OllieS

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the feedback.

My first scoob, so don't want my fingers burnt straight away. Going for a blob sti with PPP.

Regards and Thanks

Crow555

On the back of what OllieS said, is there much in the way of buying guides on here/that people know of? I've spent the last few months pining after a DC2, drove one and decided it wasn't for me and now going back to my original choice of car, the Impreza. Trouble is, you always hear the bad and never the good, hence my need to go looking for a buying guide.

My budget would be around the Blobeye or Hawkeye models and I've not driven either.

Sorry to derail the thread.

Littleted

Just gotta be careful with forums I read this after I got my second and it opens yours eyes, I also drifted to the Porsche forums and they have same issues, as most cars to be honest

Which mag had Subaru and Toyota as one of the most rEliable models to own with Subaru being in the top marques with kudos to own

mickp

iTrader: (1)

One that didn't have a clue what they were talking about, i would have thought Ted

The frustrating bit is that they tick so many boxes but you just cannot overlook the piston / mapping issues. Subaru could have got hold of the problem and engineered it out, they chose to run with it and i believe (as others) it will haunt them for many years yet

Littleted

No it was which lol the mag well I think it was I rem reading itnwhilst having a ****e

May have been what car

Agree on that engineering thing but as u prob saw in the interview with the gaffer he said he had a german company test it,

After spending a milenium on the USA forums I'm edging my bets on the fuel delivery system, as well as kak pistons

Makes ya think though the USA have had a few 2011 fail but we havenhad none I know of go yet , and the uk is now pushin 320 and soon 340

mickp

iTrader: (1)

The report which "the gaffer" refers to, was a generic report and not specific to the Subaru. I think the idea was to suggest the report had been commisioned by Subaru but the extract i have seen was definitely not based on a Subaru

Crow555

Thanks for the input guys. Evo have never done a buying guide for the Impreza (that I know of, I could be wrong) but had one for the Integra which while it had a lot of critical stuff (rust, grinding 3rd gear sychro, smoking on vtec etc) there were other bits of pieces that the itr-dc2 forums had that was very interesting and eye opening to read. I was just wondering if there was a technical section like that on here. As someone who lost interest in the Impreza after the bug eye came out, I really know very little about the different engines (not just the 2.0 and 2.5, the difference between the WRX and STI models say). Even a general insight into what model I'd be best looking at would be a good start.

Thanks for the info though, it's really helpful.

Littleted

Mick i thought the guy who interviewed him specifically asked the question about the engine issue, and he said about having tested it with a german engineering company

??

mickp

iTrader: (1)

Ted

Before that interview, Subaru made certain customers aware of the report you mention. The extract i was sent (by Subaru) was a general report on the causes of piston failure. It was not specific to Subaru in any way.

With regards to "the gaffers" interview, some of the things he said i.e failure statistics were not consistent with what other senior people at Subaru U.K had been advising.

Problems happen, but what Subaru then did was wriggle, body swerve and show very little loyalty to the people who have been loyal to them. This is the bit that still hits a nerve with me (and always will).

Tone Loc

iTrader: (1)

Probably beacuse the UK has sold a total of 3 MY2011 cars

Seriousy, anybody know the MY2011 Sti sales figures to date? It can't be much as the sales figures i've heard for the whole subaru range would bring a tear to the eye of IM.

Littleted

no ideas im sure somebody will have em

I know of at least 15 with em, not a lot i know LOL

P1Fanatic

Im gonna be watching this thread closely over the next 8-9 months. Need to replace my Civic Type R (lease car) next april and fancy an 2011 hatch or possibly an E92 330D. The STi Hatches seem pretty rare at the moment (plenty of saloons) as just checked Subaru website used cars and just 1 in white within 100 miles!

If you like red and were ok with a MY10 model on 60 or 11 plate there are several for £22k with almost now mileage.

Out of curiosity what is the approx cost of a remap from a reputable tuner? I assume that would null & void any Subaru warranty you had left?

Cheers
Simon

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Think its (to about a week ago) 89 cars in total for the year .

Tony

GordonC

Guys,

Been reading through this thread with interest.

I have an '09 WRX hatch, an EU import, now covered 22k miles. It had the Prodrive pack fitted at 16 months old/12k miles through my dealer, so new exhaust & map. Also has a K&N panel filter.

I don't drive 'enthusiastically' all that often (trip computer usually av 28mpg), only ever gets filled with v-power, despite the filler cap saying 95RON only, and full dealer services every time.

I've never had any problems with the car but the warranty expires in about 6 months and stumbling across this thread gave me the fear. I spoke to my dealer about engine failures and they re-assured that it is a robust and reliable engine and not to expect any issue.

What risk is there of a problem, and what if anything could be done over what I already do to prevent one, short of chucking money at it?

Cheers
GC

urban

iTrader: (1)

GC - You'll probably be fine with the WRX, seems to be an STI issue from all I've ever read.

vulnax999

iTrader: (7)

Wasn't the Prodrive PPP kit made / approved only for UK cars?

May not be warrantied for Euro cars....
Best to check with the supplying main dealer I guess.

urban

iTrader: (1)

PPP was for UK supplied cars only, but like everything there are ways around things like this.

GordonC

Hi,

Yes, already been through the pain of the whole EU car/PPP issue. Car was sold to me by a mail dealer in Blackburn who committed to a full warranty without debate even with the PPP fitted. When I spoke to IM to check they cast doubt, refused to issue the PPP certificate when I did go ahead with it and suggested getting a UK car (tut).

But... my local dealer near Leeds confirmed warranty is registered in the UK and PPP was not an issue. So, it was fitted and no problems whatsoever taking it to them. Still didn't get my Prodrive certificate though!

Main interest was these reports of engine faults really, but if not been seen on WRX then it eases the concern a little.

GC

MOTORS S GT

iTrader: (2)

I have done over a dozen Hatch 2.5 STI engine rebuilds now, all had ringland issues, but not one Hatch 2.5 WRX, so i would say your fairly safe.

juggers

iTrader: (1)

Met a chap yesterday local to me in his 2009/59 330s (I was in the R205) we got chatting and he has had his engine built to at Monksheath under warranty. I can get his reg ,but will ask him first.
Theres also another 2008/08 blue STI which I have been offered in part x against the white spec c he's a member of surrey scoobs and has had a rebuild to.

Should I put there details up or do they need to do it them selfs?

Galeforce9

Hi All,

I wasnt aware of the engine issues (I know it seems how did I not know) so posted the below post on another forum the other day. The reply was a link here. Rather than retype the message I thought I'd post here for comments however some of my questions seem already answered after reading the last 17 pages, however any advice greatly received.

origonal post below.

**************************************************
Hi All,

I'm after advice please. I am currently the owner of a 08plate impreza sti. This is the third impreza I've owned over the years and todate have been really impressed by them. I purchased the current car back inNovember of last year with just over 9K miles on the clock. Since then I'vedriven just over 8K in it. When I purchased the vehicle the first service wasafter 1 year and the vehicle had done approx 3500 miles. The second service was doneby the garage I purchased it from back in November last year so was technicallylate as the second year would have been last March, however it had done less that6000 miles.

About three weeks ago I noticed that on some journeys (notall) very rarely when pulling away the power would be there, then ease off andthen back to normal again. It wasn’t a big issue but I booked it in for aservice at a Subaru main dealer as usual. They did the usual service andperformed an ecu upgrade which was available; test drove the car and couldn’tfind an issue. The journey home seemed fine and power was normal. However thenext day very occasionally power was missing. I spoke with the garage and they adviseda full tank of fuel and running some injector cleaner through it. I did thisbut within a couple of days power was now missing all the time. The car wasagain booked into the dealer. They had it a full day; I went to collect the carat 5pm to be told they had just discovered cylinder 4 was low on compressiondown to about 50lb!

Basically over the last week or so I have been talking withSubaru and the dealer but getting know where fast. Currently Subaru will notcover this (it was 3 years old in March) and the dealer is quoting £750 tostrip and look at the engine, £5K for a new one!

An engine should not go after 17K miles, it’s a stock carnever been on a track day or driven hard!

I'm after some advice as to what others think I should do,at the moment I'm thinking it's not fit for purpose if the engine goes afterjust 17K, how would I prove this? I'm also aware the ecu firmware the dealerput in was to cure an issue of too much fuel going into the cylinder after ithad red lined, does anyone know anything further about this.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Ian.

sbarker108

Just thought I'd add my details of yet another engine failure. Currently arguing with Subaru as per my comments below.

I have a problem which I'm hoping others may be able to offer some advice on, the scenario:

1. I purchased an Imprexa STI PPP 09 from a local dealer based in huddersfield (apparently unmodified other than the PPP and some 330S wheels)
2. The car was using more than usual levels of oil so it's been in an out of the local Subaru garage a few times but they didn't find anything.
3. Engine finally gives up the ghost, so I take it back in to SUbaru and they discover that piston 2 and 4 are damaged and need replacing. They also decide it needs a new short motor (although admitted that it wasn't damaged but hey I thought what the hell its under warranty)
4. Subaru call me to say that the map on the car is non standard and does not match either the standard STI or the Pro-drive map so they aren't going to pay up.
5. I contacted the previous owner and he swears he has had nothing done to it (why would he lie? Seems like a reasonable enough bloke to me).
6. I complain, send in the PPP document and so the gargae decide to send off the ECU to somewhere for verification as to when the last map was done (assuming they can do that?)

My questions are:
1. Anyone had this kind of problem before?
2. Assuming Subaru come back and tell me it's non-standard then knowing that I would never have bought the car in the first place and surely it's been mis-sold to me? Any advice on handling this situation would be appreciated. It would seem I have a case under the Sale of Goods Act but not sure if I should go after Subaru or the gargage I bought it from.

I should add I have no reason to believe the garage deliberately misled me when selling me the car but under the SOGA that doesn't seem to matter.

Any help much appreciated.

P1Fanatic

Sounds very strange. You bought a car still under warranty. If the dealer sold you a modified car then surely it's their issue?

IggyRB320

iTrader: (9)

sbarker108,
If you purchased from a Subaru main dealer, they should only sell Approved vehicles & therefore honour any warranty work.
If the ECU has been re-mapped as long os this pre-dates when you purchased, you'll be ok & IM or the dealership will sort out the new short block!

Littleted

G I had ppp wrx-s and ran 95 Ron for 14k it never missed a beat now have the sti youll be fine with the wrx mine also had 95 Ron sticker although u are supposed to run 97 in the ppp I was never told

Littleted

I know your dealer having had mine serviced there they are pretty good at the service side and very helpful, if they sold u it and you ain't touched it then they should cover it , if im are going to this extremes to check maps then the dealers need to up their game to stop us consumers having this ballache

walsh128

I think the problem with the piston ringland is a combination of Poor original map, piston material, and I’m convinced dodgy petrol (forecourts putting unleaded through the v power pumps).
The pistons are Hypereutectic, (high silicon content) which means they don’t expand as much and so the piston/bore clearance can be as low as ½ though (great for getting emissions down etc).
Trouble is the high silicon content makes them very brittle and susceptible to damage caused by detonation.
Wikipedia explains it perfectly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypereutectic_piston

The motors have an antiknock sensor so you should be able to run them on unleaded, quite safely. But my guess is that the ECU doesn’t react quick enough to change in fuel RON.
Thus if you put a tank full of unleaded in after a tank of V power you have to tip toe for a few hundred miles until the ECU has reset itself. If you go the other way from unleaded to V power = no issue. (its timed on unleaded).
Done 23K in mine mostly on unleaded and no issues so far.
Its got a prodrive back box and Bob Rawles safe Map.
I don’t trust the independent garages anymore, so always fill up at Tesco or Sainsbury if I’m out for a blast

Piston Rings

My 2008 sti with 19k miles is sitting in a garage and sofar subaru uk will not cover the car even though the fault was a known one in this year of car. Piston rings crack and engine then gets damaged. I would like to hear from anyone who has had this problem or to warn you fellow impreza 08 sti drivers that this may happen to your pride and joy and you will need a deep pocket to get out of it..Subaru was once a very reliable car but what happened from 2008 ?

rob84

iTrader: (5)

already happened to mine, I just threw the engine away and Built my own Forged 2.5, Warranty not covered after the vehicle being 6 months old due to modifications been carried out

Apostle

Galeforce9 & PistonRings... sorry to hear about your cars.

You'll get nowhere with Subaru - get your cars out of their garages asap.

Take it to a reputable engine builder (I went a long way to Enginetuner down in Plymouth - and they can collect from anywhere too).

A rebuild with forged pistons and rods (and a few other 'nice bits') will cost you approx £ 3k. Some will do only the pistons for less...

Been there done that... Subaru customer care is non-existant.

I confidently reckon more than 20% of these early Sti's have gone pop...

Subaru say 2-3% - absolute jokers.

Once bullit proof a remap and exhaust will transform the car into an ultra reliable rocket.

All the best.

A


PM Rob (above) if youre right at the other end of the country.