2009 Subaru Impreza complaints

REAR WINDOW DEFROST IS INADEQUATE -- WILL NOT CLEAR LIGHT SNOW OR FROST UNTIL IT HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR 15-20 MINUTES. IMPEDES REAR VISION IN NORTHERN STATES. *TR

IN MARCH OF 2009 I PURCHASED A 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA WRX WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION FROM THE DEALER. AT THAT TIME THE CAR HAD 580 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. AFTER TAKING THE CAR HOME I BEGAN IMMEDIATELY HAVING PROBLEMS WHEN ATTEMPTING TO PLACE THE CAR IN REVERSE AND ALSO NOTICED A FOUL ODOR WHEN TAKING OFF AND OCCASIONALLY WHEN SWITCHING GEARS. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP I WAS TOLD THAT THESE ISSUES WERE NORMAL FOR THE WRX AND THAT THE "CLUTCH SMELL" WAS COMMON AND NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. AT THE FIRST OIL CHANGE I EXPRESSED CONCERNS AGAIN AND WAS TOLD A SIMILAR STORY. I ASKED ABOUT THE ISSUE AGAIN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS AND THEN I TOOK MY CAR TO A DIFFERENT SUBARU DEALERSHIP AT THE END OF DECEMBER 2009 FOR EXTENSIVE MAINTENANCE AND ASKED THEM TO LOOK AT THE CLUTCH FOR ME BECAUSE I WAS NOTICING THE "CLUTCH SMELL" A LOT AND WAS NOW HAVING PROBLEMS SHIFTING INTO REVERSE AND FIRST GEAR AND THE TACHOMETER WOULD JUMP AROUND OCCASIONALLY WITH NO IDENTIFIABLE CAUSE. I PICKED MY CAR UP ON JANUARY 2, 2010 AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CLUTCH AND THAT MY CAR WAS FINE. ON JANUARY 31, 2010 MY CLUTCH FAILED CATASTROPHICALLY LEAVING MY VEHICLE DISABLED IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR INTERSTATE. THERE ARE ONLY 22,000 MILES ON MY CAR. IT WAS TOWED TO YET A THIRD SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND INSPECTED BY A REPRESENTATIVE OF SUBARU OF AMERICA AND I WAS TOLD THAT MY CLUTCH WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN "MISUSED" AND I WAS INFORMED THAT THEY FELT

THE TPMS SYSTEM IN THE 2009 SUBARU IMPREZA IS FLAWED. WHEN I SEASONALLY CHANGE MY TIRES TO THE SPARE SET, I MUST GO TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE TPMS SENSORS RESET. THE SYSTEM SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO RECOGNIZE MORE THAN 4 TIRES; 8 WOULD BE A MINIMUM AND 9 WOULD BE PREFERRED FOR THE SPARE TIRE. THE IMPACT OF THIS FAULTY SYSTEM IS THAT IF I WANT MY TPMS SYSTEM TO WORK AS FEDERALLY MANDATED, I MUST PAY $50 TWICE PER YEAR TO THE DEALER OR TIRE SHOP TO RESET THE SYSTEM. BY LAW, THERE IS NO WAY TO DISABLE THE SYSTEM I.E. FOR WINTER RIMS AND TIRES. THE CONSUMER, ONCE AGAIN, IS GETTING PRICE GOUGED FOR A "SAFETY FEATURE" THAT HAS AN INHERENT DESIGN FLAW. PLEASE REMEDY THIS PROBLEM SOON AS ALL NEW CARS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE THIS FEATURE AND CONSUMERS IN MANY STATES FREQUENTLY CHANGE THEIR TIRES DURING THE WINTER MONTHS. *TR

IS NHTSA AWARE OF HOW NEARLY USELESS THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE ON SOME SUBARUS? I JUST BOUGHT A NEW 2009 IMPREZA. ITS LOW BEAMS ARE SO DIM THEY'RE DANGEROUS, AND BECAUSE OF THEM I WISH I HADN'T BOUGHT THE CAR. THE FIRST EVENING I DROVE IT, I ALMOST RAN OVER A GROUP OF PEOPLE -- AND WOULD HAVE IF I HADN'T BEEN STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN. THE WAY THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ARE CONFIGURED, I COULDN'T SEE THESE PEOPLE UNTIL THEY STEPPED OFF THE CURB. SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE ADVICE? KEEP THE LIGHTS CLEAN. THEY WERE; THEY ARE; I WILL -- BUT NO MATTER HOW IMMACULATE THEY ARE, THEY STILL CAST TOO LITTLE LIGHT. WOULD NHTSA PLEASE CHECK INTO THIS DARKNESS AT SUBARU? AN EMPLOYEE AT THE CAR DEALERSHIP TOLD ME HIS 2008 SUBARU HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. OH AND BY THE WAY, THE FOG LIGHTS DON'T HELP A BIT. THEY MAKE NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL. I HOPE NSC CAN PROMPT SUBARU TO CAST SOME LIGHT! IF THIS PROBLEM IS TYPICAL -- AND I GATHER THAT IT IS -- I THINK A RECALL IS NEEDED. THANK YOU. *TR UPDATED 10/16/09