EddScott

As we know theres alot of comment on SNet regarding cars that have suffered a failure within a short space of time following a service.

Is this due to the way the oil has been changed. I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of it but is it due to this business of taking the plugs out and turning the car over so theres no pressure built up on the bearings (??talking pap??)

I recently changed my engine oil and at the same time changed the plugs so while they were out I put the new oil in and as per the info on here took the sensor thingy out and turned the car over for a few seconds and once all back together I just let it idle for a few minutes.

Ever since the weekend its been brown trousers time every time I start it but it seems happy enough.

I'd be gutted if just after paying for a Subaru dealer service my engine went so I guess if I do it myself and something happens I've only got myself to blame.

Seems a bit unfair that theres no liability here.

The_Judge

Too true. It also puts you in an awkward position regarding warranty. When I bought my MY00 last July, I had a 12 month Proven warranty with it. I've got a friend who's a mechanic/second hand car dealer, and he's serviced every car I've ever owned. I asked him if the Subaru would be a problem, and he said no. I pointed out the instructions Greasemonkey put together not so long back, and he said he'd change the oil however I wanted it changed, with whatever oil I wanted (Motul 300V 15w50).

Since then he's done the oil and filter (and plugs, as they were PFR6Bs, and I wanted 7s due to mods) in October, then just oil and filter in January. But that one should have been dealer to keep the log book valid for any future warranty claim. But the mods I'd made would have invalidated that anyway. I then had a bigger decision to make in April - my 4 year service. I got all the various bits and pieces from web sites and local Motor Factors, and he did the lot for £150 - including cam belt and front brake pads. Subaru wanted something stupid like £700...

Now I know if something major goes wrong, the warranty company will tell me where to get off, so hopefully if I look after her well enough, I'll be OK. The renewal for the Proven warranty came in the post a couple of days ago. Suffice to say I won't be taking it on (and crossing everything that's crossable every time I start her up...!)

Adam M

all I can say, is that any subaru of mine will only ever be primed with fresh oil after a gear change with the plugs out so that there is zero compression.

I am also considering pats idea of fitting an auxillary pump for the purposes of priming the whole system (oil cooler included) without turning the engine.

P20SPD

iTrader: (1)

surely you dont need to prime the system after every GEAR change Adam

easyrider

I know what you mean-ive just been quoted £400 for my 30K service on my 01,and im finding it hard to justify weather to get it done at the dealers for the sake of the last month of warranty,only to then pay £250 for an extra years warranty,when i can do all this work myself.
The way i see it is the parts are going to cost me about £130 getting the decent oils ,plugs and genuine filters-compared to the Magnatec that the dealers use! And im going to save myself getting on for £300+£250 for not extending the warranty.
There is also another route as far as keeping the warranty is concerned-About a year or so ago,new EU rules came in saying that you can get your car serviced at ANY garage as long as they follow the Manf. service spec-or in other words-about £200/£250 for the same service and keeping the warranty,which IM cant legally do anything about it!

Decisions decisions???????????

easy

EddScott

Can I just ask the question that when the plugs are out and the crank sensor is disconnected (little job under alternator) that when you switch the ignition on you don't get any "Budda Budda" noise from the engine and its just starter motor whine?

Sounded a bit odd to me but as the engine rocked a little I assumed that it was all moving round as it should without any pressure where you don't want it.

ozzy

easy,

Yes, you are correct about the EU ruling on servicing. But if IM said NO to a warranty claim on an engine letting go can you afford to fight your case in court??

I certainly wouldn't like take it on.

Stefan

Bully3176

iTrader: (1)

My engine went on my classic estate after I had just paid the dealer just under £1k for new belts and 30,000 service. 2 days later pop.I was devestated. IM were the most unhelpful individuals I had come accross. I hope that it doesnt happen to anyone, this car was my pride and joy!!!
Mark

The_Judge

Did you have a warranty?

Jake

Do it yourself, at least you know its been done right and then spend the money on mods instead..

ozzy

IM released instructions on how to change oil correctly to avoid these problems. IM now that it's a risk on these cars, so if it lets go after a service then either you are very unlucky, the problem was there already or the Dealer didn't do the oil change properly.

Yes, there are cars that have let go, but there's also thousands that haven't. My car is 5yrs old, done 70K and always had oil changes carried out by my Dealer. Touch wood, it hasn't let go yet.

Personally, I'd ask your local Dealer how the perform the oil change and see if they are willing to explain the points raised on this BBS. If they are aware of the risks, then at least you know they should perform the change correctly.

Stefan

Chrisgr31

Wll the engine on my car went bang 6 weeks ago and I am still waiting for it to be fixed. The car was 5 months old with just over 10,000 miles on the clock.

I previously had a Y reg car which I did 60,000 miles in with no problems having it serviced at the same dealer.

However this latest experience has put me off. Some may say problems are rare hower the reason my car is not fixed is because that dealer my car was recovered to already had 2 cars in when mine arrived, and a further 2 arrived within 2 days of mine. This dealer is not my usual one.

It seesm to me that these engines blowing up are a lot more frequent than we might think.

Not only that but the customer care is awful. Not once in 6 weeks has the dealer called me unprompted and in fact I cannot recall when they have returned my calls.

On Saturday I wrote to the dealer to complain, On Tuesday the MD phoned to say mine was the first complaint they had had, and the service manager or he would call me back on Tuesday or Wednesday to say when the car would be ready. By 3 today I had had no call despite phoning the dealer and finding it engaged. I called Subaru UK who said it wasn;t good the car had been in all this time, and the dealer would call me by the end of the day. No call as yet.

Anyone got the phone number or email of the motoring press?

My current experience has put me off Subaru.

The_Judge

Chris,

Sorry to here about your problems. I guess the law of averages means there are always going to be people that suffer. You never know, Subaru UK might sanction a nice new WR1 for you as a form of apology...

My renewal is £421!!! Bollokcs to it...

James_TypeR

after my scooby went in for a service at Subaru..... the turbo died. car started smoking very badly at idle and on startup.

when i spoke to subaru they werent interested.

so had to buy a new turbo to replace it. all is ok now.

they had changed the oil and filters to.

gavnnik

One problem (with online forums) is that it's the people who do have problems that post. What you don't see are the hundreds (thousands?) of peopel who have services from their delaers with no problems.

Not defending dealers or IM but you can get a skewed picture of the extent of the problem. Still I've got an import so I'll happily do the work myself anyway.

scoobyboy

and i think someone on here found out that there were no bullitins issued by i.m on having to prime the filter first.
the other interesting fact is it seems to be be only turbos that it affects why not sports and legacys as well they got pretty much the same engine. plus turbos also have a slightly lower compression ratio due to the turbo which incidentally gives no pressure as such on idle theres always a vacuum in the manifold like all n/a cars just seems theres more to it i think.

easyrider

Interesting point,it does make you wonder eh.

dij

agree with scoobyboy.

I run a Jap car breakers yard,and every other day (if not every day) somebody needs a scooby turbo engine.I sometimes ask them what mileage its gone at and most seem to be 40-65 k,although one angry customer told me his sti4 popped @20k.

There still seems to be alot of 100k+ cars around and I know what the reliability is like on Jap cars,but the scobby turbo does have an issue with reliability.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

It's an odd one that, all I can suggest is that there aren't as many non-turbo owners on the boards to moan. If the suggested cause of the failure is lack of oil on startup after a service, then they should be affected too.

mark*b

Exactly.

Which is why I don't think it's the oil change procedure but more so the oil pump that's at fault.

When you drain the oil out, there is the possibility of **** fouling the oil pump on it's way out. Scooby oil pumps are widely known for being troublesome.

I would think oil changes every 3000 miles or after every track day would be a safer bet for this problem not happening. And the RCM modified oil pump for good measure.

willy

What procedure do the dealers use for oil changes.
I bet they drain and refil the oil like any other car dealer/garage.
I cant see the service depts priming filters and disconnecting crank sensors etc.
I think there is some oil pump pressure release valve issues for cars that go pop.

*****