[BrianO]

Howdy guys, I've got a 2002 WRX sedan and I've had her for about a year now come April. Over that time I've noticed a few things that are not normal in my opinion. I've still a relatively new WRX owner so bear with me if you would.

One is that when I fire my car up cold and put the heat on, I notice a very pungent odor of gasoline, any reason for this?

Also, I've got about 45,XXX miles on my car and since I bought it @ 32K, I've noticed some of my power go away in my opinion. I think it might be due for a fuel filter change, what do you think and how hard is it to do? I mean it's right in front of the drivers side firewall, I don't see it being impossible to do.

Another thing, I've noticed that my car goes through a decent amount of gear oil, like say maybe half a quart+ per oil change. I don't think that that is right. Any takers?

Lastly, being that my car is at 45K are there any sort of things I should be on the lookout for at that mileage? Like say with normal driving, brakes, coolant, fuel filter etc?

Many thanks,
Brian

 

[Deathrin]

I bought my 05 subie in sept with about 35K on it and i just had to replace the rear pads. The fronts were fine, I'm pretty sure the deal did them them. However the backs were getting close so i did those. If you can do them yourself i would. I'm a bit of a nomad right now for work traveling from corp housing to corp house. so i looked into having a suby shop do em. Every place i called seemed about the same... around $300 total for each axel.... re-godamn-dunkuless!

As far as gear oil that might be the cause of some issues i am having... maybe someone could help me out...

Now that it is could out i notice if i start my car and try to drive right away gear shifts are a bit sluggish between 1 and 2 and alil from 2 to 3.... as well as sometimes its down right hard to get into second....

 

[TBomb]

Is it hard to shift early in the morning or always? I live in NY and have an '06. I notice that first thing its hard to shift but as I keep driving it loosens up...but thats only on REALLY cold days. Ie. the last few we had here.

 

[fire_cky]

i believe the hard shifting is the norm for super cold days. these last few days in kansas have been frigid and it's been hard for the wrx to get into first gear. however, after a few minutes of driving and the gear oil having warmed up, it works just fine.

 

[jeffmm06]

The gasoline smell, if i am correct, that MY had a tech buliten/recall the fuel lines where corroding i think? someone may want to add to this.

you may want to do a little tune up to regain some power.

 

[Deathrin]

yea after a few moments and some shiftin it loosen up and feels fine it probably is just cold viscouse (sp) gear oil I'm in Northn ohio so the temp...it gets down there...

 

[Blu_Scobbie]

The fuel smell is caused by a fuel line under the turbo inlet that leaks in the winter.

I only know this cuz my friend (Sk8er is his forum name) just fixed his leak. If you go to the dealer and tell them about it and they will give you a copy of the bulletin.

 

[Flyingjibus]

Also, I've got about 45,XXX miles on my car and since I bought it @ 32K, I've noticed some of my power go away in my opinion. I think it might be due for a fuel filter change, what do you think and how hard is it to do? I mean it's right in front of the drivers side firewall, I don't see it being impossible to do.

It's your butt dyno. You get used to the power after awhile and it feels slower. Time to mod! I had the same thing happen with me. I was convinced I wasn't getting the boost I used to. I took it to the dealer even and it was fine. Never under estimate your ability to learn to take things for granted.....


Dont change the fuel filter untill 60,000 miles. That the factory change date, no need to change before that.

 

[Thug Nasty]

Drive another car for a couple weeks. Then get back in the WRX and you'll feel all the power again.

 

[yo vanilla]

Howdy guys, I've got a 2002 WRX sedan and I've had her for about a year now come April. Over that time I've noticed a few things that are not normal in my opinion. I've still a relatively new WRX owner so bear with me if you would.

One is that when I fire my car up cold and put the heat on, I notice a very pungent odor of gasoline, any reason for this?

2002's had a recall for a leaky fuel line in the engine compartment. probably not been done?

Also, I've got about 45,XXX miles on my car and since I bought it @ 32K, I've noticed some of my power go away in my opinion. I think it might be due for a fuel filter change, what do you think and how hard is it to do? I mean it's right in front of the drivers side firewall, I don't see it being impossible to do.

easy to do, and if its clogged it definitely can make a difference in power/economy. search for a how to

Another thing, I've noticed that my car goes through a decent amount of gear oil, like say maybe half a quart+ per oil change. I don't think that that is right. Any takers?

i remember my 2003's owners manual stating to check the gear oil monthly. this is something i think alot of people were not aware of back in the day - i bet it's accounted for one or two blown trannies. though when i changed to redline gear oil consumption all but went away. redline made it easier to shift in the coldest mornings. check cobb's website for a breakdown on recommended redline flavors

Lastly, being that my car is at 45K are there any sort of things I should be on the lookout for at that mileage? Like say with normal driving, brakes, coolant, fuel filter etc?

replace the PCV filter (PITA, underneath the intercooler) iirc the change interval is every 15K miles. likewise with the rear diff fluid. the trans fluid should be changed every 30K iirc, the coolant every 30K (use OEM subaru fluid!!), i'd replace the spark plugs by now, and check the air filter for replacement (get an OEM one; I actually used a perrin foam filter back then; i think it accounted for a slight drop in mileage)

 

[BrianO]

Thanks a bunch guys, glad to know that these are relatively easy problems to overcome. I'm pretty sure my car didn't get the recall fuel line issue taken care of, so i'll be heading out to my nearest dealer ASAP. As far as the power is concerned, I think my butt dyno is getting the better of me as you said! LOL.


Brian

 

[BrianO]

Okay, I just got in touch with my nearest dealer and they estimated the cost OVER $500!? and claim it was a service bulletin and not a recall therefore they don't cover squat. They want to replace the fuel rail, corresponding fittings and finally the bad hose b/c it's the "correct repair". Now, being a simple car guy, the fact that my car still starts, runs and runs fine leads me to believe that my fuel rail is completely fine and can stay. If I have the bad fuel line replaced, can we consider this an alternative repair?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Teh Rexzor]

you could always do that stuff your self, and even upgrade the parts when your at it. those are pretty easy mods

 

[DTR rex]

Looks like BrianH has some competition



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[yo vanilla]

Okay, I just got in touch with my nearest dealer and they estimated the cost OVER $500!? and claim it was a service bulletin and not a recall therefore they don't cover squat. They want to replace the fuel rail, corresponding fittings and finally the bad hose b/c it's the "correct repair". Now, being a simple car guy, the fact that my car still starts, runs and runs fine leads me to believe that my fuel rail is completely fine and can stay. If I have the bad fuel line replaced, can we consider this an alternative repair?

Thanks,
Brian

wow. well it may have been a service bulletin. in that case i'd search for a copy of that bulletin and see what it actually says.

 

[scrogers]

I almost posted a few days ago when I first saw this thread and was going to mention that (to my knowledge) it was not a recall and it was just a tech service bulletin (in other words, no freebies from SoA).

I have this issue, and when I am up in New Hampshire it tends to show itself on really cold days. It has been on my list as something to address for a while. There are also a whole bunch of posts on here about it and people dealing with dealers and getting it replaced with varying success. As you have seen, the cost of repair is usually $500-600. There was even a report on here about someone having trouble getting it covered by an extended warrantee. I believe in the end, the member had to go to the manager and did get the repair under their extended warrantee.

An actual copy of the TSB can be found here. This is a link to a scoobymods thread about it, but it has the actual TSB. I have also read of people doing this as a DIY project, but I believe there is a lot of work involved, hence the high cost from the dealer. Hope some of this helps, sorry for the length and not posting sooner.