So my friend's 2008 STI blew up the motor last week.

82k miles. Guy has had it since new, mid-30s guy, does not drive like a hooligan, basically just a fun commuter for him.

It started making an odd noise when he drove it to work and we listened and I, having no knowledge of what rod knock sounds like, thought it was maybe a loose exhaust piece. He went to drive home and poof it blew.

They took it apart and a connecting rod blew and the thing wiped out a piston and the cylinder head. No evidence of oil starvation and no other evidence in the ECU of him doing hooligan things (because he doesn't do that). So essentially it has to be a manufacturer defect, but of course it's out of warranty. Not even sure what he should do. I suggested he make a bit of a stink to Subaru of America, because even if they aren't legally on the hook for this, it certainly doesn't speak well for the product when it doesn't even make it to 100k without blowing a motor.

If they don't help out then I said the best recourse was to just take some money from the dealer (it's at the dealer he bought it from) for the car and get something else. They indicated $10000 with the busted motor is what they would give on trade. They want $7000 to do the repair. Another repair shop said $5000, but they are months out on being able to do it.

I was just kind of disgusted that the thing blew up at such a low mileage, but apparently the 2008 cars are known for having various engine issues.

All the turbo 2.5s are known for issues.

If Subaru replaced every engine of theirs that failed before it should have, they would have gone broke years ago.

Streetwiseguy wrote: If Subaru replaced every engine of theirs that failed before it should have, they would have gone broke years ago.

You have a point.

I try not to stereotype people, cars, and engines, but I have a very bad impression of Subaru engines. When they fail, it is usually catastrophic, and I read a lot of stories similar to this one. Did you see the project car in GRM and how that engine failed? All the fail.

Someone proposed a Subaru engine for my X1/9 project, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything nice, so I chose not to respond.

To the OP, he is out of luck with Subaru. They aren't going to do anything. He can choose to have the car repaired or he can sell it. Either way it sounds like he might need another car to cover the interim period for repair.

I also try not to throw a manufacturer under the bus for anecdotal evidence, but then again I was searching and was vaguely horrified to find this long term test result from C&D where their 2008 STI had to have its engine replaced around 23k miles.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-long-term-road-test-wrap-up

Another friend had his Legacy GT eat itself before 100k due to a known oil starvation issue (some sort of screen gets clogged or some such).

Did he buy it new?

In reply to Mezzanine:

The GRM project car had 200,000 miles on it when they bought it. Then they turned up the boost.

Harvey wrote: I also try not to throw a manufacturer under the bus for anecdotal evidence, but then again I was searching and was vaguely horrified to find this long term test result from C&D where their 2008 STI had to have its engine replaced around 23k miles. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-long-term-road-test-wrap-up Another friend had his Legacy GT eat itself before 100k due to a known oil starvation issue (some sort of screen gets clogged or some such).

What I got from that article is that they continued to drive a car that wasn't running properly for nearly 10,000 miles, then were surprised when there was damage.

It says it went in at 23,000 miles the first time and the engine was replaced at 32,000 miles.

The great Subaru motor debate goes on. You either have a great experience (me) or apparently a horrific one, there seems to be no middle ground and neither side is going to convince the other to change their mind no matter how many statistics, stories and examples that they toss out.

z31maniac wrote:

Harvey wrote: I also try not to throw a manufacturer under the bus for anecdotal evidence, but then again I was searching and was vaguely horrified to find this long term test result from C&D where their 2008 STI had to have its engine replaced around 23k miles. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-long-term-road-test-wrap-up Another friend had his Legacy GT eat itself before 100k due to a known oil starvation issue (some sort of screen gets clogged or some such).

What I got from that article is that they continued to drive a car that wasn't running properly for nearly 10,000 miles, then were surprised when there was damage. It says it went in at 23,000 miles the first time and the engine was replaced at 32,000 miles.

What I got from the article is exactly what it says. They noticed hesitation and brought it to the dealer who could not figure out the problem and then when they finally did figure it out the problem turned out to have ruined the motor. How you manage to blame this on user error when the users are a well know car magazine is beyond me.

The kicker: It took so long to identify the issue that Subaru asked the dealer to do a compression check on all cylinders to make sure driving the car with the surging issue hadn’t caused it to go out of spec. As it turned out, the compression was indeed out of whack, so a new short block (which really means most of the engine beyond the cylinder heads) was installed at 32,066 miles.

Woody wrote: Did he buy it new?

You being funny?

I can't tell.

Me said: 82k miles. Guy has had it since new,

A friend had their STI only last a few hundred miles, but then again it was a One Lap car pushing 700hp. I've heard other stories about Subaru engine issues, but I also know others with very high mileage ones. I think they are like many other mfgs, they get good and bad. I can say the same about BMW, as my old E36 went through several motors before 20k miles, and I know of many others. Of course you say that about Toyota too.

So, I think Subaru may have issues, but its not all Subarus I don't believe. It sucks for the OP's friend however. I hope they stand behind their car. If he has complete records for it and did his oil changes on time, they may help him out.

I've seen too many people with STi's (and other 2.5 Turbo engines) that popped them early to ever buy one. Neat car, but no thanks. Seen them at 20k, 30k, 50k and up. No thanks.

Harvey wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

Harvey wrote: I also try not to throw a manufacturer under the bus for anecdotal evidence, but then again I was searching and was vaguely horrified to find this long term test result from C&D where their 2008 STI had to have its engine replaced around 23k miles. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-long-term-road-test-wrap-up Another friend had his Legacy GT eat itself before 100k due to a known oil starvation issue (some sort of screen gets clogged or some such).

What I got from that article is that they continued to drive a car that wasn't running properly for nearly 10,000 miles, then were surprised when there was damage. It says it went in at 23,000 miles the first time and the engine was replaced at 32,000 miles.

What I got from the article is exactly what it says. They noticed hesitation and brought it to the dealer who could not figure out the problem and then when they finally did figure it out the problem turned out to have ruined the motor. How you manage to blame this on user error when the users are a well know car magazine is beyond me.

The kicker: It took so long to identify the issue that Subaru asked the dealer to do a compression check on all cylinders to make sure driving the car with the surging issue hadn’t caused it to go out of spec. As it turned out, the compression was indeed out of whack, so a new short block (which really means most of the engine beyond the cylinder heads) was installed at 32,066 miles.

Yes, but they continued to keep driving it and flogging it for NEARLY TEN THOUSAND MILES when it wasn't running right. It's right there in the article.

Rod knock, spun bearings, and cracked ringlands: It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

I'll give him $10k for it, as is. I've started looking into one of these as a possible DD and I'm shocked at how many I see with "built motors" that have well under 50k miles on them...

z31maniac wrote:

Harvey wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

Harvey wrote: I also try not to throw a manufacturer under the bus for anecdotal evidence, but then again I was searching and was vaguely horrified to find this long term test result from C&D where their 2008 STI had to have its engine replaced around 23k miles. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti-long-term-road-test-wrap-up Another friend had his Legacy GT eat itself before 100k due to a known oil starvation issue (some sort of screen gets clogged or some such).

What I got from that article is that they continued to drive a car that wasn't running properly for nearly 10,000 miles, then were surprised when there was damage. It says it went in at 23,000 miles the first time and the engine was replaced at 32,000 miles.

What I got from the article is exactly what it says. They noticed hesitation and brought it to the dealer who could not figure out the problem and then when they finally did figure it out the problem turned out to have ruined the motor. How you manage to blame this on user error when the users are a well know car magazine is beyond me.

The kicker: It took so long to identify the issue that Subaru asked the dealer to do a compression check on all cylinders to make sure driving the car with the surging issue hadn’t caused it to go out of spec. As it turned out, the compression was indeed out of whack, so a new short block (which really means most of the engine beyond the cylinder heads) was installed at 32,066 miles.

Yes, but they continued to keep driving it and flogging it for NEARLY TEN THOUSAND MILES when it wasn't running right. It's right there in the article.

Where was the message from the dealer or SOA to stop driving the car? Are they supposed to guess at that? Is that what the average person would just do with their daily driver? How is a surge or hesitation a problem that means they stop driving the car completely unless told by the dealer to stop driving it? At the time it was a totally new car, with no known issues!

docwyte wrote: I'll give him $10k for it, as is. I've started looking into one of these as a possible DD and I'm shocked at how many I see with "built motors" that have well under 50k miles on them...

The dealer already offered $10k for it as is. I told him to take it or try to get a little more on a trade for something other than a Subaru since the dealer has several brands it sells.

Didn't GRM blow up three motors on the Camry project. That must make the Camry the least reliable car in the world. I mean, anecdotal evidence is what matters, right?

That said, my 09 WRX had the engine replaced at 9k miles (the first 2 months of production didn't have the cranks deburred well, so almost all of them spun the crank bearings as mind did. I havne't heard about this problem on any except "first two months" cars). Subaru replaced my longblock (and turbo) under warranty, even though it happened during an autocross.

New engine just turned 100k miles and the car hasn't had even the slightest problem in any area other than that original engine replacement. And engine is tuned, and I drive it about as hard as it can be driven er...legally.

IDK if statistically Subaru engines are more or less likely to blow up than other brands, but I do have a theory that because Subaru fanbois (especially those with WRX/STis) are EXTEMELY active on a million car forums, you tend to hear a LOT online about anything that goes wrong, and you hear it 20 times from the same person on a dozen different forums, and then his story gets re-told by his buddy, etc etc.

I'm thinking that percentage-wise, you probably don't find as much online problem-bitching for people who drive, say, a Volvo or a Versa.

IDK what the facts are, but assuming Subarus are less reliable just for the sake of argument, we could note that these are 2.5L 4cyl engines pumping out 300hp stock. Is it reasonable to think that such an engine would have a shorter life than, say, a 2.5L n/a six that puts out 200hp? One could make that argument.

As Dr.Tyrell says to Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner...."the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long." YMMV. I consider a shorter engine life the price to pay for driving an inexpensive performance car, in some respects.

Get a JDM V7 STI engine or rebuilt with forged internals. Those are the two ways to make sure this never happens again.

Generally these engines I see blown for the same reason I see 2ZZs blown. High G cornering, autocross, track days, etc. You get oil starvation on these cars. They sell them as like a "track machine" but they are not prepped for that at all.

I find it VERY hard to believe that someone buys a STI as a commuter, lol

Didn't GRM blow up three motors on the Camry project. That must make the Camry the least reliable car in the world. DK if statistically Subaru engines are more or less likely to blow up than other brands, but I do have a theory that because Subaru fanbois (especially those with WRX/STis) are EXTEMELY active on a million car forums, you tend to hear a LOT online about anything that goes wrong

You make a good point. LOTS of cars have issues like this. Subarus usually have no other problems so this becomes the ghost of car breakage for them.

I'm trying not to paint with too broad a brush here. I'm not going to declare that all Subarus are crap because of a few issues I've heard of from friends. That said, I still don't consider it acceptable for any mass market car from a major manufacturer built in the 2000s that has been taken care of properly to blow an engine at 82k miles, 300hp or not.

Defects happen, but it still isn't particularly great that the customer has to eat it.

kanaric wrote: Get a JDM V7 STI engine or rebuilt with forged internals. Those are the two ways to make sure this never happens again. Generally these engines I see blown for the same reason I see 2ZZs blown. High G cornering, autocross, track days, etc. You get oil starvation on these cars. They sell them as like a "track machine" but they are not prepped for that at all. I find it VERY hard to believe that someone buys a STI as a commuter, lol

If we're gonna go down this road where we just blame the victim here despite what I've told you then I'll just stop talking. The dealer said there was no indication of oil starvation when they took the car apart which points to your theory being correct that oil starvation is usually the cause, but again it also points to what I said which is that my friend drives it as a fun commuter car and nothing more.

Here's to hoping that by the time they got to 2012, they worked out some of the issues. Doesn't help the OP's friend at all, but I don't want to think my WRX is a hand gernade that the pin has already been pulled.

Shorter engine life, fine. But 11k? 9k? Not acceptible.