2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI: 7,500-Mile Service Doesn't Come Cheap

Joe, I checked the service book twice, and it appeared to me that the cabin air filter was supposed to be replaced at some point before 15K mark.

As for the oil change, I was indeed paying for the convenience. I was under no illusion that I was getting a good deal for an oil change with synthetic. This was an upsell aimed at doting but hurried STI owners.

I'm sure they were looking the car...

Hmmm...high price..."Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda-Subaru". As Isuzu slowly died off here in America...I was stuck going to a lincoln mercury dealership for repairs for my previous trooper. One of the happiest days I had recently was driving by seeing that dealership out of business. They over charged me, never did the work right, things took several trips and they flat out told me they had no interest in working on Isuzu products and that they only had to do so due to contract...I couldn't get pay repairs done...only warranty, with a lot of effort.

I don't know about your dealership, but my and families experience...anything related to a ford product has had abismal service. I have strong opinions on this one with my personal experience so I can appreciate others may disagree...but it seems like a poor choice in service stops and your follow-up post seems to indicate the same.

I wouldn't change the cabin air filter that early.

I fervently hope that the current economic downturn will drive a Darwinian winnowing down of the dealership community clear across the continent. If there is a God-like being in this universe, only the strong, customer-focused, non-ripper-offers will survive.

One can always hope, right?

@carmizi. If only the world worked that way. Seems more likely that the good dealers will just go downhill as they try to cut costs.

sbcooke, it seems strange to me that a Ford dealer would be the one to service an Isuzu. GM had a relationship with Isuzu, so they would have been a better choice. I'm sure you're correct, but it seems odd.

service every 3750 miles is ridiculous. If you drive a lot you will be in the shop every other month. Is it that hard to have a performance car that doesnt need constant maintenance?

1487 - Maybe you don't remember those dark prehistoric times, but once a long, long time ago people were required to get an oil change every *gasp* 3,000 miles. Their service interval for the STI is based on a severe-use schedule, it says so in the entry. As for the other component of the service, frequent tire rotation on an AWD vehicle is good practice - even a small difference in tire diameter can lead to very bad things over time for the differentials.

I just changed the cabin air filter in my wife's Odyssey at 50k miles. The first change was supposed to come at 30,000 miles, but since I'd never even owned a car with such a replaceable filter before, I didn't sweat it.

Because of the filter's location and the way the Odyssey's dash is designed, the instructions--which thankfully came with the aftermarket filter I'd bought--had me cut off and discard an 18-inch long by 2-inch wide piece of the dashboard that bridged the gap under the glove box opening. The cut locations were pre-scored, but it was still a pain in the butt.

Presumably this piece was there to give the dashboard strength while it was transported as a seperate piece before installation on the assembly line. Now that the dash is firmly bolted in place and will presumably never come out again, this piece isn't needed.

Point is, cabin air filter changes can be tough. This wasn't the simple air filter swap I'd expected. But I did save $40 by doing it myself.

changing the cabin filter in my mustang gt took 5 mins. changing the cabin filter in my wife's versa included removing the glove box and thus took about 10 mins.

Seeing Isuzu at a Lincoln/Mercury Dealership was interesting. All the rebadged GMC trucks as the Isuzu Ascender. Believe me...that dealership didn't want them...they some how got assigned it as per the service guy since Isuzu had to keep x amount of dealerships open to ensure they were able to meet warranty claims.

I tried an Acura place since it was the old SLX too...When I had one month left in my warranty and the transfer case started to bind...the service guy told me..."We can't find anything...keep driving it and we will work it out." Well a few months after the warranty expired, they told me they didn't know, didn't want to and to take my truck elsewhere, they didn't want to see me again. That isn't word for word...but pretty close. They were rude as anything. I even offered to pay to have it fixed. Driving by a few weeks ago in my new STI seeing it closed made me happy. It is too bad...since I really liked the trooper...getting service on a vehicle whose parent company goes out of business = not fun though.

I'm not a big fan of the new STI's appearance, but it looks really good in that picture. Good job. "Oooooh shiny..."

1487 - It is somewhat ridiculous, but Subaru has had a fair number of problems with it's 2.5 liter turbocharged engine (which is used in the Forester XT, Outback XT, STI, Legacy GT, and WRX). Turbo failures primarily, from what I've seen....but those aren't TOO frequent.

Anyway....back in 2005ish, Subaru said the standard schedule was 7500 miles and 3750 miles for sever use.

In 2007, Subaru said that "all turbocharged subaru motors fall under severe use category" and hence mandated 3750 mile changes.

I don't know why they did this, as I've seen plenty of 5000-8000 mile oil change analyses done on this engine showing everything was humming along nicely (albeit most oils, including synthetics, did need to be changed around 7500 miles). I've seen a few daring owners who has done 12000 mile plus oil change intervals with AMSOIL which have shown great results as well...but not nearly as many as those.

I've been changing the oil on my wife's 2008 legacy Gt religiously, as I don't want any trouble should there be a problem. $20 for 5 quarts of pennzoil platinum and $6 for a high quality filter. I change it every 3500 and it's one of the easiest cars I've ever changed (her old Saturn Ion was easier, due to the filter being on top of the engine). When it's out of warranty, I'll do 6000-10000 mile oil change intervals.

It's definitely a point of consideration when buying these cars against, say, a clean running naturally aspirated engine. My wife's car is going to get 4 $25 oil changes for every 1 $80 oil change I do to my 06 Civic SI. Not a huge difference financially, but a big difference time wise.

Joe

P.s. To others, the cabin air filter in my Civic has the best design I've ever seen.

-Empty glove box
-Swing glove box down, push in side tabs and allow glove box to continue swinging down to floor
-Remove easy-access panel marked "Cabin air filter"
-Remove old air filter, insert new one
-Reverse

The first time I did it, took me about 45 seconds. I think I can shave that down to 30 seconds :)

I also prefer full synthetic, even though I won't claim that it's absolutely necessary. I've been doing my own oil changes lately because I got tired of the synthetic upcharge, and became convinced that I should be using higher quality filters. Those $19.95 oil change specials never really ended up that cheap when they want $30 extra for synthetic, plus the extra quart (I take 6 and the special price is always for up to 5 quarts), plus the environmental/disposal fee.

I go 5K between changes, and even then I'm sure conventional would be fine. But I figure I still come out ahead, even paying extra for synthetic, by doing it myself. Maybe in the winter I'd rather pay for convenience. But of course I went and bought a new creeper and some ramps, so I've got to do it myself at least 4-5 times to justify that extra purchase. But overall I like it and I regret I haven't been doing it myself all along. It's actually kind of fun.

"Point is, cabin air filter changes can be tough. This wasn't the simple air filter swap I'd expected."

This cut-the-crossmember-and-toss-it ridiculousness is pretty much limited to Honda (another reason I think Honda's reputation is overrated). The MDX procedure is even worse as it involves removing a door sill, fusebox cover and a few other assorted bits. But for 95% of the vehicles out there with cabin filters, the procedure is pretty much:

1. Open glovebox a bit wider than normal
2. Open filter door
3. Pull filter

Lastly, my opinion is that cabin filters should be changed based on calendar days and not mileage. Whether the car is going 7mph or 70mph, the occupants aren't breathing much differently. Change the cabin filter in your car at the same time you replace the furnace filter in your home.

Most cars never really needed an oil change every 3k miles but it was a safe interval that resulted in more money being spent by owners. I am glad that we have systems that prevent you from getting premature oil changes. My car needs one every 5500 miles or so and I'm glad I dont have any pre-determined interval that is going to cost me time and money. The intervals on the GTR are bad enough but at least that is a rare high performance car. Its ridiculous to need this level of TLC on a Suburu.

7driver - If you read my P.S. section, you'll notice that it's not "limited to Hondas"....

In theory, shouldn't you just look at the oil on the dipstick and change it when it loses its original clear brown color and starts to look dirty or burnt?

Sbcooke - No. Oil color does not have a direct correlation with it's lubricating abilities, or it's protection of moving parts.

Joe

"Its ridiculous to need this level of TLC on a Suburu."

When you get 305 hp out of 150 cubic inches, I guess this something you have to expect.

If I'm not mistaken, many if not most turbocharged cars recommend oil changes in the 3750 mile neighborhood.

"Oil color does not have a direct correlation with it's lubricating abilities, or it's protection of moving parts."

Exactly. You really need to TASTE it to make an accurate analysis. J/K
The UOAs of the Mobil 1 5W-30 that I run in my turbocharged and direct injected Mazdaspeed indicate that the oil is good for at least 6000-6500 miles. My wife's X3 is actually a bit tougher on the Mobil 1 0W-40 it uses; the oil's TBN is less than 1.0 after as little @8000 miles.

Wow roadburner...Mobil 1 0w40 is a pretty robust oil. Is that one of the new X3 3.0's? Does the X3 3.0 have direct injection (like the 3.0 liter in the rest of the world)?

I taste my oil when it changes and it splatters onto my lips. Tastes like dead dinosaurs refined into homogenous oil :)

That and combustion blow by and thousands of miles of inhaled dirt...

Joe

I think 2004-2006 X3s use the M54 engine and the 2007+ X3s use the N52 engine. Joe, I don't think the non-turbocharged 3.0L Bimmer engines use direct injection.

For those taken aback by Subaru's recommended 3,750-mile oil change intervals on turbocharged engines, please remember turbos do a lot to the engine oil. It's a case of better safe than sorry in my opinion.

"Wow roadburner...Mobil 1 0w40 is a pretty robust oil. Is that one of the new X3 3.0's? Does the X3 3.0 have direct injection (like the 3.0 liter in the rest of the world)?"

Nope, it's a plain old M54 2.5. Nobody can figure out what's going on; the wear metals are fine and there's no coolant or fuel showing up in the oil either. An engineer at Mobil suggested that I try Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel truck 5W-40. The X3 manual just says to use a 5W-30 or 5W-40 SH rated oil, so that's going to be my next step...

"For those taken aback by Subaru's recommended 3,750-mile oil change intervals on turbocharged engines, please remember turbos do a lot to the engine oil. It's a case of better safe than sorry in my opinion."

I agree. The heat generated inside of a turbo that the oil is exposed to is incredible. I think there's a YouTube video somewhere of a CAT diesel generator running at full throttle in a closed room, and the turbine housing of the turbos are glowing so red hot that the metal looks transluscent, and you actually see the cooling effects of the oil sloshing around inside the bearing housing in between the turbine and compressor.

Oil takes a real beating with turbos.

Prior to the last UOA on my Mazdaspeed 3 work beater/track rat I spent three days at Putnam Road Course, where @1.5 hours per day were spent lapping the 1.766 mile track. Engine speed remained between 3000-6000 rpm throughout each 30 minute session, and ambient temps ranged from 70F-90F. Total miles on the oil were 5182. In spite of all that, the Mobil 1 remained in grade, the fuel% was <0.5, and the TBN was 3.2. I think any synthetic that meets the stringent Honda HTO-06 spec(such as Mobil 1 5W-30 and Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30) could be run for at least 5000 in most any turbocharged motor.
I suspect the reason that Subaru calls for a 3750 mile change interval is because they do not require that a synthetic oil be used. If I wasn't running a synthetic in I'd perform a UOA at 3750 miles to verify that the oil was holding up.

Driving today...I noticed a feature of the STI that I think I can really complain about so far. The horn.

Driving into the work parking lot, driving my cool STI...I beeped at a coworker...wow...I wanted to shrink down in my seat.

Erin, you should really take more pics with yourself in them. The 'Stig' pic is commendable, but I really need new material to work with.