Trolls aside, but are you suggesting that Subaru has not had some fairly serious quality problems in recent years? Are you blind perhaps?
The rear-wheel bearing issue is certainly well known, and so is the head gasket problem. Both of these are real, expensive to fix issues, and definetely not imagined ones!!!
I almost had to dish out 800 USD for rear bearings replacement. Both failed at 19k miles- out of basic warranty, as if the car was not a Japanese brand but some lousy quality Chrysler from the 80s. This was an absolutely unexcusable failure at such low milage.
Subaru does want to admitt the bearings faultiness but it is widely known among Impreza owners that some of their bearings are utter crap. The Subaru dealer when pressed hard agreed not to charge me for the parts (as a gesture of goodwill on their part). I am thankful for that, but I still had to cough up several hunderd $$ for the labor.
The head gasket issue is notorious, costly, and a much bigger pain in the butt, as it concerns a vital part of the car- the engine!
Are you trolling? I can't believe you are seriously posting this preposterous theory. I drive a 98 Audi A4 2.8 quattro car, and I've got 90k miles on the original clutch, even with heavy driving and extensive use of the car's excellent power. I have no intention of trashing my clutch, and I drive properly. These good cars are engineered well all over, and the only thing that should go before 65k miles are brake pads, a true wear item. Our 99 Subaru Legacy Outback did get a new clutch at 79k miles only because we bought the car used at 66k miles, and the previous owner drove probably like you do.
I have an automatic Subaru :-( but all previous cars and motorcycles have been manual. I replaced the clutch in my last car, a 2.0l Toyota Corona liftback, at just over 200,000 km (125,000 miles), but only because it was already being opened up in that area due to a warranty gear box recondition (I got a 3 year mechanical warranty with it when I bought the car at 160,000 km) so all I had to pay for was the parts. the mechanic said the clutch looked to have at least another couple of years wear in it bu I figured it was better to not use the entire clutch plate than to have to pay to open it all up again later.
I think you misdirected your question to someone else.
Yes, I really do think the bearings problem (Impreza's), and particularly the head gasket issue (2.5L engine) are signs of an engineering quality problem.
If it were Hyundai's gaskets failing so frequently and Hyundai's bearings falling apart you wouldn't probably hesitate to call it a quality problem.
Why not call things by their name in case of Subaru?
MN
ps. with respect to the clutches issue i.e. some people quoting very long lifespan on non-AWD cars; David Betts mentioned specifically AWD as having a life shortening effect (and in high powered vehicles -WRX's, etc.), and that is absolutely true, unless you decide to drive a sporty car in a grandfatherly fashion, so to speak.
Points taken, guys, but we are talking about a Rex here. This is a rocket ship. It is in a totally different league to the cars you are talking about. These cars are designed to use up their clutches. All I'm saying is that purchasers should get used to the idea or buy something else.
Here we go again. Not getting into it. Fed up to the back teeth with twhiners and whingers who infest this newsgroup. They are a tiny minority in relations to the vast majority of satisfied Subaru owners throughout the world.
Most of Subaru miles are probably driven in US and Australia and from these people we hear the majority of complaints.
I think it is not the European (or Japanese) driver who on average makes a tiny amount of miles per year and drives in a cool moist climate that sees bearings and headgasket failures. I suspect both these problematic Subaru issues may be somewhat related to higher temps, and drier climates, where natural air cooling is poorer.
I know my bearings went out after two relatively prolonged higher speed runs from Reno Nevada to Los Angeles CA in
95 degree weather (400 miles one way at an average speed of
80-90 mph), and a long hot summer trip through Arizona, from Reno to Albuquerque New Mexico, and back.
US drivers, like myself, who have experienced problems may not be just a tiny minority of Subaru owners worldwide as you inconsiderately suggest but a subset of drivers who may be discovering a defect hidden away from drivers in cool, moist, parts of the world.
True, a clutch is a consumable, but too bad it costs so much. After all the money we save on gas, we lose it when it's time to replace the clutch. Most automatics don't ever need replacement.
People who use their clutches incompetently ride their clutches, viz., they don't fully depress or release the clutches when engaging the gears. They also frequently depress the clutches at higher speeds (30 mph or so) and leave them depressed while braking rather than engaging the appropriate gears. Another fun way to ruin a clutch is to rock the car at a stop light by partially releasing the clutch and depressing the gas just shy of engaging the gear rather than fully depressing the clutch and waiting for the light to change before releasing the clutch and fully engaging first gear. Just a few examples.
Well, as someone who drives manual and loves it, I'd partially disagree: Yes, having pain from using a clutch is a sign if a pre-existing serious medical condition BUT it does get extremely tedious and boring to use clutch in the 20+ min jams. I rarely have to endure it but if I were, I'd buy automatic.
It won't. His other explanations of excessive clutch wear are correct, however.
On the other hand, it is perfectly possible to destroy a clutch on a WRX without doing any of these things, but simply by launching enthusiastically on a regular basis. This, rather than generating wheelspin and rubber smoke as with a conventional 2wd car, will fill the car with the acrid stench of burning clutch material.
Correct technique if you want the clutch to last is to get the car rolling whilst just on boost and release the clutch before flooring ithe throttle. This way, you will disappear into the middle distance just as quickly, but with far less fuss and at far less cost in the longer term.
As I said previously, lots of people get through the clutch on their first Rex in as little as 25,000 miles. Those of us who know what we are doing can make them last 65,000 miles of mixed driving. If one spent all one's time on freeways, no doubt it could be made to last longer......or if one drove like an old lady all the time, but then what's the point of owning a Rex .
I've been driving manuals since 1969, so I think I qualify as experienced.
The only time I got leg pain from a clutch was with a 1984 BMW 318i, while driving through heavy traffic at a German border crossing. Back in those days, border crossings - even between friendly countries - involved serious examination of one's passport and questions about one's reason for crossing. I remember being worried that the border guards might see my leg shaking and wonder if something was amiss.
Probably the sturdiest clutch I've ever owned was on a 1976 Pinto. Everything else on the car was falling apart or rusting away, but the clutch survived a lot of friends and relatives taking their first lessons with a manual, and was still going strong when I traded the car in.
I've had four Subaru - all with manual. The 1984 GL was noisy, cramped, underpowered, difficult to handle (no power steering), and rust-prone. But there was something comfortable about it, like an old pair of boots that you just fit into so well. Even with years of hard use, the clutch did fine. I sold it to my BIL who used it to deliver mail. He drove it until the engine was worn out beyond repair, but the clutch was still doing fine. My 1990 Legacy and 1996 Outback both needed new clutches before they hit 60K miles. I think I can confidently say this was not the result of being driven improperly. My 2003 Outback seems to be doing well with 40K miles. Maybe the hydraulic clutches are better that way.
I just got back from a two-week vacation in the UK. I drove a Ford Focus over there. You tend to have a lot of things on your mind when trying to adjust to driving on the other side of the road, but the car was reassuring and responsive. Getting into reverse seemed to be more of a challenge than usual - it often needed double-clutching to get the gears to mesh - but everything else was good. When I got back to the States, I rented a Taurus for the trip back from the airport. This was a terrifying experience. It was big, it gave me no sense of where I was on the road, and the transmission seemed like it was just choosing gears at random.
As a practical matter, I have to concede that there's no good reason to own a manual anymore. Automatics (my own experience with the Taurus notwithstanding) are more reliable, more economical, and probably cost less to own. I've been through the routine with dealers so many times. When buying: "Oh, so you want a manual. That will be hard to find. It's going to cost you.." When selling: "Oh, so you have a manual. That will be hard to sell. It's going to cost you." In spite of it all, I'll keep driving manuals until either they stop making them or I'm too uncoordinated to handle them. I only hope that they're still around when my kids start driving.
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