I own a MY95 and had an almost faultfree 90,000 miles expirience.
I also read the last two years J.D.Power and it seems the car is very reliable,
but still here in Israel there is a roumor the MY99 and MY00 are less reliable ,
having problems with the breaks, gearbox and interior.
Is this true????

 

I own a MY99 which has a very slight rattle in the interior around the radio garage gave me the impression that this was common.

Brakes are fine but others complain about disks developing cracks.

My gearbox is notchy but otherwise OK. Sometimes get judder from clutch.

Jason

 

MY99,

Trim quality terrible at least 6 rattles, especially the door panels and the door seals not very good. Oh and the 2nd gear performance problem - this is the thing that would put me of buying a further Subaru. Lets hope the MY01 has this fixed. Still love the car now that I have changed to Eagle F1s

Brendan

[This message has been edited by BHORT (edited 22 September 2000).]

 

Interior rattles, especially around radio - Cured by scoobysport exhaust.

Graunching gearbox synchro - Cured by using Legacy spec. gearbox oil.

Cracking front brake discs - Cured by sourcing aftermarket uprated discs & pads. Useless getting the OE ones re-fitted as they just can't take the punishment.

Otherwise, go for it ! Nothing that can't be fixed!!!

 

Hi there
My two penneth'
MY99 - UK car

Brake disks @ 16K - warranty item....
Well, thats it

 

The stereo rattle can be sorted out. Remove the radio, then remove the fascia (just clips, but you need to loosen the centre console bits first - pull the plastic at the back of the gear gaiter upwards. Watch out for the clips at the top of the fascia falling off.)

Pad out the bottom of the radio surround, as this is likely the cause of the rattles.

Refit.

Interior rattles can almost always be cured.

 

MY99 - 16,000 miles

Clutch release bearing replaced under warranty @ 2k miles.

Turns out it was clutch pipes vibrating and garage was useless

Both front suspension lower ball joints replaced @ 15k miles

Couple of interior rattles - but no worse than any other car I've ever had and I know what's causing them.

Common front window lethargy problems.

D

 

The rattle around the radio is normally the shiny plastic surround, go to your dealer and get him to put some new clips on the back of it. If its a bad squeek then get him to put some sort of foam or something inbetween the dash and the centre console where they both meet, mine used a wiper blade and no more squeek.

Clutch should be replaced under warranty, just had ours done.....

Dom (& Kim)

 

Found radio panel also a problem on MY99, particularly in hot weather. Cured with cut pieces of bicycle innertube pushed in at strategic locations around the whole heater/radio panel. Boot rattles have caused more frustration though and I've yet to get anywhere with these. I also have to drive with the coin tray open as it rattles when shut. Rear wheel bearings were replaced at 19K (making horrendous noises). Drivers window got stuck down when on holiday in Ireland - not a good place to be when you can't shut the window! Of most concern is the Blue Mica paint, which scratches far too easily.

 

MY99 8k

Front window problem (excess lump of rubber?!)
thats it so far.....

 

MY00 11000 miles

Nothing wrong so far. Brakes / gearbox / door seals etc all fine.

(I bet this is the kiss of death for my car now )
Chris

Elondan - take all these comments with a pinch of salt. I bet if you posted this question on any car site, you would get similar postings for just about any make of car.

 

MY00 5.5K. No probs apart from a slight rattle from my gear linkage and the annoying creaking from the plastic around the stereo which is worse in hot weather.

Only major problem was dull sounding exhuast which was rectified with Scoobysport box


AllanB

 

MY99 - door seal only issue so far (holding on very tightly to wood whilst writing this !)

 

Me - MY00 22K since March - driven fairly hard - no problems whatsoever other than a rattly glovebox lid - twice back to dealer - eventually cured by me with parts from B&Q.

Wife - MY99 20K since March 1999 - driven fairly mildy (except when I have a go) - no problems whatsoever other than rear end needing £3K worth of remedial work when some dozy so and so decided to save wear on his brake pads by using rear of Scoob to stop.

So far so good.

tiggers

 

Fingers tightly crossed...

MY99 10k, no problems whatsoever, not even a rattle, apart of course from the stereo which is slowly driving me mad...

Simon

 

MY00 5000m

Ratles
Power surging
Now dropping out of 5th on motorway runs


Not happy!!
Denz

 

MY99 47,000 miles

front discs are a joke. hairline cracks and 2 swaps under warranty.
lambda sensor knackered.

rest is fine. no probs, even with 250lb/ft

 

MY00 with knocking engine.


Otis.

 

MY00 (Feb) 5dr , 6k (i think)

No worries at all.....
(apart from brake dust!)

You guys are making me paranoid now!

 

MY 99 (30,000)

Clutch @ 14,000 (v.bad judder)

Clutch @ 30,000 (v.slight judder)

Front discs, pads at 15,000 (cracking)

Driver door seal wind noise (only slight probs since new)

Windows rattle and buzz like a chainsaw some days, and quiet as a mouse others.

Fabric coming adrift from passenger door panel.

Passenger seat rattles when empty.

This all might sound bad but dealer was efficient and sorted everything ASAP and the car is just ACE in EVERY other way.

 

my97

you'd think it was put together by audi. not a peep nor a fault in 37K.

you might have something there...

 

MY00 14k. Clutch judder, recently wind noise on driver's door window. Brakes are below par for the power of the car. Headlights are bobbins. One sidelight bulb failed after 8 months. (65p!)

So far mechanically sound, if the clutch judder gets worse I will wheel it into Robinson's of Rochdale who will fix it.

The main problem seems to be that we drive these cars around according to their specification. From the experience I have seen from many people on this board (though not my own), the designers never expected this.

The standard Impreza "has" all this power, torque etc, but not some of the gear that should go with it. Used like an everyday Escort or driven circumspectly, they last for yonks and are dead reliable. Hurtle about like it's a de-tuned rally car and that's a different matter.

How else can it be knocked out at the price they charge? They have to be economical somewhere.

The vast majority wil be fine, and owners who know nothing about cracked disks etc. will be none the wiser.

It is a fantastic piece of kit and I am a satisfied customer.

 

MY99 with 30 K on the clock...
No problems whatsoever! Only now the right rear window is starting to make a squeeky noice over really bad surfaces...turns out to be a fitting that has slightly losened...and it's going to be fixed by the dealer under warranty !
My car is driven rather carefully, with the occasionell "splash and dash" on the nurburgring...
I do have the oil and oil-filter renewed every 3 to 5000 miles though!

Paul.

 

MY00 - March 1st - 11,000 miles

No problems at all - despite most of the miles being driven very enthusiastically (except during petrol crisis )

...Oh and 2 track days, 3 airfield days + Mira

Probably breakdown on way home tonight

Rich.

 

BarryK

So the reason yours has been faultless is because you drive it like a jessie then?

 

going back to "...and owners who know nothing about cracked disks etc. will be none the wiser. "

How do you know you have a cracked disk? apart from inspecting with a magnifying glass, that is.

 

RB5 32,000 miles
No probs at all!!!

 

MY00 8k nothing to report except one ABS sensor to be replaced as a warranty item (took 4/8 weeks to approve as it's a Euro import) and some concerns over durability of DBM paint.

 

Dave T-S

You keep your wrist rested mate!

 

Hi BarryK

I'm ambidextrous mate!!