Another Tranny Warranty Question
01-04-2004, 12:24 AM
#1
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Another Tranny Warranty Question
Hopefully this is a relatively easy question to answer... you can skip to the last paragraph to avoid the background...
My wife drives a 2002 WRX Wagon. The ONLY, and I stress ONLY modification is a turbo back exhaust. She has been complaining about difficulty shifting into first from a complete stop. I thought maybe it was just her boots (we've got winter weather now) and that she was having a hard time depressing the clutch all the way. So I decided to take the car for a spin the other day to see if it would act up. I had a bit of time finding reverse and when I went from reverse to first it wouldn't let me. I tried going into 2nd and then back to 1st... I did that twice and then worked my way through all the gears but it still wouldn't go into first. I tried one more try and into first it went. I drove around for a few minutes and came to a few stops and during each stop I had a hard time getting into 1st gear. It's ovbious something is wrong because the last time I drove the car (about 4000 miles ago) this problem did not exist. My wife has been driving a stick all her life (started with a 70's VW Bug) and she's actually pretty easy on the car. I'm curious to know if there are any steps I can take that will make the next tranny last a little bit longer than 30,000 miles.
Question 1:
I want to know if Subaru is going to give me any flack for having a turbo back exhaust installed on the car when I take it in for a tranmission diagnosis / repair / replacement?
Question 2:
Are there any other areas of the vehicle that I should suggest Subaru take a look at while the vehicle is in for inspection? This car travels some long and lonely roads and I don't want any known problems to go unrepaired.
Thanks for the replies.
My wife drives a 2002 WRX Wagon. The ONLY, and I stress ONLY modification is a turbo back exhaust. She has been complaining about difficulty shifting into first from a complete stop. I thought maybe it was just her boots (we've got winter weather now) and that she was having a hard time depressing the clutch all the way. So I decided to take the car for a spin the other day to see if it would act up. I had a bit of time finding reverse and when I went from reverse to first it wouldn't let me. I tried going into 2nd and then back to 1st... I did that twice and then worked my way through all the gears but it still wouldn't go into first. I tried one more try and into first it went. I drove around for a few minutes and came to a few stops and during each stop I had a hard time getting into 1st gear. It's ovbious something is wrong because the last time I drove the car (about 4000 miles ago) this problem did not exist. My wife has been driving a stick all her life (started with a 70's VW Bug) and she's actually pretty easy on the car. I'm curious to know if there are any steps I can take that will make the next tranny last a little bit longer than 30,000 miles.
Question 1:
I want to know if Subaru is going to give me any flack for having a turbo back exhaust installed on the car when I take it in for a tranmission diagnosis / repair / replacement?
Question 2:
Are there any other areas of the vehicle that I should suggest Subaru take a look at while the vehicle is in for inspection? This car travels some long and lonely roads and I don't want any known problems to go unrepaired.
Thanks for the replies.
01-04-2004, 12:44 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sunny LA West Side
Posts: 363
Car Info: Silver 2002 WRX Sedan
A1: It depends on the dealership. My Santa Monica, CA dealer wanted to charge me $85 during my warranty clutch replacement for removing the turbo-back exhaust. "Your aftermarket exhaust is more difficult to remove than the stock, so we have to charge $85 for one hour labor" said my service schmuck... I had to talk to the mechanic to persuade him that my aftermarket exhaust did not take any longer to remove than stock, to which he reluctantly agreed... I hope you have a good understanding and tolerant dealership in your neck of the woods.
A2: Known problems: Driver side floor mat retainer rips out of the floor... Happened to me, Subaru has a repair kit/procedure.
If you have the "morning clutch" (a.k.a cold clutch chatter/judder/shudder?whatever you call it) they'll replace clutch and flywheel for free.
If you have a gauge pack and boost gage has bad illumination, they have a fix,
If the brakes (fronts) are low they'll replace for free under 36K mi.
As far as 1-st gear shifting difficulties, those are relatively common on Imprezas.
At a stop, when you can't shift into first, why dont you try this:
1) Depress the clutch
2) Blurp the throttle (quick stab up to about 2000-2500 rpm)
3) Try to shift into first as the rpms are dropping back to idle
I bet it'll go in like buttah!
Lemme know if it works
Jeers!
Karayzee Maniac!
A2: Known problems: Driver side floor mat retainer rips out of the floor... Happened to me, Subaru has a repair kit/procedure.
If you have the "morning clutch" (a.k.a cold clutch chatter/judder/shudder?whatever you call it) they'll replace clutch and flywheel for free.
If you have a gauge pack and boost gage has bad illumination, they have a fix,
If the brakes (fronts) are low they'll replace for free under 36K mi.
As far as 1-st gear shifting difficulties, those are relatively common on Imprezas.
At a stop, when you can't shift into first, why dont you try this:
1) Depress the clutch
2) Blurp the throttle (quick stab up to about 2000-2500 rpm)
3) Try to shift into first as the rpms are dropping back to idle
I bet it'll go in like buttah!
Lemme know if it works
Jeers!
Karayzee Maniac!
Last edited by Maniac; 01-04-2004 at 12:47 AM.
01-04-2004, 01:04 AM
#3
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Thanks for the reply. We live in Lake Arrowhead and have a few Subaru dealerships to choose from - all within an hour or so drive. If anyone has anything good to say about any of these please speak up...
Subaru of San Bernardino
Exclusively Subaru of Ontario
Subaru of Riverside
Irvine Subaru
Regarding the shift procedure... I've got a 1942 Ford firetruck that is easier to shift than the WRX. The 42' requires a double clutch (one on the way out of gear and another into gear) and I've tried that with the Subaru and had little luck. I've driven a bunch of off-road cars with all sorts of "race" style boxes and this Subaru has something wrong with it. I guess my thoughts are that it needs attention (repair or replacement) because it's only going to get worse before it gets better. I'd rather get everything taken care of while under warranty in hopes this car will last my wife long enough to hold out for the 2004/5 S4 Avant.
Subaru of San Bernardino
Exclusively Subaru of Ontario
Subaru of Riverside
Irvine Subaru
Regarding the shift procedure... I've got a 1942 Ford firetruck that is easier to shift than the WRX. The 42' requires a double clutch (one on the way out of gear and another into gear) and I've tried that with the Subaru and had little luck. I've driven a bunch of off-road cars with all sorts of "race" style boxes and this Subaru has something wrong with it. I guess my thoughts are that it needs attention (repair or replacement) because it's only going to get worse before it gets better. I'd rather get everything taken care of while under warranty in hopes this car will last my wife long enough to hold out for the 2004/5 S4 Avant.
01-04-2004, 01:29 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sunny LA West Side
Posts: 363
Car Info: Silver 2002 WRX Sedan
I know, I know, but try it anyway... There may be something wrong with the dog teeth in 1st... You should definately have it looked at under warranty, but remember, you have up to 60K mi for that. Just try to avoid unnecessary finagling. I just had my clutch replaced under warranty and now I just have a different problem. The "morning clutch" is gone but now I have a pretty loud 2-nd gear decel noise which is another well documented Impreza problem...
01-04-2004, 01:36 AM
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Atlanta/Cayman Islands
Posts: 313
Car Info: 2002 White WRX Wagon (WWW)
Originally posted by Maniac
If the brakes (fronts) are low they'll replace for free under 36K mi.
Karayzee Maniac!
If the brakes (fronts) are low they'll replace for free under 36K mi.
Karayzee Maniac!
01-04-2004, 01:43 AM
#6
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I hear you about shoddy warranty repair work. It seems vehicles go in for one problem and come out with another. Blame that on the manufacturers that specify exactly how much time is given for a specific repair - any time over that limit and the dealership doesn't get paid. If you are a mechanic these days you've sometimes got to take shortcuts to get the repair completed ontime and within budget. If you can't you get the crap jobs and make less $$$$. I know Dodge is HORRIBLE and Ford isn't much better - anyone know how Subaru rates?
I think I've tried just about every method of shifting possible and not one method is a GUARANTEED shift into first on the first try every try. The problem is there are some instances where not being able to quickly shift into first is a major problem... but not being able to shift into first for a few seconds could be the difference between getting rear ended on the 405 or getting off the tracks on Western Ave. I only mention this because once I was able to accelerate away from some idiot soccor mom in a minivan hauling *** on the 405... if that had been my wife that was sitting at idle in the WRX and couldn't get into gear to get out of the way we'd be talking about a major lawsuit and not just some warranty repair. The second instance was on Western and W. 23rd and I had to get out of the way of a train (they didn't have an arm or lights at the time). This gets me thinking... I wonder if there are any lawsuits against Subaru for this sort of thing?
At any rate I'll get the Subaru down to a dealership after I feel them out over the phone. Thanks again for the advice.
I think I've tried just about every method of shifting possible and not one method is a GUARANTEED shift into first on the first try every try. The problem is there are some instances where not being able to quickly shift into first is a major problem... but not being able to shift into first for a few seconds could be the difference between getting rear ended on the 405 or getting off the tracks on Western Ave. I only mention this because once I was able to accelerate away from some idiot soccor mom in a minivan hauling *** on the 405... if that had been my wife that was sitting at idle in the WRX and couldn't get into gear to get out of the way we'd be talking about a major lawsuit and not just some warranty repair. The second instance was on Western and W. 23rd and I had to get out of the way of a train (they didn't have an arm or lights at the time). This gets me thinking... I wonder if there are any lawsuits against Subaru for this sort of thing?
At any rate I'll get the Subaru down to a dealership after I feel them out over the phone. Thanks again for the advice.
Last edited by 909; 01-04-2004 at 01:45 AM.
01-04-2004, 05:09 PM
#7
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Car Info: Silver 2002 WRX Sedan
KmanRuffian, yes, worn down pads is what I mean. Subaru will replace them for free up to 36000 mi. The only requirement is that you have GENUINE FACTORY SUBARU pads (the blue ones). If you have ANY other pads on there it voids your warranty for the brakes, including rotors...
909, you are welcome! Sometime I have difficulty getting the tranny into first, but I learned to deal with it. I am affraid that if I take it in and they decide to start messing with my tranny they'll screw up something major. I watched the dealer's mechanics and I have NEVER seen them use a torque wrench...
909, you are welcome! Sometime I have difficulty getting the tranny into first, but I learned to deal with it. I am affraid that if I take it in and they decide to start messing with my tranny they'll screw up something major. I watched the dealer's mechanics and I have NEVER seen them use a torque wrench...
01-05-2004, 12:23 PM
#8
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 173
Car Info: 2002 WRX wagon
I posted a reply elsewhere on the how-to's of double clutching, which will not be repeated here. I find that making sure I am a complerte STOP before engaging 1st helps, but it can still balk. A bit of extra revs to match the dogs while just rolling also helps. Agreed: Being able to be in 1st quickly is a safety net, at times. Keep the orbs on the mirror at all times!
01-05-2004, 11:30 PM
#9
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Originally posted by Maniac
KmanRuffian, yes, worn down pads is what I mean. Subaru will replace them for free up to 36000 mi. The only requirement is that you have GENUINE FACTORY SUBARU pads (the blue ones). If you have ANY other pads on there it voids your warranty for the brakes, including rotors...
KmanRuffian, yes, worn down pads is what I mean. Subaru will replace them for free up to 36000 mi. The only requirement is that you have GENUINE FACTORY SUBARU pads (the blue ones). If you have ANY other pads on there it voids your warranty for the brakes, including rotors...
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