2002 Subaru WRX Complaint Log

I'M FILING MY COMPLAINT WITH ALL THE OTHERS ABOUT THE STRONG FUEL SMELL DURING THE COLD MONTHS. I CANNOT BELIEVE OHIO IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. I'VE TAKEN MY CAR TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES TO BE TOLD THAT THE CAR IS OKAY. FRANKLY, THIS PAST COLD WINTER HAS BEEN AWFUL. THE SMELL MAKES IT'S WAY INTO THE HOUSE. IT IS AWFUL. I CANNOT BELIEVE SUBARU DOES NOT BELIEVE OHIO IS COLD AND WILL NOT STAND BY ITS AUTOS. ALSO, WHEN I BROUGHT THE AUTO IN FOR A RECALL ON THE FRONT CONTROL ARMS, THEY ONLY RUSTPROOFED THEM AND NEVER TOLD ME THE FRAME WAS RUSTED OUT. THIS WAS AT 125,000 MILES. THIS AUTO HAS BEEN METICULOUSLY CARED FOR. IF THIS CAR IS MEANT TO BE IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER, WHY CAN'T IT STAND UP PAST 125,000 MILES. RIDICULOUS! I HAVE THREE OTHER VEHICLES FROM OTHER BRANDS WITH MANY MORE MILES, ONE CAR OF WHICH IS STORED OUTSIDE IN THE WINTER, AND ALL THE OTHER AUTOS HAVE GREAT LASTING FRAMES. CONSIDERING I HAD ONLY 125,000 MILES, I SAVED THE MONEY AND MADE THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR. COM'ON SUBARU MAKE A CAR THAT LASTS!!!!! *TR

APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT AT 30-35MPH ON ROUGH, BUMPY PAVEMENT, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT DOWN TO THE FLOOR COMPLETELY, AND THE CAR TOOK 2 OR 3 TIMES THE NORMAL DISTANCE TO COME TO A STOP. THERE WAS NO REASON THE ABS SHOULD HAVE ACTIVATED. THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE AMONGST SUBARU DRIVERS (SEE HTTP://FORUMS.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=102893&PERPAGE=25&HIGHLIGHT=BRAKE FAILURE&PAGENUMBER=1) THAT HAS POTENTIALLY LETHAL RESULTS. MANY PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED THIS TO THE NHTSA... COULD YOU LET ME KNOW WHAT THE STATUS IS OF THESE REPORTS, AND WHAT ACTION THE NHTSA PLANS TO TAKE TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM? THANK YOU. NOTE: YOUR FORM SEEMS TO BE PARSING THE ENTERED INFORMATION RE: FAILED PARTS INCORRECTLY. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED, NOR WERE THERE 35 FATALITIES.*AK

ABS KICKS IN AND DOES NOT RETURN TO NORMAL BRAKING EVEN AFTER REGAINING CONTACT WITH THE ROAD. ATTEMPTED TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM ON MY OWN BUT COULD NEVER DO SO CONSISTENTLY. SEEMS TO HAPPEN OVER BUMPY ROADS, THE ABS KICKS IN, WHEEL(S) APPEAR TO LOSE TRACTION, BUT WHEN TRACTION SHOULD BE REGAINED, THE BRAKE PEDAL PRACTICALLY GOES TO THE FLOOR, THE CAR DOES NOT SLOW DOWN AT AN ACCEPTABLE RATE, AND ONLY AFTER "PUMPING" THE BRAKE PEDAL DOES THE CAR THEN GO BACK TO NORMAL (HARD) ABS BRAKING. WHILE IT HAS NEVER CAUSED AN ACCIDENT, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THIS BEHAVIOR WERE IT TO EVER HAPPEN IN A PANIC SITUAITON.*AK

WINDSHIELD IS TOO WEAK. A SMALL PEBBLE CAUSED A LARGE DAMAGE AREA AND CRACK THAT EXTENDED ACROSS WHOLE WINDSHIELD.*AK

THE WINDSHEILD CRACKED ON ITS OWN WITHOUT ANY IMPACTS ONTO IT, WHILE PARKED IN THE GARAGE OVER NIGHT. THE CRACK STARTS AT THE TOP OF THE WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE GOES DOWN AND TURNS TOWARDS THE PASSANGER SIDE. THIS SAME EXACT CRACK APPEARED TO MANY OTHER WRX OWNERS WHOM I HAVE CONTACTED OVER THE INTERNET. PLEASE WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED. VISIT THESE FOLLOWING SITES TO GET AN IDEA OF HOW COMMON THIS IS FOR THIS BRAND NEW CAR. HTTP://FORUMS.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=206139 , HTTP://FORUMS.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=162531 , HTTP://FORUMS.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=193107. *AK HTTP://FORUMS.I-CLUB.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?S=&THREADID=162531 IT IS THE SAME STYLE CRACK FOR ALL THESE CARS, IT IS A GLASS ISSUE AND THEREFORE AN URGENT SAFETY CONCERN.

WHEN BRAKING ON UNEVEN OR ROUGH SURFACES, THE ABS BRAKES FAIL AND THE BRAKE PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR. I HAVE TO GET OFF ABS AND GET BACK ON QUICKLY; THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE PROPER WAY TO USE ABS BRAKES. *PH

ABS ENGAGES WHEN BRAKING ON SURFACES WITH GOOD TRACTION IF TIRE(S) GOES OVER A BUMP FOR A BRIEF MOMENT. DOES NOT DISENGAGE WHEN TIRE RETURNS TO GOOD TRACTION SURFACE. CAUSES LOSS OF BRAKING POWER. BRAKE PEDAL MUST BE RELEASED THEN REAPPLIED IN ORDER TO REGAIN BRAKING POWER. ABS IS COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE ON LOOSE SURFACES, SUCH AS GRAVEL. *LA

CABIN OF CAR SMELLS OF GASOLINE. FUEL LINES NEED TO BE REPLACED ON EARLY MODELS.*AK

STRONG RAW FUEL ODOR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF VEHICLE IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER (-10F AND BELOW). SMELL IS PRESENT WHEN VEHICLE IS IDLING, GOES AWAY WHEN ON THE MOVE. ENGINE HOT OR COLD MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. ONCE EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE INCREASES, PROBLEM GOES AWAY. MENTIONED TO DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE -IT WASN'T VERY COLD OUTSIDE. *NLM

I PURCHASED MY 2002 SUBARU IN OCTOBER OF 2001. THE FOLLOWING WINTER DURING A PARTICULARLY COLD TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS I NOTICED A STRONG FUEL SMELL OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. I WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE IT ONCE I GOT HOME. WHEN I ASKED THE DEALERSHIP GRESHAM NISSAN SUBARU IN GRESHAM OREGON ABOUT IT AT MY NEXT OIL CHANGE THEY SAID THEY DIDN?T FIND ANYTHING. I DID NOT TAKE THE CAR INTO COLD WEATHER AGAIN UNTIL THE VEHICLE WAS WELL OUT OF WARRANTY. WHEN I DID I NOTICED AN EVEN STRONGER SMELL OF GAS. I DECIDED TO PAY OUT OF POCKET TO HAVE THE LEAKING FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM CORRECTED BEFORE I MADE A MOVE FROM PORTLAND OREGON TO THE SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER CLIMATE IN MADISON WISCONSIN. IT WAS VERY DISAPPOINTING TO PAY ALMOST ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO CORRECT A DEFECT THAT WAS INHERENT IN THE VEHICLE FROM THE TIME IT WAS NEW. ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS DEFECT MAY CAUSE AN EXPLOSION. *TR

THE ABS ON THIS CAR HAS ACTIVATED 3 TIMES ON 100% DRY ROADS AT LOW TO MODERATE SPEED. THE ACTIVATION SEEMS TO BE CAUSED BY BUMPS OR EXPANSION JOINTS IN THE PAVEMENT. THIS RESULTS IN LOSS OF MOST OR ALL BRAKING POWER. 2 OF THESE OCCASIONS WOULD HAVE CAUSED ACCIDENTS HAD THERE BEEN ANYONE IN FRONT OF US.*** *AK DIMS 11 IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT-OVER TO ARTEMIS***758325.

WHEN BRAKING ON BUMPS (WET OR DRY), CAR DOES NOT STOP SAFELY. *AK

WHEN TRYING TO SLOWDOWN AND DRIVING OVER SMALL BUMPS BRAKE SYSTEM WILL NOT CATCH, AND VEHICLE WILL NOT SLOW DOWN. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING. *AK

ON COLD DAYS THE CAR SMALLS OF RAW FUEL.*AK

FUEL ODOR IN CABIN DURING COLD WEATHER. I HAVE SEARCHED THE DEFECTS/RECALL PAGES FOR THIS ISSUES AND FOUDN THAT IT HAS BEEN CLOSED DUE TO THE OCCURANCE ONLY LASTING FOR A FEW MOMENTS. THIS IS NOT TRUE! THE FUELL LEAKAGE CONTINUES DURING ANY COLD WEATHER USE, NOT JUST AT STARTUP. I FIND THIS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AS I HAD BECOME EXTREMELY DIZZY ON A NORMAL DAILY COMMUTE (15-20 MINUTES). THE ODOR IS CONTINUOUS AS LONG AS THE VEHICLE IN NOT IN MOTION (I.E. STOP AND GO TRAFFIC). I CONSIDER THIS FUEL LEAK A MAJOR ISSUE WITH DRIVER SAFETY, AND FOR THOSE ON THE ROAD AT THE SAME TIME AS ANYONE ELSE WITH A 2002 WRX IN COLD WEATHER. I AM A MECHANICAL ENGINEER AND A MEMBER OF SAE (SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS), AND CONSIDER ANY OVERLOOK OF THIS PROBLEM BY SOA (SUBARU OF AMERICA) TO BE AN ENORMOUS RELIABILITY ISSUE. I HOPE THAT THE PROPER AUTHORITIES CAN STRAIGHTEN THIS OUT AND FIX THOSE VEHICLE MANUFACTURED WITH THIS VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT.*AK

2002 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX-----VERY STRONG FUEL SMELL IN CABIN OF CAR DURING COLD WEATHER DRIVING. FUMES IN CABIN ARE SO BAD AS TO CAUSE NAUSEA AND HEADACHE AFTER PROLONGED EXPOSURE. THIS IS RELATED TO SUBARU OF AMERICA TSB#09-36-03, NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE04002. NOT ONLY AM I CONCERNED ABOUT FUEL IGNITION IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT, BUT STUDIES ALSO SHOW THAT GASOLINE FUMES ARE CARCINOGENIC. THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE I OWNED THE VEHICLE IN JUNE OF 2001, HAS BEEN OCCURRING EVER SINCE. FINALLY I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF "DEALING WITH IT". DEALERSHIPS HAVE LOOKED AT MY CAR AND TOLD ME THAT NOTHING IS WRONG, AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH. THIS IS DANGEROUS. *TR

ABS FAILS ON BUMPS, BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS BECOMES MARGINAL OR DISAPSEARS. I PULLED THE ABS FUSE AND BRAKES ARE OK. AFTER THE INCIDENT I REPLACED THE OEM BRIDGESTONE RE92 TIRES WITH TOYO PROXES T!-S (225-50/16W) AND THE BRAKES WERE MUCH IMPROVED. HOWEVER, THE ABS IS NOT PERFORMING SAFELY SO I DISABLED IT BY PULLING THE FUSE. I HAVE ABOUT 200,000 MILES EXPERINCE WITH ABS INCLUDING A MAZDA RX7 TWIN TURBO, 3 ACURAS AND A FORD PROBE. THE WRX ABS IS NOT GOOD.*AK

ONGOING / INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH BRAKE PEDAL GOING TO THE FLOOR WHENEVER VEHICLE RUNS OVER A BUMP, AND CAUSES A NONE STOPPING VEHICLE. VEHICLE BEEN TO DEALER ON TWO OCCASIONS, AND UNABLE TO LOCATE CAUSE. *AK

I'VE HAD SEVERAL WINDSHIELDS CRACKED ALREADY, AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. WITH THE OTHER 10 CARS I'VE OWNED, NEVER A WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT, NOW TWO WITH THIS ONE IN TWO YEARS. OTHER IMPREZA OWNERS HAVE ADVISED ME OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS.*AK

WHEN THE WEATHER IS COLD AND BELOW FREEZING THERE IS A GAS LEAK AND I CAN SMELL GAS IN THE INSIDE OF MY CAR AS WELL AS OUTSIDE. IT IS HARD TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE ANYWHERE WHEN IT IS BELOW FREEZING. THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL (HTTP://TINYURL.COM/WRXGAS) FOR THIS SITUATION IN 2009, BUT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED. I DISCOVERED THIS RECALL WHEN I RECENTLY DECIDED TO TRY TO RESEARCH THE SITUATION AGAIN, ALTHOUGH I WAS TURNED DOWN FOR ANY HELP FROM SUBARU EARLY IN MY OWNERSHIP OF THE VEHICLE. I RECENTLY TOOK IT TO MY DEALERSHIP TO GET THE ISSUE FIXED, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THIS RECALL EXPIRED. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS RESOLVED SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN MAY 2001 IN MN.

MY 2002 SUPRA IMPREZA WRX SEDAN HAS PRODUCED INCONSISTENT AND UNSAFE BRAKE OPERATION OVER ROUGH/WASHBOARD TYPE ROADS. ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS WHILE BRAKING IN A ROUGH ROAD SURFACE MY BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND MY CAR KEPT GOING. UPON ENCOUNTERING ROUGH ROAD AND THE RESULTING ACTIONS BY THE BREAK SYSTEM I HAVE EXPERIENCED INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCE. I SENT AN E-MAIL TO SUBARU OF AMERICA AND THE THE RESPONSE WAS TO THE EFFECT THAT THEY WERE UNAWARE OF ANY SUCH PROBLEM. I HAD THE DEALER INSPECT MY BREAK SYSTEM AND I WAS TOLD THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM. *AK

EXHAUST SYSTEM OVERHEATS, CAUSING CARPETING INSIDE PASSENGER'S COMPARTMENT TO GET VERY HOT AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVEN OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. ALSO, DUE TO VEHICLE OVERHEATING METAL HAS TURNED INTO A CHERRY COLOR. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER; DEALER STATED THAT IT WAS CAUSED BY AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*AK

MY 2002 SUBARU WRX HAS A DEFECTIVE ABS SYSTEM. WHEN BRAKING MODERATE TO HARD AND THE CAR HITS A BUMP, THE ABS "KICKS IN" AND REDUCES BRAKE PRESSURE, BUT AFTER THE ROAD HAS SETTLED THE BRAKE PRESSURE DOESN'T RETURN. YOU CAN PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR BUT BRAKE PRESSURE DOESN'T INCREASE. ONLY IF YOU LIFT YOUR FOOT COMPLETELY OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THEN REAPPLY, DOES BRAKING POWER RETURN. THIS IS DANGEROUS AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF YOU HAVE TO PANIC STOP AND THERE IS AN IMPERFECTION IN THE ROAD. MY CAR HAS DONE THIS SINCE I TOOK DELIVERY MARCH 13TH, 2001

CONSUMER IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE FUEL LINE. THE FUEL LINE TENDS TO LEAKS ON COLD DAYS. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO BE SERVICED AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL LINE SHRINKS AT CERTAIN TEMPERATURES. THEY COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *JB

DURING BRAKING ON ROUGH SURFACES, THE ABS SYSTEM SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES PRESSURE TO THE BRAKES, RESULTING IN NEAR TOTAL LOSS OF BRAKING ACTION. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE BRAKE PEDAL DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY AND THERE IS NO PULSING ACTION. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS THREE TIMES. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION. I WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, AND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL DROPPED SEVERAL INCHES AND THERE WAS LITTLE, IF ANY BRAKING ACTION. LUCKILY, I HAD A GREEN LIGHT AND I WAS ABLE TO NEGOTIATE THE TURN WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE SECOND TIME I WAS TRAVELING ON A GRAVEL ROAD. I WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15-20 MPH, AND AS I CAME AROUND A CORNER I ENCOUNTERED A TRUCK THAT WAS DRIVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. AGAIN, I APPLIED THE BRAKES WITHOUT ANY EFFECT. I WAS FORCED TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION AND GO INTO THE DITCH TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT. AFTER THAT, I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALER. I WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE BEHAVIOR ONCE WITH A TECHNICIAN IN THE CAR. WE WERE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15-20 MPH AND I APPLIED THE BRAKES ON A ROUGH SECTION OF PAVEMENT. THE ABS PULSED SEVERAL TIMES, THEN IT STOPPED PULSING FOR 2-3 SECONDS, AND THEN IT STARTED PULSING AGAIN. DURING THE PERIOD WHEN IT STOPPED PULSING, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS SOFT AND DROPPED 1-2 INCHES. THE TECHNICIAN TRIED TO REPLICATE IT WITHOUT SUCCESS. THE TECHNICIAN INSPECTED THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CHECKING FOR DIAGNOSTIC CODES, BUT COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. *AK

WHEN THIS CAR HITS A BUMP UNDER BRAKING ON DRY PAVEMENT. THE ABS SYSTEM CAN KICK IN ON WHAT FEELS LIKE ALL 4 TIRES. IT STAYS ON AFTER THE BUMP UNTIL THE DRIVER RELEASES THE BRAKE PEDAL AND REAPPLIES THE BRAKES. DURING THE TIME THE ABS IS ACTIVE THE BRAKING SYSTEM DOES NOT SLOW THE CAR DOWN MUCH. THIS HAS ALMOST LEAD TO TWO REAR END ACCIDENTS REPORTED TO DEALER. THEY WOULD NOT REPRODUCE. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES DURING OWNERSHIP WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF TIRES AND RIMS. DT

THERE IS A PUDDLE OF GAS THAT FORMS ON TOP OF THE ENGINE IN EXTREMELY COLD WEATHER. CONSUMER CAN SMELL GAS FUMES IN THE VEHICLE. *AK