D16GER

**UPDATED - SEE LAST POST**



HELP PLEASE!! ADVICE NEEDED

Hi guys, my problem is as follows......

I have an MY03 WRX with PPP. It currently has just over 19,000 miles on the clock. It was serviced at approx 18,000 then garaged for the best part of 7 months before I purchased it.

It was driving absolutely fine, no problems at all. Then one day I started the car and the engine light stayed on. Needless to say I took it straight to my local dealer for a check. He cleared the fault and said it had been caused by a valve of some sort (I think, can't remember the exact part, but it's near the manifold I think he said.)

They told me to bring it back if the fault returned as they had never seen it before.

Needless to say, the fault returned last week. The car drives totally normally when this happens. I arranged to have it examined again.

The car was left to the dealer on Tuesday first thing. I still have not got it back.

The first day (Tuesday) the dealer said the car would be ready for close of business. It wasn't and they said the fault had been found but the car needed road tested the following day. Fair enough...

The second day (Wednesday) I got no calls from the dealer so I called them. They forgot to return my call! Apparently now they were having problems replicating the problem - huh - I thought they had found it????? They then called me at 5.30 - 'will you authorise our tech to take your car home for the evening to see if he can replicate the fault?' - Eh I don't think so!!! What difference would taking it home make????....

And the third day (Thursday) I called the dealer at around 11am. So how is the car. They said the fault had recurred that morning and it was still pointing towards the same part. (Duh, really, I would never have expected that!!) They have now ordered a replacement part.

Oh and they said the car sounded 'noisy' on startup. (funny this was never mentioned before) They said the oil was 'very low' and 'creamy' looking on the dipstick. (I had checked the oild before it went to the dealer and it definately wasnt low)

Now, knowing not much about oil I asked why it was creamy. i was told it seemed like there might have been a little bit of moisture in it. I asked if it needed changed, only to be told they didn't really know, if I wanted????? He said the oil may have gone 'off' whilst the car was garaged??

The tech had apparently just topped it up. Now if there was really moisture in there, shouldn't it need to be changed, or am I being daft??

The service guy went on to state that he didn't know if the oil thing would be TERMINAL , only time would tell. WTF?? Is that possible, or is he sh1tting me? There is and has been no other symptoms of oil problems, no smoke etc.

Any advice and/or opinions on all of this would be greatly appreciated as this is my first Scoob and I have no clue what to think at this point. I don't know if the dealer is feeding me crap or what!


Many thanks in advance

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

I'd say

a) You have a UK car with full warrenty and any costs will be covered, except for the loss of use

b) **** happens

c)prognosis of faults a difficult, even more so at a distance

Tony

oilman

iTrader: (9)

Oil DOES NOT "go off" like that.

The creamy stuff could be condensation but it's normally associated with engines driven on a lot of short journeys, not giving the oil time to warm up properly.

Cheers
Simon

justanotherperson

as oil man
"He said the oil may have gone 'off' whilst the car was garaged??" LOAD OF BULL
It just doesnt happen

wrxtankie

If its creamy and baileys looking your headgasket has most likely gone, also the coolant may well be contaminated with oil.

Im pretty sure your garage would have looked at this to confirm! i hope

D16GER

Thanks for the replies guys. I kinda thought the thing about oil going off was bull, but wanted reassurance. Thanks Simon.

Anyway, bit of an update, they changed the oil at my request (even though I didn't think it was creamy). Nice thing was they only charged me for parts, no labour charge. In fact, I paid 87 quid for a new set of WRX mats and the oil change.

They also replaced two 'Tumble Motors' which he said were located near the manifold. Being a non techie I have no clue what this is, or what they are. Something to do with the exhaust?? He said they were like little sensors. Apparently one was faulty, but they decided to just replace both.

I spoke to a mechanic friend who told me about the head gasket being a possible cause of the oil problem. He said that if it was away, the new oil would show signs of water virtually straight away. He told me to keep checking the dipstick. I did this tonight and there was no sign at all of any moisture, no beading, nothing. (good I hope)

The car seems fine, it is driving well. The only thing I thought I noticed tonight was a smell of like 'heat'. It's hard to describe, but inside the car smelled a bit like the way an electric heater would smell. However it may just have been me being paranoid and cautious?? Or maybe it was because the heat was turned up a little due to it being a cold night??

Oh, one other thing, the service guy said they used Castrol GTX Magnatec 10w40. He said it's what Subaru recommend. I thought fully synthetic was supposed to be used, or am I wrong???

Any comments welcome, thanks again.

oilman

iTrader: (9)

They put the minimum recommended in. I personally would have put something better in as this is a petroleum based oil and not that great - adequate is about all I can say here. Great for 1.0L Micras though

Cheers
Simon

D16GER

Thanks again Simon. Would you recommend that I get them to redo it? Or leave it for now? Next service due in Jan anyway.

Is it likely to cause me any problems????

And what would you recommend? I will give you a call and order some on Mon morning before the Nov offer closes!! Is Silkolene Pro S 5w40 the ticket??

Thanks

oilman

iTrader: (9)

Yep, you got it.

It won't harm, just don't go racing it around a track on that stuff.

Get it changed next time around. Supply your own always!

Cheers
Simon

D16GER

That's great Simon, cheers.

Any tips on how to be sure the garage have used the oil I provide? Is there any way to test it etc??

Thanks

oilman

iTrader: (9)

With Silkolene Pro S 10w-50 yes as it's a cherry colour, the 5w-40 is golden so other than chemical testing of the oil, no.

Cheers
Simon