I think I just became a victim of the stop sale...

[Thermo1223]

FYI: Subaru issued a stop sale of all turboed motors in 2009 to check for possible bearing damage/contamination. They said it didn't affect US cars but it is widely believed it did.

Now when I say I drive normal I assume normal is like everyone else with an XT. We actually use the extra power and enjoy it. No high rpm driving in 2nd gear on the highway just because.

The 2009 Forester XT in question is driven far more gently than my previous 2005 XT. That was a manual and I did have tons of fun with it. Yet it still outlived the 2009.

It was acting normally as far as I can remember. Never really any issues mechanically. I was driving around normally yesterday. I standard mix of highway and city. When I finally got to the long hill my house is on I noticed a low pitched whir, I almost thought it was the turbo. I was literally 400ft away from my house so I continued on. Mind you I was just traveling in city traffic & highway 10 mins prior.

As soon as I pulled into the driveway I started to hear the knocking but only under load. In park at idle it was silent. Rev it up a tiny bit and bam there it is again. Shut it off, my neighbor is a retired mechanic and while I was sure it was that I had him listen. The look on his face made me know for sure.

Only does it right at startup & reving but I assume it will get worse. No loss of oil pressure and the oil is full. Oil changed between 4-5k miles always and always used synthetic. Mobil EP was the current fil.

So seeing as I am at 62k miles and it being a 2009 I guess SoA isn't going to cover anything. I never though I'd be glad I purchased extended coverage til right now.

 

[nwjones18]

Wow that is awful. Glad you have the warranty!

 

[Rand]

Amazing call on the extended warranty. I would have too on that particular car.

Many had engines die fast even under 5000miles.

 

[crazyoildude]

let us know how that warranty works out for you. And if it doesn't im me

 

[Thermo1223]

Well new info...

Speaking to a local trusted Subie Speedshop there are multiple things which I also found through my own research,

It very well be 1 or multiple bearings being spun around but it also could be something far less sinister that sounds just as bad.

Water pump knocking around in the housing as it separated from the shaft or timing belt tensioner loosing it's hydraulic fluid so basically the timing belt is flapping it around.

Hopefully it is less sinister, thinking of taking an oil sample first because if it is the bottom end I don't know if I want the dealer replacing and only giving me a year warranty. The oil sample would at least let me know if bearing material is in there.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I'd be looking to dump it ASAP.

 

[andyd]

My first 528e had a knock at idle that sounded very ominous. It was the power steering pump that knocked when not being used. I ran the pump to 3300K miles.

 

[kschachn]

Wow

Originally Posted By: andyd
My first 528e had a knock at idle that sounded very ominous. It was the power steering pump that knocked when not being used. I ran the pump to 3300K miles.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Wow

Originally Posted By: andyd
My first 528e had a knock at idle that sounded very ominous. It was the power steering pump that knocked when not being used. I ran the pump to 3300K miles.

Double WOW

I thought that my 2 years old LS400 has high mileage at 370+k miles, but 3.3 millions miles is incredible.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
I'd be looking to dump it ASAP.


The first step is not to panic and do something stupid like selling the car at a substantial loss, as everybody except the most ignorant will hear the knock, where something relatively small and inexpensive was wrong.

Diagnose, get several opinions, quotes and only then a decision should be made.

 

[zzyzzx]

I'm adding this story to my long list of reasons of why Subaru makes inferior cars.

 

[Thermo1223]

Update:

It definitely is the bottom end, knocks even worse on a cold start and no oil pressure.

At the dealer now, the shop I really want to take it to is backlogged with other engines.

Hopefully all I pay is my deductible.

I wouldn't say Subaru makes inferior cars but I do think their quality control took a major hit in the 2008-2012 time frame with the EJ255.

My previous 2005 Forester XT ran like a raped ape all the time. I full expected to tear it apart if I kept it much past 110k but for upgrades not a mechanical issue.

The same can be said about most vehicles now, they are letting bean counters do the manufacturing not the engineers.

 

[NHGUY]

Subaru is the only one left making a Flat-4 engine.Makes one wonder why....

 

[Thermo1223]

Guy at work just bought a Legacy with over 250k miles on the orginal motor, granted it's the near indestructible closed deck 2.2 block.

 

[horse123]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Subaru is the only one left making a Flat-4 engine.Makes one wonder why....


They're just as reliable as any other engine, and are generally more so. Although when you point out Porsche engines, that shows it just may be that Subaru is a good company. One minorly failed engine doesn't make the whole engine design and every car with it worthless.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Subaru is the only one left making a Flat-4 engine.Makes one wonder why....


They're just as reliable as any other engine, and are generally more so. Although when you point out Porsche engines, that shows it just may be that Subaru is a good company. One minorly failed engine doesn't make the whole engine design and every car with it worthless.


They've had a number of great engines and a number of really bad ones, just like any other manufacturer. The ones that ate head gaskets fall in the latter camp, as do the ones with massive oil consumption issues.

 

[rjundi]

My wife got 180k out of her 2.5 flat four turbo in a 2005 Legacy GT before it burned up a valve. It was a pricey repair due to motor removal which seems par for the course I guess. Three other people I ran into had the same repair around the same time. We are hoping for 5 years without serious repairs but my wife is happy the $2500 spent got her 1 year of trouble free ownership.

Honda/Acura next for us, we never had serious problems with them in 200k+ of ownership over 3 of them.

That being said my wife loves her Subaru.

 

[Claud]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Subaru is the only one left making a Flat-4 engine.Makes one wonder why....


Simple. Cost.

Two heads, two camshafts, means more tooling and time to build the engine. This was countered by the advantages of a lower centre of gravity in the cars they built, and they were shorter with stiffer blocks than inline engines, but this was not enough to encourage any other makers to follow suit.
The VW and Porsche boxer engines were air cooled and had special needs for airflow round the cylinders and heads, water cooled engines don't have this problem.

Claud

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

They've had a number of great engines and a number of really bad ones, just like any other manufacturer. The ones that ate head gaskets fall in the latter camp, as do the ones with massive oil consumption issues.

Not really the EJ N/A has been in production for like 13 years. Yes the HG issue is bad. But 80% of these engines go 120K miles with few problems. Once the HG's get fixed they are good for at least another 120K. Hardly a bad engine. The Turbo EJ engine is fundamentally the same as the EJ N/A. It has no HG issues bc has a semiclosed deck. It was in production longer than the EJ N/A.

Subaru was derelict for not changine the Open Deck EJ to a Semiclosed Deck imho

 

[OVERKILL]

Al, you've just illustrated my point though. The 3.8L Ford was the same way. Head gasket failures were common, otherwise it was bomb-proof. The boosted version of the motor didn't have the problem.

If you have to do the head gasket, that's a "bad thing", because it is expensive and if not caught, will lead to engine failure. That's a design issue. It makes it a "bad engine". Even if otherwise, it is excellent.