This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the drive belt, front drive axles, rear axle differential seals, and windshield washer reservoir. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.
I first noticed the car engine began making a loud ticking sound and significantly lost power as I exited the freeway heading toward my home after work. After towing the vehicle to the Subaru dealership, they tore apart the engine and found a connecting rod bearing had failed. It had slid out between the rod and crankshaft and shattered in the oil system sending shards of metal into the engine and all components that the oil touches. Every component that oil touches needed to be replaced. Prior to this problem, maintenance and oil changes were performed according to Subaru's specifications. Had the engine completely failed on the freeway during my commute home (during rush hour traffic) I could have caused an accident and possibly hurt myself and others. Subaru inspected and kept the components that were faulty though they never accepted responsibility for the failure of the components. There was absolutely no indication nor warning signal prior to the failure of the connecting rod bearing. Subaru blamed me for the component failure saying the vehicle was not properly maintained though they never asked me for proof of maintenance. I had to pay $7868 to repair the car to it's original mechanical state.
DEFECTIVE OEM THROW-OUT BEARING and FORK in the SIX SPEED manual transmission completely BURNING the clutch. I was going up a hill and the car just started rolling back. No gear would work on the car.
The engine blew up around 75k miles, it had blown a rod barring even though the car had been maintained. The clutch prematurly went out causing me to have to replace everything but the flywheel at under 75k miles. The clockspring is bad in the car affecting the horn and air bags. Having to get that replaced as well. The car is currently at a dealership getting everything resolved other than the clutch as thats already been replaced. My safely and others safely were at risk as if the clutch went out while driving, my horn would not work, my airbag light was on flashing and possibly wouldn't deploy in an accident and the engine blowing up due to a thrown rod barring put me at risk as it was on the freeway this happened. You can get all this info on mileage and what has been replaced. This has cost me thousands upon thousands of dollars to fix in the car when none of it should of happened.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, a creaking noise was present coming from the engine bay. Also, a grinding sound was present when shifting between gears and the vehicle would jolt while accelerating and deceleration. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (mid hudson Subaru located at 1715 U.S. 9, wappingers falls, NY 12590) who diagnosed that the transmission pitcher stopper mount was faulty and was separating from the engine fire wall and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 50,000.
- Poukeepsie, NY, USA
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I was driving on the highway going up a hill and my Subaru WRX was not shifting correctly. It smelled like burnt rubber and it felt like my vehicle didn't have any power at all so I got off on the nearest exit. I stopped at a stop light, put the vehicle in 1st gear and it would not move at all. I had to push the car out of the road with a strangers help. The car smelled like burnt rubber and it put me in a very dangerous situation. Car was towed to the nearest Subaru dealership and they said the clutch and flywheel needed to be replaced. I called the dealer where I purchased the vehicle and they said that they already replaced the clutch and flywheel before I bought the vehicle at 27,000 miles. When my clutch went out, my vehicle had 35,000 miles on it and now Subaru doesnt want to pay for this clutch. So now I am on my 3rd clutch at 35,000 miles. Its obvious that this is a common problem with other owners. In fact, Subaru even knows about this issue. They have issued two service bulletins (design changes) for the clutch's in their 2014-2017 Subaru Wrxs. My guess is, they know this is a problem and they are trying to cover it up. I never would have purchased this vehicle if I knew about this issue and I will never purchase a Subaru again
The clutch keeps going bad in a few thousand miles under normal use. This is the second time only after 2000 miles. Subaru tells me I abuse the clutch and don't know how to drive. I have driven only manual transmission cars, never had any problems before with any car. This Subaru has a bad clutch which they won't accept.
I am a 44 year old woman, driving a 2015 WRX. I have only owned and driven manual transmissions my entire life. My last car, a Mazda 3, I drove to 110,000 miles and the clutch never went out. My 2015 WRX is at 22,000 and the clutch is being replaced. A bearing went bad and did damage to the clutch. The dealership is putting a new clutch in the vehicle.
Driving on the freeway during rush hour and tried to downshift (manual transmission) from 6th gear to 3rd since traffic slowed down but the shifter won't go into gear and I was going up hill. I tried 4th, 5th, 3rd again, 2nd, and I'm slow enough to try even 1st and still won't go into gear. Fortunately I had enough momentum to get to the shoulder going up hill in the freeway. I had it towed to the dealer and the service rep could not shift it into gear also. He was able to put it into the service bay by turning off the engine, putting it into gear, turning on the engine and driving it. At that point it shifts just fine and was told to let them know if it happens again. This is a big safety concern for me if it happens again since I won't be able to shift/accelerate to avoid obstacles or prevent accidents. There are times when I've felt that it's been a little hesitant to get into gear.
Manual transmission car. About 28000 miles when the issue happened. After driving about 10 miles, while coming to a stop in a traffic light the car could not be shifted to neutral from 5th gear. Clutch operated normally so I stopped using the clutch, while trying to shift out of 5th hear. As the light turned green I moved to the side of the road. Moving slowly in 5th gear caused clutch to smell, but continues operating. After stopping the engine and starting it again and pressing and depressing clutch multiple times while trying to shift, shifter eventually went to neutral and then shifted normally for a month. After about a month, in similar conditions after driving several miles, while stopping at traffic light, the car would not shift to neutral from 3rd gear. Tried starting and stopping the car and pressing and releasing clutch, and still could not shift out of 3rd. Since I was about 1 mile from home, drove car to home in 3rd gear. Had the car towed to dealership, and they disassembled the transmission and found some part of the differential had broken, causing the issue. Car was repaired under warranty by the dealer. If the shifting issue had occurred during highway driving could be a hazard. I am reporting this issue as it seems other owners have the same symptoms.
On my 24K service. Vehicle was checked in at briggs Subaru of lawrence, for typical recommended service. After leaving the service center once the service was completed, a short while down the road, I came to a stop at a red light placing the car in neutral. When the light turned green, I was unable to shift into gear to continue. I had to call the service center, and they had to pay for the tow back to the service center. Where a service tech joined me outside, he then proceeded to start the vehicle, while in neutral; revved the RPM to roughly 5K and shifted into first. The vehicle made a terrible grinding sound, lurched forward, and was able to be shifted normally at this point. This stalling\inability to shift into gear\downshift has happened on subsequent adventures in the WRX, while moving and at a stop after this point. At each designated service interval, I reported this to my service advisor; they could never replicate the issue. Proceeding to the 60K service, the clutch has since failed, and I've had numerous stalls where I was unable to shift into gear, the certified Subaru repair center, states this is not covered under warranty and in no way does my previous issues with not shifting into gear effect the clutch or any interconnected part thereof. Just imagine having this stalling or clutch failure happen while accelerating to get on the freeway or a busy intersection, like I myself have experienced. This is a major safety concern.
Once, three months after purchasing, and a second time eight months later, my vehicle suddenly would not enter gears from neutral. In the first event, the car was still warming up, driving quickly. In the second event, the car was at running temperature, driven for one hour, driving conservatively. In both situations, I had to pull over to the side of the road and call a tow. ~1 hour later, the vehicle worked fine. No burnt clutch smell, no change in the feeling of the clutch/gears. Dealership could not replicate the problem, corporate is denying the problem.
Purchased the vehicle new with less than ten miles on odometer. From new, the vehicle produced a strong odor of burning or melting plastic every time it was driven. Clutch began slipping and then catastrophically failed at 5100 miles. Towed to dealership, clutch replaced. At 7,200 miles, clutch throw-out bearing failed, dealer replaced. At 11,709 miles, throw out bearing failed again, dealer discovered clutch was on the verge of second failure during service. A second replacement clutch has been ordered. Advised by service manager that cause of all failures was that a "plug" of some sort had worked loose, causing clutch to remain engaged at all times, leading to clutch failure. If clutch failure occurred at intersection or rail crossing, this manufacturing defect could lead to the severe injury or even the death of occupants in the disabled vehicle, as this failure renders the vehicle immobile.
Son had just purchased car. Took the car to an area which had an unplowed parking area to test the handling of the car in the snow. Car died while driving and there was an immediate strong smell of the clutch burning. Could not start the car with the car in gear and the clutch pushed in. Car would only start in neutral. When car started could not get the car to go into gear. Was able to get the car push started and driven approx. 0.2 miles to a secure area and then had car towed to dealership where the clutch was found to be burned out. Dealership claims it was driver's error but they sent pictures to me and it looks like the damage does not line up with what they say the problem was.
Automatic transmission was in manual mode. Left stop sign and used the upshift paddle shifter to change gears. Car would not upshift. Has occurred 4 times in this 6200 miles since purchased.
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru WRX. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph, the manual transmission failed to respond with a strong burned clutch odor. There were no prior warnings. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road and towed to an authorized dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the defect. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 1,500.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Harpersville, AL, USA