WRX Guys, need some advice

So, my brothers daily just got totaled, and hes looking at an 02 WRX wagon. A tick over 100k, auto, I have no idea about options. The price seems reasonable for a 10 footer, with not a ton of miles. Apparently mostly stock, but does have an "airflow sensor" CEL. 2nd owner, supposedly clean carfax. I know they can have head gasket issues, but what else should he look for? Is the trans and diff reliable? Hes in the Pac-NW, and ice and such can be a surprise issue. I already advised him that if he can talk the owner into a test drive, to take it to an independent mechanic, and ask them to do a pre-purchase inspection. Any other advice from the hive?

I will say, having test driven a 2003 WRX back when they were new, the 2.0 turbo was miserable with the automatic transmission. It had little torque off-boost, and the automatic was slow to shift. So in daily driving, you'd put in a call for acceleration, nothing would happen, and then a couple seconds later the boost would arrive, right about the time that the automatic finally decided to downshift like a thump in the back of the car. So you went from nothing to everything, but only after an annoying delay. It wasn't pleasant to drive.

If the engine was torquier off boost, boost was quicker, or the transmission reacted more promptly, it would probably have been OK. Any 2 out of 3 might have been acceptable. But all 3 characteristics put together just ruined the driving experience.

I'll second Duke's comments. If he wants an automatic Impreza from that era, a 2.5RS is a way better option, and should be cheaper to buy and own.

Head gaskets are the main problem to look for. I don't think they use salt on the roads out there, so rust should not be an issue. The 4 speed holds up reasonably well behind the non-turbo engines, but I don't know how durable it is with the turbo.

In reply to eastsidemav:

DD#2 drives and autocrosses a 2002 Impreza 2.5TS wagon with an automatic. Not sure of the mileage but it's got to be around 120,000 at this point. The trans is solid; the headgaskets are weeping but not a significant problem.

The NA 2.5 is a much better match to the 4-speed ATX. It's still not quick, but at least it's not waiting for boost that's never going to build because revs won't come up because the automatic is so slow to downshift.

A fat rear swaybar is cheap and does a lot to iron out the terminal understeer. They are wagon-specific, IIRC.

If you live where rust is an issue, look at the rear wheel arches and the front LCAs. I think there is a recall on the control arms, even, for rust.

For the 02-03 I think there are actually two recalls for the front lower control arms for rust (in 'salt states' only). With a wagon you can't throw STI sedan LCAs on it quite as easily, either...

If you are concerned about rust I would also peek up the rear strut towers; the 02-03 seems to get it worse than the 04+ for some reason that I have never determined.

The auto trans is pretty reliable - stronger than the 5-speed in MY2002 for sure - but it's not a great experience when paired with the turbo motor. I don't know if there are TCU reflashes that wake it up more, but I think in general the community doesn't really care for the 4EAT.

Turbo cars in general should not have head gasket problems; they have a multi-layer steel gasket instead of the crappy ones that the NA ones do. Excessive coolant consumption on turbos is much more often the turbo seals on high mileage cars in my experience: that said, eventually that leads to head gaskets once you've overheated the car a few times. The other cause of overheating is often cracks in the plastic endtanks of the radiator. Never changing the coolant seems to affect the Subaru head gasket design much worse than on inline-four cars, so in general poor maintenance is not a good look on these engines.

An 02-03 is almost certain at this point to have bad coilpacks; the ignition system on these is pretty solid, even tuned, but they seem to die after about 15-16 years.

And yes, get rid of the rear swaybar. You have a 17mm rear sway on the 02 wagon, I believe, which is better than the 13mm that the NA wagons got in the back (which means you have a market for resale), but you can do oh so much better. My immediate next step would be a TiC clunk killer (diff + outrigger bushings) kit and trailing arm bushings on anything that old.

Absolutely get an inspection from someone who knows Subarus deeply that includes a compression test. In the PNW that should not be a difficult task. All Wheel Drive Auto in Kirkland is well regarded in the community.

I bought a new 2004 WRX with a five speed and drove it for 125,000 miles without an issue. I replaced my water pump and timing belt around 70k.

My nephew bought a new 2005 WRX automatic. I was surprised at how well the car worked with the automatic transmission.

I think that the people who complain about how bad they are with automatics just don't like automatic transmissions.

The turbo cars usually have a little less issue with the head gaskets but absolutely check them before buying. The auto trans is extremely reliable behind a stock engine but exactly as already stated the auto really sucks the fun and drive ability. With the mileage on the car I would check the cleanliness inside the valve cover. These have an oil fill tube on them so you cant really see inside the without removing the 2 10mm bolts and taking the fill tube off completely. It's very simple and could easily be done in a parking lot on a test drive. If there's doubt that the oil changes haven't been kept current you'll need to consider possible turbo and turbo oil return line replacement. The return lines start to leak after old oil has become acidic. Definitely check for rust as Duke mentioned. There will be a clunk in the rear on hard acceleration. That's the rear diff and diff mounting arm moving under load. There's several bushing swap kits that eliminate that. The kits are easy to do and could be done in a driveway on jack stands in less than an hour.

Just remember that if this car doesn't suite you in the way it drives there aren't many aftermarket fixes for the auto trans. More power is easy but the transmission will still shift the same.

Thanks guys - advice sent!

Woody wrote: My nephew bought a new 2005 WRX automatic. I was surprised at how well the car worked with the automatic transmission. I think that the people who complain about how bad they are with automatics just don't like automatic transmissions.

A 2005 is, I believe, a 2.5 with a smaller turbo, which would substantially help 2 of the 3 problems that make the earlier cars such poor drivers with the ATX.

4 out of our 6 cars are automatics, so it's more than just a matter of "not liking" them.

In reply to Duke:

MY2006 is when the 2.0L -> 2.5L change happened on the WRX, and the turbocharger is identical. The displacement definitely helps with spool.

In 2009 they put the older STI VF turbocharger into it, which bumps the peak horsepower to 265.

Duke wrote: If you live where rust is an issue, look at the rear wheel arches and the front LCAs. I think there is a recall on the control arms, even, for rust.

Don't forget the front subframe as well. They rust out bad enough to need replacement around here.

ssswitch wrote: In reply to Duke: MY2006 is when the 2.0L -> 2.5L change happened on the WRX, and the turbocharger is identical. The displacement definitely helps with spool.

My mistake; thanks for the correction. Maybe by 2005 they had at least fixed the ATX shift response a bit.

I hope he is getting it cheap. Resale on autotragic WRX's is ewwww!

Airflow sensor is probably a bad MAF.

As other's have noted HG's are normally a 2.5 NA issue. The 2.0L EJ205 is a pretty reliable engine.

Look all over the rear 1/4's for rust and get a flashlight and look up around the rear strut mounts.

I'be been an owner for 10 years now, mechanically these cars are dead nuts reliable. Previous posters mentioned some good points. I would add, you're at the service interval for a timing belt & water pump change (interference engine). Rear bar easily upgraded to a sedan bar 20mm for pocket change. Tons of aftermarket and used parts from Nasioc if spinning wrenches appeals to you. A downpipe, EBC, and stage 2 tune will bump up the torque and spool of the motor nicely, and as above you can find these parts used for pennies on the dollar.

I don't have much to add WRX wise as I've got 450 miles of seat time, but NEVER believe a CL seller on a check engine light. Scan it yourself. Scan it if theres no light. Scan it if it seems great.

That looks a lot like my old 2002 WRX wagon! I had fun with mine, but they have their share of issues and can be finicky. Here's what to look out for as far as issues and maintenance options:

-At 100k, it's going to rattle and clunk all over the place. The rear diff bushings were made of peanut butter from the factory, so those will be first to go. As previously said, Turn In Concepts (if they are still around) makes a "Clunk Killer" kit with all the bushings you'll need to make that stop. If it had a M/T, I'd replace all the shifter bushings and get a Kartboy shifter, too.

-An airflow sensor CEL may be evidence that someone had a CAI on the car. With that said, look for evidence of previous mods. These don't like the typical "My 1st Import" mods that lots of people do to their Hondas. Check vacuum lines for evidence of splicing in a boost gauge, bad wiring, stuff like that.

-The early WRX's had a pre-cat in the uppipe that had a tendency to break apart, much like other cars of that era. Look out for that. Replacing it with a non-catted pipe is common, but you'll need a reflash or "MIL Eliminator resistor" to tell the computer not to reference the EGR probe that's in the pipe in the same way. That is a PITA. AND if you do get one, don't get one of the cheap eBay ones with the flex joint! I have seen the joint collapse in and fall apart and do the same as the precat would have!

-These cars are finicky with fluids. Mine didn't like Mobil 1 oil; it would burn it off. I used Shell Rotella 5W40 synthetic diesel oil and that problem stopped. YMMV.

-The stock radiator is probably on it's way out by now. There are lots of companies out there that sell affordable aluminum replacements.

-There are a million and one options out there when it comes time to service the brakes and suspension. That's a good thing. I ran Hawk HPS pads on my car with parts store blank rotors with great success. (Yes, you just read that in Borat's voice.) My wagon was running the factory JDM STI "pink" springs with Tokico adjustable struts, and it was magical.

-A 20mm rear sway bar from a 2002 WRX sedan and an eBay rear strut tower brace stiffened up the rear enough to make the car "just right" for fun driving.

-If he lives were it gets really cold, prepare for fuel line leakage. They have a tendency to shoot raw fuel all over the engine under the intake in temps of 15 degrees or below. There was a recall out there, but only for certain states. When it happened to mine, they didn't consider Massachusetts to be a "cold weather state". It was $650 for the dealer to do, or about $10 in new clamps and 6 hours of my time.

-At 100k, it's due for a timing belt, and all the other fun stuff that goes with it.

-It will get abysmal gas mileage. Mine had a manual, and the best I could get out of it was around 23mpg. The auto will likely get worse than that. And they drink premium.

As others have said, he might be better off looking for an Outback Sport with fresh head gaskets and a timing belt and save a few bucks.

Thanks again guys. I shot this info to him, and am waiting to hear if he picks it up. As I mentioned, he lives in the Pac-NW-ish area, and it would serve as his DD.

Seeing as I live in Cincinnati, you might think it would be unlikely that this steed will ever grace the streets of SW Ohio, but, he did drive out there in his 02 Maxima when he moved out west. He regaled us with incredible accounts of roadside brake and cooling system repairs whilst commuting thru flyover states, and his commentary was "it wasnt that bad, we got to see a lot of diners and gift shops we otherwise wouldve blown right by", so hes mentally open to the idea of driving back for a visit