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Subaru Impreza WRX

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    sensei1sensei1 Member Posts: 196
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    andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    My 03 steering wheel would stay offcenter to the left after left turns and go back to center after a right. The dealer saw it today and has ordered steering rack bushings for it...also said that the problem might return if the bushings currently on the car aren't defective.
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Ken reported a similar issue with his Forester.

    -juice
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    purduealum91purduealum91 Member Posts: 285
    Did this vehicle get slower? I thought the o-60 were sub 6 seconds?
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    It's not the bushings. It's the design of how the rack is braced into the frame. Harder bushings might help (ie. Whiteline) but the OE ones will probably cause the same phenomenon.

    Edumund's tests are usually a little more conservative than C&D's or other car magazines. The original estimate provided by SOA when the WRX was introduced was 6.2 seconds, IIRC.

    Ken
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    himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    SCC mag has named the WRX as one of their "Eight Great Rides for under $30,000" for the third year running, and listed a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds on the 17" wheels.

    The more hard-core the folks testing a car are, the lower the 0-60 times.
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    krzysskrzyss Member Posts: 849
    is function of clutch abuse. Higher clutch abuse lower 0-60 time.

    Krzys
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    juilinjuilin Member Posts: 11
    Recently got a quote for 21829 on nearly loaded 2003 WRX. I'm thinking about going for it but want to work out a OTD price beforehand. Since this is my first new car purchase I'm relying on you guys for a little extra help. =P

    So we have destination charge ($525) and licese and registration (think it's $240 or thereabouts in WA state...correct me if any of you know otherwise) No, havn't forgot about tax but are there any other fee(s) I should work into my final estimation? Thanks!
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    axp696axp696 Member Posts: 90
    No, havn't forgot about tax but are there any other fee(s) I should work into my final estimation?

    Nope, the only fees should be destination, title/registration/plates/other state fees, and tax. If they try to push any "documentation fees" or other nonsense, give 'em hell. =)
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    sonya4sonya4 Member Posts: 92
    Was at the dealer yesterday for an oil change; hoped to test-drive the STi while waiting. Was told they had only 2 in and both were sold within two days! Apparently production nos. are so limited--and they move out so fast--I might not get to test-drive one until who knows when...!

    Is it just my area (Chicago) that's having a shortage of STi's? Haven't seen one on the road either yet. Where have you all seen them?

    --sonya
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Sonya,

    I've been to a few dealers and every STi I have seen was already sold and not available for test drives. I wouldn't be surprised if no one for a long time to come is able to drive one without showing serious intent to buy.

    I've spotted three STis during my regular commute to work here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Ken
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    sensei1sensei1 Member Posts: 196
    I haven't seen one yet on the road either. What makes this a hotter market IMO is people had a taste of the WRX just like us and can't wait to step up for more.

    My guess is give it about six months to a year - SOA would have caught up on the demand and the "gotta have the first one" folks already have theirs.
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    andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    Kens, What was your fix to the steering rack problem?
    Don
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    cptpltcptplt Member Posts: 1,075
    I've seen 2, not including the one in the dealer showroom (Schaumburg) with a 6 grand markup!!
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    boomer77boomer77 Member Posts: 7
    I fear I may have damaged my 6 month old 2003 WRX (less than 4000 miles) by leaving the gas tank cap open after filling, then going through the automatic car wash (pressurized water and soap, no wax). It drove home without a problem, but now I'm afraid to drive it again until I know whether something needs to be done. Please tell me I'm worrying needlessly. Thanks for any comments or similar experiences.
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    edge01edge01 Member Posts: 28
    Quick question....

    Anyone have any issues with their suspensions? I have an 03 sedan with 34k miles on it and now the rear shocks are squeaking and the whole car rides like there's nothing left in them..... is this common at this mileage?

    Ryan
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    qbrozenqbrozen Member Posts: 32,948
    yikes! what an odd series of events. Well, was the filler door open as well as the cap off? If not, I wouldn't worry about it because probably very little if any got in since it would need to make some turns and get past the little spring flap in the filler neck. If both were wide open, then, yeah, I'd probably be a little worried. But, frankly, unless we're talking about ALOT of water, your car will do nothing more than just run rough through this tank of gas. And, if you did fill up completely, then there wasn't a whole lot of room left in the tank to get that much water in there.

    '11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S

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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Don,

    So far, nothing. I've addressed the issue to dealers to see if there was an official fix and all of them came back with "Subaru knows about it and it's normal".

    I've read about people swapping out the OE bushings with harder Whiteline ones. The folks who have done it claim it fixes the problem, but I'm not 100% sure. An independent mechanic that I spoke to looked at it and told me that the design of the bushing braces is to blame so harder bushings probably won't completely fix the problem. Unfortunately, it's not easy to swap out the bushings.

    Ken
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I agree that most likely no harm was done.

    Just as a precaution, try adding a bottle of Dry Gas, then fill up the tank with a good premium fuel.

    -juice
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    andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    Ken,
    Has the memory steer gotten worse over time?
    Boomer77...I had a 92 LS400 to which a nephew added 2 qts of water while playing 'fillup'...some mechanics wanted me to drain the gas tank (that model year doesn't have a drain plug nor does the tank drop down), It drove fine until the tank got low (beats me I thought water was heavier) at which point it started to stutter badly...I ran it dry like that (in my driveway/25 mins.) then filled up with gas and a bottle of dry gas for the next 6 tankfulls...never had problems.
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    kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Don,

    No, I don't think it has. But then again, it really only happens after a U-turn. I don't do too many of those. ;-)

    Ken
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    stoner420stoner420 Member Posts: 165
    Just installed one of these bad-boys this weekend, plus some Kartman hangers.. I have to say, it ROCKS. Just plain awesome. Sounds kind of like a Harley when idling, not too loud at WOT either. Check out some pics of my install if you like: http://wrx.claud9.com/prodrive/
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    hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    Nice :)

    ... I see you still have the yellow sticker under your bumper ;-)

    -Dave
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    stoner420stoner420 Member Posts: 165
    Not any more! I noticed it in the reflection the next morning and took it off.. @#$@#$

    Just gave a soundcheck demo to a bunch of guys at work, they were loving it. VROOM VROOM! :-D

    (er, oops.. that's Kartboy, not Kartman.. well they sure make some manly stuff though!)
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    sonya4sonya4 Member Posts: 92
    If the "check engine" light comes on while you're still on that tank of gas, then probably you did get some water in there. The engine will also stutter a bit, as andmoon said, when you're accelerating. If that happens, take it to the dealer.

    --sonya
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    c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Can you give me more details about the muffler? Where did you buy it? How much? Was the install easy?

    I'd love to add a little more rumble at idle, as long as it sounds OK and not too loud at WOT. I don't want to sound like a slammed Civic....

    thanks,
    Craig
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    boomer77boomer77 Member Posts: 7
    I appreciate all the helpful comments. I drove it today without a problem and no check engine light. I suppose no news is good news. Will add some dry gas just to be on the safe side.
    Thanks.
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    sensei1sensei1 Member Posts: 196
    Stoner - Yeah hopefully it doesn't sound like one of those coffee cans. Looks sharp! Did you do it or take it to a shop. Any welding involved?

    Boomer - should be no problem with your car. Over time some water accumulates in the gas tank. That's why it's a good practice to always keep your tank full - less empty space - less condensation.
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    akwrxakwrx Member Posts: 9
    I have been following this board for some time now. I just turned 10,000 miles on our WRX. I think it is sufficiently broken in now. My wife and I both find it difficult to accelerate smoothly. Certainly the rate of acceleration increases as the turbo spools up, but under moderate acceleration the car seems to jerk a little as the RPM's climb. It has plenty of power, but neither of us can get it to climb up smoothly through 2nd and 3rd gears. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I am surprised that I haven't read any other posts about this issue. Kind of makes me wonder our baby has a bit of an issue all its own. Is this something that the reflash I keep reading about would cure, something I should take up with my dealer, or something that we should just get used to? Thanks for the input.
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    axp696axp696 Member Posts: 90
    Do you have the A/C on? If it cycles while you're accelerating that could jerk things. Are you using good 91+ octane gas? If you're getting detonation and it's retarding the timing it could do this, but I'm thinking that's not the case. I'd suggest visiting a dealer and reproducing it for them. Getting an aftermarket reflash is an excellent way to void your warranty, not to fix things that are broken.
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    purduealum91purduealum91 Member Posts: 285
    Just curious...
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    andmoonandmoon Member Posts: 320
    akwrx...I had a slight hesitation at part throttle around 2500 to 2800 rpms...put some extra ground wires and it almost cured it. It was smooth enough that if I hadn't had the problem before, I would have thought nothing of it. After a reflash it's all gone.
    A stonger jerking motion can be caused by the boost controller trying to keep a setting but over/undershooting. Unless you want more power I wouldn't go to a reflash just to get rid of the jerking. Take it to your dealer or if you are the tinkering type...find your pcv valve...right next to it is a part of your boost control system. Small vacuum lines with a T... In one of those lines (this hose is only a few inches long) you will find a small metal ball with a small hole in it (pinch the vacuum lines and you'll find one with a hard ball inside), if it is plugged then your boost will be all over the place causing the jerkiness.
    Of course there are tons of other things that can cause jerkiness...ignition etc.
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    stoner420stoner420 Member Posts: 165
    Check out this link for the sound: http://chrislehr.com/garage/WRX/sounds/WRX_prodrive.mp3

    It *really* sounds like that. Not harsh at all, it's not too loud, just VROOM. One of the guys at work actually said "it sounds like a V8!".

    No welding required.. did it myself. :-) Install would be much easier if you do *not* have the diff. protector like I do.. one of the bolts is really hard to reach next to it. I guess I could have removed the diff. protector but that seemed like it would be an even bigger hassle. Between a 6" ratchet extension and some nimble finger work, I somehow managed to get the nut back on.. :-O The Kartboy hangers are really tight, so they were a bit of a pain to squeeze on too, but not too bad, fortunately the new muffler is lighter than the old one. Good thing I got em too, because there's maybe 1/8" max clearance between one of the bolts on the diff protector and the exhaust pipe, but these things hold TIGHT (plus they look swell ;-). Took me about 1.75 hours total, but I am a total noob. (PS, if you don't have 14mm sockets -- my set only goes up to 13 DOH! -- a 9/16" fits perfectly too..)

    I am loving this thing.. Oh, time to drive home! :-D
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    c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Where did you buy it?

    Could the stock hangers be re-used? (I don't have a diffy protector).

    Craig
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    sensei1sensei1 Member Posts: 196
    akwrx- Not to imply anything but what are your shift points? Maybe you just need to rev it up some more when you shift.

    Reason I say this is it took me about that much to get used to the car. It's a totally different animal and I've driven sticks for a while.

    Took me a while to enjoy my tunes since I was always listening to the engine hum.
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    stoner420stoner420 Member Posts: 165
    Purchased from kastleskorner.com $380 + 30 shipping... he sent it pretty promptly and it came through in good shape, so no real complaints about that (though I'm still waiting 3 weeks already on my intercooler hoses from him... @#$!$@!) I just read on nasioc, the guy at spimotorsports.com has many of these in stock and is selling now for $380 + 10 shipping and is reputed to be a good seller too, so you might check him out if you are interested.

    You can reuse the stock hangers if you are not concerned about excess movement. They will probably be much easier to reattach too (but they don't look as nice ;-)

    akwrx: you might want to read up on the "grounding mod", it is purported to help out this kind of situation in a lot of cases -- search scoobymods.com or nasioc.com for more info.
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    barriostkdbarriostkd Member Posts: 71
    I just bought an ’04 WRX last week and wanted to upgrade the wheel & tire package, and was hoping I could get some recommendations/suggestions from you guys. The dealership I got my car from (Subaru of Santa Cruz) has the Prodrive P1s by O.Z. selling for $1,950 w/ a set of Kumho performance tires (balancing & installation included). The size of the rims are 17”x7”, but I am looking for wheels that are 17”x7.5”.

    What are the advantages of 7.5” vs. 7”, and vice versa? Would there be a noticeable difference in appearance? Someone mentioned to me that w/ 7.5” wheels I might experience some rubbing, but doesn’t the STi have 17"x7.5” wheels? The price is also a little steep, so I wanted to know what other less expensive wheels are comparable w/ the Prodrive P1s.

    Any input would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.

    -James B.
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    doctoro1doctoro1 Member Posts: 9
    My car jerks a little if I don't ride the clutch to about 2000 rpm's when it is cold. After it warms up it tends to mellow out. I can stop and let the clutch out all the way then press on the gas almost like an automatic tranny. Why is there such a wide gap between a warm start and a cold one? I am mildly worried about the jerkiness but have learned how to manipulate the clutch to limit the problem. I just hate having to think about what I'm doing when I leave home early in the a.m. Thanks for the feedback on the Conti's and the strut stabilizer bar.
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    akwrxakwrx Member Posts: 9
    Thanks for all the input!! The first thing to try is 91 octane. I think we have 87 in their now. Does everyone really use 91? I didn't think higher octane did anything but prevent early ignition, which doesn't seem to be my problem as I can't detect any ping or knock. Something for me to try though. I'll definitely put in 91 when this tank runs out.

    Not running the A/C. Good idea though.

    Shift points are up there around 5 grand. The problem occurs when I am pushing her pretty hard so I am letting the revs climb between shifts.

    Feels like the hesitation or jerkyness that you would expect from a cold car, but it happens at normal running temperature.

    Thanks again for the help. I'll let you know if higher octane makes a difference.

    -J Hall
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    ppekppek Member Posts: 58
    Doctoro1, you mentioned that your car is jerky only when it is cold. Is your car a 2002? If so, you may be experiencing the clutch judder problem that Subaru has a TSB out on. I recently had mine in for this and it was like night and day. I can finally take off smooth when my car is cold!

    Akwrx, it seems like a waste to buy a performance car that requires premium octane fuel, just to put low octane gas in it. I'm not sure exactly how much it reduces your power, but I have read many posts, where people have reset their ECU's (by draining the battery) to gain power back from a fill up of low octane or bad gas. If you just fill up with higher octane gas, it may take several tank-fulls for your engine to "relearn" everything.

    Take care,

    Paul
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    akwrxakwrx Member Posts: 9
    Thanks for all the input!! The first thing to try is 91 octane. I think we have 87 in their now. Does everyone really use 91? I didn't think higher octane did anything but prevent early ignition, which doesn't seem to be my problem as I can't detect any ping or knock. Something for me to try though. I'll definitely put in 91 when this tank runs out.

    Not running the A/C. Good idea though.

    Shift points are up there around 5 grand. The problem occurs when I am pushing her pretty hard so I am letting the revs climb between shifts.

    Feels like the hesitation or jerkyness that you would expect from a cold car, but it happens at normal running temperature.

    Thanks again for the help. I'll let you know if higher octane makes a difference.

    -J Hall
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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    The STi comes standard with a 225/45x17 tire mounted on a 17x7.5 rim.

    The world-spec WRX (not those sold in North America) comes standard with a 215/45x17 tire mounted on a 17x7 rim.

    My recommendation is to say with the 7.0 rim, if for no other reason, that's the way Subaru equips their 17"-equipped WRXs.

    Bob
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    hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    I think Subaru fitment goes like

    16x6.5 +55mm offset
    17x7.0 +53mm offset
    17x7.5 +48mm offset

    I don't know any more about wheel width advantage(s) except to accommodate tire width.

    -Dave
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    axp696axp696 Member Posts: 90
    Ugh. Please, please, please put 91+ octane in the car. It says it in the manual, it says it on the gas cover, and taking it up to 5000 RPM on 87 octane is putting nice craters in your engine wall, whether you hear the pinging or not. This is not a way to treat a $25K investment. It will also kill both power and gas mileage to not put the proper octane in, because the ECU is constantly retarding your timing.
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    axp696axp696 Member Posts: 90
    I run 17x7.5" (offset 48) Rota SDRs with 225/45/17 Yokohama AVS ES100 summer tires. They were $650 for the wheels, $107 per tire from TireRack, and $80 to mount and balance at Sears Auto. The extra 0.5" won't make a big difference in traction, but if you're going to be buying new wheels anyway, you might as well go for the extra width, and you won't have any rubbing problems on a sedan (or a wagon that isn't lowered). Their quality is excellent and their customer service is second to none. If you manage to crack or warp one of their wheels (and I've only seen this happen on first-generation wheels), they'll replace it with 4 of the style and size of your choice, no questions asked. If this happens with a BBS or O-Z wheel, as I've also seen happen periodically, prepare to be laughed at on the phone. ;-)
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    prayerforprayerfor Member Posts: 161
    Rota makes nice, inexpensive 17" rims for the WRX. I have a set of their Formels on my wagon, with 215/45/17 tires. With a sedan, 225/45/17s should be no problem.

    Got mine from subydude.com.
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    stoner420stoner420 Member Posts: 165
    I agree with ppek - Just bring it to the dealer and tell em it's a problem and they'll replace the clutch and flywheel assembly according to the TSB (it's for '02s and '03s). I had been basically getting used to it too, but it was annoying .. I just had mine fixed a couple of weeks ago, and it's much better now!

    (Hmm, is that a good name for a band "Jerky Cold Clutch"?)
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    hypovhypov Member Posts: 3,068
    "Cold Clutch Jerks"
    "Cold Clutch Jerkees"

    either has a better ring ;-)

    -Dave
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    bruticusbruticus Member Posts: 229
    Seriously, should I get a shovel and start burying this topic?

    Anyway, I just got a thingum from Subaru offering 6/60 for $583. Does anybody know if this is a good offer? I know this gets covered a lot, but I can't find the most current analysis/discussion.

    I'm starting to think I should spring for the coverage because I piled a lot of miles on the car in the months after I got it so even if I only drive an average amount from here on, I'll run out my standard coverage pretty quickly.

    DjB
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    himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    Manufacturers wouldn't offer extended warranties on their cars if they didn't make money on them.

    It basically comes down to how much peace of mind is worth to you.

    I have mechanical breakdown coverage thru GEICO and have used it in the past for wheel bearings and cooling system repairs on one of my Acuras.
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