Hey all,
I need to know what you think about this whole fiasco I am dealing with since I am new to the world of Scoobies. It all started when my finace took her 02 WRX wagon to the dealer in Austin, TX a week ago because the "check engine" light was on. The dealer told her that it was being caused by her ECU which needed to be sent to Subaru to be reprogrammed. That would take a week and she was set to move to New Hampshire with me two days later so they said it was fine to drive until she got to NH and could get it reprogrammed up here. She drove it another 1000 miles until we were able to trailer it from TX to NH. My fiance told me how a few times while driving it the "check engine" light would change from constant to flashing and the car would start to "shudder" accompanied by a severe power loss. After a few minutes it would drive normally and the light would return to constant illumination. This past Monday night I dropped it off and put the keys in the "Early Bird/Night Owl" drop and waited for the phone call the next day. I wasn't worried since the car is only at 30,000 miles and it still under warranty. I got a call from the dealer on Tuesday and they told me the dealer in Austin misdiagnosed the problem and that the car had a malfunctioning ignition coil which they would replace and we could pick it up on Wednesday afternoon. This morning I get another call from the dealer saying that the piston and rings with the bad coil were damaged and a valve was scorched as well. They were going to have to pull the engine and disassemble it, them mic everything to check the tolerances. Again, this is thousands of dollars of work and I am thankful that the warranty will cover it, but my question is this. Have any of you ever come across anything like this in your own experiences? If any of you know, could you shed a little light on how a bad coil can cause piston and valve damage? Correct me if I am wrong, but the coil would still have to fire to cause the problem, just at the incorrect time right? If any of you could shed some light on this it would be appreciated.

 

Well, here's the latest update. I got another call from the Subaru service department this morning and "Paul" was finally able to give me some specifics. What he had originally told me was true about the coil causing the misfire condition. He also told me essentially what you all have about the CEL. A constantly illuminated light means there is a problem and to take it in for service asap, while a blinking light means "Shut the engine off NOW!". Well, I guess the fact that I had to drive it a few hundred miles with the flashing CEL is why this happened. Apparently, the unburnt fuel caused the right front cylinder to be washed and I destroyed all the rings and the cylinder lining in the process from a lack of lubrication. (Big suprise there!). They replaced the coil and they have a complete short block on order which will be arriving early next week, ALL under warranty. The only thing I will have to pay out of pocket is for an oil/filter change which it needed anyway. I am sorry and a little suprised to hear that some of you have had bad experiences with Subaru's warranty work. These guys have been great and have given me absolutely NO problems at all. I would buy a Scooby from them in a heartbeat! If anyone is in the southeastern region of NH and in the market for a Scooby, let me know and I'll send you the dealer info! Thanks again to everyone who weighed in on this one.