Going back to Santa Cruz for the +60 time
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 340
From: Monterey, CA
Car Info: Subaru STI
Going back to Santa Cruz for the +60 time
Well after 40,000 miles of BS, I go back to Santa Cruz Subaru for the last of my oil consumption tests on my STi. As of the last 10,000 miles I have gone through 5-6 quarts of oil between oil changes (3000 miles). Subaru has tried to fix my motor by replacing everything but the MOTOR! I am loosing 25-30% compression in all cylinders. But they still wont replace my motor.
Long story short, they replaced my motor at ~60,000 miles, Piston 1 was out of round(new motor from factory), drove on it for 3,000 miles, had oil consumption issues again. They made me go through consump. test. They replaced piston with 6,000 miles on out of round piston. No short block replacment. Since then I have had a check engine light on for 25,000 miles. They have replaced everything, ignition, valves, idle tensioners, spark plugs... After another +3,000 consumption test they said it was my Turbo eating the oil, they replaced turbo.
Well the oil consumption never went away, they said they did a compression test (they did not) B/C when they did a "second" one , guess what 30% loss per cylinder. So they made me do ANOTHER oil consumption test. They told me that if I had to put in oil, take pictures, save receipt for the oil, I did this, then they said that the pictures weren't valid. (as if I am a criminal who enjoys his POS car) So I had to start my oil consumption test again. 6,000 miles later, here I am. Oh, and then they tried to say it is because I use mobil 1 5-30, they service guy tried to tell me that subaru says to use 15-50 weight oil. They say its my fault. Event though my oil filler cap, owners manual, and everything else says 5-30!!!!
Oh, and now I am past my warranty, so they (SOA) will probably pull some more BS, and say that they wont cover it. Well, I know so damn good attorneys that will take this case to the bank. The thing that chaps my *** is this. Subaru has spent prolly, 20-30k to fix my $5,000 motor. This is corporate efficiency its highest!!!
And that's the short story. SO WISH ME LUCK!!!
(UPDATE!)
Well Subaru of America say's that because I am out of my warranty period, they wont fix anything. Eventhough all of these problems with oil consumption happened before the warranty period expired. But because of the bull**** oil consumption tests that i had to do for 6,000 miles they pushed me over the warranty period, HOW CONVENIENT!!! Subaru of America is f-ing me in the B!!! What a joke. I am sure they are going to love the call from my attorneys.
Long story short, they replaced my motor at ~60,000 miles, Piston 1 was out of round(new motor from factory), drove on it for 3,000 miles, had oil consumption issues again. They made me go through consump. test. They replaced piston with 6,000 miles on out of round piston. No short block replacment. Since then I have had a check engine light on for 25,000 miles. They have replaced everything, ignition, valves, idle tensioners, spark plugs... After another +3,000 consumption test they said it was my Turbo eating the oil, they replaced turbo.
Well the oil consumption never went away, they said they did a compression test (they did not) B/C when they did a "second" one , guess what 30% loss per cylinder. So they made me do ANOTHER oil consumption test. They told me that if I had to put in oil, take pictures, save receipt for the oil, I did this, then they said that the pictures weren't valid. (as if I am a criminal who enjoys his POS car) So I had to start my oil consumption test again. 6,000 miles later, here I am. Oh, and then they tried to say it is because I use mobil 1 5-30, they service guy tried to tell me that subaru says to use 15-50 weight oil. They say its my fault. Event though my oil filler cap, owners manual, and everything else says 5-30!!!!
Oh, and now I am past my warranty, so they (SOA) will probably pull some more BS, and say that they wont cover it. Well, I know so damn good attorneys that will take this case to the bank. The thing that chaps my *** is this. Subaru has spent prolly, 20-30k to fix my $5,000 motor. This is corporate efficiency its highest!!!
And that's the short story. SO WISH ME LUCK!!!
(UPDATE!)
Well Subaru of America say's that because I am out of my warranty period, they wont fix anything. Eventhough all of these problems with oil consumption happened before the warranty period expired. But because of the bull**** oil consumption tests that i had to do for 6,000 miles they pushed me over the warranty period, HOW CONVENIENT!!! Subaru of America is f-ing me in the B!!! What a joke. I am sure they are going to love the call from my attorneys.
Last edited by horsecut54; Oct 21, 2009 at 12:13 PM. Reason: update.
Hurray, it's Ian!!
iTrader: (4)
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,612
From: on an airplane
Car Info: 2002 MBP WRX Sedan
my motor blew in the middle of me making a u-turn in 2003 at around 40K miles. I was losing a quart of Mobil1 5w-30 every 1000 miles. they replaced the motor no questions asked under warranty for me and since then I've never used mobil1 again. I don't think i'm the only one with issues using Mobil1.
My chassis has 122K now or so, and the motor is running strong at 82K.
I do however still use 5W30.
edit: good luck by the way!!
My chassis has 122K now or so, and the motor is running strong at 82K.
I do however still use 5W30.
edit: good luck by the way!!
General Pimpin'
iTrader: (7)
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,019
From: Knee deep in beer. subabrew crew, ca.
Car Info: MY04 aspen wrx wagon.
Well after 40,000 miles of BS, I go back to Santa Cruz Subaru for the last of my oil consumption tests on my STi. As of the last 10,000 miles I have gone through 5-6 quarts of oil between oil changes (3000 miles). Subaru has tried to fix my motor by replacing everything but the MOTOR! I am loosing 25-30% compression in all cylinders. But they still wont replace my motor.
Long story short, they replaced my motor at ~60,000 miles, Piston 1 was out of round(new motor from factory), drove on it for 3,000 miles, had oil consumption issues again. They made me go through consump. test. They replaced piston with 6,000 miles on out of round piston. No short block replacment. Since then I have had a check engine light on for 25,000 miles. They have replaced everything, ignition, valves, idle tensioners, spark plugs... After another +3,000 consumption test they said it was my Turbo eating the oil, they replaced turbo.
Well the oil consumption never went away, they said they did a compression test (they did not) B/C when they did a "second" one , guess what 30% loss per cylinder. So they made me do ANOTHER oil consumption test. They told me that if I had to put in oil, take pictures, save receipt for the oil, I did this, then they said that the pictures weren't valid. (as if I am a criminal who enjoys his POS car) So I had to start my oil consumption test again. 6,000 miles later, here I am. Oh, and then they tried to say it is because I use mobil 1 5-30, they service guy tried to tell me that subaru says to use 15-50 weight oil. They say its my fault. Event though my oil filler cap, owners manual, and everything else says 5-30!!!!
Oh, and now I am past my warranty, so they (SOA) will probably pull some more BS, and say that they wont cover it. Well, I know so damn good attorneys that will take this case to the bank. The thing that chaps my *** is this. Subaru has spent prolly, 20-30k to fix my $5,000 motor. This is corporate efficiency its highest!!!
And that's the short story. SO WISH ME LUCK!!!
Long story short, they replaced my motor at ~60,000 miles, Piston 1 was out of round(new motor from factory), drove on it for 3,000 miles, had oil consumption issues again. They made me go through consump. test. They replaced piston with 6,000 miles on out of round piston. No short block replacment. Since then I have had a check engine light on for 25,000 miles. They have replaced everything, ignition, valves, idle tensioners, spark plugs... After another +3,000 consumption test they said it was my Turbo eating the oil, they replaced turbo.
Well the oil consumption never went away, they said they did a compression test (they did not) B/C when they did a "second" one , guess what 30% loss per cylinder. So they made me do ANOTHER oil consumption test. They told me that if I had to put in oil, take pictures, save receipt for the oil, I did this, then they said that the pictures weren't valid. (as if I am a criminal who enjoys his POS car) So I had to start my oil consumption test again. 6,000 miles later, here I am. Oh, and then they tried to say it is because I use mobil 1 5-30, they service guy tried to tell me that subaru says to use 15-50 weight oil. They say its my fault. Event though my oil filler cap, owners manual, and everything else says 5-30!!!!
Oh, and now I am past my warranty, so they (SOA) will probably pull some more BS, and say that they wont cover it. Well, I know so damn good attorneys that will take this case to the bank. The thing that chaps my *** is this. Subaru has spent prolly, 20-30k to fix my $5,000 motor. This is corporate efficiency its highest!!!
And that's the short story. SO WISH ME LUCK!!!
I have extensive experience dealing with Subaru of Santa Cruz AND SOA on similar matters.
I had an inch thick pile of paper documenting the service of my car. I brought my car in a bunch of times for the same reason and kept getting different reasons why it was happening when I told them why it was happening the first time I came in....blown turbo.
Went passed the turbo warranty even though I had a 100k warranty they don't honor that on turbos.
Ended up getting denied because I had a 10,000 mile gap in my paperwork for oil changes. I did them myself. SOA was a PAIN to deal with and found every way they could to not honor it.
Subaru of Santa Cruz fought with me and with a receipt for oil I was able to get it covered under warranty.
Originally I brought it in at probably 50,000 miles. It got fixed at 102,000 I think it was.
Ended up getting all said and done under warranty...
sycros in tranny
cd player
waterpump
power steering pump
turbo
turbo lines
Think a few other things. Subaru of Santa Cruz always helped me out.
If I can help in any way let me know.
My car now has around 153,000 miles on it and I still love it.
General Pimpin'
iTrader: (7)
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,019
From: Knee deep in beer. subabrew crew, ca.
Car Info: MY04 aspen wrx wagon.
the artist formerly known as mcdrama
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 6,428
From: Santa Cruz Mountains, CA.
Car Info: WRBP 2015 WRX Premium/CVT
that sucks guys sorry to hear. 
I've had mostly positive experiences with my subie for the most part. Modded and reflashed since 30k miles now @143k. I started This thread a few years back covering all of my failed components. All of which were normal wear and tear.
My car does drink oil as well. I just add 1/2 to 1 quart every 1500-2000 miles and it keeps on chugging along. I drive it like I stole it daily but try to shift smooth and zero launching.
Now i'll probably have my turbo or motor go now that i've posted this gloated in this thread.
Good luck dood!
I've had mostly positive experiences with my subie for the most part. Modded and reflashed since 30k miles now @143k. I started This thread a few years back covering all of my failed components. All of which were normal wear and tear.My car does drink oil as well. I just add 1/2 to 1 quart every 1500-2000 miles and it keeps on chugging along. I drive it like I stole it daily but try to shift smooth and zero launching.
Now i'll probably have my turbo or motor go now that i've posted this gloated in this thread.
Good luck dood!
Registered User
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,493
From: Hercules CA
Car Info: 03 WRX --> 07 STI --> 10 Cayman S
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 340
From: Monterey, CA
Car Info: Subaru STI
Who are you dealing with?
I have extensive experience dealing with Subaru of Santa Cruz AND SOA on similar matters.
I had an inch thick pile of paper documenting the service of my car. I brought my car in a bunch of times for the same reason and kept getting different reasons why it was happening when I told them why it was happening the first time I came in....blown turbo.
Went passed the turbo warranty even though I had a 100k warranty they don't honor that on turbos.
Ended up getting denied because I had a 10,000 mile gap in my paperwork for oil changes. I did them myself. SOA was a PAIN to deal with and found every way they could to not honor it.
Subaru of Santa Cruz fought with me and with a receipt for oil I was able to get it covered under warranty.
Think a few other things. Subaru of Santa Cruz always helped me out.
If I can help in any way let me know.
I have extensive experience dealing with Subaru of Santa Cruz AND SOA on similar matters.
I had an inch thick pile of paper documenting the service of my car. I brought my car in a bunch of times for the same reason and kept getting different reasons why it was happening when I told them why it was happening the first time I came in....blown turbo.
Went passed the turbo warranty even though I had a 100k warranty they don't honor that on turbos.
Ended up getting denied because I had a 10,000 mile gap in my paperwork for oil changes. I did them myself. SOA was a PAIN to deal with and found every way they could to not honor it.
Subaru of Santa Cruz fought with me and with a receipt for oil I was able to get it covered under warranty.
Think a few other things. Subaru of Santa Cruz always helped me out.
If I can help in any way let me know.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 340
From: Monterey, CA
Car Info: Subaru STI
All I got is suspension mods, and a Prodrive Axle back. And I bought it Brand spankin new, I am glad I spent the extra money for the extended warranty. Best money I've ever spent.
Last edited by horsecut54; Oct 9, 2009 at 01:22 PM. Reason: added stuff
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Posts: 2,674
From: South SF
Car Info: 97' Dodge Cummins and an RSTI thingie
I had the same problem with Toyota, I had a Corolla that had some electrical demons... I had like 2k miles until the warranty was up and I was driving it to work one day and totally lost ALL power. There was no spark no nothing and the battery was fully charged. All of the fusible links and everything were great.
They kept my car for 2 weeks, they sent me to get a rental car and they used the toyota info to get the car (so I didn't have to do a deposit or anything). The customer service guy was SUPER pushy and wanted me to buy all these services and replacements for **** I didn't need. I kept asking for an ETA and he kept saying the shop was really busy. I started getting mad because he wouldn't tell me what was going on, then he started not answering my calls.
I finally get it back, they told me there was nothing wrong and that it was my battery that was bad (it was a red top optima which was brad new). I asked how they got the power working again, and they said when the tow truck dropped it off, all the power worked.
They then said that my warranty did not cover a rental car, so I now had like $600 in rental car fees. The guy at the shop SAID that they covered it and so did my extended warranty. I filed a complaint against the customer service guy because he had cussed at me because I kept asking questions.
There was also 2 minor warranty repairs that I had them do and they charged me $500 deductible to fix them (they were together less than 200, it was faulty seatbelt buckle and tensioner spring which was making my belts squeal a bit).
I drove it home and it worked fine, then all of the sudden like half a month later it did it again. At this point I was at 200 miles before my warranty was up. I went to the same dealer and they told me that they would look at it, kept my car for a day and said that it was the alternator they replaced the alternator and on the way back home from the shopit cut out again!
I took it back and they said that I would have to take it to another dealer that was an hour away because they didn't have the right tools/abilities to fix the problem. I took the car to said dealership and my warranty was out by 5 miles and they refused to fix it because I was out of warranty. If they had sent me there in the first place, the problem would have gotten fixed and they would've saved a lot of money.
They kept my car for 2 weeks, they sent me to get a rental car and they used the toyota info to get the car (so I didn't have to do a deposit or anything). The customer service guy was SUPER pushy and wanted me to buy all these services and replacements for **** I didn't need. I kept asking for an ETA and he kept saying the shop was really busy. I started getting mad because he wouldn't tell me what was going on, then he started not answering my calls.
I finally get it back, they told me there was nothing wrong and that it was my battery that was bad (it was a red top optima which was brad new). I asked how they got the power working again, and they said when the tow truck dropped it off, all the power worked.
They then said that my warranty did not cover a rental car, so I now had like $600 in rental car fees. The guy at the shop SAID that they covered it and so did my extended warranty. I filed a complaint against the customer service guy because he had cussed at me because I kept asking questions.
There was also 2 minor warranty repairs that I had them do and they charged me $500 deductible to fix them (they were together less than 200, it was faulty seatbelt buckle and tensioner spring which was making my belts squeal a bit).
I drove it home and it worked fine, then all of the sudden like half a month later it did it again. At this point I was at 200 miles before my warranty was up. I went to the same dealer and they told me that they would look at it, kept my car for a day and said that it was the alternator they replaced the alternator and on the way back home from the shopit cut out again!
I took it back and they said that I would have to take it to another dealer that was an hour away because they didn't have the right tools/abilities to fix the problem. I took the car to said dealership and my warranty was out by 5 miles and they refused to fix it because I was out of warranty. If they had sent me there in the first place, the problem would have gotten fixed and they would've saved a lot of money.