05' WRX and Forester XT

Jan 19, 2006 3 Replies

Is reliability of the 05' WRX and Forester XT (turbo engines) on par with non-turbo models? I mean long term use like 200K + miles.



A.


pressure from the turbo. Much of the price of a turbo car is making the engine stronger for the turbo. The turbocharger may need to be rebuilt or replaced though if the bearings go. It's not that expensive and access is fairly good. It should be 2-3 hours labor (for an experienced mechanic) and anywhere from a few hundred dollars for the rebuild parts to several hundred for a new turbo. 1stsubaruparts.com lists the turbo for the

2004-5 Forester at $946.39. 200K+ miles is a lot to ask for any passenger car engine to be flawless - forced induction or otherwise. More than likely, something is going to need repair.

I don't think anybody can truthfully answer that as there will be *very* few 05 models that have done that sort of milage yet. However thay have manufactured hundreds of thousands of them over the years and if you do a search on this newsgroup I'm fairly certain you will not find any who have said 'my turbo failed'.

When turbos first appeared in cars there were failures, a lot of them caused by operator error, lack of proper maintenence etc. But let's face it, if they were failing all over the place would they/could they continue to market them?

When I recently sold my 1990 GT wagon, at 160k, it was still going strong with absolutly no hint of turbo problems. (Replaced with a 02 GT wagon, so I have confidence)

It's not uncommon for turbos to fail. Some businesses specialize in rebuilding them. I've read several NG posts about turbo failure.

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The current powertrain warranty period is 5 years/60K miles. I would expect even an abused turbo to last that long. However - not all parts last forever. If a turbo fails, it's isn't that expensive to fix.

That's possible with good maintenance practices and knowledge of how to treat the engine to prevent coking. Coking isn't the problem it once was, but a little idling after a hard run can still help.

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