Subaru Interior Quality

I've had the car for about 5 months now and put close to 8k miles on it. I've had to make lots of trips from Orlando to Homestead and back and a move to Virginia. So most of the miles are highway, but holy crap this thing rattles and squeaks worse than a 15 year old f-body with 100k+.

The passenger seat frame bolts came loose after about 3k miles and the plastics scratch very easily and the passenger door vibrates like all hell no matter what volume the radio is on. I've taken it to the dealer up here a few times and they just give me the typical tech response that they don't hear anything (guess it's karma coming back to me from my days as a Honda tech).

I'm very unimpressed with it. I was impressed with the simplicity and still am, but the quality is lacking and it irks me for a close to 30k car. I know it's a economy car with a sporty engine but the 8th gen Si never had any issues like this and I beat the crap out of that thing.

Other than that the car is a blast to drive, has been versatile in our moving process and the looks still get me all giddy. I

Where was it built? 1st letter of VIN will tell you.

I've owned several Subarus in the past and found the interiors to be made of cheap materials (particularly the carpet) but never had problems with squeaks or rattles. The frameless windows after about 8 years will start to get air leaks around the stripping, but that's about it.

I went from the last Suby to a Jeep Patriot which has plastics that make Subarus look like they are made from the finest materials. Even it is surprisingly tight and quiet (at 95,000 miles).

My imprezas have been like that. The frameless windows rattle when down partially. Interior plastic scratches easily. The legacy is far more solid. Having had the dash apart in both models, it's easy to see the difference in sound deadening.

Ugh...the windows in my Scoob drive me nuts!

I feel like a tool when I tell someone to close the door gently when the windows are down.

DirtyBird222 wrote: I've had the car for about 5 months now and put close to 8k miles on it. I've had to make lots of trips from Orlando to Homestead and back and a move to Virginia. So most of the miles are highway, but holy crap this thing rattles and squeaks worse than a 15 year old f-body with 100k+. The passenger seat frame bolts came loose after about 3k miles and the plastics scratch very easily and the passenger door vibrates like all hell no matter what volume the radio is on. I've taken it to the dealer up here a few times and they just give me the typical tech response that they don't hear anything (guess it's karma coming back to me from my days as a Honda tech). I'm very unimpressed with it. I was impressed with the simplicity and still am, but the quality is lacking and it irks me for a close to 30k car. I know it's a economy car with a sporty engine but the 8th gen Si never had any issues like this and I beat the crap out of that thing. Other than that the car is a blast to drive, has been versatile in our moving process and the looks still get me all giddy. I

That line about the creaks and squeaks being worse than an old F-body is exactly what I used to say about my old 2009 WRX. Seriously, it was worse than my 1979 Trans Am, whose interior is falling part and it's window felts have disappeared due to dry rot. The older ones were actually better inside. I did however snap the seat bracket in my 2002 WRX and wore a hole in the seat bolster in 60,000 miles, so there's that.

Interior fit and finish just isn't that great on Subie's. My '02 WRX had some rattles from new and my '05 Legacy GT has had 'em since I bought it at 69k miles. I've got little wedges between plastic panels in the hatch and on the dash of the Legacy to quiet them down a bit. Our 2011 Outback seems a bit better though.

I've got a 2011 Legacy and I've been impressed with the interior, or at least compared to the Lexus is250 I replaced with this.

I've been considering starting a thread on how much better the Subie is vs. the Lexus.

Yes, the interior is cheaper looking, but I don't have a squeak one and things are in the right places to be able to quickly and easily adjust things while driving ( a big complaint of mine about the Lexus).

And, best of all, I was able to get cloth seats in the Subie. Cloth is so much more comfortable in the dead of winter and the heat of the summer.

Plus the car just drive, handles & feels so much better. While it's not a sports car, but comparison to the Lexus it feels like a sports car. Power down in a corner is so much more immediate and rewarding. But then I think Lexus built in a delay in every control just so people not paying attention to their driving wouldn't be running off the road.

We have a 2011 Forester with 25k miles and it is quiet, no squeaks or rattles.

My 2006 STI was a complete rattle trap by 5000 miles. Plastics easily scratched, carpets were woefully thin, the entire interior was just very cheaply made and thrown together.

It's not their forte at all and in comparison to the Audi's and BMW's I usually own/drive, the Suby interior was just total garbage.

It should tell you something about Subarus that there is a sticky over at nasioc specifically about squeaks, rattles, and their fixes. I have shimmed mine with foam at the b pillar, the dash bar, AND taken the driver door apart to replace the felt "feet" that hold the door glass on the inside and outside.

Wow, I have to disagree with almost everything I have read here.

I bought my 2004 WRX in the Fall or '03. Interior quality was a huge concern of mine, having just finished with a long line of Hondas. The Subaru looked to be a step down inside, but after seven years and 130k miles, I was never disappointed with it. It was much better than I had ever expected it to be.

One year on (within a week or so) and about 9k miles, I wouldn't say my '12 WRX is a bucket of bolts, but I'm pretty sure it makes more interior racket than it used to. Nothing that's a big deal, but I'm a little bummed that the only new car I've ever owned is already buzzing trim pieces when I turn the stereo up...

That's it, I'm going back to 40-year-old cars that have exhausts loud enough to rattle the trim on other cars

Could be worse:

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-subaru-recall-puddle-light-20130103,0,907071.story

turboswede wrote: Could be worse: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-subaru-recall-puddle-light-20130103,0,907071.story

Puddle lamps huh?

carguy123 wrote:

turboswede wrote: Could be worse: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-subaru-recall-puddle-light-20130103,0,907071.story

Puddle lamps huh?

Give it up Carguy, its the LA Times.....

My mom's bugeye Impreza is very quiet, and she freaks out if it ever makes a noise. And it's been driven on terrible roads since it was new so it's not like it's been pampered.

My 02 WRX has been very solid. No squeaks or rattles or anything like that and the windows don't leak either. For what it's worth, mine was made in Japan. For those with rattles, were yours built in Japan or Indiana?

The worst rattle isn't even the door frame, it's the headliner right next to the driver's door/window frame. I have to prop my elbow on the top of the interior door panel and press my hand up on it to get it to stop. My t-tops never got that bad haha. My wife has to hold the passenger interior door handle when shes riding shotgun so she doesn't go crazy from the vibration is creates.

I love the interior looks, the seats, the simplicity, it just feels like Fuji Heavy Industries used dumptruck grade interior materials.

I've had three brand new Hondas and never had an issue. Even with a Fit and the craptacular 2012 Si.

I'm honestly considering going back to an 8th gen Si for a DD. I just know I would miss the engine noise, awd, and turbine power if I did that. Compromises....:(

And to think I was giving Osterhaut a hard time for buying an Italian car built in Mexico and the lack of quality it portrayed....

Still wondering where it was built.

I can second the "scratches easily" part, but I didn't see too many squeak and rattle problems when I worked there.
I guess it may be hit or miss, just like with my car.
I've driven cars identical to mine, with less mileage, that rattled like nobody's business. I have some rattles, but nothing too major, nothing worth complaining about.

'04 Forester XT. 140K miles. No rattles.

2012 WRX with something a little over 10k on the clock and the passenger door drives me nuts, but it seems to change a lot with temperature. Other than that, I have no real complaints. I didn't by the car for the interior or the quiet ride. I bought it for the nearly 300 bhp turbocharged engine and the AWD. The rest I didn't really care about. I do wish the suspension wasn't so squishy. That is about the only thing other than the door noise that I would like to change.

J for Japan? I'm guessing that's where it was built.

I bought it for a multitude of reasons. The wife wanted a 4-door car, hatch back, and safe. My compromise to her was the WRX. Sporty, AWD, safe, hatch back, and just as much power as my first Trans Am (LT1).

I had a 2013 Mustang GT Premium in the driveway for a night, that didn't go over to well, especially when you had to put the driver's seat all the way forward for the baby seat. Luckily, the dealership let me take it home without doing all the paperwork.

4 Subarus, no problems. My STi did have an intermittent squeak in the glove box the that was related to the temperature. It eventually resolved on it's own early on. My son is picking up a new WRX tomorrow so stay tuned.