2004 Subaru Impreza Transmission and drivetrain Problems

“Unable or difficult to place car in gear while driving on multiple occasions. First total failure occurred in roadway during rush hour traffic and left me stranded roadside. Second total failure occurred while exiting freeway and was able to eventually put car in gear after several minutes. Original dealer, regional service manager and corporate offices were unresponsive and/or uncooperative relative to my requests for visual inspection of the clutch. …”

“I was driving my 2004 Subaru Impreza outback sport when I had a flat tire (right rear). I changed the tire, using the donut in the car. I drove another 25 miles no faster than 40 MPH, and us. Slower. Then a driver behind me flashed her lights signaling me to stop. I stopped and learned my car was burning underneath, near the back. When I had the car looked at, I found that the rear differential was badly damaged. In the owner's manual, persons with automatic transmissions are instructed to use a switch to turn off the awd when driving on the donut. …”

“On july 4, 2005, I got a grinding sound while trying to shift into 2nd gear after pulling away from a light. I thought it was just me missing the shift. Several days later it happened again. I started to delay my shifts into 2nd gear. This same scenario started repeating itself several more times. Then the same problem started while trying to downshift into 4th gear. On november 14, 2005, I took the car to the Subaru dealer. I told them that I thought the synchronizers were bad in 2nd and 4th gears. …”

“I have had a first gear grind ever since the day I bought the car. Made several attempts to have dealer correct the problem. First technician even said it was internal. Finally got the fluid changed to correct ths issue at 14k miles, helped but did not fix. At 26000 miles I take it to another dealership and they also confirm there is a problem. Dealership say they will not work on it due to an aftermarket exhaust. I explained it is a prexisting condition and the exhaust would have no affect on this particular scenario. …”

“Was at the local track on run what you brung night. Lined up against an srt-4. Light turned green. I accelerated trying to get a holeshot. I heard a loud banging noise. Sounded like the transmission/clutch giving up. The srt-4 was way ahead of me. I shifted through the gears and was not able to catch up. That srt-4 was fast. The lack of power in my sti really dishonored my family. It forced me to be humiliated. I took the car to the dealer and was told that the car was normal and to expect to be outmatched by cars like the dodge srt-4. …”