Tonight I dropped my STI off at Santa Cruz Subaru. Again.
In 6 months (3000 miles) this is the car's 9th trip to a mechanic, and 5th trip to a Subaru dealer. All for the same problem as 6 months ago: frequent check engine lights (cylinder 1 misfire), very rough idle (whole car shakes), and poor fuel economy (17mpg highway). And now it smells like smoke when it starts. Capitol Subaru replaced the short block, the crank, a coilpack, and the spark plugs, and it still misfired. Santa Cruz Subaru readjusted the valves, and it still misfires.
I give up.
I haven't had a properly drivable car in 6 months. Even if the problem finally gets solved, I dread the prospect of paying future maintenance costs on a car that has been puking unburnt fuel through the exhaust system for thousands of miles. I don't expect much resale value for a car that has had its engine torn apart twice, yet still doesn't run properly.
This car, the largest purchase of my life, is clearly a lemon. I'm at wit's end.
3 comments:
I spoke to a couple of guys who were at RSAS (Renselear Student Auto Shop) and workign on their STIs.
The 07/08 models had an issue with the ECU - misfires, engine knock, etc.
Their comment was that subaru is not really addressing the issue. Their suggestion was to talk to a local tuning shop. The local tuning shop is will be willing to reflash the ECU and that should take care of the issues.
BIG CAVEAT: This will violate your warranty. It may help your car though.
"A special provision, often called the "Lemon Law," helps determine what is a reasonable number of repair attempts for problems that substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle. The "Lemon Law" applies to these problems if they arise during the first 18 months after the consumer received delivery of the vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. During the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the "Lemon Law" presumes that a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle if either (1) The same problem results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the problem has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (2) The same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) The vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle."
California has a lemon law... sounds like you're well placed to invoke it.
The end of the story (which I did not post) is that I made a successful Lemon Law claim. I've since purchased a Mazdaspeed 3.
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