Car and Driver's STI blew its engine!!

[newtothescene]

Haven't had a chance to read all the posts so mine might be redundant:

I just reviewed Car and Dirver's first drive 2011 STI review and they had to replace the short block in their long term STI!!! Here is the section "The drivetrain is untouched, as progress apparently wasn’t needed in the engine room. (If it were up to us, we might have asked for better reliability; our long-termer required a new short block during its stay.) As before, the STI couples its 305-hp turbocharged flat-four solely with a six-speed manual transmission. SI-Drive is still included, allowing the driver to fine-tune the throttle response. And the all-wheel-drive system’s multiple modes can tailor lockup for any situation, either doing so automatically or letting the driver choose a center-differential locking level manually.

Hopefully Subaru reads this one very carefully!! We all know the issues with these motors!! Subaru, are you listening??? Hopefully your head is not up your a$$ still with these motors and engine management etc.

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[teiva-boy]

Oh yes, 1 car out of 1000's.. It's all Subaru's fault, they are lazy and careless.

What are you some kid?

[woodys77]

car and driver sucks worse then subaru's shortblocks

[jjagg0125]

i love subaru dont get me wrong but there are somethings out there they need to open up there frickin eyes up too, sorry for the little bit of subbie hatred haha

[soobaviator]

Dealer oil changes...

[BlackFighter]

They really do need to open their ****ing eyes and see that there is a prob. Ppl have been saying that it is b/c the eng is a flat 4 eng and that id ppl want that then you have to stick with the problems that come with it, but what about the other comp that use flat 4 eng, what about their eng? Don't think Porsche has this prob. And i hope that they do read forums like nasioc but since we are in 2011 modes now and still having the same prob it unlikely. Sorry had to vent. Just know that sooner or later i will have the prob too. knock on wood.

See i'm sure that Subaru knows about this prob but they are not doing anything b/c ppl are still buying Subaru.

[soobaviator]

Comparing a modern Porsche boxer to a Subaru boxer is in no way a legitimate. For one thing it has a 12 quart dry sump oil system and 40 years of racing engineering behind it. The Subaru engine is highly engineered but vastly simplified for cost point and mass manufacturing. The oil system is at the heart of the bearing problems but IMO its less expensive for Subaru to fix a number of engines per year than it would be to redesign and certify a new design for use around the world.

We got what we got here and it has it's limitations. If you want a big power bullet proof boxer motor save your cash for a turbo Porsche or buy 4 STI's and throw them away when they break.

[j255c]

or get an evo and realize f4 subaru motors are ****.

[SUBY909]

Originally Posted by newtothescene

Haven't had a chance to read all the posts so mine might be redundant:

I just reviewed Car and Dirver's first drive 2011 STI review and they had to replace the short block in their long term STI!!! Here is the section "The drivetrain is untouched, as progress apparently wasn’t needed in the engine room. (If it were up to us, we might have asked for better reliability; our long-termer required a new short block during its stay.) As before, the STI couples its 305-hp turbocharged flat-four solely with a six-speed manual transmission. SI-Drive is still included, allowing the driver to fine-tune the throttle response. And the all-wheel-drive system’s multiple modes can tailor lockup for any situation, either doing so automatically or letting the driver choose a center-differential locking level manually.

Hopefully Subaru reads this one very carefully!! We all know the issues with these motors!! Subaru, are you listening??? Hopefully your head is not up your a$$ still with these motors and engine management etc.

i believe they were talking about their 2008-2009 Long term sti and not the new 2011 sti they have now. please reread the article in car and driver as this is how bad rumors gets started.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review

[Splinter]

Originally Posted by j255c

or get an evo and realize f4 subaru motors are ****.

But keep hanging out on a subaru forum, for the lulz

[j255c]

Exactly.

[STi Mikey]

Originally Posted by teiva-boy

Oh yes, 1 car out of 1000's.. It's all Subaru's fault, they are lazy and careless.

What are you some kid?

No, he's actually right. Its been a problem since 07.....

10's of thousands have broke pre-mature.

When I bought mine brand new, the dealer asked if I wanted the extended wrnty.

I told them absolutely not, the pistons are going to crack quickly and i'll be building from there

[maddog39]

Originally Posted by SUBY909

i believe they were talking about their 2008-2009 Long term sti and not the new 2011 sti they have now. please reread the article in car and driver as this is how bad rumors gets started.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review

I was about to say the same thing...

[DJSuperSoul]

my car had the rod bearing on #2 let go. i have aftermarket parts on the engine, so warranty is screwed / BUT / the bearing was faulty. 17 k miles, 08 sti.

[newtothescene]

Originally Posted by SUBY909

i believe they were talking about their 2008-2009 Long term sti and not the new 2011 sti they have now. please reread the article in car and driver as this is how bad rumors gets started.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review

Sorry for spreading "bad rumours". Yes I am sure it was a 2008 or 2009 but it does not deny the fact that that there are problems with these motors regardless of year, which Subaru could easily fix but are unwilling to take responsibility (ie.oil pickup and crappy tune). Besides, this is the first car I have seen in any long term test which actually needed an engine replacement - ouch. Anyhow, just my opinion. Still love my Rex!

[teiva-boy]

Originally Posted by STi Mikey

No, he's actually right. Its been a problem since 07.....

10's of thousands have broke pre-mature.

When I bought mine brand new, the dealer asked if I wanted the extended wrnty.

I told them absolutely not, the pistons are going to crack quickly and i'll be building from there

10's of thousands Thats grounds for a recall. Which AFAIK has not happened as a "major recall."

NASIOC is just a small tip of the Subaru population. What is found here, in no way represents the entire subaru lineup.

10's of thousands, please

[dmcutter]

Just as an aside, all is not skittles and beer in the Porsche world. I traded an '04 Boxster S for my WRX because I needed something more practical but still fun to drive. Boxster engines suffered from their inception with a leaky rear main seal, and worse, a gremlin in the intermediate shaft bearing-failure is catastrophic, and of course usually happens after the warranty runs out. Despite the very large number of documented failures, Porsche never admitted there was a problem, but they finally changed the engine design for the 2010 model. That was probably the biggest reason I decided the car wasn't a keeper. I'll take a cracked ring land over a catastrophic engine failure any day.

[arghx7]

Here is the review which discusses their problems with the 2008 model year long term test car: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...d_test_wrap-up

First the transmission was replaced:

Around the 11,000-mile mark, second gear began repeatedly popping out of its engagement, and into service the STI went. At first, the issue couldn't be replicated by our dealer, but we eventually pinpointed it as occurring under light acceleration or throttle-lift around 10 to 20 mph. Subaru's service rep made the call to install a completely new transmission at just 16,745 miles, and the dealer also put in a new clutch, a pressure plate, and a throw-out bearing-all under warranty.

And then after various engine related problems, the shortblock was replaced:

As it turned out, the compression was indeed out of whack, so a new short block (which really means most of the engine beyond the cylinder heads) was installed at 32,066 miles.

All on the first page. I still think this is a manufacturing problem above all else.

[my name is joe]

maybe this is a possibility sti's can get a different motor and have less of a gap from making a wrx to an sti so easily..

[teiva-boy]

Originally Posted by my name is joe

maybe this is a possibility sti's can get a different motor and have less of a gap from making a wrx to an sti so easily..

Sharing platforms is an industry wide practice, it lowers costs, and helps increase profit margins. Being a Japanese company, there is no way Subaru will ever offer some sort of special treatment for an STI, which is slowly being a commodity item, if it hasn't become that already...

[my name is joe]

meaning better parts.. not a whole new platform.

[woodys77]

Originally Posted by STi Mikey

No, he's actually right. Its been a problem since 07.....

10's of thousands have broke pre-mature.

When I bought mine brand new, the dealer asked if I wanted the extended wrnty.

I told them absolutely not, the pistons are going to crack quickly and i'll be building from there

but they never did, did they...........

[kellygnsd]

Originally Posted by teiva-boy

10's of thousands Thats grounds for a recall. Which AFAIK has not happened as a "major recall."

NASIOC is just a small tip of the Subaru population. What is found here, in no way represents the entire subaru lineup.

10's of thousands, please

While NASIOC is just a small tip of the Subaru population its is still a representative portion of it and over the past few years its been proven that the emission friendly factory tunes are just flat out terrible. That is fact and that has lead to many premature engine failures. The fact that you or Subaru don't acknowledge it doesn't change that fact.

[SUBY909]

Here is the review which discusses their problems with the 2008 model year long term test car: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...d_test_wrap-up

First the transmission was replaced:

Quote:
Around the 11,000-mile mark, second gear began repeatedly popping out of its engagement, and into service the STI went. At first, the issue couldn’t be replicated by our dealer, but we eventually pinpointed it as occurring under light acceleration or throttle-lift around 10 to 20 mph. Subaru’s service rep made the call to install a completely new transmission at just 16,745 miles, and the dealer also put in a new clutch, a pressure plate, and a throw-out bearing—all under warranty.

And then after various engine related problems, the shortblock was replaced:

Quote:
As it turned out, the compression was indeed out of whack, so a new short block (which really means most of the engine beyond the cylinder heads) was installed at 32,066 miles.

All on the first page. I still think this is a manufacturing problem above all else.

I do agree that the transmission gave out a bit early but you also have to think about how hard these test cars are pushed for the time they have it. They put these cars thru crazy amounts of hard drag launches, track abuse, canyon runs, snow and dirt test and anything else they can think of to test the durabilty of these cars. You also got different driver's doing all these test, all with different driving styles. Basically these test are to find the cars weakness to pass along to subaru along with the consumer.

As with the engine problems with the 2008 "long term" STI, you fail'd to post what happened prior to short block replacement. They thought is was a bad O2 sensor causing surging but turned out to be a faulty ECU that was reading signals wrong and causing it to pull timing and fuel. It took subaru a while to figure out it was a bad ECU after replacing the O2, and in between that time car and driver still ran the car hard for about 6k miles. After the ECU replacement Subaru requested a compression check just to make sure engine was still within specs and came out bad due to the bad ECU. They replaced short block and everything was ok after that for the remainder of car and driver having the car.

As you can see there was nothing wrong with this engine as far as manufacturing or engine design, it was a Faulty ECU and driver error that caused the engine to wear out prematurely. Now i know 07 STI's were notorious for Cylinder 4 ringland failure but in 2007 Subaru completely re-engineered their ECU in order to meet US LEV2 emissions requirements which explains all the bugs the had with the 07 ECU as well as bad stock maps that were leaning out or overboosting. Subaru issued a service bulletin for a reflash but by that time im sure it was a bit to late for most STI's and damage was probally done from the first few thousand miles. Also the reason number 4 cylinder usually goes out is because number 4 piston is positioned farthest on the manifold runners which causes it to run the hottest,(thats why EGT sensors are usually installed on #4) now add the fact that subaru removed the use of sodium filled exhaust valves in the 07 (sodium valves lowered egts a bit due to better heat transfer out the heads) which now increases EGTs a bit and when u add lean AFR's or overboosting due to buggy ECU's, now your asking for trouble lol.
I dont think anyone should be blaming Subaru's engineering or manufacturing, Subaru has put out a great product producing more Hp and Tq than most V6's and some V8's all while lowering pollution outputs year after year that are set lower and lower by the Gov't. Also having to make the car work on all types of gas ranging from great 93 to crappy CA 91, winterblends, summer blends, and having it work in hi elevations as well as sea level and dont forget about making maps specifically for CA Emissions Standards. So some where along the line something goes wrong eventually but if you read in all those reviews Subaru not once denied warranty to car and driver, which shows subaru takes responsibility and dosent deny having some bad apple's in their group. only time they usually deny warranty is when people like me start modding their cars.

wow ok ima gonna stop typing cuz im sure u guys had enough of my rambling haha! just wanted to get it out there and vent a bit lol.
not trying to step on any toes, its just my opinion.

[AWD>FWD]

NASIOC needs remedial English, apparently...
...my head hurts.