Leak from fuel injection feeder hose, replaced rubber hose with metal kit covered under warranty.
In 02 I almost bought an Audi A6 Avant when I happened across a road test of this model. I bought the WRX wagon after the first test drive.
PROS:
Outstanding performer on the freeway and on offroad excursions. It's suprising how much mud you can plow through and drifting around dirt and snow turns makes a novice look like a pro. (however keep a friend with a jeep close by).
My experience with Subaru service has been great. Free loaners for all my annual service and solid tuning advice. Turnaround has been excellent. I've never had the car in the shop for longer than overnight.
WRX wagons are sleepers. You can travel at pretty high speeds without attracting a lot of attention. And if you do attract any, the small front surface area gives you little more time to get your speed down.
Small car, gets you in and out of tight spaces. Cutting traffic is a breeze. Parking is cake! Small narrow size with nimble handling enables you to squeeze into the tightest spaces with confidence.
Pedal distance is perfect for heel & toe action in the corners.
Predictable handling at the limit.
Great visibilty. No real blindspots.
Makes cutting traffic much easier.
Sweet location for a Bell or Passport remote radar detector. Fit's right in the slot next to the cupholder. If your into plastic fabrication you can even reinstall the plastic blank as a cover.
CONS
On the freeway the WRX wagon wanders at very high speed so you need to upgrade the 205/16 wheels and tires to 215/17 or better. Problem solved.
Tight seating, arm rests are awkwardly placed for highway driving, but most of the time you'll want to drive 9 & 3 anyway.
Not much room for accessories. GPS, CB, Police scanner, radar detector, cell phone, iPod mount makes you feel like your in the Mellinium Falcon or something. Only one lighter jack so everything else has to be hardwired in. Overhead storage would be nice.
Low seating, freeway visibility is terrible, particularly in Texas where the F250 reigns supreme.
Brakes are awesome 90 mph and under.
Over 100 and they have substantial fade under sustained use. Must upgrade pads and switch out the brake lines with stainless for a stiffer pedal.
ABS system is awful. Hard braking on wet roads or gravel causes the system to go into convulsions. Just downshift.
Not much power under 3000 rpm.
Fragile coachwork. Hood and hatchback susceptable to dents.
Air conditioning is weak at idle.
Detailing the engine is a bit of letdown. Not much stuff to dress out.
GENERAL INFO
The WRX has big performance in a cheap car so you MUST keep up on the maintence. Follow the mileage schedules religously and you will be rewarded with near flawless reliability.
The clutch upgrade is sometimes covered under warranty if you can catch it early.
By a turbo timer or make sure to let your engine idle for 30 to 45 seconds after you've stopped if you've been running over 3000 sustained rpm.
If you run on a road track any distance install a baffle or perfmance pickup for the oil pan. Hard sustained cornering can starve the engine of oil.
All the drifting and 100+ mph sprints are what are causing your high maintenance woes. You can't drive ANY car that hard all the time and expect it to consistently perform well. I see young kids in these cars all the time and they just don't know when to back off. Common sense needs to be used otherwise you'll go broke! these cars were built for rally racing, but most racer's have quite a steep budget to keep them on the track. I have seen many fairly new WRX's that run terribly from too much abuse. Good luck to you with yours.
Aren't ABS brakes supposed to vibrate under hard braking because the computer system is pumping them? I'm not a car expert, so feel free to refute my comments...
I had a 2002 WRX and I loved it, but had to sell it for financial reasons. I will be buying a 2006 WRX shortly and I can't wait to be back in a Subaru after driving a neon for over a year now. A couple things about WRX's, if you want it to last long 2 simple things... Regular mainanence and resist modifying the car unless you want to keep up with the problems modding will cause. Do not buy a Turbo Timer or Blow Off Valve!! A turbo timer is not need on the stock wrx turbo, the turbo is a liquid cooled one which circulates the coolant through the turbo when the vehicle is off. (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465156). Also the BOV is not needed and will cause more harm then good. The stock turbo is fitted with a BY-Pass Valve. (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=468038)
You've got to realize that ABS is supposed to go into convulsions because its pumping the brakes many times the speed you could ever do it, like 5 times every time you pump the brakes fast as an example and I know it gets my impreza stopped. ABS is supposed to feel unnatural as the tires are at their traction limits and without ABS they would totally break loose and bye bye sweet impreza; the computer keeps you from spinning and sliding out man.
@weak power under 3000rpm:
What do you expect with a 2.2 liter boxer engine? You want torque figures from a 460 engine or something? Little four bangers have most of their power in the mid rpm range from 3000 up to redline. Below that, its meant for "real world" driving where you don't go 100mph, save gas, save your car, and don't insult your ABS system.
But otherwise I agree with you. The car is awesome and mine is a 98 impreza wagon with a 5spd. I go through snow like nobody's business and a few weeks ago after a snowstorm I was getting a bit competitive with this suv and just totally lost him when the going got snowy. My subie just held the road and went around corners doing 40mph no problem while the suv was tottering about at 15 mph with his 4 wheel drive. Very funny...
I purchased my 2002 WRX new, in August of 2001. The car has been maintained as per the suggested maintenance guidelines and has yet to let me down. Clutch was replaced by Subaru at 34,000 KM due to a chatter which is now returning. Seems prone to gathering dust and dirt and a bit of aggressive driving from a dead stop will right the situation. I have a bearing noise in the rear differential and have the replacement on order. Original front pads were replaced at 219,000 KM and the rotors at 237,000 KM. The rears are entirely original. As of this writing the car has 256,000 KM essentially trouble free. Maintenance and sensible driving habits are key. I DRIVE the car, I just don't beat it up. My biggest investment has been tires. Currently on my 4th set of summer tires. The OEM Bridgestones are prone to feathering and noise after about 50,000 KM. In summary, after 42 years of driving both for a living commercially and pleasure, with everything from a '49 Ford to a '73 Dino 246, my WRX ranks as one of the very best, most reliable and fun cars I've ever owned.
Barry---Sarnia, ON.
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