Who knows WRXs ?

[DanielDudley]

Specifically, how long do the engines last ? I tried a WRX Forum, but it seemed as if the posters were young and maybe not so knowledgeable. I recently purchased a 2002 WRX wagon that is a super runner, but with high miles at 150 + thousand.

Any experienced owners here ? I really like this car, but several people have made it a point to pass on horror stories, so now I am wondering.

[Scott R]

What horror stories did they pass on? My sister-in-law drives one with 200+ on the clock, been a fantastic car. We replaced four o2 sensors in it about two years ago due to one being bad. Other than that I don't think it's had anything other than brakes.

[krystar]

engines, practically forever.

center diff and transmissions......depends on how aggressive previous owner was. if they did any hard launches or clutch drops, it'd be bad. and they're real expensive to fix

[azasadny]

I would recommend a good synthetic oil, I use AMSOIL 5W30 in my MazdaSpeed3. I think any car with a turbo has the potential to be flogged and misused, but if it's well maintained, can be an excellent car.

[porsche4life]

I know I want one, does that count?

[hex9145]

Make sure the timing belt was replaced. It should be done at around 100k.

[BReif61]

I've always heard great reliability stories about the engines. The transmissions, however, have often been described as "glass."

[look 171]

Give Elton a call, ha's the owner. They build and mod race cars. I know he's built a bunch Subis in the past for various clients. He's really a Honda guy at heart and they do all the work on my S2000 as well as my father's CRV. He will give you the straight answer on everything you need to know about that lil' Subi. 626.292.7030 Good Luck

Jeff

[rick-l]

I have a 2003 with 170,000 miles. I bought it new and have had no trouble with it. I drove it on three 1500 mile adventures this summer with no worries.

It still has the original clutch which kind of worries me but it seems to work fine.

I don't know if I would buy one used however. They are easy to mod and as you observed ove on NASIOC not a lot of knowledge about what they are doing.

[rick-l]

There are some things over on NASIOC that are supported by evidence however.

They don't like Mobil One, spun bearings

Rotella t6 5w-40 will drop the oil consumption to almost nothing.

[DanielDudley]

Thanks guys. This one is stock, and appears to have always been maintained. New timing belt, filters, pads, rotors. BBS rims with stress cracks that are getting replaced. The horror storys are about con rod bearing failure. It may have been somewhat dicey to buy this car, but it runs like a champ, and is super clean.

I think that moving up to a synthetic is good advice that I will take.

[kaisen]

Con rod failure is real. So are head gasket failures and other cooling system maladies. However, some go forever. So is it care or luck?
On the plus side, the engines are cheap to rebuild and easy labor to R&R
There are also lots of mechanics and shops that know them well

150K miles seems to be the timeline where they start to fail with more frequency

[Geary]

Originally Posted by BReif61

.. The transmissions, however, have often been described as "glass."

Amen on that .. tons of horror stories.
re synthetic: While the R&Ps are amazingly strong for how small they are, the gears themselves (in your 2002) will probably last longer with Swepco 201 or 210 than they will with any synthetic gear lube. (.. at least that's what some pros have told me.)

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

What kind of MPG can you expect with a WRX or Outback under light and/or hard driving? I've been considering getting a Subaru wagon with a manual.

[DanielDudley]

Imprezas get decent mileage, around 26. WRX might pull that on the highway, but 20 around average.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by Jared at Pelican Parts

What kind of MPG can you expect with a WRX or Outback under light and/or hard driving? I've been considering getting a Subaru wagon with a manual.

Last time I entered the data I had driven 169,360 miles and put 7319 gallons of gas in it for a cost of $19,125 (it wants 91 octane).

When you subtract out the tank the dealer gave me it works out to 23.15 MPG.

My daily commute has been 5 miles to a crowded freeway, 15 miles on the freeway and another two near work.



EDIT: notice the crappy extra oxygenated gas we got the winter of 09

[NutmegCarrera]

Jared-
My experience with outback wagons is this:
The '98 was always around 24-26mpg (automatic)
2008 could do a little better - like 26 (also automatic)
I've put about 15k on the 2011 with a CVT, and it will get a real 28-30+ in the summer.
Less in around town driving, but 25-26 is about the bottom.
Winter here usually elicits lower MPG numbers - and I'm guessing that a change in gas formulation has much to do with that.
I'd expect the current manual to be worse than CVT auto. Probably a couple points better than the 2009 and earlier.
In all cases, do a rear sway bar. Makes a huge difference. They can be very roly-poly otherwise.

[rick-l]

Hey the head gasket thing reminds me that when you change the coolant there is a Subaru conditioner you are supposed to add that they say on NASIOC is stop leak.

[TimT]

I have an 08 WRX, my daily commute is about 50 miles round trip, I average about 23 mpg.

Pure highway driving such as my 275 mile trip to my Vermont house I can see as high as 27 mpg usually come in around 25 mpg. Its a fun little car... though sometimes hard to keep out of the boost

[vash]

Originally Posted by TimT

I have an 08 WRX, my daily commute is about 50 miles round trip, I average about 23 mpg.

Pure highway driving such as my 275 mile trip to my Vermont house I can see as high as 27 mpg usually come in around 25 mpg. Its a fun little car... though sometimes hard to keep out of the boost

we get something similar. 20-23 with a turbo 2005 forester. we dont hammer on the car.