2000 Subaru Impreza RS from North America - Comments

There have been 5 transmission failures.

First failure began at 9 thousand miles.

At 38,000 miles I had to purchase a new transmission. Subaru refused to warranty the transmission even though there were 4 prior failures, and the car was well within the 60k mile power train warranty.

Subaru has given me different reasons why the would not warranty the vehicle. The first is that the car had mud on it. Secondly, they said that the car was put in reverse while moving forward. As this was not the case I complained to the dealer about the reasoning. The chief mechanic stated that the Impreza has a reverse lock out and cannot be put into reverse while moving forward. Lastly, they said the car would not be warranted as I had an Exedy clutch installed. This is a stock replacement clutch that was made by the original supplier of Subaru clutches. I have contacted Exedy, and they stated that their clutch would not cause a transmission to break. Also, keep in mind that the original failure happened at 9k miles, long before I had a clutch installed.

Now with only 50 miles on the new transmission, I am getting a loud clattering from inside the transmission. A new transmission is down, and I have been without my vehicle for a total of two months, spending close to $4,000. I cannot afford to keep this vehicle, and I should have never bought it.

I'm not making fun, but perhaps the problem is the way he is shifting, I own a WRX and never have that problem...I'm assuming they use the same trans.

WRX respondent above is a Subaru shill. I drive a WRX as well, and overall, it's a piece of crap. Fortunately it's a compensatory vehicle. It's great fun to drive, but I wouldn't spend money on it. By the way, I'm a mechanical engineer, a certified master mechanic, and a former IMSA GTO/GTU licensee. I know how to shift. The transmission is crap. It'll last forever if you drive like it's made of glass. However, if you drive it like a sports car, which it is marketed as, it will fail. The drivetrain is just wannabe Porsche, but without Porsche reliability. They even copied the Porsche/VW pull clutch. The most prevalent failures are Subaru's build quality and refusal to stand behind their product.

I am sorry to hear what you said about a subaru I think they are the best car out their for performance...

But one thing does make a point subaru does make a weak transmission, I broke my second gear because of putting a race clutch in, and it was to strong for it. they told me the same "it will not afect the transmission"...

I have spent $1500 now on rebuilding the transmission and now it again is making some weird nois...

I feel that subaru should put more effort into the transmition so that this would not happen again.

Interesting read. I have had a 2000 2.5 since new and not had a bit of trouble with it. Then again, I've kept it stock and drove it the way it was meant to be driven. No complaints here...

I have a friend with an early WRX 2.0 and they have poured unreasonable amounts of money into it. Granted, they do drive it to its full capacity, but these cars are sold on the basis that they can be driven this way all the time. Well, it seems that, much like a Honda, these cars are great UNTIL they break and then it is going to be a weird experience. The AWD system is terrific, but it does add quite a bit of complexity to the car and the boxer engine looks somewhat intimidating to work on, what with all of the turbo equipment in the way. My friend has replaced differentials, at least one tranny, and they have had the engine start to smoke, badly. Nice car, but definitely for someone who does not mind working on their car somewhat frequently.