closer look at your UOA, I don't see anything "abnormal", except for Silver. I've never seen such elevated Ag amount. Even after comparing another WRX UOA with much higher wear than yours, Ag was still only 1ppm. I'm starting to think Ag is from outside contamination (during sampling or lab error). Other than Ag, appears the oil held up quite wel. I wish they would include average values from other EJ motors that particular lab has tested for baseline comparison because lab to lab variation DOES exist. This spreadsheet posted up at another forum can give you an idea of "expected" numbers after break-in:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...5exEIcwPtRPlBA


Just to compare you report with mine from Blackstone:
Mine (1,000mi), Yours (3,450mi)
Al: 9, 12
Fe: 18, 26
Cu: 16, 28
Sn: 1, 0
Ni: 0, 1
Pb: 0, 0
Ag: 0, 22
Cr: 0, 1

Here is another recent UOA for an STi during break in which has raised some concern for bearing wear with much higher Cu than ours: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...343150&fpart=1

It wouldn't hurt to ask the lab you used to re-measure the sample because you are not confident in the accuracy of their reading for Ag. You could even mention that Blackstone re-samples if the customer has any doubts about their first results

[Michael Yount]

Buh-by

[BigSteiner5]

well the dealership is taking my motor apart to find out what happened so now i am stuck with a 2000 legacy wagon with 130,xxx miles and it shakes at idle...yahhhh

[BIGSKYWRX]

^ TeaCups needs your build date/VIN if you can get it, to add to the list- thanks

sorry to see they gave you a crappy car

[BigSteiner5]

when i get to my house i will look at my papers, should i have the build date on any of the papers i received from the dealership or subaru?

[Prelude2k]

Originally Posted by FooHead

Hmmm, just finished reading this entire thread. I'm seriously looking at picking up a 2009 WRX here in Canada. But now after reading all this, I'm not sure I want a Subaru at all!

Anyone in Canada have their motor blow up?
Is the non turbo version still have no reports of failure?
Am I just over reacting?

Help a noobie Subie potential owner out!
Thx,
Foo

In the same shoes, I am also looking for a 2009 2.5i N/A model in Canada, but reading this thread, everyday there is a new owner with blown engine, I want to make sure a bit more before I purchase the car, damn Matrix AWD didnt' come manual -__-.

Overall in this board, no one ever ever reported a 2.5i boxster engine having any problem on any of the 2008-2009 models correct?

[caz5511]

I have narrowed down my search to 3 09 WRX's, they are all 5 doors, and their last 6 digits of VIN are: 817670, 810662, 810336. Seeing these are quite a ways out of the defective batch, would there be any benefit to buying teh 817 instead of the 810, assuming all else is equal?

Appreciate all your help guys!

[MadAmos]

I just got the report back on my 09 with 08/08 build date and 8029xx VIN so far it looks ok. Lead and tin nice and low and nothing else alarming to me, but it only has 580 miles on the sample. Right now I have 1500 or so miles on it with no signs of trouble or level change (10w30 GTX). I don't abuse it but I have been running it up to 6k on occasion in the last couple hundred and all is well, you gotta love going to work at 4 am . I will be using either Syntec or Edge at the 3750 change based on good experiences in my other vehicals.

[AshJWilliams]

Originally Posted by BigSteiner5

well the dealership is taking my motor apart to find out what happened so now i am stuck with a 2000 legacy wagon with 130,xxx miles and it shakes at idle...yahhhh

I think that POS is shaking at idle because it wants to be brutally (and repeatedly) launched. Just my opinion.

For all of you asking about opinions about purchasing the WRX, or whether or not you should get this or that VIN, or whether or not you should be looking at a naturally aspirated version. The following is the opinion of an 09 WRX owner who has suffered engine failure;

DO NOT BUY A NEW SUBARU PERIOD! With the knowledge that I now possess (I actually have read every page of this thread, and others) I would not even consider purchasing a Subaru of any model through years 07-09. As far as I am concerned until Subaru demonstrates that they are ready to make a big-boy attempt at designing automobiles again (I say again as my understanding going into my initial purchase was that I could expect quality and reliability) I wouldn't even consider it.

[Michael Yount]

Buh-by

[BIGSKYWRX]

Originally Posted by BigSteiner5

when i get to my house i will look at my papers, should i have the build date on any of the papers i received from the dealership or subaru?

build date is on the inside of the door- the VIN however will be on the paperwork