[nsibanez]

Subaru currently has my car apart with their lawyers some from the Coleman firm present. Photo-documenting the whole thing, want to establish how their repairs are doing.

Took my dash apart, saw that the repairs were already cracking and that the grimmspeed MC brace was actually preventing further damage.

They're rewelding the repair and I guess we'll see where they go from here. Likely they'll have to come up with a true fix at this point.

Let me know how much the cost is if they're not going to warrenty it
But still sounds like even if they're broken the brace might keep it from flexing anyway

 

[zulukingcrowned]

Oh, the repair is free. $2000 bill paid by SOA. I doubt it is a permanent fix, we'll see after track season.

 

[yugotprblms]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I just finished reading the entire thing and thought I would add my situation.

I bought an 09 WRX Hatch towards the beginning of October 2014, and it is having the squeaky clutch pedal issue. I can't recall whether it did it when I purchased it or not, but it has done it for the majority of my owning it. It was at my local dealer about two weeks ago for its 75k service and one of the techs said the noise was normal and the stiff clutch was normal, but just to keep an eye on them. Sounds like a BS answer to me. The brake pedal travels to the left when the clutch is depressed. I have not yet had a chance to take out my wipers to check, but I bet the welds are jacked. I already called SOA yesterday to see if they can help. The girl is "reviewing my case", so we will see what she says. I was told the car is bone stock, and from what I can tell, that is true. But even regardless of whether it is stock or not, the welding on the bracket and firewall should be able to hold up to repeated depressing of the clutch.

 

[nsibanez]

Yes it should be able to hold up. Supposedly the stiff pedal is also caused by an overheated pressure plate which will further induce the welds problem

 

[yugotprblms]

Yes it should be able to hold up. Supposedly the stiff pedal is also caused by an overheated pressure plate which will further induce the welds problem

What should? My case?

 

[nsibanez]

No I meant the firewall welds should hold up. But they dont and end up breaking whether it's a stock clutch or aftermarket. And unfortunately Subaru has no interest in fixing it either. There's been class action against them for this but still most dealers I've talked to have no idea what I'm talking about, and those that did wanted about a grand to "fix"

 

[yugotprblms]

No I meant the firewall welds should hold up. But they dont and end up breaking whether it's a stock clutch or aftermarket. And unfortunately Subaru has no interest in fixing it either. There's been class action against them for this but still most dealers I've talked to have no idea what I'm talking about, and those that did wanted about a grand to "fix"

Oh yeah, exactly. An integral part of the car's structure should be able to hold up to the expected daily use of the car. This isn't some axle blowing because people are putting too many torques onto it (take that car terminology), it's part of the expected use of the car. You press in the clutch every single time you change gears in a manual (at least a non racing style) transmission.

But let's say some guy is pressing down on his clutch so ridiculously hard every single day for some reason, probably because racecar, the welds should still be able to hold up. The car should be overbuilt enough to handle more than the average. If someone simply repeatedly pressing down their clutch pedal can cause enough damage to structural components of the car, you haven't built a car properly.

 

[nsibanez]

Oh yeah, exactly. An integral part of the car's structure should be able to hold up to the expected daily use of the car. This isn't some axle blowing because people are putting too many torques onto it (take that car terminology), it's part of the expected use of the car. You press in the clutch every single time you change gears in a manual (at least a non racing style) transmission.

But let's say some guy is pressing down on his clutch so ridiculously hard every single day for some reason, probably because racecar, the welds should still be able to hold up. The car should be overbuilt enough to handle more than the average. If someone simply repeatedly pressing down their clutch pedal can cause enough damage to structural components of the car, you haven't built a car properly.

Exactly. I really wish they'd own up to it because the problem persisted on for a few more years. the 15s may even be showing symptoms as well. I shouldn't have to be the one etc to tear the dash apart to put a bandaid on it with nuts and bolts. Subaru should fix the issue period

 

[yugotprblms]

Exactly. I really wish they'd own up to it because the problem persisted on for a few more years. the 15s may even be showing symptoms as well. I shouldn't have to be the one etc to tear the dash apart to put a bandaid on it with nuts and bolts. Subaru should fix the issue period

Yeah, they should.

Side note, any idea how to pop the pins out of the cowl panel properly? I can not get them out for the life of me, and I already cracked the top of one.

 

[nsibanez]

Yeah, they should.

Side note, any idea how to pop the pins out of the cowl panel properly? I can not get them out for the life of me, and I already cracked the top of one.

No sorry. I really can't remember what they look like, but I do remember breaking a lot of plastic fasteners over the years I've owned this car

 

[yugotprblms]

Essentially like that.

 

[nsibanez]

Hmmm...I believe for those the 'release' in under the clip, you may want to use needle nose to squeeze them

 

[yugotprblms]

Hmmm...I believe for those the 'release' in under the clip, you may want to use needle nose to squeeze them

Yeah, that's what the service manual says. I just couldn't get it to work. I will have to try again tomorrow.

 

[nsibanez]

At the same time you pinch the tabs in you have to push them up and out. It was very weird though

 

[yugotprblms]

At the same time you pinch the tabs in you have to push them up and out. It was very weird though

Hmm, weird. Alright, thanks. I will give that a try.

 

[yugotprblms]

No dice. The pliers only really seemed to grab onto the thing even more. I love poorly design clips.

 

[iamcraiger]

Hello to an old thread which I read with great interest... I see several mentions that SOA offered up the parts, while the owner covered the labour.

I'm curious if there are any Canadians here who have dealt with SOC on this issue?

Cheers!

 

[Hoonigan808]

I'll chime in on this. I made a claim with SOA and filed a lawsuit along with 300+ owners. Got with my dealership and SOA, they completly covered the work and reinforced the plate where the fireweall isssue was. Only thing it cost me was time. The issue is not SOA covering it or not, the issue is with the individual dealerships you are dealing with. Some are assholes and some like mine actually are aware of the problem and go out of their way to fix it. My advice is if one dealership is giving you a hard time, go somewhere else.

 

[iamcraiger]

Thanks for the comment Hoonigan. To my knowledge, I have not heard/read of similar action against SOC. I'll be making some calls (which could be painful...)

When I initially called SOC they told me they were "not aware" of this issue... (ya right!) They directed me to bring it to a dealership, see what they say and then call them back. Also my tuning guy is offering to do a drill/rivet/reinforce on my next oil change. I'm on the fence now as to which is the better/quicker route... (?)

Cheers!

 

[nsibanez]

The quicker way is what your tuner recommended

Mine is reinforced with 2 bolts and nuts and have held up over 2 years now