2011 WRX front bumper cracked

[djclue8713]

Well I'm pretty upset with myself right now. Washed the car yesterday and found a nice 4 inch crack on the drivers side of my front bumper. It seems to be the "hot spot" for the 2011. I must have had too many low speed encounters with snow these past two months. I'm just pissed because I absolutely baby this car and haven't hit any curbs or bottomed out like an idiot. It's not that noticeable...except to me it's all I look at. I thought I was all done yelling, until I found two nice rock chips on the left front fender...

I guess when I get it fixed my next purchase will be a lip of some sort to reinforce the flimsy plastic. I did some searching around and noticed this is a bit of an issue with other 11 owners. My best advice is preventative maintenance and be careful while parking. I won't go the insurance route because technically it falls under collision and not comp. Not worth it for my premiums to go up. I think I'm going to wait it out for a while until it really starts to bother me. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will back into me in the future. Anyway, here's pics of the carnage and links to the threads I've been reading:




Front lip spoilers on 2011 WRX?
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...php?p=33603563
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...2108977&page=4


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[shadowpr]

that sucks.

[mustangtx63]

[Stu_Gotti]

Dang I've seen quite a bit of these threads lately... sorry to see it, man!

[djclue8713]

Yea there goes the "newness". It had to wear off sometime. My guess is cold temperatures make the lower part very brittle, and when you tap something with just enough force...crack. It's funny because I did a search on this and quite a few results popped up.

[Stu_Gotti]

Yeah I wonder if this will be a common issue with this year WRX... guess when it snows again I'll be extra careful.

[Black11wrx]

First thing i noticed when i gave the car it's first wash, was just how flimsy/flexible everything is there on the bumper, you'd think being so flexible would be an advantage, but i guess it's just crap plastic, the rear bumper is no different either.


P.S. This thread had me go out to inspect my front bumper

[Stu_Gotti]

I'll be doing it much more now...

[djclue8713]

Yea there is A LOT of flex play on it. Kind of makes me a little paranoid.

Ha! Trust me, you're not alone. Whenever somebody posts something up about the 11, I sprint to the car like a little kid and verify what was said lol. After that I mostly just stare at it for a while.

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[MMaWRX]

I bottomed out pulling into a parking spot with my 2011 a few weeks ago. I hadn't slept much and wasn't aware, really stupid mistake. I yanked the bumper off on the right side, but all that happened was the force popped out the push in plastic bolts, which I couldn't find.

I fitted it back on and it hasn't come loose once since then. I even brought it to the dealer and the mechanic said there was no damage underneath except that I needed those bolts. So, I still need to get some of those push-in bolts. I've looked online but haven't been able to find any. Anyone know where to get them?

[shadowpr]

Get them from the dealer.

[MMaWRX]

They didn't have any. I'll get them to order some next time I'm in there

[AmateurX]

Well I'm pretty upset with myself right now. Washed the car yesterday and found a nice 4 inch crack on the drivers side of my front bumper. It seems to be the "hot spot" for the 2011. I must have had too many low speed encounters with snow these past two months. I'm just pissed because I absolutely baby this car and haven't hit any curbs or bottomed out like an idiot. It's not that noticeable...except to me it's all I look at. I thought I was all done yelling, until I found two nice rock chips on the left front fender...

I guess when I get it fixed my next purchase will be a lip of some sort to reinforce the flimsy plastic. I did some searching around and noticed this is a bit of an issue with other 11 owners. My best advice is preventative maintenance and be careful while parking. I won't go the insurance route because technically it falls under collision and not comp. Not worth it for my premiums to go up. I think I'm going to wait it out for a while until it really starts to bother me. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will back into me in the future. Anyway, here's pics of the carnage and links to the threads I've been reading:

I don't remember bottoming out, but I noticed a few weeks ago that I have a nice scrape just to the right of your crack. (that doesn't sound good.) Anyway, as it turns out, I've got scrapes on both sides. On the plus side, it's underneath, so it's hardly noticeable. I think I might be looking into a lip as well.

This winter was brutal for the little car. I'm surprised I got through it with only a few scrapes & scratches. My clear bra did wonders, but I suspect I'll need to have it replaced in a year or two.

[Stu_Gotti]

I don't remember bottoming out, but I noticed a few weeks ago that I have a nice scrape just to the right of your crack. (that doesn't sound good.)

ROFL!

[djclue8713]

I have a nice scrape just to the right of your crack.

Sounds painful. The lip sounds like the way to go. I just have a tough time shelling out ~$400 for it when the cost of the bumper is probably just as much, if not less. The New England winter was very unkind to me this year!