Jump to content
LegacyGT.com

wow this car is really turning out to be a problem child...


Recommended Posts

Well here we are at 61K and change and I need to replace my front left caliper....

 

 

rant mode on

 

 

What the fudge Subaru? When did you start building such crappy cars. I have had this car since 19.5K miles and this is the first vehicle where I have had to replace the following within 60K miles

 

 

1. M.A.F.

2. Brake Caliper (left front)

3. Transmission - (weak casting)

 

4. intake gaskets

5. rear brake pads (all previous cars were 90K+

6. front O2 sensor

7. thermostat

8. 2x windshields (getting ready to replace the replacement)

rant mode off.

 

 

granted most of this was under extended warranty but still........

 

 

 

I am up for a new car and given the reliability of this car, might just look elsewhere even if it means slip and grip AWD vs real AWD.... what car am I getting ready to replace? my wife's 2003 Legacy that was literally trashed by the previous 2 owners and i fixed it all up and the car has given me 80K of trouble free driving overall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of those are kind of rare so far as I haven't heard of them being common before 105k. If you have a front caliper not functioning well then you are going to see your other brakes wear faster to make up for it.

 

The O2 sensor is a little more common but mine went bad around 120k. Are you located in the salt belt by any chance? Did the previous owner never wash their car?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the car came to me little to no rusts the car still is in the same shape ie little to no rust, the car is serviced roughly every 5.5K (ie tire rotations, oil changes, fluid changes as required, etc) and is not driven hard at all. most all of it's mileage since I have had it is long distance driving

 

 

15K of the 40K have been local distance- 10 mi to and 10 mi home..and the remaining 25K is all highway, Car is stored in a garage year around.

 

 

6 year old car and 60K...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rear pads could be traction control related, since the 5th-gen pulses individual brakes to pretend like it has a rear LSD (as opposed to the VLSD in prior years), but that seems awfully quick.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to see that list, it does seem too early to see that sort of stuff.

 

The rear pads might be tied in to the defective front caliper?

 

I hear the STI flourescent Brembos are a good fix for that. :icon_mrgr

Edited by Scubaboo
Speleeng
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brembos are a great fix!

 

 

brembo's will do absolutely nothing to fix the reliability issues I am having with said car.

 

 

Some of those are kind of rare so far as I haven't heard of them being common before 105k. If you have a front caliper not functioning well then you are going to see your other brakes wear faster to make up for it.

 

The O2 sensor is a little more common but mine went bad around 120k. Are you located in the salt belt by any chance? Did the previous owner never wash their car?

 

 

when I disassembled the caliper from the car, I found that the front piston was extremely hard to push back in, (yes, I do have dual piston calipers on my car straight from Subaru) since I could not get my hands on a new OEM caliper when I did the brakes I put new pads on so I could get home and now that I have time, I ordered a replacement caliper from Subaru parts online...will also pick up a set of C-Max pads to go on the front

Edited by YeuEmMaiMai
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well here we are at 61K and change and I need to replace my front left caliper....

 

 

rant mode on

 

 

What the fudge Subaru? When did you start building such crappy cars. I have had this car since 19.5K miles and this is the first vehicle where I have had to replace the following within 60K miles

 

 

1. M.A.F.

2. Brake Caliper (left front)

3. Transmission - (weak casting)

 

4. intake gaskets

5. rear brake pads (all previous cars were 90K+

6. front O2 sensor

7. thermostat

8. 2x windshields (getting ready to replace the replacement)

rant mode off.

 

 

granted most of this was under extended warranty but still........

 

 

 

I am up for a new car and given the reliability of this car, might just look elsewhere even if it means slip and grip AWD vs real AWD.... what car am I getting ready to replace? my wife's 2003 Legacy that was literally trashed by the previous 2 owners and i fixed it all up and the car has given me 80K of trouble free driving overall.

 

Most of your problems do not seem like common problems of this car.

 

I suspect the intake gasket leaks were misdiagnosed as the MAF, O2 and thermostat. It very well maybe the reason the original sold the car with such low miles in the 1st place.

 

The transmission casting god only knows what the tech was doing when that broke, it just could just be bad luck.

 

The rear brakes going early isn't uncommon, mine wore out on my 2.5i at 70k miles and I drove a lot highway miles. The front were on pace for 90k miles.

 

I am on my 2nd windshield in about 110k miles driving between my 2 5th Gens, both times something hard hit my windshield. I have had a dozen other object hit my windshield hard without noticeably damaging the windshield.

 

The caliper may just be bad luck but I think it surprise it would go so quickly even if you didn't follow the 30k brake fluid change. Maybe you are not driving the car hard enough ;) My ex- was looking into Prius and in my research I found some of them have brake caliper problems because a good portion of the drivers use the regenerating braking and only lightly use the brakes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well here we are at 61K and change and I need to replace my front left caliper....

 

 

rant mode on

 

 

What the fudge Subaru? When did you start building such crappy cars. I have had this car since 19.5K miles and this is the first vehicle where I have had to replace the following within 60K miles

 

 

1. M.A.F.

2. Brake Caliper (left front)

3. Transmission - (weak casting)

 

4. intake gaskets

5. rear brake pads (all previous cars were 90K+

6. front O2 sensor

7. thermostat

8. 2x windshields (getting ready to replace the replacement)

rant mode off.

 

 

granted most of this was under extended warranty but still........

 

 

 

I am up for a new car and given the reliability of this car, might just look elsewhere even if it means slip and grip AWD vs real AWD.... what car am I getting ready to replace? my wife's 2003 Legacy that was literally trashed by the previous 2 owners and i fixed it all up and the car has given me 80K of trouble free driving overall.

 

 

My mother had her 2013 Legacy Premium for 82K Miles, only had a headlight bulb and battery go out lol. Also had the rear brakes replaced at like 75K. Now I took over the car and it probably needs some front brakes, but it's been very reliable. It now has 83K and still drives like it's new... Your car has to be a lemon or simply was poorly taken care of before you got it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of your problems do not seem like common problems of this car.

 

I suspect the intake gasket leaks were misdiagnosed as the MAF, O2 and thermostat. It very well maybe the reason the original sold the car with such low miles in the 1st place.

 

The transmission casting god only knows what the tech was doing when that broke, it just could just be bad luck.

 

The rear brakes going early isn't uncommon, mine wore out on my 2.5i at 70k miles and I drove a lot highway miles. The front were on pace for 90k miles.

 

I am on my 2nd windshield in about 110k miles driving between my 2 5th Gens, both times something hard hit my windshield. I have had a dozen other object hit my windshield hard without noticeably damaging the windshield.

 

The caliper may just be bad luck but I think it surprise it would go so quickly even if you didn't follow the 30k brake fluid change. Maybe you are not driving the car hard enough ;) My ex- was looking into Prius and in my research I found some of them have brake caliper problems because a good portion of the drivers use the regenerating braking and only lightly use the brakes.

 

 

1. negative as when I replaced the MAF it partially corrected the excessive fuel consumption

2. negative as when I replaced the thermostat, i got heat

3. brake fluid was changed at 36K

4. I have driven my cars the same for the last 20 some odd years and I have never had to replace a brake caliper on any of my cars, some of them went 200K the rest went 150K+...well anyways the new caliper will be here tomorrow so that issue is resolved. I will be dissecting the old caliper to find out what jammed it up..

5. when I replaced the intake gaskets, it solved 2 issues, bank1 too lean and excessive fuel consumption

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. negative as when I replaced the MAF it partially corrected the excessive fuel consumption

2. negative as when I replaced the thermostat, i got heat

3. brake fluid was changed at 36K

4. I have driven my cars the same for the last 20 some odd years and I have never had to replace a brake caliper on any of my cars, some of them went 200K the rest went 150K+...well anyways the new caliper will be here tomorrow so that issue is resolved. I will be dissecting the old caliper to find out what jammed it up..

5. when I replaced the intake gaskets, it solved 2 issues, bank1 too lean and excessive fuel consumption

You are a mixed bag of dog boogers. Y'all one big complainer which is a big waste but you have the doggone noggin and two strong arms to geter done. Or as grandma said Bless yur [emoji3590].

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

Edited by Yoda_One
Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul😆
Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW i had to replace both of my front calipers at 85k because of frozen guide pins.... well one was frozen the other one was crunchy, i replaced them with some calipers from O'reilly's because i needed to drive the car the next day and Subaru was closed.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1. negative as when I replaced the MAF it partially corrected the excessive fuel consumption

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/ok-time-start-making-issue-out-no-car-3-weeks-268398p5.html?highlight=MAF

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/welp-winter-back-and-car-not-running-right-again-276567.html?t=276567&highlight=

 

Negative, you replaced it at the end of winter and by the time the ECM compensated, the temperature had warmed up. The issue returned when it got cold again. In hindsight, the change of MAF readings was indicating that the intake gasket leaking (or leaking more) and allowing unmeasured air into the engine.

 

IIRC the thermostat was replaced supposedly twice. Maybe during the previous ownership, someone tried solving the cold fuel weather issues with an aftermarket or incorrect thermostat.

 

The O2 replacement sensor one of the above thread you said did nothing.

Edited by dgoodhue
Link to comment
Share on other sites

when I replaced it, the car no longer smelled like a gas can when idling hence i said partially. I still have that sensor in a box and it is clean...

 

 

 

resolution: New MAF installed and readings are normal at 2.5-2.7grams a second...car no longer hesitates or smells like gas...

 

 

the car was a lease return and never been serviced outside of whitebear subaru other than get a second opinion... how do I know this? the lady who owned it left some papers behind the glove box that showed the lease and and the 3 service visits for an oil change..at said dealership where I bought the car. I only found them when I went in to change the cabin filter...

 

 

 

 

 

but hey that's OK, this car tells me that I do not want another Subaru.. this is straight up asinine that I should have so many problems in 61K miles...wait scratch that within the 41K miles that I have actually driven with said car.

 

 

I have had the car for 3 years and 2 months and out of that time the car has spent 8+ weeks at the dealership for warranty work

Edited by YeuEmMaiMai
Link to comment
Share on other sites

the car was a lease return and never been serviced outside of whitebear subaru

 

This is the important bit. Don't go to dealerships for service work, especially for diagnostics. Their MO is to just go down a checklist and replace bits until you stop coming back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

my only major item to fail has been the short block... :mad:

 

Other than that, just wear items (pads all around, front rotors, plugs, etc.)

 

intake gaskets, MAF, O2 sensor and thermostat at low miles is pretty atypical - calipers depend on where you live - in the salt belt, with lots of winter driving and it's probably to be expected. Did you look to see what was wrong (was a seal binding, corrosion in the bore, etc.?) Do you run an oiled air filter or anything like that? (curious if the MAF was over or under reporting, and if the wires were clean)

 

what was the deal with the transmission? you have a CVT?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FWIW i had to replace both of my front calipers at 85k because of frozen guide pins.... well one was frozen the other one was crunchy, i replaced them with some calipers from O'reilly's because i needed to drive the car the next day and Subaru was closed.

 

 

The guide pins are one of the headaches with floating calipers. Only way is to maintain them at regular interval.

453747.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK new caliper is on, brakes are bled and car no longer has slight pull to right.

 

 

looking at the old caliper the lower guide pin is able to rotate freely but does not slide up and down and the top piston is very hard to move....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to pile up on you, but you've been on here long enough to know that these are pretty darn reliable and that it's pretty indicative that you happened to get a lemon.

 

 

Ranting on about Subaru based on a lemon, while everyone else around you with the same vehicle isn't having all the issue you are is really counter productive.

 

 

Our 2011 has over 100k on it. Outside of LOF tire rotations and the relate T-belt stuff- I've been lazy as hell.

 

 

Still trying to remember the last time I changed the air filter if ever. Never flushed the brakes fluid, never flushed trans or differentials.- Run great.

 

 

That all said, it's getting all those things this summer so I can teach the son who inherited it how to do his own work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to pile up on you, but you've been on here long enough to know that these are pretty darn reliable and that it's pretty indicative that you happened to get a lemon.

 

 

Ranting on about Subaru based on a lemon, while everyone else around you with the same vehicle isn't having all the issue you are is really counter productive.

 

 

Our 2011 has over 100k on it. Outside of LOF tire rotations and the relate T-belt stuff- I've been lazy as hell.

 

 

Still trying to remember the last time I changed the air filter if ever. Never flushed the brakes fluid, never flushed trans or differentials.- Run great.

 

 

That all said, it's getting all those things this summer so I can teach the son who inherited it how to do his own work.

 

 

+1 on that. Minimum work done on mine and it still feels like a new car!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use