2009 Subaru Wrx

THE FIREWALL ON MY SUBARU WRX HATCHBACK IS FLEXING SO BAD THAT MY CLUTCH WILL NOT FULLY ENGAGE NOR DISENGAGE. I FEEL THAT IT IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUES TO MYSELF AND MY FAMILY/FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN THE VEHICLE DUE TO THE FACT THAT MY BRAKE PEDAL OR CLUTCH PEDAL COULD PENETRATE THE FIREWALL DUE TO THE FLEXING/CRACKING. THE FIREWALL FLEX IS PREVENTING MY CAR FROM GETTING ROUTINE SERVICE THAT IS SCHEDULED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL. I WENT TO GET MY CLUTCH LOOKED AT TODAY (FEBRUARY 20 2017) AT AAMCO TRANSMISSIONS IN WATERTOWN, NY AS THE CLUTCH WAS NOT ENGAGING NOR DISENGAGING FULLY AND THEY NOTIFIED ME THAT THEY FOUND THE FIREWALL WAS FLEXING TO THE POINT THAT THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY MOVING AND COULD NOT COMPLETE ITS REQUIRED ENGAGEMENT AND DISENGAGEMENT POINTS.

I GOT OFF WORK AND WAS ON MY WAY HOME, PUSHED THE CLUTCH IN TO HEAR A WONDERFUL SNAP AND I HAD ZERO CONTROL OF MY CLUTCH CAUSING ME TO NOT BE ABLE TO SHIFT INTO OR OUT OF ANY GEAR. CHASSIS FATIGUE AND CRACKING RESULTING IN DAMAGE/POTENTIAL COMPROMISE OF DRIVER CONTROLS. WELDS ON THE FIREWALL ARE POOR AND ITS A MANUFACTURER FAULT THAT MANY HAVE BROUGHT TO SURFACE WITH THE NHTSA AND THE SOA (SUBARU OF AMERICA) BUT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH OF THE CARS PRODUCED FOR ANYONE TO TAKE ACTION OR FOR SUBARU TO CARE FOR THE SAFETY OF THE OWNERS OF THE VEHICLE. LOSING COMPLETE OPERATION OF THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY DUE TO THE WELDS OF THE VERY POOR SPOT WELDED FIREWALL GOING OUT IS A MAJOR CONCERN AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AS A HIGH RISK SAFETY HAZARD FOR THE OPERATOR AND OTHERS ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS. I NEED SUBARU TO FIX THE PROBLEM THAT THEY CAUSED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE MANUFACTURE PROCESS OF MY VEHICLE. *TR

THIS IS THE WELL KNOWN AND DOCUMENTED FIREWALL WELD ISSUE FOR THE PEDAL BRACKET. THE WELDS HAVE BROKEN AND THE PEDAL BRACKET NOW SHIFTS WHEN I PRESS DOWN ON THE CLUTCH. IT MAKES A LOUD POPPING NOISE AS WELL AS CREAKING AND SQUEAKING. IF LEFT UNCHECKED, THE ISSUE WILL WORSEN AND THE ENTIRE BRACKET MAY BREAK OFF WHILE DRIVING, CAUSING A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN. SUBARU NEEDS TO BE FORCED TO RECALL THIS AND PAY TO FIX ALL OF THEM.

WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM THE USED CAR LOT I NOTICED THE CLUTCH PEDAL WHEN BEING PRESSED AND DEPRESSED MADE A SQUEAKING NOISE. I FIGURED IT WAS PROBABLY LACK OF LUBRICATION SO I WENT AHEAD AND LUBRICATED THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY AND THE NOISE STAYED THE SAME. COUPLE MONTHS GO BY AND THE NOISE GOT MUCH LOUDER AND SOMETIMES A LOUD POP WOULD OCCUR. RECENTLY I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND OUT THAT MANY OTHER WRX OWNERS HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE. SO I FOLLOWED THE PROCEDURES TO CHECK THE CAUSE OF THE NOISE AND IT SEEMS TO BE THAT THE WELDS ON THE FIREWALL HAVE BEEN BROKEN AND ARE CAUSING THE NOISE.I ALSO NOTICED MY BRAKE PEDAL SHIFTS EVERY TIME I PRESS THE CLUTCH PEDAL. AS TIME PROGRESSES IT FEELS AS IF ITS GETTING HARDER TO SHIFT. I'M AFRAID THAT THIS ISSUE IS CAUSING PREMATURE WEAR OF THE TRANSMISSION. EVERY TIME I PRESS THE CLUTCH PEDAL I FEAR THAT THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY IS GOING TO RIP OFF THE FIREWALL. *TR

I AM THE ONLY OWNER OF A 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX SEDAN. I NOTICED MY CLUTCH SQUEAKING ABOUT 10,000 MILES AGO. I BROUGHT IT INTO A SUBARU DEALER TO HAVE IT CHECK OUT AT THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE AND THEY TOLD ME NOTHING WAS WRONG. ABOUT 3000 MILES AGO, THE CLUTCH STARTED TO "CLICK" INSIDE THE VEHICLE. FOR MY 50,000 MILE SERVICE, I ASKED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO CHECK OUT THE NOISE. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CAME BACK TO ME AND TOLD ME THAT MY FIREWALL HAS TORN. THEY TOLD ME THEY HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE AND THAT IT WAS A RESULT OF POOR SPOT WELDS ON THE FIREWALL DONE BY THE FACTORY. AS A RESULT, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID MY CLUTCH WILL NEED REPLACING BECAUSE THE TEAR IN THE FIREWALL HAS MESSED UP THE CLUTCH ALIGNMENT. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ALSO TOLD ME THAT I AM LUCKY I CAUGHT THIS PROBLEM EARLY BECAUSE IN A SIMILAR CASE THEY SAW IT DESTROYED THE TRANSMISSION OF A DIFFERENT WRX. CURRENTLY, SUBARU IS TRYING TO BRUSH THIS UNDER THE RUG OFFERING TO FIX THE FIREWALL FOR FREE BUT WANTS TO CHARGE ME $1000 TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH. I HAVE CALLED SUBARU OF AMERICA TO REPORT THE ISSUED AND TO SEE IF THEY WILL COVER THE REPAIR. SUBARU OF AMERICA SAID THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS BEING AN ISSUE WITH THEIR VEHICLES AND WILL INVESTIGATE THIS SPECIFIC CASE. I AM AN AVID SUBARU ENTHUSIAST AND HAVE BEEN READING ABOUT HUNDREDS OF OTHER IMPREZA OWNERS FACING THE SAME ISSUE AS MINE. *TR

I HAVE BEEN HAVING A STRANGE NOISE COMING FROM MY CLUTCH EVERY TIME I WOULD GO TO SWITCH GEARS. I THEN CALLED SUBARU OF AMERICA AND FILED A CASE IN THERE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THEY THEN TOLD ME TO TAKE IT INTO A DEALER TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT. AFTER TAKING MY SUBARU TO A LOCAL DEALER AND HAVING MY CAR LOOKED AT THE MECHANIC IN HIS SERVICE WRITE UP SAID "CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY LOOSE AND MOVING". I WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THE REASON FOR THIS ISSUE WAS BECAUSE THE WELDS HOLDING THE ASSEMBLY TO THE FIREWALL HAD BROKEN OFF AND NOW NEED TO BE RE-WELDED BACK TOGETHER SO THAT THEY WILL WORK AGAIN. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THEY DO NOT FEEL THAT IT IS THAT BIG OF A SAFETY ISSUE AND RELEASED ME WITH THE CAR TO GO BACK HOME IN. HOWEVER EVERY TIME THE PEDAL IS PRESSED THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY MOVES SIDE TO SIDE MAKING THE WELDS EVEN LESS STRONG. AFTER LOOKING THIS ISSUE UP ONLINE I NOTICED THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY OTHER PERSON THAT HAS HAD THIS ISSUE AND MANY FEEL LIKE IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SUBARU IS FAILED TO LOOK INTO. *TR

ON MY 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX, I'VE DEALT WITH A SQUEAKY CLUTCH PEDAL FOR QUITE SOME TIME, CLOSE TO 30K MILES NOW. WITHIN THE PAST 5K MILES, A CLICKING SOUND HAS OCCURRED AT THE SAME TIME AND WITHIN THE PAST 1K MILES THE SOUND HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE WITH A GRINDING SOUND IN ADDITION TO ALL PREVIOUS SOUNDS. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION THE ENTIRE PEDAL BRACKET ASSEMBLY MOVES UPON CLUTCH OR BRAKE PEDAL ENGAGEMENT. IN ADDITION, CLUTCH CYLINDER MOVES WHEN IT SHOULD BE STATIC. THIS IS ALL DUE TO THE FIREWALL BEING TOO THIN, FLEXING, AND ULTIMATELY THE METAL ENDURED ENOUGH FATIGUE TO BREAK AROUND THE PEDAL BRACKET SPOT WELDS. THIS ISSUE IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY SHOULD NEVER MOVE, NOR SHOULD IT SEPARATE FROM THE FIREWALL. NO RECALL AS OF YET, DESPITE THIS BEING A KNOWN ISSUE TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR SEVERAL YEARS. CURRENT MILEAGE IS 56,740 MILES. *TR

FIRST AT ALL MERRY CHRISTMAS! ILL TRY MY BEST TO DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE CAR. ITS 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION . ON MY WAY HOME TO SEE MY FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS HEARD LOUD POP SOUND FROM UNDER THE DASH. KINDA SCARED ME BUT AFTER THE INSPECTION DIDN'T SEE ANY DAMAGE. TURNED THE ENGINE ON AGAIN BUT NOTICED RIGHT AWAY THAT MY CLUTCH PEDAL DOESN'T FEEL THE SAME. ( I HAVE STOCK CLUTCH AND TRANSMISSION) RIGHT NOW CLUTCH PEDAL MAKES SQUEEZING NOISE, AND MY BRAKE PEDAL MOVES WHEN I PUSH THE CLUTCH PEDAL . AT HOME OPENED THE HOOD AND ASKED MY DAD TO PUSH THE CLUTCH PEDAL COUPLE TIMES, NOTICED THAT CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER IS NOTICEABLY MOVING ALL OVER THE PLACE. CHECKED ONLINE FOR THE SAME SYMPTOMS AND REALIZED MY FIREWALL WELDS ARE CRACKED FROM UNDER THE DASH , WELL NOT THE BEST FIND BUT ITS CHRISTMAS SO JUST TRIED TO GO OVER IT AND WRITE YOU THIS EMAIL. HERE'S THE SITE I WAS TALKING ABOUT HTTP://FORUMS.NASIOC.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=2499917&HIGHLIGHT=08-10+WRX&PAGE=9 JUST COPY-PASTE THE LINK PLEASE. SAYING "CHASSIS FATIGUE AND CRACKING RESULTING IN DAMAGE/POTENTIAL COMPROMISE OF DRIVER CONTROLS." THIS IS MY FIRST SUBARU AND IM REALLY HAPPY WITH THE CAR , HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN HELP ME OUT , THANK YOU VERY MUCH! *TR