'05 Legacy GT clutch slipping at 46K miles???

I'm being told by the dealer that it will cost close to $1300 for a new clutch. I told them that I think it is totally ABNORMAL for a clutch to go under 100K miles, let alone under 50K miles. It is my Wife's car. We are pushing 40 years old. We both have owned and driven manual transmission cars and NEVER had to replace a clutch. She has driven a manual transmission car for all but 4 years of her driving life. In short, we know how to drive a stick shift vehicle. We don't live in San Francisco with hills. We drive a mix of city/highway, with her daily commute to work being just over 2 miles. The dealer was of no help to push this through as good will type warranty. I contacted a customer service agent by calling 1-800-SUBARU3. He called the service manager, and called me back to say they are unable to help us, and we would be responsible for the entire bill. I asked to talk to HIS manager....I am currently awaiting her call back. I just cant see how nobody can see that 46K miles is no where close to the expected lifespan of a clutch. Anyone have thoughts on this???

On a turbo Legacy 46k might be a little early, but certainly not out of the range of possibility. As far as warranty, the clutch disc is only covered for 3yrs or 36,000 miles, no longer.

 

Mine was replaced at 60k

Not all clutches are the same, and your behavior was most likely responsible for the clutch life regardless of past experience.

 

This clutch is very easy to slip....I'll be happy if I make it to 60k on mine.

 

Joe

How is this acceptable to you guys??? Clutches should always last the life of a car (or darn near close). Past experience tells me this. How many miles do you guys have......And do you have $1300 ($1800 if a flywheel is needed) set aside to spend every 50K miles? Is there any members out there that HAVE had one replaced in under 50K that DIDN'T mod their car???

Not acceptable to me.... I have 43,000 on mine and it still feels great. I think many here have a "You pay to play" attitude (which is true) and they drive pretty hard, so they accept it as part of the deal. For the most part I drive really conservative as far as clutch engagement goes; I've never "launched" the car, the thought of dumping the clutch at 4,500 rpm just makes me wince. It might be fun, but it's pretty abusive. If I don't see more than 80,000 miles out of mine, I'll be annoyed, but what else can you do but get it fixed. When the time comes I'll upgrade to a clutch that I can actually feel, that's my biggest complaint with the LGT I think, lol....

Pay to play. EXACTLY. My Wife's car is TOTALLY stock. She drives it safe, and well. There are no launches, hill holding, or slip shifting in it's lifetime. I could see if we modded it.....like you said, the extra power would stress what is obviously an undersized clutch. But for me....totally UNACCEPTABLE that in 2009 we are unable to get a clutch to last past 46K miles. This isn't 1968 with a 500lb/ft big block tugging a 4K lb muscle car. Back then the engines need a rebuild by 100K and I could see replacing a clutch at 50K!

My car has less than 10k miles and i can already feel the clutch slipping slightly. Not happy, but my fault. I drive very "sprited", have mods, and taught my wife to drive a stick in this car. I will go the aftermarket clutch/flywheel route... for far less than $1800

My clutch started slipping right around 50K. I went Stg 1 at about 45K. Its safe to say my clutch was on its way out long before I ever went Stg 1.

 

I paid 1200 installed for my Spec stg 2 setup and lwfw. $1800 seems pretty high for a stock setup installed by a stealership. A brand new stock clutch and flywheel should be less than 600 shipped. I can't see how they are figuring close to 1200 for just an install.

Thats a whole different story. First, I believe 46K is entirely too early for a clutch.....obviously, thats what prompted this thread. But like you said, $1300 is a crap load of money for a clutch job. I would have been just as upset had the quote came in at say $700-800. It's the principal of it all. I'm sitting here awaiting a call back from SOA customer service. The car is finished (last night), and awaiting to be picked up. I just dont want to pay for it and have SOA wipe their hands of me. I figure I have much more leverage when the car is sitting there UN-paid for.

It's a wear item, pay up. Looking for long clutch life out of a performance vehicle is a bit of a pipe dream, maybe a non GT model would have been better. Taurus SHOs with the hi power Yamaha 6cyl ate clutches every 25k miles. You can try to milk SOA for some money and if you get some more power to you but I don' think you have a valid argument at all.

It's a wear item, pay up. Looking for long clutch life out of a performance vehicle is a bit of a pipe dream, maybe a non GT model would have been better. Taurus SHOs with the hi power Yamaha 6cyl ate clutches every 25k miles. You can try to milk SOA for some money and if you get some more power to you but I don' think you have a valid argument at all.

 

I just don't understand all your attitudes towards this.

 

Are you just saying whats on your mind? Or have you experienced this on your Legacy?

 

I don't care about a Taurus SHO. I care about my Legacy GT.

 

Yes, it's a wear item. An expected lifespan is NO WHERE NEAR 46K miles.

 

This is not a performance vehicle.

TLS - Here's what I'll say. The clutch on this car is not up to par. It is a known issue within the community, and most people replace them between 50-90k at some point. Most vehicles average clutch life is between 60-100k, not the life of the vehicle, so this isn't some big deal to me.

 

A clutch is just a friction disc. It wears out. Yes, my father drove 2 toyotas to over 200k on their clutches. But here we have a car that REQUIRES alot more slipping to get moving (it's 1000 pounds heavier and has a far heavier drivetrain). It's got more power. And it's combined with a weaker clutch.

 

So yes, in my mind I have $1000 set aside around the 50k mile mark to replace the stock clutch with an ACT Heavy Duty clutch and a WRX Single-mass flywheel.

 

But that's also because I bought an 08, and I had an idea what to expect.

 

I also have $1000 in my mind set aside for a new turbo around 60-100k

 

Joe

Getting stuck with a worn out clutch is no fun.

While we're on the topic... was just looking at ACT clutch combos from KOP. I'm probably going to do this sooner rather than later. $821.94 for heavy duty WRX style clutch and lightened flywheel. I love KOP.

TLS - Here's what I'll say. The clutch on this car is not up to par. It is a known issue within the community, and most people replace them between 50-90k at some point. Most vehicles average clutch life is between 60-100k, not the life of the vehicle, so this isn't some big deal to me.

 

A clutch is just a friction disc. It wears out. Yes, my father drove 2 toyotas to over 200k on their clutches. But here we have a car that REQUIRES alot more slipping to get moving (it's 1000 pounds heavier and has a far heavier drivetrain). It's got more power. And it's combined with a weaker clutch.

 

So yes, in my mind I have $1000 set aside around the 50k mile mark to replace the stock clutch with an ACT Heavy Duty clutch and a WRX Single-mass flywheel.

 

But that's also because I bought an 08, and I had an idea what to expect.

 

I also have $1000 in my mind set aside for a new turbo around 60-100k

 

Joe

 

I don't follow the forums much....so this is common? Has there been an improvement made by SOA to remedy the situation on newer models?

 

I'm well aware of how clutches work. I've wrenched heavily on cars/trucks in my younger days.

 

That being said, it's obviously a problem. And therefore a "problem" that SOA needs to address for me.

 

This is not a "hobby car" that is modded or will ever be modded. Its a family car that has prematurely worn it's clutch due to an engineering deficiency.

Getting stuck with a worn out clutch is no fun.

 

How about trying to merge onto the Turnpike!

TLS - Don't mean to lecture you about the nature of clutches, didn't know your background.

 

It is a known "issue". But define issue? Seriously. I know people with front brake pads that last 90k, and others that last 30k. A clutch is no different. It's a friction pad.

 

Is the clutch in the LGT sensitive? Very. Do some owners get over 100k out of it? It has happened. You need to evaluate how your LGT is driven. My wife likes to get very smooth, strong starts after stopping. She's been driving clutches (and carrying them!) for years. She revs this one up to 2000 and slips the clutch out like a pro. I rev it up to 1000-1200 rpms and hop off the clutch like it's a hot potato, making the drivetrain lash a bit. Which is better for the clutch? I imagine my way, though hers is smoother.

 

Some clutches also allow you to rest your foot on the pedal without any additional wear. Other clutches will slowly wear whenever there is any pressure on the pedal.

 

I'm not saying this part is perfect, or that SOA can't improve it a good amount. But 46k on your stock clutch is within a gray area between 'improperly made' and 'weak stock system exacerbated by driver use'.

 

By the way, in all sincerity, I hope SOA covers at least 50%.

 

Joe

Yes, it's a wear item. An expected lifespan is NO WHERE NEAR 46K miles.

 

This is not a performance vehicle.

 

I feel your pain and I do agree that 46k is a bit pre-mature for the car but it's not unheard of on the forum. But I have to disagree with your earlier statement that the clutch should last the life of the car. I think if you can get 60-75k miles out of the clutch then it's pretty reasonable. Regardless how much experience you and your wife have with driving sticks, the bottom line is still your driving styles lead to the demise of this clutch. There are plenty of guys on this forum that had mod their cars and the OEM clutch is still good pass 60k. It might very well have been that you guys are driving it too gently and slipping it too much. Either way I'm not sure why you said the LGT is not a performance car? The current horsepower war not withstanding, 250 hp and 250 lbs-ft is still a lot of power.

47k on a Stage 2 vehicle, no issues yet. You could have a defect or driving issue hard to say. Wish you could have found a local Subaru buddy who could have swapped the clutch in about 5 hours....did that a few weeks ago with a buddy.

SOA service rep Judy York has just returned my phone call. She said that due to them covering good will on several heated seat elements (1 under warranty and two good will after warranty) and a good will on something else (have to check my records), that they are unable to extend this courtesy to us for this issue.

 

I asked her for SOA president Tomohiko Ikeda address and will write a letter voicing our displeasure in treatment by Welsh Subaru Service department and customer service's inability to please the customer.

 

She stood firm to the clutch being a wear item. Yet when I asked her how many manual transmission cars she's driven, she responded...none.

 

She acted like them performing good will for replacing the heated seat was going out of their way. There IS an issue there, and the manufacturer is responsible for issues covered under warranty and then after if it becomes an issue.

47k? I think that is crazy. My family has a 99 outback that both my sister and I learned to drive on. And I did a lot of towing big things with it. We had the clutch replaced at 122k because of having the engine out for something else. It was a bit worn, but not slipping.

only 47k on a car that wasn't beat on is ridiculous.

Weak clutches has been around for the last 30 years or so on Subaru, if you want something better I suggest that you look for a racing clutch or something.

47k? I think that is crazy. My family has a 99 outback that both my sister and I learned to drive on. And I did a lot of towing big things with it. We had the clutch replaced at 122k because of having the engine out for something else. It was a bit worn, but not slipping.

only 47k on a car that wasn't beat on is ridiculous.

 

 

Thank You. I know there's more of you out there.

TLS, what dealer are you going too? I just saw you are in S/E PA.

Welsh Subaru in Limerick (between Pottstown and Norristown).

 

Car was bought at Roberts in Downingtown.

 

Never had problems at Roberts, just that it became inconvienient to drive close to 30 miles for warranty service.

 

Service at Welsh has always had a hiccup of some sort. From them not calling when the car is done, to always having to fight to get them to duplicate the surging (which was never fixed). And now this. Area rep was sent to Welsh by customer service, and Welsh must have pulled up a history of $0.00 charges for nothing but warranty work and no paid service visits.

 

Don't get me wrong, when something breaks and it's out of warranty, its out of warranty. But when a heated seat breaks under warranty and then continues to break 2x's after that, there is an issue, and I will not pay for this. When they then hold this instance against us for reasons that they will not take care of the clutch (or help to) under good will. This is simply not acceptable. I work in customer service, and if I treated my customers like we've been treated, I'd be fired.

 

Just have a real bad taste for Subaru right now. Drafting the letter as I type here.