[andyv66]

Just my luck...or has anyone heard of similar scenario?

2010 Forester 2.5X Prem....noticed a little been of oil on the top of the block after the first couple fill ups. Didnt think much of it. Looked around...didnt see anywhere it could be leaking from...cleaned it up....figuring it must have been some spillage from when the vehicle was prep'd.
At 1800 miles I took the car into the dealer for the ECM flash. When I got home I noticed some more than usual tapping sounds coming for the engine compartment. Popped the hood to find oil puddled all over the top of the block... Never saw one drip on the concrete driveway. Back to dealer...they were going to clean it up and put in some dye. Well...they spotted the problem...a crack in the top of the engine block. Nothing to blame for this one...except perhaps a factory defect. Am I the first??

Now what? Its been a week waiting on a replacement engine. Truth is...I bought a NEW car. I know it will be a new engine...but should I be satisified now with a vehicle which has been disassembled...and put back together by the dealer? Or should the dealer swap me into a new car? Dealer has been a pleasure to deal with so far...
Curious as to how other owners might deal with this situation. Cheers all!

 

[Nasarog]

They will replace it via warranty, so no biggie. It will still be the same new car with a brand new block. That's what the warranty is for.. if you twist their collective arm a bit, you might get a 3-5 year free service plan from SOA.

 

[AlleyCat]

Happened to me twice. Very dissapointing. Once with an 89 VW FOX and another with a Hyundai sonata Transmission. Both dealers ruined the respective cars. Hopefully YOURS will do a good job since subarus are very similar. Its all up to the team in the garage doing the job - maybe just one guy. I would Push the dealer/subaru for extended warranty or other bene's. My '09 has an engine rap and I cant get them to admit it - YET.

 

[TSi+WRX]

I'd say to twist their arm - you should be given the proverbial red-carpet treatment, andyv66, and I think that you deserve it, if for nothing else than as a good-faith gesture.

Like Nasarog said, it'll be a new engine, and it's all going to be under warranty. You should definitely get a loaner or a paid rental vehicle with this service, too.

Our '09 FXT suffered the "Stop Sale" crank issue, which landed us a new longblock. Yes, it was troublesome, but we were treated like royalty. The car is just as strong (it actually feels a little stronger, but that just might be wishful thinking :wink as before she went down. The engine bay looks just as it did when we got the car home from the dealership, the first time.

What I don't know is how I'd feel about things, if we'd "owned" the vehicle.

You see, Sara's FXT is a lease (we lease her vehicles - although I maintain them as I do my own, her cars still take a beating...she lacks "mechanical empathy," so while I drive my car harder, much harder, it's her car that seems like it's been though hell). Come hell or high water, after just under 2 and 1/2 more years, we're on to the next Subaru.

So I felt rather indifferent about this ordeal.

But what if it had been my car?

 

[lfdal]

Happened to me twice. Very dissapointing. Once with an 89 VW FOX and another with a Hyundai sonata Transmission. Both dealers ruined the respective cars. Hopefully YOURS will do a good job since subarus are very similar. Its all up to the team in the garage doing the job - maybe just one guy. I would Push the dealer/subaru for extended warranty or other bene's. My '09 has an engine rap and I cant get them to admit it - YET.

Took me two years to get them to own up to a case of excessive piston slap in my wife's 03 OBW. They did a nice job on the pistons, but I'm convinced they messed up the head gasket because shortly thereafter I noticed oil seepage between the block and head, and right after that it swallowed a valve guide.

Brand new head under warranty, then it started drinking a quart every 1100 miles. Then it was traded.

 

[lfdal]

BTW - is it an entirely new engine or a short block? That would make a big difference to me as to how hard I pushed for extra's, like an extended warranty.

 

[TSi+WRX]

BTW - is it an entirely new engine or a short block? That would make a big difference to me as to how hard I pushed for extra's, like an extended warranty.

^ +1.

The less wrenching the dealership had to do, the more comfortable I'd be with it (although, to tell y'all the truth, I'm actually very comfortable with the technical competence of my specific dealership's parts and service departments - I'm just saying, "generally speaking" :smile.

 

[Lone Ranger]

You might get a rebuilt engine instead of a new one. I would make sure what their plan is, and insist on factory new engine.

 

[FPT_RAIDER]

if the block is cracked they most likely would give you a new short block, they may however give you a whole new long block so they can take the old one and figure out what went wrong, also i highly doubt you would get a rebuilt block, the model isnt all that old so im guessing there isnt going to be a whole lot of rebuilts out there

 

[Veece07]

You just paid a few thousand for this new car, therefore I'd push them to whatever you find appropriate, especially for an extended warranty.

 

[Subyroo]

You just paid a few thousand for this new car, therefore I'd push them to whatever you find appropriate, especially for an extended warranty.

And a NEW engine, don't let them cut corners or short change you on this one you paid enough for a new vehicle as it is and that's how you want it back ......... like NEW.

:catfight: for your rights ....... says he from safely across the big pond. :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[2010forester]

New engine for me too

Hey, I had the similar thing happen to me, went to get my first oil change and a week later noticed oil on my driveway, figured they didn't put the drain plug back in right. Drove it to the dealership and 45 min later they came out to tell me I needed a new engine since there was a crack in it. They gave me a loaner on the spot and I had my car "good as new" it was NEW! back in 3 days. I asked about getting a new car and they came back with a deal of 3500 to put towards trading it in... Basically I'd still have to put down 2400 to get the new car... no thanks. The other option is they offered to give me the 7 year 100,000 warranty for free. Issue is I already bought it... so now we are figuring out the details of how I get my money back that I already spent on the warranty.

As for the loud noises, they say it's the heat shields cooling down... but MAN are they loud even after a short trip!

Good luck,
Steph

 

[AlleyCat]

This is not a good trend. Cracked blocks, piston slap, rodknock, leaky HG. This is not a 2.2L.

 

[Trainman]

This is not a good trend. Cracked blocks, piston slap, rodknock, leaky HG. This is not a 2.2L.

A trend of how many, from how many sold?

Here is another trend to consider: 45,000 kms, no tapping, no leaking, no nothing. Just purrs along just fine.

I understand people's frustration when things like this happen (just ask me about our 1996 Mercury Mystique and the $4,000 worth of warranty work :shake: ) but I do not see this as a bad trend at this point. But time may prove me wrong, it has before :biggrin:

To the OP, make sure its a new engine, short or long block. No rebuilt. And some extra compensation would be nice but you will need to approach it diplomatically. Best of luck and keep us informed as to how you make out.

 

[adc]

A trend of how many, from how many sold?

Here is another trend to consider: 45,000 kms, no tapping, no leaking, no nothing. Just purrs along just fine. .

Exactly and from my standpoint..both me and my daughter have an '08 and with a 105000 miles later...not one problem. I'll take that trend.

 

[zzyzzx]

This is not a good trend. Cracked blocks, piston slap, rodknock, leaky HG. This is not a 2.2L.

Looks like they are trying hard to compete with Toyota.

 

[AlleyCat]

On my Yaris forum we see no reports of engine issues or failure at all. I guess its a matter of luck having a healthy 2.5 in a subaru, not vigorous engineering. Cheers to all that are lucky:Banane08:

 

[TSi+WRX]

Killed by your car's unintended acceleration - or stuck at home because of a cracked engine block (or other such disabling defect in the powertrain).

I think I'm just gonna start walking..... :wink:

 

[lfdal]

On my Yaris forum we see no reports of engine issues or failure at all. I guess its a matter of luck having a healthy 2.5 in a subaru, not vigorous engineering. Cheers to all that are lucky:Banane08:

I'd have to reluctantly agrree with you. My own experience out of a growing sample size has been very hit or miss. Of the five Subaru's we've had since 2002, it goes something like ths:

2003 Forester XS - horrendous windshield leak that took numerous trips to get fixed, perpetual burning smell from "somewhere" - never did figure where, and no it wasn't undercoating burning off, engine getting "slappy" loud in winter. Traded early for next Subaru. Had 18k when I traded it.

2003 Outback Wagon - Leak between AT and front diff at about 28k, $4200 warranty repair. Driver's side pistons replaced at about 40 k, drivers side head replaced shortly after that (swallowed a valve guide) , started to burn 1 qt every 1100 miles thereafter, she traded it shortly thereafter. 56 k miles at trade. What work was done was done under warranty. So no cost but plenty of inconvenience.

2004 FXT. Best car I ever owned, period. Objectively, a few rattles that I fixed, lousy mileage, but for short money on suspension upgrades, was the most drivable and fun to drive vehicle I ever owned.

2008 OBW NA Pzev - Wife's 35k, all's well so far.

2008 OBW NA Pzev - Mine, still trying to get a handle on why I'm starting to see oil consumption rise, and its getting very slap-happy in the cold weather - wifes show's no signs yet. Almost 29k.

Overall, the best Subaru was my XT and the turbo engine, which was basically the STi shortblock. It was in 2006 I think when they went with the WRX shortblock. If I do get another Subaru, unlikely given my desire to get a car with a 5/60 bumper to bumper warranty with a 10/100 drivetrain warranty, it will be a turbo to get the semi-clossed deck design.

Sorry for the slight thread hi-jack, but for people looking I now have a sample size of 5 to draw statistics from.

 

[pro10is]

On my Yaris forum we see no reports of engine issues or failure at all. I guess its a matter of luck having a healthy 2.5 in a subaru, not vigorous engineering. Cheers to all that are lucky:Banane08:

Right now is not a very good time to extoll Toyota's engineering.

Truth is all auto manufacturers have quality problems. Subaru statistically is doing better than most.