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Subaru Impreza

A Little, Light Rattletrap

Subaru •WRX Transmission •Wheel Bearings •General Flimsiness

Dave of Milwaukee (1/13/02):
I am currently leasing a 1999 Subaru Impreza RS. I have experienced many annoying problems with this car, ranging from small to considerable. The largest problem is the heat shielding surrounding the exhaust system. Starting at 18,000, the exhaust system produced a very noticable reverberation at 3,000 RPM and descending. After a great deal of complaining, Subaru finally replaced the shielding. Fortunately the car is still under warranty at 18,000 miles.

After discussing this problem with a few Subaru technicians, I was informed this is a common problem with Subarus. Subaru national assistance claimed they have never heard of this problem. The technicians who work on this car assure me that the problem is common enough to sway my choice of a lease buyout, as this repair would cost at least $1,000 if out of warranty work is needed.

Other problems: Starting only a few months after the initial lease, I experienced many small problems. The electric driver-side window has always operated with sub-par performance; raising and lowering the window leaves inconsistent sealing against wind. The window fell off its track after about 4 months. Even after repair, the window still does not always seal properly.

In colder weather the interior back passenger side paneling rattles and makes noise over every bump. Subaru technicians acknowledged the rattling as annoying enough to repair. Unfortunately the problem was never solved, even after bringing the car in multiple times. The panel was disassembled and mysterious parts were replaced, but no resolve exists. After speaking to the regional Subaru rep on the phone, he assured me this was because the sunroof weakens the car structure sufficiently to the point where noise like this is to be expected. And this came from his personal experience of owning this car model. I find that hard to swallow.

An interior option includes an arm rest extension behind the shifter for manual transmission. This arm rest squeaked so bad in cold weather (going over bumps) that I had the technicians remove it. This was my only option as the techs said it would only get worse and offered no solution.

The front passenger seat also squeaks when going over bumps in cold weather. The only way to prevent it is to recline the seat to near horizontal position. The Subaru dealer techs offered to lube the tracks on which the seat is fastened. This of course did nothing.

The front passenger side stereo speaker rattled so badly, I had the dealer techs look into it. The speaker had fallen out of its housing and rested against the superficial speaker cover. It now rests in place, but both speakers rattle the poorly engineered door enclosures.

I had to personally resolve one rattling issue with a small dash mounted storage space. Since the techs had no resolve, I mounted four self-adhesive fabric spacers to the lid of this compartment to minimize the noise.

I became sick and tired of taking the car in for incomplete solutions and talked to Subaru of America about my problems. They acknowledged my complaints and responded by offering me a $500 rebate on my NEXT Subaru purchase. This officially means I will never deal with Subaru again. My 1999 Impreza RS appears to be held together by glue.

On a personal note, this car is blatently too light to take advantage of the so called all-wheel drive. The car slides on slippery surfaces with little control.

Apart from a great deal of wasted time and mileage traveling to the dealer, the consequence is that I cannot driver my car without blasting the stereo. Otherwise I will become furious over all the noise, rattling, and cheaply constructed parts.

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