Loads of issues, time to fix...
 

I had hoped to trade this car in this year, but have decided to stick with it a bit longer. While I love the car on the track, this thing is just downright annoying to drive every day and the build quality is pure garbage. But...fixing a few of these things would at least eliminate some of the annoyances.

Here are the things currently going on with the car, many of them common in the 86 cars.

Rattling/Creaking Rear Deck
Buzzing Passenger Side Door/Window Switch
Rattling Throwout Bearing
Drivetrain Slop/Clunk Every Time Going From Rev/For
DI Fuel Pump Chirping
Rattling Shifter Reverse Lockout at Mid/High RPM
Notchy Shifer In Cold Weather (2nd gear unusable until it warms up)
Rattling Door Speaker (could be same issue as Buzzing door/switch)

So...that's the list. I've scoured the forum for fixes and think I can at least eliminate the rattling junk. I've bought some white lithium grease spray to use on the rear deck plates per the TSB. Going to spray the easy trunk part tonight and hope I don't have to tear apart the rear deck this weekend. I simply can't stand this rattle any more! I'll also grease the seat latches just in case.

I'm curious what you guys are doing to try and determine what exactly is buzzing in the door panels? I see a lot of results had to do with the window switch. I stuffed a business card in there (jammed it in) and it was still buzzing. Sounded like it maybe muted it a bit? But it was still there. Any suggestions on this issue before I tear apart the panel and the switch assembly?

Drivetrain slop. Every time I put the car in reverse to back out of a parking spot or my driveway...clunk. Has anyone done anything to get rid of this? I have a Perrin shifter bushing and trans bushing, but never installed them. Wasn't really looking forward to more NVH considering all the noises already going on with stock everything. Any thoughts on something I could do to eliminate the play and get rid of this clunking?

What's the best method to fix the buzzing reverse lockout assembly on the shifter beyond replacing it with an aftermarket unit? I saw people wrapping it in teflon tape, and I may do that. Unless there is a better (less ghetto) way?

The other issues I'm telling myself I just have to live with. The gearbox in this car is junk, as I've tried OEM, Amsoil, and Motul 300 fluids and everything in weather below 65 and a cold start is abysmal. It's notchy, and 2nd gear is near unuseable unless I want to jam it in. It's even grinding 2nd a portion of the time. I'd rather not take it to the dealer, so unless the DI Fuel Pump actually causes a PROBLEM...I'm ignoring that noise. Throwout bearing started making noise at 30k miles, I'm at 45k miles now and will continue to ignore this also. I highly doubt it could be covered under warranty.

Done venting. Would appreciate any advice on anything in the list. Thanks! ;)

Can a mod please move this to the "Issues/Warranty/Recalls/TSB" section of the forum?

Can of gasoline and a match? Jokes aside it is a subaru dd you really expect anything less? Subaru has and always will have clunks and rattles that develop as well for lack of better words its what makes subaru a subaru.

@ichitaka05 by the offtopic powers vested in me I summon you to this thread :bow:

I expected a 2013 car would at least not develop all this nonsense until after I've gotten rid of it. IE: at least 70k+ miles. Lesson learned. I won't buy another, but making this one a bit less annoying for a little bit longer would be fantastic. ;)

Think again. Its a Subaru lol they are known for making fun to drive affordable cars not for build quality and luxury.

Not interested in a debate. Any advice on the issues above would be great, thanks! :cheers:

Sounds like your on the right track to fixing your issues already. From what ive heard shifter bushings help alot with the clunk as well as changing the stock fluid out. Mine shifts much nicer after getting rid of the stock fluid. I have not developed any of the rattles you have talked about, yet. Injectors do make alot of noise but then again I came from a 02 wrx with large injectors that make these things sound like a wisper.

I track the car, so I've changed the fluid many times. It's great as long as the gearbox is warm. I've tried Amsoil, which actually made it seem worse. I've moved to the popular Motul 300, and it's back to at least the same behavior as the OEM fluid (only I trust it much more for track duty). I've just been skipping 2nd gear completely when it's cold out until the car warms up. The fluid has nothing whatsoever to do with any clunking, that's a drivetrain lash issue.

Don't know anything about injector issues. My report above was about the Direct Injection Fuel Pump, which is a known issue. Everyone calls it "crickets", but it doesn't seem to actually have any negative effects...so I ignore it along with the other noises.

Sorry yes pump not injectors my mistake. A buddy of mine who went to supercharged changed his driveshaft to a single piece rather then the 2 piece stock and said that helps quite alot with the drivetrain lash.

as far as the door switch rattle goes its an easy fix, pop the bitch out and wrap it in as much sound deadening material you can and it will be good to go.

Crickets there is no known fix yet, although I did find low E content and low oil temps did help

For the 2nd gear thing, see if you can find Pentosin MTF2...works better than anything else I've tried, and my car sees some very cold temps during the winter.


For the crickets, fuel with no ethanol works for me. The shell 91 we have here in Ontario Canada has no ethanol in it. However, we also have 94 octane available (with 10% ethanol) and the car seems to like it better. When I run the 94 in warm weather, it chirps like crazy. When using the 94, I have found that adding 1-2oz of 2-stroke oil to the tank at fill up effectively kills the crickets. My car has over 90,000kms on the clock, and I have had no issues (O2 sensors, catalytic converters, spark plugs, etc) from doing this. I will be changing the plugs this spring and will post up pics when I do.

OK, thanks. I'll take it apart this weekend and take the assembly apart. I'm hoping this is also the source of the speaker buzzing!


Is that fluid also good for track use? What other fluids did you try?

Not terribly concerned with the cricket noise, at least not to the point where I'm going to start adding things to fuel or get real picky about fuel stops. Tough finding no ethanol here in corn country Iowa.

Let's be systematic about this:

Rattling/Creaking Rear Deck
Buzzing Passenger Side Door/Window Switch
Rattling Door Speaker (could be same issue as Buzzing door/switch)

The above will take some time, for the door speaker and passenger door switch the door should be removed and sound deadened, also you can try marine rtv adhesive silicone when you attached things so they actually stay together this should be done to both doors the sound difference will be noticeable

DI Fuel Pump Chirping - Seriously?!?:lol:this is not a fixable issue, unless you'd like to replace it the same noise will appear unless you say try adding 2 stroke oil to the gas, or finding ethanol free fuel, also some people found the chirping doesn't appear with an oil cooler The below issues could possibly be fixed all at once at a shop that does transmission work:
Rattling Throwout Bearing
Drivetrain Slop/Clunk Every Time Going From Rev/For
Rattling Shifter Reverse Lockout at Mid/High RPM

If the sound goes away when you push the clutch pedal, it is your clutch.
If the sound happens when you push the pedal, it is your throwout bearing.Throw out bearing noise is relatively common on these cars at one point peoples flywheel bolts just needed to be torqued down.

Notchy Shifer In Cold Weather (2nd gear unusable until it warms up)
This one can easily be fixed with a fluid swap, getting something like motul or pentosin will get rid of the notchiness

Loads of issues, time to fix...
 

Some of your issues sound a lot like mine. Love the care but hate all the quality issues.

I switched over to e85 and that put an end to the chirping.

I tried damn near everything with the rear deck. Went through the TSB about pipping the spot welds and greasing up the deck, that helped a little. What really solved the problem was getting rid of the 3rd brake like. There are a couple options for that. But you might get lucky spraying some grease back there.

I've got sound deadening material all over my door and switches and still have rattles. I'm going to take another swing at it some day.

Swapping fluids helped with the notchy shifter a little. I'm using motul now but am going to try Amsoil soon. I live in Florida though so it doesn't get that cold.

I wasn't asking for help on this, I was just listing it with the things that was wrong. If you'd read the thread, you'd see I already knew what it was and have no intentions of doing anything with it. Because, like you said, you can't. ;) And also, the chirping DOES happen with an oil cooler. I have a Jackson Racing oil cooler setup with the a Setrab unit.


The TO bearing is the issue, I've already diagnosed it. I'm pretty good mechanically and am familiar with clutch/TO bearing assemblies after tearing apart the drivetrain in my ZO6 last year to put in a new pilot bearing, (the bearing totally disintegrated) slave cylinder, and McLeod RXT clutch assembly. This is the same as before, just listing it. I'm going to wait until it goes, for better or worse...and hope it doesn't take anything else with it!

Well, no...again if you'd read the thread you'd see I'm already using Motul 300 and tried Amsoil before that, and put new fluid in regularly due to track use. I haven't tried Pentosin yet, but until I do more research...I'm not changing it again. I haven't seen any evidence yet that ANYTHING will actually fix this. I'd love more detailed info on Pentosin if you have any.

I will absolutely not be doing that.

Well, that's a bit of a bummer. I read the TSB and thought it was the biggest joke in the world. Really? Spray grease in there? Didn't seem like it would be very effective. I bent the alignment tab over used on the door transmitter, but of course that did nothing. I'd prefer not to modify anything from OEM, so removing the 3rd brake light assembly doesn't sound very appealing.


Also a bummer!

Swapping fluids hasn't worked for me. I'm on Motul now, but tried Amsoil before that. Once it gets around 60, it gets awful until the car completely warms up. When the weather is frigid in the dead of winter, it started scratching gears.

For these: Rattling Throwout Bearing, Drivetrain Slop/Clunk Every Time Going From Rev/For, Notchy Shifer In Cold Weather (2nd gear unusable until it warms up)

Get a new throwout bearing or/and clutch assembly installed and change the trans fluid.

Sorry apex I know you just replied to all the same things I just said.

Your transmission issues might all stem from the TOB issue. On my old clutch assembly, when cold, it would seem to drag and cause a small grind in 2nd and 3rd unless I shifted perfectly. After changing the assembly and getting everything re-greased, things work much more smoothly when cold.

The transmission will still seem balky after cold starts under 40*F, I think that's just the nature of this gearbox. It works fine for me as long as I'm taking a good warmup procedure (I literally shift out of 1st at 4000 rpms first thing in the morning, uphill), shifting like the car wants to be shifted then I have no problems.

I've lived here all my life, this is the first car that has EVER had this issue. I wouldn't bring it up if it was something so simple as can be blamed on "Iowa's cold weather". It's just a bit of common sense, which I understand a lot of people seem to lack these days. I expect a bit of sluggishness/resistance as usual when things are super cold.

However, I don't expect to nearly be locked out of a gear, grind gears, super notchy/clunky, etc. Those aren't normal issues, regardless of temp.

I've suspected the TO bearing could be having some affect on it, but I haven't been able to prove it. I'd prefer not to tear it apart and replace it, just to have it do the same thing.

Rattling/Creaking Rear Deck
You can fix this by having foam inserted into the rear deck through the trunk.
Buzzing Passenger Side Door/Window Switch
Add some sound insulation to the window switches. Do it for the driver side too or else you'll notice the driverside window switch rattling
Rattling Throwout Bearing
Drivetrain Slop/Clunk Every Time Going From Rev/For
DI Fuel Pump Chirping
Rattling Shifter Reverse Lockout at Mid/High RPM
Notchy Shifer In Cold Weather (2nd gear unusable until it warms up)
Rattling Door Speaker (could be same issue as Buzzing door/switch)
This could be the actual metal door, the window switches, or the actual plastic inner door panel. Try the switches first. Alternative fix is to stuff a towel into the cup holder.

@Apex_BRZ

Consider that this transmission has a few features that maybe your previous cars didn't have. The beefy triple-coned syncros for instance- they help make shifting much easier at high RPM, but at low RPM, and cold, are quite chunky feeling. A Toyota engineer explained that to make the gearbox have great shifts in high RPM, it might sacrifice the shifting feel at low rpm.

No help from me on the rattles, unless you happen to be suffering from a shoulder-strap snap rattle, which is the only one I've had to deal with (and is an easy fix once you figure out what it is!)

Cold weather shifting - Holding speed in 1st for a couple seconds before shifting to 2nd seems to make it work quite nicely for me in the lovely Chicago winters... once warmed up my transmission is smooth (though 'notchy' still applies if you prefer a transmission with more slop / lower tolerances.. I think it can be easier to work, or more precise, but not both - at least at this price!) At any rate, it seems the cold simply makes the synchros a little slow to keep up, giving them a bit of extra time helps.

Chirping is just how it is. Doesn't seem to be a problem, just vaguely annoying. I no longer notice it most days. Slightly louder exhaust may be part of that, raising the overall noise level... I've had it go away for a while, too. Perhaps from 0%e gas, but it was quiet other times and I'm pretty sure it was juiced gas.

Drivetrain slop - I only notice a clunk if I'm at a stop, put the clutch in and immediately put the car in gear (while the engine is running.) If I again wait a few seconds, no clunk. I just have to remember to put the clutch in when the cross-traffic light goes yellow... that's about the only place the pause matters, and that's if I'm worried about avoiding the clunk. Not sure if this is similar / the same as you're describing or not.

Definitely not trying to argue with you, but it just seems odd for that to be the case. The Toyota engineer is claiming it's OK for it to grind gears and not let you into another?

My C5 ZO6 is still on the OEM transmission at 55k miles and more abuse than this BRZ has ever seen. It has nearly 800hp, a built/forged motor, and I shift at 7,000rpm. The OEM trans is butter smooth, no matter what I do or what the temperature of the car or outside. If that trans can still shift smooth at more RPM than OEM, at over twice the power and torque, and after repeated dragstrip and 1/2 Mile passes, autocrossing, and road racing (hell, it's still running the original OEM fluid), surely the little BRZ trans could with a design that 14 years newer, 200hp, still totally stock drivetrain/power, and never abused. Just seems like crazy talk, and justifying the problems (like what die-hard subaru fans do...saying it's ok to have lots of quality problems BECAUSE SUBARU!). It makes no sense. There's no logic to it. :iono:

I totally forgot about this, thanks! I'll stuff foam in there over the weekend if I can find a decent "block" of it. Where did you guys get the foam? I just got done spraying grease into the welds in the trunk area. Will add foam if it keeps creaking, and then I'll tear apart the rear deck if it still makes noise after that.

Also forgot about stuffing a towel in there. I'll jam something in there tonight and test it on the way to work. If it stops, well at least I know it can be solved when I tear apart the door and switch assembly.

That's what I've been doing. Well...I have to when it's in the dead of winter. Now that it's warming up, the problem is really getting to me. It's 60F outside and I keep thinking it feels ok and go to shift into 2nd and it grinds or kind of clunks its way in. Disconcerting, to say the least.

Mine as gone away occasionally too. I'm not really concerned about this, just added it to the list. The only time it really bugs me any more is when I'm in a drive-through somewhere. The sound is really loud there as it echoes off the roof/covering. :bellyroll:

Not the same thing, I think. Mine is more like lash. It only happens, for example, when I go to back out of my garage or a parking space. I put it in reverse, then as soon as I give it gas/clutch to roll back, it clunks. It's a big clunk, I can feel it in the pedal and seat through the chassis. I can live with this also, as I'm sure there is no damage being done. It's just one of those things that I was thinking..."Hey, I have this issue...wonder if anyone else is seeing it and if they did something to fix it (IE: Bushings)". :iono:

Here is some more info on the Pentosin with some track usage in a supercharged twin. I don't track my car...it is a daily driver, so I can't speak on track usage myself. The only thing that has come close for me is a blend of Redline MT-90 and MTL. You may have good luck with Redline MT-85.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45452

Did not red the whole thread. Have you checked your door speakers for the buzzing? One could be blown.

Clunk from between reverse/first... probably drive shaft slop. Get a one piece shaft(drive shaft shop). Makes it feel so much nicer(unless it's your shifter clunking, then I can't help).

Rear deck isn't that bad to pull out fyi.

Chirping can't be fixed. Some people add 2 stroke oil or use different gas with no ethanol with limited success.

Hope this helps

Greasing the rear deck last night in the trunk area made a big improvement. There is still a little bit of squeaking, so I'll take apart the rear deck and hit every weld gap I can find. Now, instead of creaking and popping and sounding like my rear windshield is breaking apart on every bump, the car is mostly just a dead thump on bumps. It's more like a solid car. The shirt stuffed in the cup holder and business card wedged in the window switch didn't do much. It still vibrates and buzzes. I'll take apart the door panel as well.


I'm not spending money on aftermarket parts to fix anything. I'd rather live with it. Thank though!

You can't make a daily driver a race car without problems. Only problem my 13 has given me is window seal getting stuck on window. Surging idle which I found the cause and its a pretty common cause in most cars so I'm not sweting it. Sounds like you beat the shit out of it at the track and not happy if it doesn't perform it's daily duties well. Sounds like you need to change diff and tranny fluid too. Good luck

Actually, the problems existed before I went to the track. But I wouldn't expect anyone to believe that, I can imagine everyone rolling their eyes. ;) In fact, I'd argue that public roads are far worse for a car than a smooth race track. I don't beat the crap out of my car, ever. On public streets, it's not fast enough to bother. The car is a turd no matter how much you wring it out, so I drive like a grandpa. On the track, I drive ultra smooth, shift smoothly, etc. Not that any of that should matter (see first sentence).

It's easy to try and justify issues and just say "It's a Subaru!" or "you track it, you should expect it!", and "its a cheap car, that's how it works!". Nobody wants to accept the fact that the car is just not built well, and there are a TON of cars at the same price with much better build quality. The car is built like crap, and not great quality...and I recognize that. If there is something I can do to make it a little better to live with, that's all I'm looking for. You guys can try and justify the problems however you want to make yourselves sleep better at night. :D

And also, again, all the fluids are being changed. Regularly.

Thanks though!

California 'cold days' are equivalent to a nice spring day for you and I get similar lockout on my 2nd gear. It's a design quirk, a shitty one for anyone who expects everything to do as it should all the time, but one none the less.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31929

Cheers for you using your car as it was designed, advertised, and sold, it's a damn shame SubieYota won't stand behind their product and fix the things that are serious issues with dealerships and regional offices hiding behind 'oh you must have driven it too hard'

Better tell your sponsored racing drivers to take it easy then, they might not make it through the race!

imo, the only problem you note that I would consider the responsibility of the manufacturer to fix is the throwout bearing which can be a catastrophic failure on a part that is not living up to an expected lifetime which should be 60k-120k of problem free operation, common knowledge was that the throwout bearing ALWAYS outlasted the clutch friction material or springs, but not this car, it's the other way around until aftermarket provides a quality TOB.

As for the rest, the rattles, chirps, and clunks, welcome to budget sportscar ownership. I can't think of one built in the last 50 years that doesn't have some niggling quality issues that most people let slide on other budget cars. For all intents and purposes we got a mid-range engine, suspension, and chassis (equivalent to >$30k cars), built to <$20k economy car standards.

First gen, early run 2013 car has first gen, early run issues. Doesn't matter if a Chev or a Cadillac and it is great to say the shouldn't but this is the real world. This does not reflect the quality of the car as a whole. The solutions of many of the issues listed are on here or just follow the great advice that has been given here. My 14 has only the crickets and even then just if using ethanol gas and at 60,000 miles I have never once experienced any of the rest of your list.
Asking for help and then being snarky to those that respond with comments you don't agree with tells me that even if perfect you will always find fault anyway.
Good luck with you repairs.

I have a 13 and actually have never noticed any of these but the reverse clunk and crickets. Just sayin

Rattling/Creaking Rear Deck
-> got mien fixed at dealer, they stamped it and then you jsut put silicone spray inside. done.

Buzzing Passenger Side Door/Window Switch
-> have to add insulation to stop them from moving. this is annoying when listenign to high bass music, so need to use good amounts of it.

DI Fuel Pump Chirping
-> oil cooler. good for chirps (apparently, need to install mine), good for temps.

Rattling Door Speaker (could be same issue as Buzzing door/switch)
-> i got sound insulation installed on both of my doors and under rear seats. it is so much better its not even funny. ask them to put a piece of expending foam into the place where the speaker grill connects to teh door, this will prevent the grill cover movement and rattle (at least it did for me).

Snarky? It's the proper response to folks who pop into a thread just to proudly claim "It's a Subaru, that's what it's suppose to do!". Silly.

Don't think for a second I don't appreciate the help here, the actual help. If I can get all the creaking, buzzing, and rattles to stop...and my TO bearing doesn't finally melt and take out the clutch and other parts with it...I'll be almost happy as heck. :cheers:

I didn't feel you were snarky, just trying to stay on topic

Removed the door panels and did the work there, as well as doing the TSB myself on the rear deck. 90% of the creaks/rattles/buzzing/clacking are gone. :D

Thanks guys! :cheers:

I had the buzzing with the drivers side speaker. Drove me nuts. Especially with heavy bass.
I took the door panel apart and put foam between the parts. (There's a DIY on it). It worked for about a day. Next day the buzzing's back.
Took a look at the door panel and the problem became obvious. I keep my garage door remote clipped to the drivers door. Removed it and the buzzing was gone.

Felt really dumb.