The Most Important 2008-2014 Subaru WRX Maintenance Items

So you either just bought a Subaru WRX, you're looking into buying one, or you're trying to figure out what maintenance is necessary to keep this car happy? Whatever the case may be, Tiny Kyle and Alex go over The Most Important 2008-2014 Subaru WRX Maintenance Items, who knows, you might find your next project!
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Contents of this Video
0:00 Intro
Additional Footage Thanks To
@redbull
@Subaru
@tjhunt
@RichardAnthonyMedia
@DriveHub
@TannerMahre
@ChrisLowpes
@spamsubie
@dBluZee
@Clint's Garage
@MrSubaru1387
@CarsNToys
@Smeedia
@Pitino Performance
@DynoSource Performance
@DanielKellert
@JEM-Sport
@NickGT
#subaru #wrx #subaruwrx #subaruwrxhatch #wrxhatch

[@maperformance]

Thank you for watching! Which platform would you like to see us cover next? Comment below.

[@jessebracero6817]

Hi 👋 I have a question and need of help. I just bought a 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS non turbo factory stock with 63.***k miles on it. I asked a Subaru mechanic if I can install a turbo charge on 8 SPI and he told me that it can be done but. He doesn’t recommend said him because on Dyno the engine will blow up. I do not wanted to race non even abuse the car, I will like a turbo just for fun and hear the sound out of the turbo. What can you guys recommend me?.

[@m.m.aautos6608]

Your extremely wrong about the oil viscosity you should be using in these engines. Asking any real Subaru tuner and they will tell you all the same story. Up the viscosity. Bearing clearance does not dictate what viscosity of oil you should be using instead different weights of oil are based on heat range. I always run a higher weight oil in my ej engines OEM wants you to use thinner oil cause they have to comply with oil regulations. Do your research on the early 2000's oil ban . It's to stop against so much waste and that's why these manufacturers have to start using thinner oils even tho they know the engine needs different causing all these pre mature failures

[@m.m.aautos6608]

​@@jessebracero6817 that's slightly true. But if you do supporting mods to handle the boost there is no problem boosting a single cam 2.5 , go on to face book and join a N/AT Subaru swap group

[@bernana_wrx]

A few to add: -A lot of us switch to 5W-40 oil to combat the turbo eating oil, check your oil every time you fill up, carry a small oil bottle to top off if you need. Change every 3000 because you love your car. -One of the most annoying things is the squeaky clutch pedal we get because it could mean many things: where your clutch fork and slave cylinder meet could be bone dry so get some grease on there, your 5 firewall welds are broken so buy the humble rumble kit and replace them with through bolts, your pedal assembly cracked so buy a new one, or the most annoying: your pilot bearing is going out. -Speaking of firewall weld cracks: buy the ITS pedal support bracket and pair it with whichever master cylinder support bracket brand you like. Itll alleviate all that pressure and flex off your firewall -Steering rack fails on us a lot, you can either buy OEM gaskets for cheap and fix it OR buy a 15+ STI rack for more snappy steering since it bolts right in -Yall like swinging your subarus until you get rod knock, buy the Killer B oil baffle kit with an upgraded oil pick up so your engine isnt starved of oil when its sloshing around down there -OEM radiator has a tendency to crack where the plastic is, get a KOYO rad eventually. -There WAS a lawsuit for our EJ25 engines for this generation. Its still carried on in the 15,16,and 17 STI but our engines are prone to rod bearing failure due to high oil consumption. If you have a 2014 maybe you still qualify, i dont even know. Its an 8year or 100,000 mile extended warranty that will cover your whole rod knock repair if its still stock.

[@earlbillings64]

some quality info here! i switched to 5w-40 as soon as i bought my 08 STI, the clutch pedal recently started squeaking, and definitely easy to starve the engine when sliding..

[@xenomorph1996]

Steering rack and firewall welds are common problems for this generation.

[@jedi8ichi]

Just had to replace the rack on my '14 l hatch. Cold snap did it in.

[@jhs4psu]

Very true. My '08 had a firewall weld fail which prematurely burned out the clutch. '13 had a steering rack leak at 60k.

[@vidi3872]

@@jedi8ichi 3rd steering rack on mine =/

[@ef6223]

@@jhs4psu what did you end up doing with it ?

[@shart5619]

bro both of mine just went out

[@brennanwheeler7994]

One crucial maintenance thing is checking your oil every single time you fill up for gas and top it off when its low. These cars are designed to drink a little bit of oil so it will need to be topped off occasionally that's that's exactly how the last owner of my super blue the engine and Why it now carries a rebuilt title

[@adambridges2563]

Sweet thanks! Definitely gonna change that dif fluid soon

[@rvinzon13]

Needed to see this just got a wrx 2014

[@justinturner4850]

Dude the shot of pouring oil out of the FMIC tripped me out😳

[@dlc85007]

I'm picking up a blue 08 WRX slim body manual hatch tomorrow night, super excited about it, I got a bargain $15,000 AUD and only 84,000kms

[@jackclemens8320]

how has it been? heard the 08's were not that great

[@dlc85007]

@jackclemens8320 everything's gone fine except spent $1,300 replacing the radiator. Two mechanics said it's tidy but the timing belt hadn't been changed in 14yrs. I'm up to 97,000kms now, it's bad on fuel so I just use it to work and back total 32kms a day, wife car when I'm not working (golf TSI). Beat a few cars including a new mustang 5.0L, Once the turbo kicks in she pulls hard. Driving in the wet, I can feel the car just under steers. If I had my time again I would've gone wide body

[@believe_yahweh]

thx for reminding me!

[@kciffolillo]

man i’m hyped up about to go look at and probably buy this 2013 hatch with 39k miles and a sti drivetrain and some goodies super clean

[@kciffolillo]

update i’m taking it home today❤

[@lukewarm._.pudding9354]

@@kciffolilloWOOOO

[@Wastingtime-nc9gc]

And I’m going to say from experience and if you have the 5 speed manual then don’t be launching it at 4000 rpm every stop light the five speed is not as strong as the 6 speed so if you are power shifting and being hard on your 5 speed then you will definitely blow it up but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun driving you can still get on it just shift it normally cause slamming gears at redline is not going to do anything positive in a street race so if you want to drive like you’re constantly drag racing then either get the sti or do a 6 speed swap

[@RobertHarridge]

Only because it’s commonly overlooked: VACUUM LINES!!! Subaru is notorious for not clamping all of the vacuum lines, and over time (due to heat cycles, climates, and age) these lines become loose and don’t seal properly, causing vacuum leaks. Those leaks can cause all sorts of problems from poor fuel economy to bad ignition timing and predetonation. Always go through and clamp down every vacuum line on the engine to ensure it runs right every time.

[@Wastingtime-nc9gc]

Definitely get a air oil separator and then make sure that it’s installed properly cause it does make a difference the way you route the hoses

[@johnbcardin]

Can I go with a lithium battery upgrade for my vape pen?

[@chucksnightmare7674]

Don't do it man. I have heard people have had their vape pens with lithium batts go into thermal runaway!!! That would truly light up your life.

[@holeshot1721]

Dude left his cheery vanilla vape juice in my backseat! So of its ok with your MOM you can come over. We will hit my neo-7 (lithium powered)vape and cheech all night long you dig…

[@anthonymaldonado8018]

I personally would like to see an STI version of this, I am sure this video applies to the STI as it is also a turbo EJ model but want to see if there are key differences. I use to own an Evo X and I was super aggressive with the maintenance, to a point where it was overkill but it allowed me to have professionals look at the car routinely and felt good to leave a shop without the lingering list of nonsense dealers try to hit you with. With the Evo I was doing oil changes and tire rotations every 3500-4000 miles, drivetrain fluids and spark plugs every 10k. Changing air filters every other oil change. I'm going to take the same approach with the STI save for the 3k oil change interval.

[@anthonymaldonado8018]

@@username8644 no I am going to change the oil every 3k instead of 3500-4k like I did with the Evo . It maybe overkill but it worked for me and allowed me to maintain a healthy 500whp engine for almost 80k miles. Even up til I sold it, compression was 155psi across all cylinders and valve leakage was under 7%.

[@juangalindo9065]

@@anthonymaldonado8018 why did you go from an evo x to a subaru?? Personally I have owned 2 Subarus and 1 Evo 8 and I would always take the Evo with no regrets...

[@anthonymaldonado8018]

@@juangalindo9065 Evo was having major smoking issues that several mechanics could not identify. Smoking to a point where it was causing a health hazard to my newborn son because it was coming inside the car.

[@anthonymaldonado8018]

@@juangalindo9065 also when I sold the Evo, I was carless for a year. When I was back in the market for a car again Evo was long gone out of production. I was looking for something in the $35k to $45k range and the STI was the best bang for buck (new) at the time.

[@Nakaamaa]

I have a 13 STI and this video still applies. Just check the oil level every time you fill up on gas (good tip on any car) I change my spark plugs every 60k like maintenance interval specifies

[@75mannyc]

I’m about to buy a 2014 Impreza wrx (hatch). It’s on its 2nd owner with only 78k miles. What I’ve seen so far is rust on the frame/ undercarriage. Also rust on the face plates on the pulleys and alternator. (owner had it transferred from Michigan while there was salty snow from 1st owner). There’s a squeak when I push in the clutch. Everything else

[@dominicacosta29]

The power steering racks suck. 100k miles and I’m on my 3rd one. This time upgraded to the Sti rack.

[@dustinbono]

STI rack still leaks

[@officialdewokz5193]

Yup when I got mine at 80k miles it was leaking lol but all it needed was a new seal thank God! But pain in the ass job forsuree

[@tkhays94]

Get a sti shell and a IAG block just make sure the trans is good way better economy in the long run if you know you are wanting power

[@21bkier]

I had an 02 wrx. Over 160k miles and the car was FLAWLESS. Held it's fluid and the only lights I ever saw on the dash were the ones that were supposed to be there lol. Car ran great and had no issues with oil eating or head gasket blowing

[@marcrowland10]

Other issues are needing to get a clutch master cylinder brace bc of the shit firewall welds, the stock intercooler and radiator are horrible bc of the plastic housings, and the stock turbo inlet can crack at higher miles

[@ibranflakes8954]

Can confirm stock cracking turbo inlet. My '11 STI turbo inlet was cracking, leading to CEL P0171, running too lean. PCV valve was also contributing to that.

[@Robertevo]

06-09 Subaru legacy spec b would be a good one

[@daixer3156]

Yasss

[@joeponder9668]

It’s crazy that I’ve never heard anything bad about Subaru’s until I bought one. Same goes with my M5….. it’s also funny that I have almost never seen one one the side of the road broke down. That’s gotta be a thing rite 😂. Proper maintenance is key! Do I think it’s insane that I just popped in a set of main bearings in my M5 with 95k on the clock? Yep! But that’s the recommendation so…. It’s also insane the difference between my super cool Corolla daily driving experience and the WRX or M5. I think people compare apples to pork chops to much and don’t realize some cars are very different machines. Sure every 5k I ninja kick a gallon +-1qt of 711 oil down the gullet of the rolla and probably will be about the only normal maintenance I’ll have to do on that bad daddy. It’s also true that getting up to highway speed on the on-ramp that the engine is mere seconds from coming through the hood because it’s completely gutless. Again, comparing bananas to candy cane’s.

[@jebclarke007]

Subaru Forester XT! Please!!

[@deekithgames9975]

you forgot about clutch master brace!

[@everyone1813]

Love this gen and aspire to own one, from what I've seen if you keep it stock it should be reliable with the general maintenance, but if you modify anything you have to be prepared to modify alot with it so it can handle that one mod you initially made

[@maperformance]

Pretty spot on! Maintenance is absolutely the number 1 thing with these cars/motors.

[@adrinonst5017]

If it's stock dou you still have to change the oil every 3000 miles?

[@hapa_308]

I’m seriously considering buying a 11’-14’ WRX hatch. I plan on keeping it bone stock. Would putting an AOS on it make it more reliable or is it more for the adding power route?

[@Maakyuhlinsky]

It can't hurt. My stock setup still had oil present in the IC and turbo inlet which I discovered when I was putting on new parts.

[@stalekristiansen2942]

2011 3Gen STI please

[@hyper8545]

Mk6 gti GO

[@softsalad]

i’m late lmao but isn’t it “pcv”? as in positive crankcase ventilation

[@pirihern9329]

how about for a 20p6 subaru sti??? I'm no kid 70 years old retired lineman

[@NicholasLeader0]

Ringlands ?

[@stephenhaynes603]

hi lads im looking for wheels for my 2012 hatchback JDM type. wheels ???? what wheels would fit this car ? i have the brembos on and get the impression finding a wheel that fits can be a pain. any ideas ?

[@maperformance]

Go to fitmentindustries.com and use their gallery! Hundreds of wheel options and you can see them on your car!

[@Nakaamaa]

1:55 😂😂😂👍🏼👍🏼

[@breezie_sti171]

If you got a modified car, that 3000 mile oil change is gonna get cut short do it about 2000 or so depending on how you drive it lol

[@rushodai929]

I'm not super aggressive and it's still mostly stock, but my 2013 WRX starts to drink oil @ 2500 miles.

[@ThatwhiteSTI]

I have a tangerine STI and I love it, but the third owner screwed me and sold it to me with 10k on the motor they realized ringland failure was going to be a factor after all the donuts and stuff they did and sold it to me. I do have a partial built motor for it coming though

[@TheAustinely]

That's both awesome and terrible and I feel you completely. I have a tangerine wrx that I bought at 32k miles. I drove it about three times. Not hard, just long. It started knocking immediately on the third drive. Got it a new short block and turbo. Replaced the fluid in the rear diff and it looked like the Arizona desert if it were made of metal chunks. I still have it and she runs way better that it did before.

[@ThatwhiteSTI]

@@TheAustinely right now my STI is still my at girls farm in a barn, until I get the semi built motor, I’ll be getting a bigger turbo for it, slightly bigger injectors and some other goodies. Then turning it up to possibly 400wheel my end goal it to go up to 650 but I’ll need a closed deck built block from outfront for that

[@TheAustinely]

@@ThatwhiteSTI honestly I hope the best of luck for you, I'm sitting comfortably at 350hp but always cautious of the next thing to fail. At some point I will build a Longblock for around the same, 600, and have it tuned to make around 450 500. It is sporty and hopefully still reliable. Either way it's awesome to find one of the other 299 people out there with a tangerine wrx/sti!

[@ThatwhiteSTI]

@@TheAustinely right, only 100 of the STIs were made and from what I’ve learned/heard is the US only got the STI. The world got the WRX, and idk if it’s true but only 87 STIs are left in the US. I honestly kinda wish they numbered them but they didn’t

[@TheAustinely]

@@ThatwhiteSTI I feel the exact same way. Even if mine was number 200 I could happily display that. How is your drive train holding up? Any mods aside from motor?

[@agentllama]

Will adding an aos require a tune?

[@maperformance]

Nope!

[@Spiritualkiller]

If you have any advice of any kind I actually need it badly. I recently bought a 2010 wrx hatchback in preparationfor my firat born to be due in September and i was trying to get out of a high interest car payment. The seller only stated it had a couple codes and was not honest with me. The body and interior are amazing but 2 days after owning the car the engine claped on me I am dead in the water and I don't know what to do. I'm currently in college and I work a full time job trying to better myself to support my family and now I have a car that does not run or drive. And another car that is eating me alive. Any help would mean the world to me seriously! .

[@gatonegrote]

Get rid of it and buy an old, but reliable Honda or Toyota. Right now with gas prices, new born coming, work and college , you DO NOT need a WRX.

[@daixer3156]

Agreed! Sell it but worse comes to worse. Take them to small claims and sue them. What was their claim? I would of never bought a car with Check Engine light no matter what they said. Or at least should of taken to a mechanic before buying.

[@user-qg7dg7uu5h]

Infiniti q50 q60

[@RW-zh7kl]

Let's see.. 1. A spare engine. 2. Transmission 3. Clutch.. 4. Spare half shaft 5. Definitely tires

[@currythegoatofmankindthepa5156]

Cylinder 4 mod is a commandment for these cars

[@silviodante5829]

Not sure if you guys have completely forgot but the 2015+ wrx community is one of your biggest purchasers of your products/Tunes and it seems as if you’ve completely forgotten about them. After the e30 tune you guys just flipped the script on Subarus in general. Are you going to come out with more tunes or products for them? And if so, when. Thanks.

[@maperformance]

There are no additional tunes planned for the 2015+ WRX. What parts would you like us to make for the platform that we haven't already? We appreciate your feedback!

[@silviodante5829]

@@maperformance A rather large forum were discussing the stage 1 and 2 tunes you offer for the wrx, And the discussion was about how there should be a new revision for them considering the knock we experience constantly from using them and also for you to squeeze a little more power out of both tunes since there is quite a bit more room for improvement. If I was making this comment say 4-5 years ago then you guys would take that into consideration but as of now you’re pretty much done with the fa20 platform altogether so it’s whatever.

[@Blaeeeek]

@@silviodante5829 it's not their fault dude. go look at cobb's most recent announcement

[@SubOptimal_]

hol up, my car is popular now? cap

[@Requiredfields2]

People drive the living shit outta these and complain when they run into problems. How about being nice to your car? Or, if it's a race car, expect race car maintenance.

[@currythegoatofmankindthepa5156]

What about a cobb tune? 😂

[@maperformance]

too soon... :(

[@mattandkatchristie2552]

I've always wanted one til I learned how many of 2.5L engines are J.U.N.K ... I work at a auto salvage and we own over a thousand vehicles...all subbies r there cause of engine failure or if not we sold the engines asap cause u can not find one. Love the cars look sound etc... but will never own 1

[@blighter.]

Of course they just had to stop producing the UEL within the 4th gen Wrx. Now they sound like shit. Literally is the only reason I was looking at these in the first place. Welp time to save for an Sti since the 3rd gen Wrx will crumble to pieces after one measly launch.

[@maperformance]

There are aftermarket UEL headers you can swap easily!

[@blighter.]

@@maperformance yeah but aren’t they unreliable and cause power loss?

[@joshuathomas4934]

Use 5w 40. Thank me later.

[@guillermoalbarran8199]

Subawu

[@AjMhhmm]

Something funny

[@jhs4psu]

Factory recommend interval for oil is 7.5k. Changing full synthetic oil at 3k is wasting money IMO unless you are heavily tuned and/or driving very hard.

[@mikeb.7068]

Bogus. No real maintenance items.

[@BlownCocaineT-RexProductions]

Let's get one thing straight Travis Pastrana could not motivate anybody to want to have a Subaru and test it to its peak this is already been best thing to mod Subarus Travis Pastrana has absolutely nothing to do with it so please humble yourself and get off the guys pole. He's so happy to drive for a Subaru USA and you think everybody wants a super because of him LOL no🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉