Spun bearing/rod knock 2009 OBXT

Two years ago my son, who lives in Denver, bought an immaculate one owner 2009 OBXT manual with 44,000 miles. Current mileage is about 75,000. Subaru dealer service at 60,000 miles. Oil and filter changes with full synthetic at 3,000 to 5,000 mile intervals. Checks oil at every gas fill-up (I am a 2005 LGT wagon manual owner with 133,000 miles and no engine or turbo trouble). Had full oil analysis done by Blackstone at about 70,000 miles. No issues at all, glowing report. Full stock, no mods. Car is in beautiful condition.

Began hearing a knocking sound at certain RPM's. Slowly got worse. Took to leading independent Subaru shop in Denver. Their conclusion: spun bearing causing rod knock. Parked car. Took to Subaru dealer that did 60,000 mile service. Their conclusion: spun bearing causing rod knock.

My son is a recent graduate who simply can not afford the $5,000 to $8,000 that is being quoted to repair. Given the facts and 15,000 miles out of warranty, we will be asking Subaru of America to help offset the repair costs. A properly maintained, normally used engine simply should last longer than 75,000 miles.

What are the best ways/best people to contact at Subaru of America? We want to maximize being successful with our request.

(also posted in 3rd generation Outback forum)

I don't think I've read of anyone here successfully getting SOA to "offset" (read: pay for) repairs on a car that's at least a year out of warranty.

Good luck, let us know what you come up with.

I use to work as a tech in a dealer and have seen SNE, which is technically a different company from SOA, help offset the cost of a complete motor/turbo due to a spun bearing a couple times. This was over a few years ago now though. In those cases the only leg the customer had to stand on was they were the original owner of the car and had purchased multiple subaru's throughout the years. They had a well documented service record of the vehicle and in both cases they were fairly close to the out of warranty mileage/date.

How they did it was kind of weird though. The tech(me) was instructed to disassemble and find what caused the spun bearing and the extent of the damage. In many cases with a spun bearing with these motors they can pretty much take out the whole engine. Long story short the rebuild cost were going to be 8k or so for all new parts and labor. The customers themselves called SNE and complained and after some debating SNE agreed to pay for half the repair in both cases.

I think its very rare for them to do that but like i said call up SOA yourself and complain if you have a good service record and have a history of buying NEW subarus from them. Having a good service manager and a tech that can properly diagnose a spun bearing help. Hope this helps a little and send me a pm if you need any further advise.

There was another user recently who had SOA help offset the cost. I am not sure what the details were or where exactly I saw the thread. I'll see if I can find it.

Here is the thread - Subaru donated parts as a goodwill gesture. Not sure if you can get something similar done.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...36#post4943936

Sounds like it was properly taken care of..you sure the kid just didnt beat on it and over rev?

First, our cars have rev limiters that prevent serious over-revving. Secondly, knowing how he loves this car, he babies it more than I do with my 05 LGT. Third, the Blackstone oil report from about 6,000 miles ago came back clean as a whistle. Fourth, he follows the example of his Dad and checks the oil with every fill-up.

If you want to maximize the effect of your contact with SOA, I'd emphasize your points 1 & 3 and get any other documented proof (dealer records, oil purchase receipts, etc) that can show car was properly taken care of. Your points 2 & 4 are nice but won't be main tool of defense.

Good luck, keep us informed as much as you can.

^^ This and also be aware the OCI on Subaru turbo engines is 3750 miles. You indicated 3000-5000 in the first post, could be a sticky point with SOA or SNE.

Originally Posted by ktmrider

^^ This and also be aware the OCI on Subaru turbo engines is 3750 miles. You indicated 3000-5000 in the first post, could be a sticky point with SOA or SNE.

I see no reason why they'd say that OCIs sooner than their recommendations could cause adverse effects. The only ill-effect would be on the part of the consumer, wasting oil.

Originally Posted by rayu

Two years ago my son, who lives in Denver, bought an immaculate one owner 2009 OBXT manual with 44,000 miles. Current mileage is about 75,000. Subaru dealer service at 60,000 miles. Oil and filter changes with full synthetic at 3,000 to 5,000 mile intervals. Checks oil at every gas fill-up (I am a 2005 LGT wagon manual owner with 133,000 miles and no engine or turbo trouble). Had full oil analysis done by Blackstone at about 70,000 miles. No issues at all, glowing report. Full stock, no mods. Car is in beautiful condition.

Began hearing a knocking sound at certain RPM's. Slowly got worse. Took to leading independent Subaru shop in Denver. Their conclusion: spun bearing causing rod knock. Parked car. Took to Subaru dealer that did 60,000 mile service. Their conclusion: spun bearing causing rod knock.
(also posted in 3rd generation Outback forum)

Sorry to hear. I know exactly how your son feels minus the warranty part. Short story, my '09 OBXT 5spd spun its bearing at 21K. I knew this was a problem with most '08 and some '09 models, but I thought mine was exempt based on the VIN. On one hand he has a car that potentially has a known issue, and on the other hand this problem should have reared its head already.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...ight=stop-sale

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea....html?t=190107

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/...lse-check.html

I have an 09 OBXT with 78k and it just threw it's bearings on Sunday. Dealer is saying I need the same $8-9k new engine. **** me.


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Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

I have an 09 OBXT with 78k and it just threw it's bearings on Sunday. Dealer is saying I need the same $8-9k new engine. **** me.


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Save a few K, do it yourself. See my Shopping List. . .

Yeah I'm tempted to. I've done some work on my 98 OBX myself in the past. Id say I have at least a rudimentary grasp of how to do things, and having the second Subie means I wouldn't be dead in the water. A big part of my issue would be space to do it in. I've got no garage myself and I hate thinking about cluttering up a buddy's for weeks or months.


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Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

Yeah I'm tempted to. I've done some work on my 98 OBX myself in the past. Id say I have at least a rudimentary grasp of how to do things, and having the second Subie means I wouldn't be dead in the water. A big part of my issue would be space to do it in. I've got no garage myself and I hate thinking about cluttering up a buddy's for weeks or months.


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There IS that little aspect, which can make or break the entire experience. That said, though, if you've got all the parts and everything you'd need ready to go, one could theoretically have it done in a couple of weekends. Longest wait for any parts might be due to the heads being sent out for service -

I might give it a shot for sure. Did you post what you expect yours to end up costing/saving you? I might have overlooked it.


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