2012 Subaru Impreza

xwesx · June 2012

Unless they finally revised their sensor, it stops at -22F. I know, because mine spends about half of the winter there.

90legacy2wd · June 2012

we got our 5 dr cvt in we ordered March 13 yesterday, June 23 from Lees summit subaru in Kc Mo. I would not recommend that dealer. Our ordered car replaced a car they would have got and maybe sold close to list We used costco program at $350 over invoice. My feeling was they never wanted to sell us the car and hoped we would go away after 3 1/2 months. The manual on the NAV/Radio is 355 pages. The salesperson was not familar with it. We will figure it out. This is our 6th Subaru so we can put up with marginal dealers, but this one was the worse.

dcm61 · June 2012

Unless they finally revised their sensor, it stops at -22F. I know, because mine spends about half of the winter there.

Is there really a difference between -22F and -40F?

mtbe2 · June 2012

Picked up our Sport Premium with CVT last week and have 300 miles on it. Still have a quarter tank gas in it.

Likes:
Visibility - windows like a greenhouse, plus the mirrors are great
Ride - quite nice for a small car
Backseat - seems much larger and more comfortable than other small cars
Looks - To each his own: I LIKE the look
Mostly - It's a Subaru!!!

Dislikes (I use this term loosely, because it's hard to hate anything with me being a Subaru fan):
Radio - stock radio/speakers are horrible! My '99 Forester had better speakers at 13 yrs old....
GPM - dissapointed to only get 31-32 MPG on highway at 65MPH on cruise....better than my Forester, but not even close to the 36 EPA. I understand this should increase with more miles on it.
Space - knowing this was going to be smaller than my Forester, I didn't really think about it until I put my golf clubs in the back and they wouldn't fit.....without putting the seat down. I'm going to miss that space....

jd_24 · June 2012

Really your golf clubs didn't fit? They must be oversized in some way. This past spring I had clubs in the back of my Sport Premium with the seat up. Also had 3 back packs and a laptop back there with them. Clubs were a highschool kid's thats on the golf team.

Question on the MPGs. Was it windy, hilly, AC, or extra weight?
I just made my first long trip on an interstate (65 to 70mph). Roughly 50% cruise and 50% without. I got 32.7mpg over 400 miles. I typically get around 35mpg. For my trip it was a lttle more up and down, I had about 500 extra pounds of passengers and gear and the AC was on the entire time. So the weight and AC make a difference. Not sure if the hills made much difference since the MPG on the way there and on the way home seemd the same with the displayshowing in the 34.5 mpg area most of the time.

I was happy with the room! 500 mile round trip with wife and 3 kids plus 5 duffle bags 3 sleeping bags, some pillows, small cooler and few odds-n-ends. Cargo didn't come above the seat backs so visibility was great. I think I could have made the entire 500 miles on one tank. It would have been close. Since we had to make a stop I filled up before the end. Kids rotated seating positions, and all thought the center position was better than any other car we have or ridden in. (But still worse than either side or the front seat.)

impreza2012 · June 2012

The 355 manual just for the NAV unit is a little bit overkill. Have used the NAV successfully many times. Still trying to get DIVX to work.

zman3 · June 2012

Really your golf clubs didn't fit? They must be oversized in some way. This past spring I had clubs in the back of my Sport Premium with the seat up. Also had 3 back packs and a laptop back there with them. Clubs were a highschool kid's thats on the golf team.

I bought a sedan but tried my clubs in the back of hatch and mine did not fit either. I had to take the driver out of the bag and then everything fit.

ateixeira · June 2012

Is there really a difference between -22F and -40F?

Dead and deader.

cherryfan · June 2012

Did you make sure to fit the base of the golf bag into one of the back-corner nooks in the hatch? I didn't think my golf bag would fit, either, but if I slide the base of the bag into the corner first, everything fits, including my driver. Then again, I have a lightweight stand bag. A big cart bag might be too wide to fit into the corner.

dcm61 · June 2012

What's the point of having a driver if you put him/her in the trunk?

mtbe2 · June 2012

What's the point of having a driver if you put him/her in the trunk?

LOL!

It is a new, and probably longer, driver that I can't fit in...while it's in the bag. I'll take it out and the bag, and driver, should fit.

mtbe2 · June 2012

Question on the MPGs. Was it windy, hilly, AC, or extra weight?

No wind, but low rolling hills in Northern Illinois. AC was on with two passengers. I'm sure GPM will get better once engine is 'burned' in.....

cherryfan · June 2012

I was afraid I would have to explain this. It's simple, really: he's a spare, my designated driver. For those times golf drives me to drink.

xwesx · June 2012

Hahah! Oh, yeah. "Dead and deader" aside (thanks, juice - I can always count on you!), it is comparable to the difference betweeen 50F and 32F. Let's just say it is helpful to know the temperature, even when it is painfully cold.

once_for_all · June 2012

514 miles, 13.8 gallons to refill, 37.2 mpg. Trip odometer said 38.1 mpg for tank. This was a mostly highway trip, 65 mpg typically.

The "miles left in tank" said 60 miles when I refilled. But I was quite nervous when the low fuel light came on and the last black bar disappeared. Apparently, I had 0.7 gallons left...

John/Fresno

iliketoshift · June 2012

Did you have AC on?

dfong87 · June 2012

great stuff. thanks for sharing.

apparently the miles left isn't all that accurate and it's a good thing to note since 0.7gal isn't going to give you 60 miles unless you start rolling downhill the whole way

i rarely run my car down that low, but i'll be cautious if and when i do!

ps. have you checked the accuracy of your Odometer. i'm 99% convinced mine is roughly 3% off and underreports the distance traveled. (based primarily on google maps distance comparisons)

once_for_all · June 2012

no AC. And mpg drops like a rock over 65 (about 2 mpg difference at 70 mph vs 65).

John

once_for_all · June 2012

I haven't checked the odometer. I believe it to be accurate. Subaru got their hands slapped with the 2003 era Forester, which was overreporting distance traveled. So I suspect they are extra careful. But that's just my opinion, FWIW.

I got stuck with little left in the tank, expensive gas area, and the next fill area 20 miles down the road. So I pushed it a lot more than I normally would.

John

dobp · June 2012

I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to follow up with you and find out if/when you got your car. If you got the car were you able to swing any price reduction or any other "comp"?

I ordered mine 4/9..hoping it will be here in July but I'm doubtful since I ordered the 5 door with nav. My dealer guaranteed me that my trade-in value would hold no matter when the car is delivered but I wanted to renegotiate the price since by the time it gets here it will be a 2012 leftover. I started with SOA who sent me to the dealer who tried to send me back to SOA. I suggested that the sales manager should make that call, which he did. SOA e-mailed me with an offer of 2 year's free maintenance OR $250 credit toward dealer-installed option. No go on the price reduction. I asked for the extended warranty instead....no deal.

aknight3 · June 2012

Well here's my update. The dealer called in mid May, they were able to get an Impreza Premium hatchback with Nav system in silver and wondered if I was interested. Since the date of my ordered car was looking like late July, I decided to take it. I really do like the silver and didn't really care about Nav, but I did want crossbars, side molding and fog lights. So, I went for it, got 1120 for my 2007 Forester and paid 24,735 with all of the add ons (minus trade in). I think I could have made a better deal, but I was tired of all of the whole thing, so I went with it. I paid cash for the remainder of the car. I love it, I'm getting 29-38 mpg. It handles well, only thing I miss are the storage compartments I had on my Forester. It's a little noisy, but I guess that goes with AWD. I couldn't have waited any longer, I was ready to look for something else. Glad I got what I did. Hope you are getting what you want, I think that the 2013s were holding up the production of the 2012s. I maybe should have waited, but shoulda, woulda, coulda. I'm happy.

dfong87 · June 2012

i've never paid too much attention to the odometer, but i like many people have checked their odometers against GPS and google maps and found differences on the order of 2-4% which actually, someone said, will become close to zero when the tires get close to bald or need replacement.

i've taken trips on the same route over years with different cars to know that this car is reporting less than those cars (two different hondas and one toyota), so i know google maps isn't giving me a poor indicator.

anyway, in the end, i guess it's a good thing if i ever sell the car (i keep cars a long time) and also helps cancel out part of the fuel economy the computer is spitting out. (about 5% too optimistic)

xwesx · June 2012

Sounds like you paid a mint for the Impreza, so I really hope you received $11,200 for the Forester and not $1,120! :P

It's tough to get a car at a reasonable price in the land of the midnight sun. The last two new Subaru vehicles I purchased came from Seattle at about $2,500 savings (after driving them home) versus buying locally. Around here, the dealers want you to buy their cars, they don't want to sell them to you.

kanjii · June 2012

Any recommendations where in the California bay area?

jd_24 · June 2012

I agree with you that it will be an old 2012 since the 13s aren't too far way. However I would guess if you don't take the car it will sell within 3 days to somebody else at or above the same price you got. They are selling that well.
Dealer here in MN can only keep the base model sedans with manual trans on the lot for more than a week. Personally I'd take the 2 years maintenance. Synthetic oil changes are about $80 and you might do 6 in the 2 years depending on how many miles you drive.

KCRam · June 2012

Since this discussion is seeing some pretty heavy traffic (no pun intended), please post your fuel economy notes here: 2012+ Subaru Impreza Real World Fuel Economy

kcram - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host

kanjii · June 2012

It doesn't have to be on your Subie. Just a recommendation for a good window tinting place.

amagar · July 2012

Hi,
My husband picks up new car this month a few days before his bday and I'd like to get him an aftermarket, in-dash stereo with satellite -- that will still allow him to use the steering wheel controls (he will be getting the premium, stick, hatch (can't believe no satellite).

I have no experience in this. I looked at Crutchfield.com, after finding it referenced on another post. But Crutchfield offers only a couple of options and neither is designed to fit 12 Impreza. Has anyone found a receiver they can recommend?

And/or, does anyone know a trustworthy car audio place in Greater Cleveland?

Finally, I'd like to get him a leather steering wheel cover, too -- any advice on that appreciated as well. Generic one-size-fits-all...or are there custom Impreza covers.

FYI: We've been a VW family until this year....replaced oldest car with a Mazda CX-5 a couple of months ago (love it) and then our 2001 VW that was supposed to last us a couple more years blew its engine last week....and we found ourselves drawn to the Impreza -- our first Subaru. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for help. Edmunds' forums are so full of good info...

bobdole888 · July 2012

I think I've heard that you can get some stereo that can work the on wheel controls. You'll have to look through this thread to find that info:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2312813&page=1

5sharks1 · July 2012

Just read this message after changing my 2012 Impreza filter for the filrst time. Ordered what I thought was correct online, but it is about an inch shorter than the original. Asked the shop guy and he pulled out the listed purolator and it was the same size as the Full one I had? Tried to access the Tech Bulletin, but couldn't get to it without a subscription. Anybody else having the same problem?
Where is the best place to get the often discussed Tokyo Roki filters with 15208AA160?
Thanks

fredjohnson · July 2012

@5sharks1, I went to a Subaru dealer in town and bought 6 filters just to be done with it. They gave me a discount for buying so many and I think the price was around $6 to $7 a filter(can't remember). I shopped online but the dealer was close to the lowest I could find so I went with him(we have 6 local dealers in Mpls). I went to buy a Purolator One filter first and actually did buy it and the guy swore it was the right filter for the car, but it's shorter than the stock filter. Personally, I didn't believe him(Advanced Auto Parts), so I did the safe thing and got the genuine Subaru filters. The Subaru dealer then told me NOT to use the Subaru short filter on the car as those are for the old engine.

fredjohnson · July 2012

@amagar, these days I don't mess with after market stereo because of the hassles and cost of making them fit in the car. I just order the one I want from the dealer and go with that. A cheaper upgrade for your hubby's car might be new speakers and perhaps a subwoofer put under the seat from a place like Best Buy. As far as leather steering wheels go, the best ones are the ones that come with the car because the leather is so tightly wrapped that it will never come loose. I have had bad luck with any and all after market leather wheel covers because you cannot get them to fit like the factory wheel covers, they are an absolute PAIN to install and they leave a ridge of stitching that can be annoying on your hands after hours of driving on long trips.

j_mags · July 2012

Took Delivery in Late June and have been using it as a daily driver to and from work (80 miles round trip). MBP with black leather interior. Turns a lot of heads wherever I go. Audio / Nav unit works fine. I can easily adjust the sound to my liking. The microphone for the car phone is not very good - I can hear people fine, but they cannot hear me that well. Hopefully Subaru can fix this. Bluetooth integration for phone, contacts, messages works fine. Nav is good. AC gets cold very quickly. Mileage is better than the two cars I traded in for it, but have only hit 37 mpg once. In heavy traffic daily, I am averaging about 30 - 33 mpg. Took the car camping and loaded all our stuff including a bike and a kayak -still thinking about getting a trailer hitch for a bike rack in the back. Overall - Love it!

5sharks1 · July 2012

Good call. I went to the dealer and pick one up and swapped out the shorter one. Will prob just go back to dealer and get a few. Dealer can do oil change for $20 or so with me providing synthetic oil(my choice) and filter.

kanjii · July 2012

Anybody see this commercial? Awesome and Sarah Underwood was gorgeous adn cute...as usual.

nynn1 · July 2012

Curt makes a hitch for the 2012 Impreza Limited which I purchased from etrailer.com. It's the 11284 model. I had a local auto shop install the hitch and went back once just to readjust the distance from the muffler. It works great and I'm happy I went with the hitch. I use the hitch with my bike rack as I did not want the scratch the paint on the trunk with a trunk mounted rack. I also chose the Thule 917 XTR T2 bike rack. You can only use a rack for two bikes due to the weight and torque. Great combo.

once_for_all · July 2012

the body is so low to the ground, I couldn't get a floor jack underneath far enough to do any lifting. Ended up using both the Forester and Impreza scissor jacks.

Yowza on the torque specs, 89 ft-lbs! That would put a worp in my '03 Forester rotors within 10 miles.

Maybe going to look into the free rotations at a tire shop. It is about an hour of work to do it myself.

dfong87 · July 2012

my floor jack can _just_ get under to lift using the front lift point. i cannot, however, swing the arm of my floor jack fully, but have to rely on "baby swings."

however, one thing you can do is drive onto 2x6s (or 2x8 or 2x10s if you wish) to buy an extra 1.625" of clearance. that is in fact enough clearance for me to forgo using a jack entirely to change the oil.

sgoldste01 · July 2012

Here is the jack I use, which reaches the jack points in the center of my Impreza very nicely:

floor jack

I replaced the thin rubber pad that came in the jack's saddle with a hockey puck, which provides more lift and cushioning.

I also replaced my drain plug with a Fumoto valve, so that I can drain the oil without a wrench, and so that I can connect a rubber tube for directing the oil without making a mess:

Fumoto valve

Hope this helps.

once_for_all · July 2012

thanks, I realize I could go buy another, smaller floor jack just for the Impreza, and my usual routine of popping in a jack stand and moving the floor jack to the other end of the car. But it probably won't be any faster than the two scissor jacks.

sgoldste01 · July 2012

A floor jack is faster. The jack I linked to above is a high-speed jack that raises and lowers much more rapidly than any cork-screw scissors jack.

When I do tire rotations, I like to have all four tires in the air at the same time. I am able to accomplish this with two lifts of my floor jack (one at the front lift point under the engine, and one at the rear lift point at the rear differential). I'm guessing you would need to do four lifts with your scissors jacks.

But it's more than just speed. There's also a safety factor. Many people use scissors jacks as a last resort, emergency only solution. A floor jack with jack stands is both faster and safer.

dfong87 · July 2012

i agree with sgold.

it sounds like once already owns a floor jack. related to my post above: how much extra clearance do you need? finding a few scraps of wood to drive onto might give you enough clearance so you don't have to buy anything new, and worry about the safety and time issues raised by sgold.

xwesx · July 2012

One other point to note... the "scissors" jack, which I'm guessing is the one that comes with the car, isn't really designed for regular use. The screws on my '96 Outback's jack and my '98 Escort's jack have both worn out as a result of using them for seasonal tire change outs in the past few years. I now only have the jack in my new(er) Forester, and need to pick up another one or two from a local junk dealer before I wear that one out too.

Unfortunately, floor jacks generally don't prefer a gravel driveway, but I've made it work a few times.

sgoldste01 · July 2012

I'd trust a floor jack on a gravel driveway more than I'd trust a scissors jack on any surface.

once_for_all · July 2012

2 floor jacks, 2 lift points, all 4 tires in the air? Now you make me nervous. What keeps the car from tipping sideways?

I have used a floor jack and 4 x 4 in the center of the side and lifted both wheels of the Forester. That works pretty good, but the Forester isn't mostly plastic underneath like the Impreza.

dcm61 · July 2012

2 floor jacks, 2 lift points, all 4 tires in the air? Now you make me nervous. What keeps the car from tipping sideways?

I would assume they are using jack stands (but then you don't really need 2 floor jacks).

xwesx · July 2012

Not me! I've known too many floor jacks.

The primary problem with a floor jack on such a surface is that the jack must be able to roll in order to counter-act the levering effect of the hydraulic arm. Once the vehicle's weight begins to bear down on the jack, its ability to roll is compromised. Unless the vehicle is allowed to roll, that can be problematic. For example, you can literally pull a vehicle off a jack stand this way.

That said, I do prefer to use floor jacks whenever possible simply due to the speed... but that doesn't mean I'm going to "trust" them more than other jacking methods.

sgoldste01 · July 2012

That's right, I only use one floor jack. I jack up the front of the car from the front-center lift point, then set it down on two jack stands that are positioned under the front pinch welds at the edge of the body.

Then I jack up the rear of the car from the rear-center lift point (the rear diff), and then set the rear down on two more jack stands that are positioned under the rear pinch welds at the edge of the body. At this point, all four wheels are airborn.

To lower the car again, I first lower the rear of the car, then I lower the front of the car.

sgoldste01 · July 2012

Good point about using a surface that allows the floor jack to roll.

kanjii · July 2012

Ok SP and SL owners. What do you think of the OEM Yokohama tires on your subie so far? I, myself think these are pretty awesome tires so far, but I have nothing to compare. These are my first "ultra performance" tires. Actually, these are my first performance tires :P . Tire Rack gives them poor ratings, especially from Mazda owners and a few Subie owners, except me.

2012 Subaru Impreza

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