Do you think this car is going to have some problems?
 

for the first year of the production problems?

discuss!

Ringland failure? It's been mentioned I just haven't had time to read up on it.

I guarantee it. I predict the first issue is going to be owners bringing their car for warranty work because the tires wear out prematurely.

i expect my engine to explode within the first 5000km

i have already asked for days off in 2012 and 2013 to spend at the dealership arguing with middle management about the definitions of corporate responsibility and end user mistakes.

i have also signed up for group therapy at the local YMCA, they are called the SGLCA, support group for lemon car owners. I have already made some friends and i think i'll survive the first year of car ownership.

I have also made provisions around the house for record keeping and organizing. I purchase a heavy duty double sided scanner to make copies of all the recall letters i'm going to receive and also a 3 drawer filing cabinet to keep hard copies of everything, laminated with my brand new 3M paper laminator.

This is going to be a blast!

Being a first year production, I'm sure they will be issues. Though they'll be minor, Toyota/Subaru will even re-engineer some of those small parts in the later years.

I hope you didn't forget to pick up a heavy duty 3-hole punch. That is vital record keeping tool so you don't have loose leaf papers everywhere.

didn't think about that, thanks. I guess i should look into some 3 ring binders as well. Maybe i'll get those thick ones with with a locking mechanism for extra security.

in all honesty i don't see this car having too many issues simply because half the car was already designed and tested a long time ago in the form of the Impreza.

the only thing on the table that we'll need to worry about is how good this new engine will be after 150k miles or something.

Make sure you get a d-ring style binder and some page separators.

Not to go off topic or anything, but I read that the car was based off of a shortened Legacy platform some years ago? That was back during mule testing, though.

the engine in that legacy the 2.2 is a legend most bulletproof engine ever i had a turbo legacy!

New platform, new engine, mish mash of parts between two manufacturers. Throw in direct injection which is very hard to get right in the best of times (ask Audi). Subaru's reliability with sporty cars hasn't exactly been stellar lately either (ringland issues, piston issues, wonky tuning).

Yes, there will be problems.

No where near as concerned as some. I believe whatever issues arise will be minor.

That's what warranties and lemon laws are for.

this!

To be honest it could go both ways. Toyota is pretty reliable, and even though Subaru did a lot of the engineering, you'd think that Toyota would still have to sign off on it.

Though like someone already said, this is a brand new car, with brand new systems on a platform that really hasn't been done by both companies for a long time, if at all. So a lot of things could go wrong.

I'm not too worried about ringland failure, but there may be some problems with the engine like the direct injection and all that.

But I think overall that it should be fine. IF I buy this year the car will be under warranty so....

Yes, you will experience rapid tire ware and burn more gas than normal ... within the first few months of ownership ;-)

This car has been in development for 5 years and it's all based off existing hardware. Plus, if there's a Toyota (Scion) or a Subaru badge on it, I have no concerns.

"I don't know what happened. It was fine for the first 1,000 miles. Now they're bald at 1,015. It just makes no sense."

From my limited experience with new cars, the first things that I notice aren't typically mechanical. They're usually cosmetic; a squeaky dash, some bad panel fitment, or maybe an LED bulb out somewhere. Rarely have I ever come across something major, the closest I've ever had was an AC pump giving out at 30,000 miles. Even then it was replaced under warranty. Will this car be problem-free? Highly doubt it. The only thing to do is track Toyota and Subaru's recall and TSB history on new cars just to get an idea of what to expect in terms of down time. Will it be something to worry about? Not much more than your average is what I would think.

Outside of the engine, the other major components are tried and true.

Transmission is the S2000 unit with modern updates, should be bulletproof for most use.

Rear end is NA MK4 Supra/ IS with the standard IS LSD (I had that same LSD in my Supra and love it).

Drivetrain should be set, so long as the motor works.

I think the biggest risk is the D4S. People may get intermittent misfire, fouled injectors, etc if the tuning isn't ideal.

^ This

Yup. No first year is perfect. Will they be miniscule? Hopefully.

The big ones haven't really been strictly first year issues - they usually involve a 3rd party part which affects entire ranges. Ie, Porsche IMS, Audi/VW coils, Fords snapping sparkplugs and crappy manumatic, Chrysler grenading automatics, etc.

I think the bigger issue will be all the 2nd year tweaks/improvements they tend to do after having the cars in the wild for a year. Power increase, MPG increase - it doesn't take much to make the previous year resale take a bath.

Although I called out some potential issues above, I'm not exactly predicting armageddon here. It should be in line with any other brand new sports car production. I would be shocked if it was any worse then say, the 2008 STI launch which had it's share of minor problems.

Considering the companies involved - Toyota and Subaru - the reliability reputation is on the better then average side. Although I wouldn't use Toyota's name on this project as a sign of reliability. All cars will be manufactured and assembled in a Subaru plant, with a Subaru engine. Subaru is decidedly more middle of the pack in terms of quality/reliability reputation then Toyota, but still quite good.

I remember the GC had small issues and one big issue. The manual tranny. But if you bought a automatic GC it was bulletproof on big problems.

First car is always a scary... tbh, I'm not worrying too much about it. Base engine (FB20), I haven't heard much problem (so far) so hopefully FA20 will run strong too

Its hardly the middle from Subaru's perspective.
http://news.consumerreports.org/a/6a...57bb970d-800wi

JD Power paints a different picture.

Also the higher performance models are worse still. Sports cars manufactured by Toyota (MR2, Supra, Celica) I would say on a whole have a far better reliability and quality reputation then sports cars manufactured by Subaru (WRX, STI).

of course its going to have some few small issues...its a brand new model!!! thats how every new model are...

Good point but I think the integration will the key factor even though these parts have been proven in previous cars. I'm not saying this is a going to be a "09 Camaro" but I do believe the issues found will be minor and be re-engineered.

is the base engine really the fb? i mean the borexstroke dimensions are so different, what do the fb and fa share?

k cool so we blame Toyota :D I keed

Well, I'm pretty confident the most issues it will have will not be mechanically but exterior/interior wise.. Cheap paints, things falling off, things not fitting right/gaps, etc.

But I'm going for the 2nd/3rd year-in anyways

Woah woah woah now, lets not get crazy adding all this extra paper weight to the car. A 3-ring binder is already pushing it way past what I'd consider acceptable additional weight.

My concern lies in the engine lubrication system, and if the pan and pick-up will be sufficient for sustained lateral g-loads. At a glance the pan looks very shallow.

I will explore these possible weakness with some immediate track days upon delivery. I'm thinking the first mod to tackle will be a mechanical oil pressure, and temp gauges, as warranties can go out the window with track activity. The EDR might be able to confirm a dealership service department's suspicion of abuse.

That being said, I predicted TGB problems with the new Impreza engine, which so far is wrong.

Don't Fear the First Year
 

I have a 2001 IS300 (First year) that stills runs fantastic after 11 years and my wife also drove her 1998 Toyota Sienna (First year) for 11 years without any issues. We also had a 1989 Corolla out of the first year in the Cambridge Ontario plant and it was solid for the nine years we owned it.

None of these cars had any first year bugs.

I agree that the first year has a risk of unforeseen bugs but a commitment to quality engineering, solid parts and quality control in manufacturing seems to have helped with the Toyota's listed above.

Subaru also has a good reputation for quality and I believe that Toyota will make sure that their reputation is maintained with close oversight of the Subaru engineering and manufacturing process.

I guess we will find out this summer.

I expect transmission problems first year as most people will try to dump clutches to do burnouts, drag races, drifting, etc.

All the cars I've had have had transmission revisions after their first year or few: Gen7 Celica GT-S, G35, MR2 Spyder (IIRC), and MkII MR2.

Gear ratio revision doesn't sound implausible.

I got a feeling it'll be over heated like crazy:brokenheart:

Excessive rear tire wear and rear bumpers being smashed by concrete barrier walls.....hmmm



Maybe e brake cables breaking? Haha

I foresee interior issues due to excessive drooling.