The declining quality of Subarus
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Wow, This is sad to hear. Just went into Livermore Subaru to look at the 2011's. They are a very nice breed. They feel well put together.
Manhands- I hope it only gets better for you!!
Manhands- I hope it only gets better for you!!
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Car Info: 2011 STi Sedan Plasma Blue
OK, I've read the entire thread and can't figure out why no one has pointed out the generally awful customer service that the Stevens Creek dealership hands out (granted, parts dept is solid). It's no wonder you're not getting anywhere.
Take it to a real dealer - I have been taking my 08 STi to Carlsen since I bought it and they bend over backwards to fix all the little things that have gone wrong, and all UNDER WARRANTY (dash rattle, hatch rattle, speaker issue, headlight bouncing, HVAC controls, etc). You live in the Bay area, so take advantage of the fact that there are multiple dealers competing for you business - and use the warranty you paid for. Just be very polite when speaking with the service manager and clearly explain the issues.
As for the ringland issue, it's been around for a while. See this and this
Take it to a real dealer - I have been taking my 08 STi to Carlsen since I bought it and they bend over backwards to fix all the little things that have gone wrong, and all UNDER WARRANTY (dash rattle, hatch rattle, speaker issue, headlight bouncing, HVAC controls, etc). You live in the Bay area, so take advantage of the fact that there are multiple dealers competing for you business - and use the warranty you paid for. Just be very polite when speaking with the service manager and clearly explain the issues.
As for the ringland issue, it's been around for a while. See this and this
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Car Info: 07 STI Built/Widebody/E85/Rotated GTX3576 13 Fozz
You haven't heard of the ringland issue?? Its been a common well known weakness in all of the turbo 2.5l motors, but got significantly worse in the second half of 06. 07's used to pop bone stock and 08's were not much better.
The problem is in the inconsistency of the piston castings. Some of them have impurities which cause a major weakness at the thinest part of the piston (the ringland). Combine that weakness with a bit of knock from bad gas and/or a poor factory tune and you start developing small cracks through the ringlands. The first symptoms are oil consumption and eventually the ringland cracks further and causes missfires in some cases. They're completely hit or miss... some motors run great with lots of abuse and others break pistons bone stock within the first 15k miles.
-- Ed
The problem is in the inconsistency of the piston castings. Some of them have impurities which cause a major weakness at the thinest part of the piston (the ringland). Combine that weakness with a bit of knock from bad gas and/or a poor factory tune and you start developing small cracks through the ringlands. The first symptoms are oil consumption and eventually the ringland cracks further and causes missfires in some cases. They're completely hit or miss... some motors run great with lots of abuse and others break pistons bone stock within the first 15k miles.
-- Ed
They have probably had cracks for a while, but the added stress of the power from the E85 tune is most likley what made them go.
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The part of the panel on my car that is directly in the wheel well will pop out when driving in substantial rain at ~75mph. I then have to pull over, get out of the car and shove it back in place for fear of it getting ripped in half by the wind.
My 02 had a similar situation where the grill flew off on the freeway, those clips they use for some of the plastic bodywork can be unreliable.
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Here are pictures of the awesomeness. These are out of cylinders 1 and 4. 41,000 miles on the car. Was running E85 for about 2 months and then noticed it was having issues. Prior to that just a super mellow stage 2 tune.
They have probably had cracks for a while, but the added stress of the power from the E85 tune is most likley what made them go.
They have probably had cracks for a while, but the added stress of the power from the E85 tune is most likley what made them go.
BTW, those pistons have not been cracked for very long.
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I was originally speaking of the part outside the 2011 cars that is below the doors, that entire panel.
The part of the panel on my car that is directly in the wheel well will pop out when driving in substantial rain at ~75mph. I then have to pull over, get out of the car and shove it back in place for fear of it getting ripped in half by the wind.
My 02 had a similar situation where the grill flew off on the freeway, those clips they use for some of the plastic bodywork can be unreliable.
The part of the panel on my car that is directly in the wheel well will pop out when driving in substantial rain at ~75mph. I then have to pull over, get out of the car and shove it back in place for fear of it getting ripped in half by the wind.
My 02 had a similar situation where the grill flew off on the freeway, those clips they use for some of the plastic bodywork can be unreliable.
My grill's clips are unreliable pieces as well. I have the grill duct-taped to the car since the clips have decided to be lazy.
The quality issues can apply to the older stuff too...
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