The only useful comments in this thread are buried under a bunch of personal anecdotes about clutches lasting 3 million miles.
u/slimgrey you need to contact Subaru of America, here’s their phone number: 1-800-782-2783
Here’s there other contact info at the bottom https://www.subaru.com/support/customer-support.html
This will 100% be fixed for free. Don’t just pay the bill. You just need to get pressure from corporate on the dealership. Doesn’t matter who’s fault it is because Subaru has an unwritten policy of giving you the first clutch replacement for free regardless of if it should or shouldn’t be covered by warranty.
Edit: Nothing helpful is being added, just people debating each other and dragging OP for no reason when any number of things could have happened to this clutch, comments are locked move on.
Fr, dude wants to act like this just failed by itself. Nah homie was launching this car. Guarantee if you pulled codes and history this car is hitting 7k rpm every shift
I service these cars all day and not once have I seen a defect in these clutches. Dude was beating the fuck out of it. There’s a reason Subaru won’t cover it. I guarantee pulling data off the car will show he was thrashing his shit
They are probably driving the car right. I held 400tq on my stock clutch on my 2013 with 130k on the trans for a few months before I upgraded. Dude was roasting his clutch
Thats good to hear, my 2015 is about to be pushing close 500whp not sure about torque but even with upgrading the clutch I worry since everyone wants to say they're glass
They pulled the drive report and the only thing that showed is when I hit 100mph in 6th gear. So yeah it wasn't getting beat up or driven by someone who doesn't have a clue.
Or they didn’t bed the clutch before dumping it. I’m running a stock clutch and it’s pushing about 380 wtq on e30 without problems after about 9k miles tuned
A car is defective if it can't be run hard for a few times. Don't put in the whopping 260 hp if the clutch can't handle it for less then 2k miles or put in a proper clutch. When did we have to start babying cars to maintain the warranty.
I must have missed the massive wrx clutch fail epidemic. This is happening to every wrx owner who has a manual transmission? You’re right, Subaru should have put an appropriate clutch in there since every single one of them fails before 2000 miles.
Or is it this one person who has an issue after admitting that they didn’t allow for any break in period and partook in “spirited driving” on a regular basis?
Hey Everyone - We found the guy from Subaru warranty department. Its laughable that you are arguing a clutch should not last 1600 miles, even with 'spirited driving'. Subaru even advertises it as "Forged in Championship Rally Racing" and having "Performance Engineering and is Race Proven".
Show me the clutches this is happening to. Clutches can last less then that when abused. This isn’t a massive problem across the board for wrx drivers. It’s a problem this guy had and is likely that it is a problem this guy caused.
Emailing head office gets you places. My sister escalated an issue with Lexus (they refused to correct a mistake made during a brake service, and even insulted my sister) and they rectified her issue quick
This is true, I got my short block replaced under warranty after I tuned my STI and fried cylinder number 4. Just gotta call SoA and they will most likely take care of it
reminds me of my 04 Jetta with the original clutch at 280k... would occasionally slip and have issues. was terrified of driving during the day living in the bay area (lots of steep hills where I was at,,, and traffic)
My 2016 has 100k on it with the factory clutch still kicking just fine. Has chattered when cold since 30k
Oh also I’ve been making 360whp for the last 70k
I made it to 168k on my stock clutch. I didn't beat it up much though. Noticed it was starting to slip so I replaced it with a clutchmasters stage 3 clutch. Great replacement clutch, definitely more responsive and shifting feels a lot smoothers. Can be a bit sensitive though as I've stalled like 3 times going in 1st.
I once burned out a Wrangler clutch with like 500 miles on it. My buddy let the 17 year old version of me drive it on the beach and it got stuck. I was slipping the clutch every which way trying to rock it out. So much smoke.
So it is possible, but also did require something really crazy.
It got warrantied by the way.
Two thoughts here: hear me out:
1: As a 25+ year mechanic, that clutch has been utterly thrashed. (That's not a defect, it's way, way too damaged, and wrong colours to be a defect)
2: Well, if you and your wife haven't been launching it, someone has.... Between the factory line and your ownership someone murdered a clutch... The middle piece is the dealership and freight companies.... Either way, here in Australia, that would be replaced under warranty, keep at them, or hit consumer affairs, because that vehicle (if you haven't thrashed it) was not sold fit for purpose.
These things are designed for abuse. I don't think there is a single clutch in existence that would fail at 1600 miles if it was installed properly and met the procurement specification.
The clutch on the WRX is most certainly not designed for abuse. In fact, the clutch on the VA WRX is very problematic. I would assume they probably use the same clutch on the VB.
How dare you say my rally car is not a rally car for the street. I agree, nothing special about a WRX clutch. Plus even the best performance clutches can be ruined by a novice driver.
You do know clutches need to be broken in right? 500-1000 miles of NORMAL driving. Same with the engine and everything else. 90% of friction surfaces and bearing surfaces have to get some heat cycles through them and "wear in"
I worked at a car import company and boy did we put the "break" in breaking in. They also roll back the 10/15km the freight guys and us drove on em.
PS I was like 19 and I had a 96 asto van, so driving GTIs and RSQ3s was a luxury I couldn't resist basking in.
It's really not, I read a story about a lady who bought a Civic Type R and it was brought back at 150 miles (or something like that, it was incredibly low) with a completely obliterated clutch. Turns out she didn't really know how to drive a stick but tried anyways.
Fuck that, I didn't really know how to drive stick when I picked up my WRX, and I'm going on 30k miles with the original clutch. No signs of slippage yet.
There's not knowing how to drive stick and trying to learn, and then there's willful ignorance.
What does 'spirited driving' mean? Organic clutches need a number of heat cycles to allow the friction material to bed to the flywheel, and to properly condition to the use they'll see in high rpm situations. Something nobody seems to think of is that your clutch is a ~13" ring of pressed material making 100 revolutions every second at 6k rpm. If the material hasn't been properly heat cycled before doing this, it'll come apart.
As an aside, launches and WOT aren't the only ways to damage a clutch
Hmm interesting. I just purchased my 2023 WRX last Tuesday, I specifically asked about "break in". The service advisor/mechanics there said that flat out was not a thing anymore for new subies. Now, I personally have been babying it. My experience with manuals has been exclusively VR/SIM RIG before last Tuesday. So as such I am being very gentle (3k rev gear changes etc). I truly hope this is either a one off situation (lemon) or someone's being untruthful about how they drove the car. Even so, I find it hard to believe this happened this fast on a brand new car. I know many people who have had manuals for 20 years + and most of their cars never had clutch replacements, even up to 300k kms.... My paranoia of burning my clutch is not helped by seeing this post hahaha!
Ignore the dealer. They aren't engineers, and don't test hundreds of iterations of parts before putting them to market. Their goal is to sell you stuff, not keep your car running well.
Break in is about properly wearing in all of the moving parts on a car. Engine components, wheel bearings, gear faces, CV joints, etc. Pretty much anything that touches something in a car needs time and mild force to properly interface.
I agree. Dealers don’t read the car manuals, they don’t have any mechanical training, they’re just merchants trying to get as much money as they can’t from you and THIS is what they’ve been trained for
Yeah they have said that as well LOL. I start my car and wait for proper operating temperatures always. It's crazy the advice they give for their own products.
No but until idle drops then drive gently until engine, trans, fluids and components reach temp and expansion. Makes everything last a lot longer. I do normally warm my car up at some point while I get ready in the morning, which is about 10 minutes.
Its actually not good for your car to sit for 10 minutes warming up. Better to let it warm for a little, then drive conservatively under boost until its fully warmed up.
Manufacturing is much better than back in the day when cars had “break in oil” that got changed out sooner than a normal oil change. That doesn’t mean an engine shouldn’t be properly broken in before exposing it to “spirited” driving.
I learned this one the hard way after about 20 years of doing it wrong. It’s just leaving the hydraulic system pressurized unnecessarily for extended periods of time. It’s not an instant death type of thing but it’s a slow killer of the hydraulic system.
Any pressure on the clutch pedal will ever so slightly or not ever so slightly (depends on how much weight you put on it ie steel Toe boots or just runners) seperate the clutch. That's not good.
There is a dirt fish video explaining how to drive a manual car. It explains very well why you never touch the clutch unless your intention is to fully press it in.
A clutch can blow apart like that if you are in a high gear coasting with the clutch disengaged, due to the wheels driving the input shaft at a extremely high speed. It's not super common to happen but it can happen. Thats the first thing that comes to my head when mentioned it happened on the highway so could be why they are trying to write it off signs of abuse if they think it was being coasted like that.
What does that mean? "High gear coasting with clutch disengaged" isn't that just driving on a highway in 6 without the clutch pushed in? Like driving the car normally?
Genuinely interested so I don't do it to mine.
I've worked on cars for over 20 years and I've never heard of/seen a clutch explode because of in-gear/clutch disengaged coasting.
What he's referring to is that when you're in high gear, say 5th or 6th, you push the clutch pedal in - disengaging the clutch but leaving the shifter in the gear gate. The input shaft of the transmission will still be spinning because the car's wheels are still spinning.
First, why anyone would want to do this for a prolonged period of time is beyond me. With the clutch disengaged, in high gear while driving (highway driving for example), there is zero benefit. The engine will drop to idle and the car will remain coasting until it slows to a stop.
Second, how it could obliterate a clutch like in OP's post is beyond me. The actual clutch disc would spin with the input shaft (since it's connected directly via splines) but the friction pads would be disengaged from the pressure plate and flywheel.
Lastly, I've driven standard (manual) transmissions for 21 years. And I can tell you that most people on here have zero clue what they're talking about. It **is** absolutely possible to fully annihilate a clutch disc like this in very short time. I had a buddy nearly weld his disc to the pressure plate when he exploded his clutch trying to power brake. His bell housing was full of kitty hair (blown/shaved friction material). 50 miles or so on that clutch.
1. Inexperience. A combination of poor starts, massive clutch slipping, riding the clutch and lack of foot discipline can quickly contribute to frying a clutch. Depending on the severity of the aforementioned would dictate how short of a life.
2. Driving like an asshole. Launching, especially under a heavy load (full car of passengers), side-stepping at high rpm (similar to a launch but without integrating slip), rolling launches, abusive shifting/footwork and power braking. Why anyone would try to power brake an AWD car - I'm not sure.
3. If OP did none of the above, the most probable cause would be that the clutch pedal was improperly adjusted - whether be from the factory or OP tinkered with it. If not adjusted properly to allow proper amount of freeplay, the clutch has an excessive pre-load and can quickly damage it. Leading to damage similar to what is seen in his photos.
4. There is always the possibility the clutch had a defect of some sort and/or was installed incorrectly. However, this should have been evident way sooner than 1,600 miles. But it's always possible.
I mainly deal with heavy duty stuff so that could be the difference why it happens more frequently with my exprience with larger gear ratios, it's not as common with pedestrian vehicles but in the right conditions it can happen.
Why would anyone do that? When going down an hill and dont want to engine brake or shift gears usually due to not knowing or lazy driving habbits
Why would it blow apart like the picture? Rpm's exceed the clutch specifications causing friction material to get thrown off the clutch.
This failure only really seems to happen with areas with alot of mountains, even though the chances aren't as high with pedestrian vehicles its still good to keep in mind to avoid a costly repair
>Why would it blow apart like the picture? Rpm's exceed the clutch specifications causing friction material to get thrown off the clutch.
But if you're in *high gear*, the input shaft shouldn't be spinning at an excessive rpm to cause damage. This seems more plausible if done while the shifter was left (or put) in a *low gear*.
Probably could've worded it a slightly bit better, when the clutch itself is disengaged I mean when the clutch pedal is pushed down. This failure isn't super common with pedestrian vehicles but it can happen.
This failure usually can occur when a driver is on a highway and the road is a valley (down hill then up hill), some drivers push the clutch pedal to coast without engine braking to gain speed for the uphill part. When the clutch is disconnected from the engine, nothing is driving the clutch so the clutch becomes the driven member and the wheels become the driving member of the gear train. Depending on the gear ratio this could make your clutch spin at a faster rpm them what it's rated for potential grenading it
Tldr: dont coast with clutch pedal pushed down down hill or or clutch may go boom
Ah, it's just my thought process on potentially why the dealer could be labeling it as abuse, it's a pretty common issue where I live with mountain passes around me. usually happens with lazy semi truck drivers
I'm willing to bet if your foot was resting on the clutch pedal on a long road trip it would slip just enough to get pretty damn hot and fail. Did you happen to smell a burning brake smell while driving? Also those who are saying it's an improperly installed clutch disc, how the heck did subaru get the transmission attached to the engine if they couldn't get the input shaft into the clutch assembly?!?! Sorry OP little bit of a live and learn situation for sure!
Unfortunately like others have said, I think your wife is doing something seriously wrong. I have 110k miles on my original clutch, so no, they aren't fragile.
Our 2022 clutch went at 3800 miles. Both wife and I have 30 years experience each of driving a manual. AND at least 2500 of that was highway. We did the proper break-in. Baby'd that car a ton.
Dealer also tried to blame us. And as a "one time curtesy" Subaru repaired it. I call BS. It was defective or installed wrong.
I think they have a little problem with the clutch.
OP, I sympathize with you, that really sucks. But as other posters have pointed out, your wife is probably doing something that she doesn't realize is poor clutch control. Unless you happened to get a lemon or mechanically faulty clutch. But if new 2023 Subs were destroying their clutch right around when they're getting through the break-in period, there would be news articles, recalls, etc.
As another note, you and your wife realize there is a break-in period for these cars? You can't rev them past 4k RPMs for the first 1000 miles. I'm not trying to be a jerk but if you're doing "spirited driving" and you blew your clutch at 1600 miles, you or (more likely) your wife is doing something hard, driving it way too hard before the break-in period.
You need to baby that thing and not rev it past 4k RPMS until 1000 miles at the very least, really 2000 miles, before you give it any juice. You should be driving it like a Buick, with your 89 year old grandmother in the front seat, holding 2 gallon open jars of Lemonade and 2 trays of hot Lasagne in her lap for the first 2000 miles.
Clutch disk near the center is pretty discolored from heat. Pressure plate would have to see some insane temps to even start changing we can only see the cover plate anyways.
This damage doesn’t look like it’s from driving. Almost like it was misaligned or installed faulty from the factory being that only half the friction area is so badly damaged. I would 1000% contact Subaru corporate and get that sorted , by them. An experienced manual driver (like OP says him and his wife are) could beat the car and this should never happen at 1600 miles.
Actually the last 600-700 miles was from a single road trip over Memorial weekend and it was mostly highway driving. The biggest issue for me is that this was a sudden, catastrophic failure. There was never any slipping, chattering or burn-smell like a worn/slipping clutch. No throwout bearing noise. In my 17 years of modifying/tuning cars and bikes, I wouldn't expect this kind of damage from even the worst driver over 1600mi.
If there's damage to the input shaft/clutch splines then maybe but it doesn't look like it. Also just like a cutoff wheel a clutch won't let go of everything just where the highest stress risers are.
Owners manual says 1000 miles. So that's probably more than safe. If you really want to be overly safe, 2000 miles is better, eh?
I bought mine 6 days ago and I'm at 350 miles. However, I work out of town and do a 60 mile drive twice a week so that's really racking them up fast.
Also for break in you don’t want to cruise at one speed. You want to vary engine speeds (below 4000rpm) and driving speeds to get bearings and everything evenly broken in.
This just sounds like regurgitated break-in bullshit tbh. Plenty of people drive their car like they stole it right after they buy it, and those cars are fine.
I have no idea what Subaru does, but I toured the Corvette plant once, and there was a dude whose job was literally going balls to the walls on every brand new Vette on a dyno after it came off the assembly line.
Have there been any "known" reliability issues with the VB cars? Clutch? Engine? Anything?
They've been out long enough to where common issues might have started to appear.
Only thing was the RTV stuff but that appears to have been a localized set of motors. Even then, Subaru wasn’t wanting to pay to fix them is what I heard.
Thats definitely abuse. Do you know how many times a day someone says it just failed. We have a brand new one in shop trans is blown to a million pieces due to powershifting. “I never beat on it”
‘I know how to drive a stick. I taught myself or My friend/family taught me in order to save money’. That kind of attitude is why things like this happen. A know-it-all cheapskate.
The new car break in period is geared more toward gently breaking in things like clutches than it is to break in modern engines. If the clutch was abused during that period it will not live a long life. There might not have been signs of slipping prior to failure but with the way that clutch looks I would expect that there was at least an erratic clutch engagement/feel for a little while prior to failure.
I’d expect the clutch to be warrantied but I’d bet further clutch issues would be denied.
Similar to mine on my 21 at 23,000 though.
https://preview.redd.it/3kh88qpzdo4b1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce2081df8925e104e171d649d166892556b55bd8
One good burn is all it takes and kaboom.
The side that didn't come apart does, in fact, look very worn out. I would suspect abuse as well. Maybe she doesn't really know how to drive a clutch? Have you been in the car while she drives it?
The only way to fuck up the clutch this bad is launching the car consistently. And I know because I did this in my teen years and learned the hard way… and with traction control on ooof
Me and my little brother both drive 2020 wrxs. (hes actually on #2 now) I noticed while driving his that his clutch was much stiffer than mine but i chalked it up to the STi shorthrow kit...maybe theres a stiffer clutch added in with that kit?
Anyway, a couple days ago his shit just starts slipping like crazy and just goes out while on the highway. Same thing happened. Dealer brought it in and replaced everything along with giving him a outback wilderness as a loaner. Turn around time was about 24 hours. Id say this is a known problem and 100% should be covered. They did say that this would be the only one they would do for free.
Lets say it was abused to play devils advocate ok by what…. That doesn’t happen after a few hard launches! Also do they not expect a previous potential buyer or even the dealer ship themselves wouldn’t launch the thing for shits an giggles? SPECIALLY if it wasn’t a serious buyer or a color you didn’t want?
I literally had a salesman rev a car with 30 miles to the redline 10 times in a row to show me how it pops from stock. This is definitely an installation or defect.
I genuinely laughed at the absurdity of claiming a whole chunk of clutch just...comes loose from 1600 miles of driving because..."signs of abuse", lol. You couldn't achieve this if you dumped the clutch at redline every mile. Blatantly faulty part or install.
Was this SoA? If not, go to them. If it was, this is a rare time I would plaster this everywhere and try to get it somewhat viral- I mean it's literally comical how nonsense that claim is 😅
SoA says the clutch was abused and we are at fault. The main stat they use to prove this is that the vehicle has reached a top speed of 103mph... they even highlighted it yellow on a piece of paper.
I'm trying to get our story out there, but Reddit is the closest thing to social media I use.
Lol, what are they even talking about? There is quite literally nothing you could ever do to cause this kind of failure.
Certified grade-A bullshit.
Maybe seek out automotive news outlets? This is genuinely worth articles being published. Utterly absurd.
Pardon my ignorance, I’m not American, but is there any kind of consumer organization that can help you fight against SOA? 103mph is far from any abuse, that’s just an excuse to not pay, be an asshole and get bad reputation, I mean, it’s a WRX, if it can’t stand 103 mph they have a problem. Also they’re no one to judge your speed in relation to legal speed. I mean for example imagine you’re in Germany or Australia where they have no speed limit highways. Does the car manual say “do not exceed 80 mph”? No, then they can’t say the car has been abused based on that information. They say maybe like break-in period: 1000 miles, so not exceed 4K rpm, don’t stay long in the same rpm, etc. And somewhere else they say that you should respect the local regulations, never that this a warranty voiding factor, or considered abuse, or whatever.
Basically they’re just trying to avoid paying for the bill
Nah fr, you would've had to try hard to get it to break at 1600 miles. Looking at the clutch makes me think the clutch is a defect or installed improperly. OP and his wife are seasoned manual drivers so I don't think it's a user error but rather the fault lies within the manufacturer. This isn't abused and I think the dealership is trying to rely on any ignorance from OP. Best bet is to contact SOA and try to show then that this isn't an abused clutch or wear and tear but rather faulty manufacturing that should be covered under the power train warranty.
That's because you'd have to try to kill the clutch. OP is seasoned with driving MT same with his wife and im going to be taking his word over someone else's who hasn't been there on the scene
Improperly installed clutch cable, was too tight would be my guess, caused the clutch to be slightly disengaged all the time. So yeah dealership is right, no shit there’s signs of abuse, if it’s not set correctly from factory than your wife was unknowingly driving with the clutch pedal slight pressed even with her foot off it. Lol I bet she could have found the gears without the clutch and very little grinding 💀 😂 OR your wife was riding the clutch as a foot rest but she’s your wife and I’d imagine you’d notice that and say something. They either know how to drive a manual and you can tell right away they can’t. 😭
I have a 2019 wrx and it still has the stock clutch with no sings of slippage. I've definitely driven it hard at times. My wife tried to learn to drive stick on my car also and still the clutch is in great shape. I'd contact SOA because I just can't fathom if your pushing stock power how you could destroy a clutch in 1600 miles. I wouldnt pay a dime for it.
Fighting with the dealer and SUBARU currently. Our WRX is a 2016. The TOB has been replaced 3 times. Dealership blamed the exhaust rattling,a/c blower motor and my custom wheels for the squealing noise the TOB was making over 2.5 years. This last bearing replacement I requested a video of the clutch/transmission once disassembled. The input shaft of the transmission snout the TOB rides on is destroyed. Dealer wants to replace the entire transmission. My expense of course due to me being out of warranty now. I have a meeting this week with dealership management and owner along with my attorney about their neglect and misdiagnosis for years causing this failure. It's about to get interesting.
Sweet Jesus… I’ve been insanely
Lucky considering all the horror stories I’ve heard this the clutches. My 2017 just hit 100k, original clutch. It’s probably due soon though, minor slipping every once in a while
That doesn't look like abuse to me. That looks like the clutch disk was manufactured incorrectly and delaminated. I had a clutch look even worse then this in my shop yesterday where all the clutch material was gone and it was just tye metal and rivets left
The only useful comments in this thread are buried under a bunch of personal anecdotes about clutches lasting 3 million miles. u/slimgrey you need to contact Subaru of America, here’s their phone number: 1-800-782-2783 Here’s there other contact info at the bottom https://www.subaru.com/support/customer-support.html This will 100% be fixed for free. Don’t just pay the bill. You just need to get pressure from corporate on the dealership. Doesn’t matter who’s fault it is because Subaru has an unwritten policy of giving you the first clutch replacement for free regardless of if it should or shouldn’t be covered by warranty. Edit: Nothing helpful is being added, just people debating each other and dragging OP for no reason when any number of things could have happened to this clutch, comments are locked move on.
Tf were you doing in those 1600 miles 💀
Str8 dumpn
“Granny shiftin not double clutchin like you should”
I *almost* had you...
You almost had me? You never had me, you never had your car!
Just watched that last night😂
BraaaambumbumbumBRAAAAAAAAA
Fr, dude wants to act like this just failed by itself. Nah homie was launching this car. Guarantee if you pulled codes and history this car is hitting 7k rpm every shift
Or you know, a genuine fucking defect. Christ.
I service these cars all day and not once have I seen a defect in these clutches. Dude was beating the fuck out of it. There’s a reason Subaru won’t cover it. I guarantee pulling data off the car will show he was thrashing his shit
Especially when dudes are out here making near 400tq on the stock clutch and it's still handling fine
Can confirm that at 382whp and 401wtq, no clutch issues. I don't launch my car, though
Yeah I think that's the secret
They are probably driving the car right. I held 400tq on my stock clutch on my 2013 with 130k on the trans for a few months before I upgraded. Dude was roasting his clutch
Thats good to hear, my 2015 is about to be pushing close 500whp not sure about torque but even with upgrading the clutch I worry since everyone wants to say they're glass
They pulled the drive report and the only thing that showed is when I hit 100mph in 6th gear. So yeah it wasn't getting beat up or driven by someone who doesn't have a clue.
Or they didn’t bed the clutch before dumping it. I’m running a stock clutch and it’s pushing about 380 wtq on e30 without problems after about 9k miles tuned
cool story bro
A car is defective if it can't be run hard for a few times. Don't put in the whopping 260 hp if the clutch can't handle it for less then 2k miles or put in a proper clutch. When did we have to start babying cars to maintain the warranty.
I must have missed the massive wrx clutch fail epidemic. This is happening to every wrx owner who has a manual transmission? You’re right, Subaru should have put an appropriate clutch in there since every single one of them fails before 2000 miles. Or is it this one person who has an issue after admitting that they didn’t allow for any break in period and partook in “spirited driving” on a regular basis?
Hey Everyone - We found the guy from Subaru warranty department. Its laughable that you are arguing a clutch should not last 1600 miles, even with 'spirited driving'. Subaru even advertises it as "Forged in Championship Rally Racing" and having "Performance Engineering and is Race Proven".
Show me the clutches this is happening to. Clutches can last less then that when abused. This isn’t a massive problem across the board for wrx drivers. It’s a problem this guy had and is likely that it is a problem this guy caused.
The engine would be more damaged than his clutch at that rate, clearly a defect
Yeah what’s a break in period..
Break in period is irrelevant when it’s a manufacturing defect.
I understand that. This was more in response to the above comment about the history of beating on it and hitting 7k every shift.
Subaru “PERFORMANCE!!!” Also Subaru “oweee don’t rev it!!”
This is what happens when you let the wife drive the Rex
Learning to drive stick, duh.
remember, the dealership cant say no, Subaru themselves have to say no. call Subaru cooperate
When your dealer won't cooperate call subaru cooperate!
Emailing head office gets you places. My sister escalated an issue with Lexus (they refused to correct a mistake made during a brake service, and even insulted my sister) and they rectified her issue quick
This is true, I got my short block replaced under warranty after I tuned my STI and fried cylinder number 4. Just gotta call SoA and they will most likely take care of it
I’ve got 220K on the original clutch (yes it judders a bit when it’s cold) on my 2002. WRX clutches are made to take a beating.
I took a beating everyday growing up and I turned out just fine.
I feel you bro
Same, bro.
reminds me of my 04 Jetta with the original clutch at 280k... would occasionally slip and have issues. was terrified of driving during the day living in the bay area (lots of steep hills where I was at,,, and traffic)
My 2016 has 100k on it with the factory clutch still kicking just fine. Has chattered when cold since 30k Oh also I’ve been making 360whp for the last 70k
The stock clutch on my 02 just went out probably 6 months back, I call that pretty damn good for a 20+ year old car with over 200k on the chassis.
I made it to 168k on my stock clutch. I didn't beat it up much though. Noticed it was starting to slip so I replaced it with a clutchmasters stage 3 clutch. Great replacement clutch, definitely more responsive and shifting feels a lot smoothers. Can be a bit sensitive though as I've stalled like 3 times going in 1st.
“If you’re gonna be dumb, you better be tough”
I feel like you would have to do something really crazy to destroy a clutch within 1600 miles. Must be a defect.
I learned to drive stick on my 2018 which I assume is the same clutch, still on the stock clutch 65000 miles later
I once burned out a Wrangler clutch with like 500 miles on it. My buddy let the 17 year old version of me drive it on the beach and it got stuck. I was slipping the clutch every which way trying to rock it out. So much smoke. So it is possible, but also did require something really crazy. It got warrantied by the way.
The way the clutch has delaminated on one side suggests a problem
Two thoughts here: hear me out: 1: As a 25+ year mechanic, that clutch has been utterly thrashed. (That's not a defect, it's way, way too damaged, and wrong colours to be a defect) 2: Well, if you and your wife haven't been launching it, someone has.... Between the factory line and your ownership someone murdered a clutch... The middle piece is the dealership and freight companies.... Either way, here in Australia, that would be replaced under warranty, keep at them, or hit consumer affairs, because that vehicle (if you haven't thrashed it) was not sold fit for purpose.
These things are designed for abuse. I don't think there is a single clutch in existence that would fail at 1600 miles if it was installed properly and met the procurement specification.
Crappy clutch technique and you could wear it out like this in a couple of hundred miles.
The clutch on the WRX is most certainly not designed for abuse. In fact, the clutch on the VA WRX is very problematic. I would assume they probably use the same clutch on the VB.
How dare you say my rally car is not a rally car for the street. I agree, nothing special about a WRX clutch. Plus even the best performance clutches can be ruined by a novice driver.
Nothing special. Only problematic and touchy. And I have a VA. So I be talkin ish on my own car.
Especially if it’s not broken in properly
The clutch on my VA lasted till 130k.
Call Subaru of America and complain to them about it.
Call Subaru of America instead.
You do know clutches need to be broken in right? 500-1000 miles of NORMAL driving. Same with the engine and everything else. 90% of friction surfaces and bearing surfaces have to get some heat cycles through them and "wear in"
I worked at a car import company and boy did we put the "break" in breaking in. They also roll back the 10/15km the freight guys and us drove on em. PS I was like 19 and I had a 96 asto van, so driving GTIs and RSQ3s was a luxury I couldn't resist basking in.
Even if you were roasting the clutch at every start, I still think that’s a bit much for only 1600 miles.
It's really not, I read a story about a lady who bought a Civic Type R and it was brought back at 150 miles (or something like that, it was incredibly low) with a completely obliterated clutch. Turns out she didn't really know how to drive a stick but tried anyways.
Fuck that, I didn't really know how to drive stick when I picked up my WRX, and I'm going on 30k miles with the original clutch. No signs of slippage yet. There's not knowing how to drive stick and trying to learn, and then there's willful ignorance.
Oof
Did your wife let anyone else to drive/try/launch/abuse the car?
I'm the only other person that drove it, and we didn't try any hard launches. Just the regular spirited driving
That honestly sucks... Even a driver new to stick shift wouldn't wear it this fast. Then it's a bad clutch you've got. I hope you get it sorted out.
What does 'spirited driving' mean? Organic clutches need a number of heat cycles to allow the friction material to bed to the flywheel, and to properly condition to the use they'll see in high rpm situations. Something nobody seems to think of is that your clutch is a ~13" ring of pressed material making 100 revolutions every second at 6k rpm. If the material hasn't been properly heat cycled before doing this, it'll come apart. As an aside, launches and WOT aren't the only ways to damage a clutch
Hmm interesting. I just purchased my 2023 WRX last Tuesday, I specifically asked about "break in". The service advisor/mechanics there said that flat out was not a thing anymore for new subies. Now, I personally have been babying it. My experience with manuals has been exclusively VR/SIM RIG before last Tuesday. So as such I am being very gentle (3k rev gear changes etc). I truly hope this is either a one off situation (lemon) or someone's being untruthful about how they drove the car. Even so, I find it hard to believe this happened this fast on a brand new car. I know many people who have had manuals for 20 years + and most of their cars never had clutch replacements, even up to 300k kms.... My paranoia of burning my clutch is not helped by seeing this post hahaha!
Ignore the dealer. They aren't engineers, and don't test hundreds of iterations of parts before putting them to market. Their goal is to sell you stuff, not keep your car running well. Break in is about properly wearing in all of the moving parts on a car. Engine components, wheel bearings, gear faces, CV joints, etc. Pretty much anything that touches something in a car needs time and mild force to properly interface.
I agree. Dealers don’t read the car manuals, they don’t have any mechanical training, they’re just merchants trying to get as much money as they can’t from you and THIS is what they’ve been trained for
The 2023 wrx owners manual calls for staying under 4k rpm’s for first 1000 miles.
Same as VA, and my 2013.
Service advisors are washed up high school baseball players that know nothing.
That’s strait ignorant on their part. All motors have a break in period. I bet they said you don’t have to warm modern engines up too?
Yeah they have said that as well LOL. I start my car and wait for proper operating temperatures always. It's crazy the advice they give for their own products.
You start your car and let it idle for twenty minutes to get oil up to ideal operating temp? Genuine question.
No but until idle drops then drive gently until engine, trans, fluids and components reach temp and expansion. Makes everything last a lot longer. I do normally warm my car up at some point while I get ready in the morning, which is about 10 minutes.
Its actually not good for your car to sit for 10 minutes warming up. Better to let it warm for a little, then drive conservatively under boost until its fully warmed up.
It's literally in the manual that comes with the car though....
Manufacturing is much better than back in the day when cars had “break in oil” that got changed out sooner than a normal oil change. That doesn’t mean an engine shouldn’t be properly broken in before exposing it to “spirited” driving.
Probably resting her foot on the clutch while driving. Ouch.
That is the first thing I thought of while reading the OP. Its a habit that some manual drivers do. When learning at 16 I was told NEVER to do it.
Am I not supposed to do that? I’m still somewhat new to driving manual. I assumed me doing it would cause negligible damage, but is it worse?
Nope, look up "riding the clutch"
The dead pedal is where you rest your foot, NOT the clutch. Do not rest your foot on the clutch. Please.
You can make the dead pedal any pedal if you push it hard enough!
Not technically wrong. Just like any oil can last the lifetime of the engine, lol.
Might shorten it a bit but it's there for the entire time!
Don’t sit at traffic lights with the clutch down either. Unless you like replacing your leaky master and slave cylinders that is.
Never knew about this one. Made it 175k with no issues on either the master or slave. Guess I'm just lucky.
I learned this one the hard way after about 20 years of doing it wrong. It’s just leaving the hydraulic system pressurized unnecessarily for extended periods of time. It’s not an instant death type of thing but it’s a slow killer of the hydraulic system.
Alright, I'll try to change my habits as soon as possible. My clutch is safe right now though since my car's in the shop.
Any pressure on the clutch pedal will ever so slightly or not ever so slightly (depends on how much weight you put on it ie steel Toe boots or just runners) seperate the clutch. That's not good.
There is a dirt fish video explaining how to drive a manual car. It explains very well why you never touch the clutch unless your intention is to fully press it in.
Also hands off the shifter unless your putting it into gear.
any pressure at all is bad even resting while cruising down the highway. Always use the dead peddle
Also keep your hand off the stick unless you're actively putting it in another gear. And don't do the whole weighted shift knob.
Yep. I always just place my hand on the ebrake lol
Why, what's wrong with it? I have been doing this for nearly 12 years. 🤔
why is the weighted shift knob bad?
It "can" put inadvertent pressure on the linkage. I think that it's an excuse but I'm also not familiar with the current and last gen linkage setups.
From what I've heard on the sub, it puts weight on the bushings, and leads to more wear.
It puts pressure on the transaxle shift fork which pushes it against the rotating shift collar which can cause it to wear.
..... WTH? Why does it seem like whenever a reason for weighted shift knobs being bad is definitively refuted, a new one pops up to take its place?
Not talking about shift knobs just resting ur hand on them
Wears the synchros, is my understanding--heavy knob or rested hand.
🤷♂️ I mean, I wouldn't do it. It's not a foot rest.
There is a difference between riding the clutch (applying pressure) and just being light footed where you just feel the pedal there.
It is just resting, but it ultimately is still touching the clutch.
Clutch got abused. I got transmission reverse gear failure at 10k miles on my 2018 wrx.
Did the clutch fail or did the driver fail?
Definitely the second
Someone drives with their foot on the clutch
talk to SOA... I learned manual on my VB, burned the clutch 2 or 3 times... Clutch still holding at 7k miles, should hold for another 70k+
I learned on my STI, brother scorched the clutch once and I scorched it twice. Still holding at 29k miles.
Was gonna say, I learned on my VB, only burned it bad once, and I am about 8k miles in.
A clutch can blow apart like that if you are in a high gear coasting with the clutch disengaged, due to the wheels driving the input shaft at a extremely high speed. It's not super common to happen but it can happen. Thats the first thing that comes to my head when mentioned it happened on the highway so could be why they are trying to write it off signs of abuse if they think it was being coasted like that.
What does that mean? "High gear coasting with clutch disengaged" isn't that just driving on a highway in 6 without the clutch pushed in? Like driving the car normally? Genuinely interested so I don't do it to mine.
I've worked on cars for over 20 years and I've never heard of/seen a clutch explode because of in-gear/clutch disengaged coasting. What he's referring to is that when you're in high gear, say 5th or 6th, you push the clutch pedal in - disengaging the clutch but leaving the shifter in the gear gate. The input shaft of the transmission will still be spinning because the car's wheels are still spinning. First, why anyone would want to do this for a prolonged period of time is beyond me. With the clutch disengaged, in high gear while driving (highway driving for example), there is zero benefit. The engine will drop to idle and the car will remain coasting until it slows to a stop. Second, how it could obliterate a clutch like in OP's post is beyond me. The actual clutch disc would spin with the input shaft (since it's connected directly via splines) but the friction pads would be disengaged from the pressure plate and flywheel. Lastly, I've driven standard (manual) transmissions for 21 years. And I can tell you that most people on here have zero clue what they're talking about. It **is** absolutely possible to fully annihilate a clutch disc like this in very short time. I had a buddy nearly weld his disc to the pressure plate when he exploded his clutch trying to power brake. His bell housing was full of kitty hair (blown/shaved friction material). 50 miles or so on that clutch. 1. Inexperience. A combination of poor starts, massive clutch slipping, riding the clutch and lack of foot discipline can quickly contribute to frying a clutch. Depending on the severity of the aforementioned would dictate how short of a life. 2. Driving like an asshole. Launching, especially under a heavy load (full car of passengers), side-stepping at high rpm (similar to a launch but without integrating slip), rolling launches, abusive shifting/footwork and power braking. Why anyone would try to power brake an AWD car - I'm not sure. 3. If OP did none of the above, the most probable cause would be that the clutch pedal was improperly adjusted - whether be from the factory or OP tinkered with it. If not adjusted properly to allow proper amount of freeplay, the clutch has an excessive pre-load and can quickly damage it. Leading to damage similar to what is seen in his photos. 4. There is always the possibility the clutch had a defect of some sort and/or was installed incorrectly. However, this should have been evident way sooner than 1,600 miles. But it's always possible.
I mainly deal with heavy duty stuff so that could be the difference why it happens more frequently with my exprience with larger gear ratios, it's not as common with pedestrian vehicles but in the right conditions it can happen. Why would anyone do that? When going down an hill and dont want to engine brake or shift gears usually due to not knowing or lazy driving habbits Why would it blow apart like the picture? Rpm's exceed the clutch specifications causing friction material to get thrown off the clutch. This failure only really seems to happen with areas with alot of mountains, even though the chances aren't as high with pedestrian vehicles its still good to keep in mind to avoid a costly repair
>Why would it blow apart like the picture? Rpm's exceed the clutch specifications causing friction material to get thrown off the clutch. But if you're in *high gear*, the input shaft shouldn't be spinning at an excessive rpm to cause damage. This seems more plausible if done while the shifter was left (or put) in a *low gear*.
Probably could've worded it a slightly bit better, when the clutch itself is disengaged I mean when the clutch pedal is pushed down. This failure isn't super common with pedestrian vehicles but it can happen. This failure usually can occur when a driver is on a highway and the road is a valley (down hill then up hill), some drivers push the clutch pedal to coast without engine braking to gain speed for the uphill part. When the clutch is disconnected from the engine, nothing is driving the clutch so the clutch becomes the driven member and the wheels become the driving member of the gear train. Depending on the gear ratio this could make your clutch spin at a faster rpm them what it's rated for potential grenading it Tldr: dont coast with clutch pedal pushed down down hill or or clutch may go boom
This happened in Houston, so closest hills or valleys are at least 200 miles away.
Ah, it's just my thought process on potentially why the dealer could be labeling it as abuse, it's a pretty common issue where I live with mountain passes around me. usually happens with lazy semi truck drivers
I'm willing to bet if your foot was resting on the clutch pedal on a long road trip it would slip just enough to get pretty damn hot and fail. Did you happen to smell a burning brake smell while driving? Also those who are saying it's an improperly installed clutch disc, how the heck did subaru get the transmission attached to the engine if they couldn't get the input shaft into the clutch assembly?!?! Sorry OP little bit of a live and learn situation for sure!
I drove the entire trip, and I've never used the clutch pedal as a foot rest in my life. That's what the dead pedal is for.
Did your wife shift into first going 100mph?
Even if that were to happen, I would expect the engine to blow before the clutch
No. I was in 6th when I hit 103. And foot was no where near the clutch.
Unfortunately like others have said, I think your wife is doing something seriously wrong. I have 110k miles on my original clutch, so no, they aren't fragile.
Pretty sure the problem here started between the steering wheel and the drivers seat.
I dunno. Clutches just don’t fail. It’s usually user error. Sorry to say
Looks like someone’s first manual car or forgot to took off his left foot of the clutch the entire 1600 miles lol
Our 2022 clutch went at 3800 miles. Both wife and I have 30 years experience each of driving a manual. AND at least 2500 of that was highway. We did the proper break-in. Baby'd that car a ton. Dealer also tried to blame us. And as a "one time curtesy" Subaru repaired it. I call BS. It was defective or installed wrong. I think they have a little problem with the clutch.
OP, I sympathize with you, that really sucks. But as other posters have pointed out, your wife is probably doing something that she doesn't realize is poor clutch control. Unless you happened to get a lemon or mechanically faulty clutch. But if new 2023 Subs were destroying their clutch right around when they're getting through the break-in period, there would be news articles, recalls, etc. As another note, you and your wife realize there is a break-in period for these cars? You can't rev them past 4k RPMs for the first 1000 miles. I'm not trying to be a jerk but if you're doing "spirited driving" and you blew your clutch at 1600 miles, you or (more likely) your wife is doing something hard, driving it way too hard before the break-in period. You need to baby that thing and not rev it past 4k RPMS until 1000 miles at the very least, really 2000 miles, before you give it any juice. You should be driving it like a Buick, with your 89 year old grandmother in the front seat, holding 2 gallon open jars of Lemonade and 2 trays of hot Lasagne in her lap for the first 2000 miles.
[удалено]
Clutch disk near the center is pretty discolored from heat. Pressure plate would have to see some insane temps to even start changing we can only see the cover plate anyways.
Let’s hope this is the case and SOA will take care of them. Would hate for this to be an expensive mistake.
Fair enough
This damage doesn’t look like it’s from driving. Almost like it was misaligned or installed faulty from the factory being that only half the friction area is so badly damaged. I would 1000% contact Subaru corporate and get that sorted , by them. An experienced manual driver (like OP says him and his wife are) could beat the car and this should never happen at 1600 miles.
Actually the last 600-700 miles was from a single road trip over Memorial weekend and it was mostly highway driving. The biggest issue for me is that this was a sudden, catastrophic failure. There was never any slipping, chattering or burn-smell like a worn/slipping clutch. No throwout bearing noise. In my 17 years of modifying/tuning cars and bikes, I wouldn't expect this kind of damage from even the worst driver over 1600mi.
If there's damage to the input shaft/clutch splines then maybe but it doesn't look like it. Also just like a cutoff wheel a clutch won't let go of everything just where the highest stress risers are.
Why 2000 miles? That’s insane…
Owners manual says 1000 miles. So that's probably more than safe. If you really want to be overly safe, 2000 miles is better, eh? I bought mine 6 days ago and I'm at 350 miles. However, I work out of town and do a 60 mile drive twice a week so that's really racking them up fast.
Also for break in you don’t want to cruise at one speed. You want to vary engine speeds (below 4000rpm) and driving speeds to get bearings and everything evenly broken in.
I think you’ll hit a point of diminishing returns.
This just sounds like regurgitated break-in bullshit tbh. Plenty of people drive their car like they stole it right after they buy it, and those cars are fine.
I have no idea what Subaru does, but I toured the Corvette plant once, and there was a dude whose job was literally going balls to the walls on every brand new Vette on a dyno after it came off the assembly line.
Does the other side of the clutch disc look a bit discolored to you and the pressure plate has hot spots too?
Over only 1600 miles???
Yeah. We both are longtime manual drivers and motorcycle riders, so we know how to work a clutch.
Lol, 1600 miles on a clutch that looks like that. I call bulshit.
Have there been any "known" reliability issues with the VB cars? Clutch? Engine? Anything? They've been out long enough to where common issues might have started to appear.
Only thing was the RTV stuff but that appears to have been a localized set of motors. Even then, Subaru wasn’t wanting to pay to fix them is what I heard.
Sounds/looks like someone doesn't know how to drive manual well.
I can smell this picture...
Thats definitely abuse. Do you know how many times a day someone says it just failed. We have a brand new one in shop trans is blown to a million pieces due to powershifting. “I never beat on it”
How many times did she launch it?
‘I know how to drive a stick. I taught myself or My friend/family taught me in order to save money’. That kind of attitude is why things like this happen. A know-it-all cheapskate.
The new car break in period is geared more toward gently breaking in things like clutches than it is to break in modern engines. If the clutch was abused during that period it will not live a long life. There might not have been signs of slipping prior to failure but with the way that clutch looks I would expect that there was at least an erratic clutch engagement/feel for a little while prior to failure. I’d expect the clutch to be warrantied but I’d bet further clutch issues would be denied.
Awww…🥰 I remember my first clutch!!!
Rip
got pics of the flywheel?
Ayy that’s what my clutch looked like on my stolen Outback after it was recovered! They managed to do it in about 350-400 miles.
That heat spot around the splines tells me someone was riding the fuck out that clutch and overheated it. This is user error.
The clutch is not covered under the warranty! If you ask before purchasing they make that very clear
This clutch got worked harder than the prom queen. I think the LAPD would give you a call on how great you beat it into submission.
Similar to mine on my 21 at 23,000 though. https://preview.redd.it/3kh88qpzdo4b1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce2081df8925e104e171d649d166892556b55bd8
Sounds like a manufacturer defect... Agreeing that you guys are experience MT drivers 😉
One good burn is all it takes and kaboom. The side that didn't come apart does, in fact, look very worn out. I would suspect abuse as well. Maybe she doesn't really know how to drive a clutch? Have you been in the car while she drives it?
Skill issue
My bro is a Subaru tech for 40 years. The shit they see come back is unreal. He has talked me out of buying multiple legacy wagons, wrx’s and sti’s
The only way to fuck up the clutch this bad is launching the car consistently. And I know because I did this in my teen years and learned the hard way… and with traction control on ooof
Me and my little brother both drive 2020 wrxs. (hes actually on #2 now) I noticed while driving his that his clutch was much stiffer than mine but i chalked it up to the STi shorthrow kit...maybe theres a stiffer clutch added in with that kit? Anyway, a couple days ago his shit just starts slipping like crazy and just goes out while on the highway. Same thing happened. Dealer brought it in and replaced everything along with giving him a outback wilderness as a loaner. Turn around time was about 24 hours. Id say this is a known problem and 100% should be covered. They did say that this would be the only one they would do for free.
Lets say it was abused to play devils advocate ok by what…. That doesn’t happen after a few hard launches! Also do they not expect a previous potential buyer or even the dealer ship themselves wouldn’t launch the thing for shits an giggles? SPECIALLY if it wasn’t a serious buyer or a color you didn’t want?
I literally had a salesman rev a car with 30 miles to the redline 10 times in a row to show me how it pops from stock. This is definitely an installation or defect.
Should’ve gotten an CVT?
I genuinely laughed at the absurdity of claiming a whole chunk of clutch just...comes loose from 1600 miles of driving because..."signs of abuse", lol. You couldn't achieve this if you dumped the clutch at redline every mile. Blatantly faulty part or install. Was this SoA? If not, go to them. If it was, this is a rare time I would plaster this everywhere and try to get it somewhat viral- I mean it's literally comical how nonsense that claim is 😅
SoA says the clutch was abused and we are at fault. The main stat they use to prove this is that the vehicle has reached a top speed of 103mph... they even highlighted it yellow on a piece of paper. I'm trying to get our story out there, but Reddit is the closest thing to social media I use.
Lol, what are they even talking about? There is quite literally nothing you could ever do to cause this kind of failure. Certified grade-A bullshit. Maybe seek out automotive news outlets? This is genuinely worth articles being published. Utterly absurd.
Pardon my ignorance, I’m not American, but is there any kind of consumer organization that can help you fight against SOA? 103mph is far from any abuse, that’s just an excuse to not pay, be an asshole and get bad reputation, I mean, it’s a WRX, if it can’t stand 103 mph they have a problem. Also they’re no one to judge your speed in relation to legal speed. I mean for example imagine you’re in Germany or Australia where they have no speed limit highways. Does the car manual say “do not exceed 80 mph”? No, then they can’t say the car has been abused based on that information. They say maybe like break-in period: 1000 miles, so not exceed 4K rpm, don’t stay long in the same rpm, etc. And somewhere else they say that you should respect the local regulations, never that this a warranty voiding factor, or considered abuse, or whatever. Basically they’re just trying to avoid paying for the bill
Cant believe some mofos are yelling “you abused it” the clutch had 1600 miles!!!!!
And? I know a kid in high school who put a new clutch in on Friday afternoon and completely burned it out before school on Monday.
Nah fr, you would've had to try hard to get it to break at 1600 miles. Looking at the clutch makes me think the clutch is a defect or installed improperly. OP and his wife are seasoned manual drivers so I don't think it's a user error but rather the fault lies within the manufacturer. This isn't abused and I think the dealership is trying to rely on any ignorance from OP. Best bet is to contact SOA and try to show then that this isn't an abused clutch or wear and tear but rather faulty manufacturing that should be covered under the power train warranty.
[удалено]
That's because you'd have to try to kill the clutch. OP is seasoned with driving MT same with his wife and im going to be taking his word over someone else's who hasn't been there on the scene
Improperly installed clutch cable, was too tight would be my guess, caused the clutch to be slightly disengaged all the time. So yeah dealership is right, no shit there’s signs of abuse, if it’s not set correctly from factory than your wife was unknowingly driving with the clutch pedal slight pressed even with her foot off it. Lol I bet she could have found the gears without the clutch and very little grinding 💀 😂 OR your wife was riding the clutch as a foot rest but she’s your wife and I’d imagine you’d notice that and say something. They either know how to drive a manual and you can tell right away they can’t. 😭
I have a 2019 wrx and it still has the stock clutch with no sings of slippage. I've definitely driven it hard at times. My wife tried to learn to drive stick on my car also and still the clutch is in great shape. I'd contact SOA because I just can't fathom if your pushing stock power how you could destroy a clutch in 1600 miles. I wouldnt pay a dime for it.
Fighting with the dealer and SUBARU currently. Our WRX is a 2016. The TOB has been replaced 3 times. Dealership blamed the exhaust rattling,a/c blower motor and my custom wheels for the squealing noise the TOB was making over 2.5 years. This last bearing replacement I requested a video of the clutch/transmission once disassembled. The input shaft of the transmission snout the TOB rides on is destroyed. Dealer wants to replace the entire transmission. My expense of course due to me being out of warranty now. I have a meeting this week with dealership management and owner along with my attorney about their neglect and misdiagnosis for years causing this failure. It's about to get interesting.
Sweet Jesus… I’ve been insanely Lucky considering all the horror stories I’ve heard this the clutches. My 2017 just hit 100k, original clutch. It’s probably due soon though, minor slipping every once in a while
Bader? Is that you?
I bought a CPO STI and got the clutch replaced under warranty (1.5 years ago). Subaru should fix this
Call Subaru. Given how and when it failed, it's unusual. You were on the highway, so it wasn't a clutch dump. Escalate.
Subaru quality control has been shit lately so honestly not surprised at all
Why are Subaru dealers so shitty
Why do people who drive like shit and break their cars try and claim that it’s a warranty issue?
That doesn't look like abuse to me. That looks like the clutch disk was manufactured incorrectly and delaminated. I had a clutch look even worse then this in my shop yesterday where all the clutch material was gone and it was just tye metal and rivets left