frostbite3360 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 So I have a 2005 2.5i, 5MT. It has just reached 74,000 miles. And I have to sell it because the engine is about to blow up. Honestly, I'm pretty heartbroken. I drove the car off the lot brand new, and now 3 years later it has come to this. Supposedly, here's the problem. My rod bearing(s) went bad. I don't know how this happened, or how widespread this problem is, but this just doesn't seem right. I have babied my car, I am a car detailer. The dealership who looked at it (RK Subaru, Va Beach) said at this point, the only option would be to replace the whole engine, and that only oil deprivation would have caused the rod bearings to go bad. I made sure to always change the oil. The longest I might have ever gone without changing oil was 5,000 miles, and the past 25,000 miles or so I have done my own oil changes. I used Royal Purple 5W-30, and always changed the oil filter. I am confident in my oil changing ability. Also, consider our fellow member Pawlwawl 06 has almost the exact same car I do. Regal Blue, 06 2.5i 5MT. Only 47,000 miles on it. He was complaining of a knock in his engine too, and since we are local and have met up before, we went to the dealership together today. And guess what? The dude at the dealership said his rod bearings are going too. Since he's under 60,000 miles, it is possible he can get his fixed under warranty. I passed that mark 14,000 miles ago. Not an option for me. Is this a coincidence? Hmm..... I wondered if at any point I had an unkown oil leak, but I've never been able to find one. I've been running the car with this problem now for about 2 months. I knew what the problem was, I had a mechanic look at it the second I heard the knock. But as most of you know, the only way to get to the rod bearings in our engines are by taking the engine out and pulling apart the block. By the time things would've been all done, it would have been thousands of dollars on a car not worth doing it for. That did it for me. I love my Legacy to death, but I'm not spending the money to get it fixed. No way. I am going to sell it, probably to Carmax. They appraised it at 3,500. That is a far cry from the 7,000 I was hoping it would get whenever I traded it in. But with the engine the way it is now, that's the best I'm getting for it. This really sucks, because I love these forums and everybody tries to help everybody whenever possible. It also sucks because I put so much work and effort into this car. It was honestly my pride and joy. It may only be a 2.5i, but it was a manual and I had a lot of fun driving it. And it looked classy, it looked right - the only difference from the GT being the hood scoop. One of the best designs for a car Subaru has come out with. In the next week, this car will be gone and I will be getting a new one. My budget is about 17-19K. What kind of car though, is the question. I really want to get a WRX with less than 30,000 miles on it. I think I can find one in my price range, and while this is at the top of my list, I'm open to other vehicles I havn't really though of yet. There are also Legacy GT's to be had of course, but they'd also have to be used. Basically my search for a new car starts today. Any suggestions? I ask this question to all of you who have an idea. I guess I made this thread for 3 reasons - 1. To bring attention to the problem of rod bearings burning up and seeing if this is a widespread problem. 2. To get suggestions for cars on my budget of 17-19K. 3. And to pay homage to Maxine, as I have named her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I'm sorry to hear, that really, really does suck. The bittersweet part is, even if your car was under the 5/60 warranty, and the cause of the bearing failure was due to oil starvation, you would have one hell of a time getting the fix done under warranty. More than likely they would list that under "neglect". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molal24 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Man sorry to hear that about Maxine. Great looking car. My advice is get rid of it soon and buy a new LGT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoozeRS05 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Slap a turbo engine in there & you'll have a GT.. The tranny will hold at stock power (if you don't beat it), & you'll just need a clutch at some point. It's expensive, but not as expensive as buying a new car. EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT Wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (2008 specB - RIP) IG@legacygtliving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one69chev Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 sorry to hear about your ride.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberlegacy Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Quite a girl! Sorry to hear that. Pretty sure you'll be able to find an 05 or 06 LGT in your price range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawlwawl06 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I'm sorry to hear, that really, really does suck. The bittersweet part is, even if your car was under the 5/60 warranty, and the cause of the bearing failure was due to oil starvation, you would have one hell of a time getting the fix done under warranty. More than likely they would list that under "neglect". Yeah when the dealership told him he had about a month left out of his engine before it dies, I kinda felt sick to my stomach because I have a feeling I'll be in the same spot if I don't do something soon. I have the same problem with my rod bearings, what a coincidence. If i can't get my rod bearings replaced under warranty, I think I'll be looking for a new car also. I def. think this is a good idea, we need to make people aware of this problem because we may be some of the first 05/06 2.5is to encounter this rod bearing issue, it may become widespread, who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 my girl has on 05 2.5i with 60k on it with no problems so far so im subscribing to this thread. my obxt has 83k now with no engine issues. *knocks on wood*. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 2009 WRXs seem to be having some rod bearing problems also. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1648372 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aigochamaloh Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 This is not something I want to hear. This car must be with me for at least the next 10 years. I demand at least 240k on this engine, because that's what my MR2 is at now and it has no intention of dying yet. Subaru better have built my car correctly. Good luck with replacing your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 2009 WRXs seem to be having some rod bearing problems also. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1648372Overblown. There are only about a dozen people who have had the problem. A guy is compiling the VINs and build dates of those who have actually had a problem. No, premature lower end problems are not common on Subaru 2.5's. They sell over 100,000 in the US most years. If you are both using the same lubricant and both having problems, doesn't the lubricant stand scrutiny? Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 It may be time to do a more thorough investigation on this matter and see if it is the lubricant or if there are some generic design flaw that has caused this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagcars26 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Overblown. There are only about a dozen people who have had the problem. A guy is compiling the VINs and build dates of those who have actually had a problem. No, premature lower end problems are not common on Subaru 2.5's. They sell over 100,000 in the US most years. If you are both using the same lubricant and both having problems, doesn't the lubricant stand scrutiny? +12345 And maybe the OPs dealer service dept is looking for some work. Way too many 2.5s out there that have easily gone over the 150,000 mile mark to be thinking this is some sorta major problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawlwawl06 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Overblown. There are only about a dozen people who have had the problem. A guy is compiling the VINs and build dates of those who have actually had a problem. No, premature lower end problems are not common on Subaru 2.5's. They sell over 100,000 in the US most years. If you are both using the same lubricant and both having problems, doesn't the lubricant stand scrutiny? Well they can figure that out when I trade this car in and they rebuild the engine. This is way to early in a car's life to worry about rebuilding an engine. We do not use the same oil/fuel injector cleaners. I have been using Synth. Pennzoil for the past 12K miles. I do not like the road I'm taking here, and I doubt I will be holding onto the car much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frostbite3360 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Overblown. There are only about a dozen people who have had the problem. A guy is compiling the VINs and build dates of those who have actually had a problem. No, premature lower end problems are not common on Subaru 2.5's. They sell over 100,000 in the US most years. If you are both using the same lubricant and both having problems, doesn't the lubricant stand scrutiny? Yeah, except we don't use the same lubricant and he's been getting his done at car shops, while I have been doing oil changes myself. And the mileage on our vehicles are different. I don't know, I've owned other vehicles before, well past the number of miles I got on my 2.5i, and have never dealt with something like this. The guy behind at the dealership said the oil tubes feeding the rod bearings were pretty small, and if they got clogged up in any way it could disrupt the flow of oil. While he was telling me this, I was thinking. Why would you admittedly use a small oil tube for such a critical engine part? I don't know, something just doesn't add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatvol Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 My company leased me a 05 2.5I for a year as a company car. I would go 5K + on the shifts and changed the oil at their expense at jiffy lube(Yeah I know!). I never had a problem and I put 60K on that car in the year I had it. Only problem I had was that the wiper blade rubber part kept coming off from the arm and they replace it under the warranty. On my personal LGT I always use Mobil 1 every 2500 miles use a factory filter and change out the washer every time I change the oil. Granted my LGT only has 6800 miles on it inthe 3 years I have owned it. Due to I drive my company car which I don't care about. I know alot of people around that tell me that 250K is normal on a N.A. Scoobie. I see alot of problems on the Turbo cars when I am at the dealer, but when I ask the advisor it is always that "the kid who owns it put into 2nd instead of 4th when he was racing lol". Anyway I would take a look at a new 2.5I if you can affrod it its in your range or maybe a used LGT. Good luck in this venture let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Small oil pipes works fine as long as they are cleaned before the engine is assembled and that the oil changes are done correctly. It may be worth to consider to make sure that you use 5W40 oil for this reason during the cold season. If the oil is too thick when it's cold you may not get enough oil to the bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iyalla Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 5w30 is the recommended oil here in the USA and I think that's what the original poster was using. My car just hit 40k and this story is scary to me. Whenever something happens to these engines its always the bearings. I might switch to 5w40 in the summer to make sure the oil isn't to thin in the heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeislord Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Frostbite, I think you should just press Subaru for some help over and over. At some point they may crack and split the bill for some engine work or do something for you. Persistence pays off if you keep at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 5w30 is the recommended oil here in the USA and I think that's what the original poster was using. My car just hit 40k and this story is scary to me. Whenever something happens to these engines its always the bearings. I might switch to 5w40 in the summer to make sure the oil isn't to thin in the heat. I would say to run 5W40 all year - it's not making any difference in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exarus Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Oil starvation seems to be a common problem that pops up on the forums frequently (for turbos at least, now apparently NA too), even for owners who perform regularly scheduled maintenance. They should have designed a sensor to trigger the check-engine light when it detects a problem, instead of the owners finding out when the part finally breaks. Sorry to hear about your car. You think you should buy another Subaru? As much as I hate to say it, I guess that's the chance that you take when you go buy a Legacy - the possibility that your engine might need to be replaced through no fault of your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longislander1 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 If it's any consolation, they keep reporting a bunch of low-mileage engine failures (lowest I've seen is 6K) over on the Porsche sites (both Boxster and 911) and the numbers keep mounting. One guy had it happen twice on two different cars (he dumped his Boxster and is driving a 350Z now). It appears to be an inherent design defect that Porsche hasn't really corrected and certainly hasn't admitted. Imagine paying $50-$60K or more for a new Porsche and then forking over $14K-$20K for a new engine on a car that's depreciated so much that it might not even be worth as much as the replacement. It's certainly worth contacting Subaru to see if they'll kick in something toward the repair. What do you have to lose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Frostbite, I think you should just press Subaru for some help over and over. At some point they may crack and split the bill for some engine work or do something for you. Persistence pays off if you keep at it.If he writes the PResident of SOA they might do something. Boxster engine is a problem child, no doubt: look at the resale values. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmako Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Sucks to here about the engines Pawl and Frostbite. I'd say look at a 3.0....... A used one should be reasonable (2 years old anyway), and I have not heard of the same issues on the H6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 If it's any consolation, they keep reporting a bunch of low-mileage engine failures (lowest I've seen is 6K) over on the Porsche sites (both Boxster and 911) and the numbers keep mounting. One guy had it happen twice on two different cars (he dumped his Boxster and is driving a 350Z now). It appears to be an inherent design defect that Porsche hasn't really corrected and certainly hasn't admitted. Imagine paying $50-$60K or more for a new Porsche and then forking over $14K-$20K for a new engine on a car that's depreciated so much that it might not even be worth as much as the replacement. It's certainly worth contacting Subaru to see if they'll kick in something toward the repair. What do you have to lose? This rebuilder is criticizing Porsche for reducing the quality of their engines. Some interesting commentary and photos here: http://www.flat6innovations.com/986-a-996-engine-reliability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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