Originally posted by pugg666
Funk,
How's the overall reliability of the WRX? I was thinking about picking one up in about a year.
It's very good. The body style was new for 2002, but the EJ20T motor and AWD drive train and the suspension are well proven through 10 years of development. The motor and drive train are used all over the world in Group N rallying which is a pretty good test of durability.
In the WRX online community we have several guys over 100k already with no problems, even guys with modified cars and guys who auto-x, track, rally, etc.
I have 30 something k miles. The only mech. problem I have had is a clutch shudder which is covered under TSB/warranty. It only affects '02 cars.
There are a lot of stories of transmission failures, but those invariably involve modified engines. The stock tranny is only good for about 300-325 hp. The STi has a different tranny (6 speed) which will handle a lot more power. If there is a weak point of the standard WRX it is the 5 speed transmission.
There are some engine failure stories too, but again it seems to be the guys who modify the motor, especially the guys who try to run a lot more boost without upgrading internals.
I also hear of problems with (plastic) rear anti roll bar endlinks cracking and with the steering rack bushings cracking. I think this might be a symptom of guys with lowered cars though.
Everything else seems to hold up pretty well. For a car with 3 differentials, 5 driveshafts, 8 CV joints, 4 camshafts, and three radiators, I'm pretty impressed.
Supposedly they can get rattly with age but mine is still solid. It's pretty quiet other than tire and engine noise, despite the fact that there is almost none of the (heavy) sound insulation material you see on the high end brands.
The metal parts are really robust, but they went with really light stuff as far as plastic stuff to save weight. One of my fender liners is starting to crack. That stuff is cheap to replace though.
A lot of guys whine about paint chips but I'm not seeing anything worse than other cars I have owned.
PS some more nitpicky stuff:
- Stock brakes could fade on 8/10ths mountain driving, like repeatedly going to 80mph then down to 25mph and back up again. When I did pads and fluid (30k miles) I went to slotted rotors, stainless steel brake lines, and some high temperature pads. Problem solved.
- It uses a little oil. ~1 qt per 5k miles. I'm keeping an eye on that. I'm told it's normal if you drive "on the boost" too much, and I'm guilty of that. No leaks at all, it's what they call "blowby".
- 1st gear synchro very stiff. You pretty much need to double-declutch to get 1st when rolling. I think they chose durability over ease of use here.
- Very little sound insulation + Lots of gears and shafts = Strange noises. Some people are put off by this at first. I kind of enjoy it, but then I am a nerd wannabee rally dude.
