RIP 2006 Subaru Forester XT (2014-2014)

"E30Joe drives a Subaru" (325joe) 03/05/2014 at 18:38 • Filed to: None

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NOTE: This car has 124k on it and is not a 2014, to clear that up. It's an 06.

If you were not aware, one day while driving my new to me Forester the check engine light popped up and it was misfiring occasionally. Lucky for me I have a warranty and I figured I'd leave it at the Subaru dealership across the street from my dealership today to get fixed while I was at work.

Well.

I got a phone call at 2:00 that basically said "It's not plugs or coils, your valve train is probably burnt up, that is covered under warrant though" Which was good. Then they said "The problem is your warranty might consider this a pre-existing condition and not cover it"

Shit.

So it looks like I'm sending her back to the dealership tomorrow and getting my money back. Unless they offer to fix everything that is a problem free of charge I won't be able to pay for that kind of repair nor do I want to.

EL_ULY > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:40

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:( awww noooo!

Frosted > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:41

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Aw that blows. I hope they can fix it under warranty.

ddavidn > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:43

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Major suck.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > ddavidn 03/05/2014 at 18:45

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Major, major suck.

Makoyouidiot > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:45

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Man that's crazy...I have much feels for you.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Frosted 03/05/2014 at 18:45

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They better because this is probably the best car I've owned.

Takuro Spirit > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:49

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Wait wait wait, factory warranty or some crappy extended warranty? Never heard of a GOOD warranty not cover a 'pre-existing' condition.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:50

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Tough one! New car though!!!!

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Takuro Spirit 03/05/2014 at 18:53

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It's some third party shit but I got it for free (I have a friend at the dealership) and it covers literally every part on the car pretty much except light bulbs and radios and stuff like that. If it makes the car go it's covered.

It's a 2006 so it doesn't have a factory warranty anymore.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 03/05/2014 at 18:53

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It's very hard to find a vehicle in my budget that I like.

PS9 > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:55

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'Pre-existing condition'? What the fuck is that bullshit!?

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:56

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Two e30's!!!!

E30Joe drives a Subaru > PS9 03/05/2014 at 18:57

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It's exactly that.

Bullshit. They are going to say something like "Oh the valvetrain was fucked up before you bought it"

Right. That's why it drove perfectly until one day, oops misfire and check engine. We are still not even 100% certain what the problem here is though, this is all speculation. Compression test showed that it had good compression on all cylinders, it was not spark plugs or bad coils, they are just making assumptions now but are worried since I've had the car for such a short time they won't honor the warranty.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif 03/05/2014 at 18:58

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I like the way you think.

Takuro Spirit > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 18:58

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I'd check the paperwork for fine print.

Singhjr96 > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:00

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Make one ride nice and be a clean, then race car the other one.

jariten1781 > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:01

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The pre-existing clause is on every 3rd party extended warranty. Make sure you have the dealers 50 point inspection (or whatever they call it there... Almost all dealers have an inspection for used cars) or, if you got one, independent inspection report and you should be OK.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Takuro Spirit 03/05/2014 at 19:01

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I read that contract twice before I signed it man.

HammerheadFistpunch > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:02

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Valvetrain? I don't buy it. If your valvetrain is blown you would KNOW it. i.e. it would sound like crap ALL the time and you would be blowing blue smoke. Have them bench the injectors or at LEAST do a resistance test.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > HammerheadFistpunch 03/05/2014 at 19:05

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That's why I'm like "What the hell are you talking about?"

It idles smooth, not a LOT of valve chatter but I can't tell if that's just the sound of the engine at normal idle or not. It's not a clicking that's for sure.

It runs great aside from every so often a few misfires in a row and then nothing.

I think I'm going to bring it to an independent place and have them look it over.

HammerheadFistpunch > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:08

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The FA20 DIT is direct injection, so it should "tick" a little, plus its all allow so it makes a little noise, but if it were the valvetrain it would be pretty damn obvious. Bad injector, a short in the wire, or something to do with a sensor or fuel delivery is the issue my guess.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > HammerheadFistpunch 03/05/2014 at 19:10

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My money was on the injector O rings being torn.

BeaterGT > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:12

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Dealing with stupid warranty problems with my Subaru too! Best of luck to you tomorrow

E30Joe drives a Subaru > BeaterGT 03/05/2014 at 19:13

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Thanks brother

Boxer_4 > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:24

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If it isn't an issue with the ignition system, then it's probably an issue with either the fueling system or the valvetrain. A malfunctioning injector could certainly cause a misfire, and it would be wise to have the injector on the offending cylinder checked. If it isn't the fueling system, then...

It could potentially be a burnt exhaust valve, which is fairly common with the EJ255. The EJ255 is the engine in the 2004-2008 Forester XT. In short, the head with the affected valve needs to be removed, and the head rebuilt. A new valve is $25. The question is whether the valve seat was damaged or not, and how easily it can be repaired.

If the warranty doesn't come through, a local shop specializing in Subarus should be able to do the job at a fair price. You would probably be looking at ~ $300-500 to repair and freshen up both heads (if you are the one paying for it, you might as well do both heads), ~ $200 in gaskets/seals and related items, ~$50 in fluids and labor, and the cost of any other parts.

You can read more about burnt valves and some of the causes here. Some good discussions can be found here and here .

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Boxer_4 03/05/2014 at 19:28

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Yeah this dealership quoted me almost 3 grand to do that and I said forget it I'll do it my self.

I'd rather not do it myself obviously since I have a warranty but if they wont cover it I'm not gonna pay 3 grand to do a job that costs less than half that much.

Boxer_4 > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:40

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Yeah, a dealership will charge a lot for that kind of work. That's a lot of labor on their part, and they would rather be doing smaller jobs like oil and fluid changes, brakes, etc.

I updated my first post to include checking the fuel injectors, as I realized that I assumed the dealership looked at them, by it sounds like they didn't.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Boxer_4 03/05/2014 at 19:47

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My original suspicion was that it was a bad injector/oring since it only happened when it was extremely cold.

Takuro Spirit > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 19:57

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So there is a pre-exisiting condition clause that prevents them from honoring it?

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Takuro Spirit 03/05/2014 at 20:03

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Essentially if it was broken before you bought it, they wont fix it. Otherwise I'd buy an STI with a blown engine and this warranty and get a dirt cheap STI with a new longblock.

But the problem is how can we assure what is wrong with my car is or is not pre-existing?

Takuro Spirit > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 20:09

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Usually that's up to the shop or inspector for the warranty company.

If you buy a car from a reputable dealer, they assume all's well with the car and add the extended warranty protection without an issue. The last two cars the wife and I bought for her came that way. Now a shady dealer CAN sell a car with a known problem, and suggest the buyer get an extended warranty.... its cheating the system, but in the end everyone wins.

The car gets sold, hopefully making the sales department profit.

The warranty company gets paid for their package.

The customer gets their car fixed.

The dealer gets to fix the car and make profit on the job.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Takuro Spirit 03/05/2014 at 20:12

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Yes it was a reputable dealer, I just realized that if this was pre-existing I was not informed and that means this whole situation just got a lot better.

Takuro Spirit > E30Joe drives a Subaru 03/05/2014 at 20:15

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Just beware of the whole "As-is, once you sign here it's yours no matter what" angle.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Takuro Spirit 03/05/2014 at 20:17

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Yeah I'm sure that will be addressed. But I mean if it's something as serious as an issue with the valve train or whatever they would have fixed it.