Chronos

I'm most likely getting an 04 WRX and I wanted to know what tranny/clutch problems are WRX owners experiencing?

I know EVO's are having LOTS of clutch's going out at under 10K miles and 20K miles as the expected lifeline of the clutch

How long are WRX clutches lasting? Clutch isn't covered under warranty right?

Any tranny problems? Any other problems I should be aware of when I buy the WRX, 03 or 04 not sure yet.

What was that whole clutch shudder thing about? And I assume they fixed it in the 03, 04 models right?

thebankman

iTrader: (7)

check one of the posts at the top of this forum section....the 2002 models already had their clutches practically recalled thanks to poor clutch parts used. the tranmission is prone to failure even with modest use and the clutch is easy to burn on these cars. but there's lots more info in other threads in this forum

Chronos

Do you know if they fixed these issues in the 2004's?

Chronos

I'm very seriously considering buying a 04 WRX this week or the next so any info on this topic would be helpful, anybody kind enuff to help me out?

Boostin04

It all depends on the driver. Dont expect a long life if you wnat to constantly drop the clutch to show off to those less fortunate the power of all wheel drive and most importantly, allow for a proper break in period. The car is awsome though and i wouldnt worry too much about tranny problems and such, im pretty sure Subaru knew what they were doing. BTW i have an 04 Aspen white WRX and i love it to death, no problems whatsoever and i drive the **** out of it...

WRXWagon203

I find it funny how everyone complains about the 'glass-like' transmissions of the WRX, particularly the 5 speed.

Since day one, I have beat the ever loving hell out of my car, on and off the road. At 72,483 miles its sitting in my driveway, awaiting a heart transplant (just got an insurance settlement so I'm putting in a 2.2 with ported wrx heads, and some other goodies (to be explained at a later date).

I was running my rex with an FPGreen before I decided on this swap. I've gone through two clutches, but as for the transmission. It has held up better than the T5s ever did in my Mustangs or.. as riceboys call it, my "white-trash ferrari".

Anywho, honestly, if you drive the car properly and shift firmly/make sure you are absolutely positive the car is in the right gear at the 'right' time, you won't really run into any issues. Maybe I just got lucky for once in my life and got a 'factory freak'; or maybe just maybe, I don't 'speed shift' or 'double-clutch' like all the boy racers do around here.

Sorry to say, but those of you out there who are like 'word yo i double clutch and speed shift and it r0x0rs yo!', honestly you are wasting your time. I grew up driving a 1971 Karmann Ghia and to get into gears you gotta double clutch, thats just how that transmission is (on some ghias it isnt though) -- on a wrx.. honestly it isn't needed, nor is it needed on anything 'new' except maybe a box truck... enough of my rambling.. point is.. the tranny isn't glass like everyone says it is..

Regards,
Gered

BlingBlingBlue

My clutch was replaced under warranty for the "shudder". Shudder is when the car will not engage smoothly in first gear when cold. The problem came back in about 10K miles, but not as bad. It really isn't anything more than a little "character" in my opinion. First gear will grind from a dead stop occasionally if I rush the shift. If I hold the clutch in for 1.5-2 seconds before engaging first, this almost never happens.
To sum up, the clutch/tranny has some mildly annoying issues, but seems to be holding up very well. As stated above, don't drop the clutch in first gear and properly match revs to road speed in other gears and you should be fine.