A fuel line under the intake manifold located on the passenger side is leaking gas on cold starts. This is my second time dealing with this issue. As of now, it is only leaking gas when the engine is cold, but the leaking is starting to get worse and faster than before. The first time I had this issue it was leaking gas regardless of engine temperature. It is only a matter of time before it starts to leak at any given moment with a possibility to cause a fire putting my life and others at risk. I live in the state of california and this recall has only been announced for "cold weather" states. It is evident that this fuel line problem has nothing to do with the weather since I live in a warm climate. This probiem is unfixable and time consuming. I had already tried to solve this issue at my local repair shop and it ended up being a waste of time and money. This is clearly a manufacturer's problem. Subaru needs to issue a national recall for this vehicle.
The worst 2002 Subaru WRX problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Fuel system295
- Brakes80
- Engine18
- Transmission16
- Visibility8
- Suspension6
- Airbags3
- Body3
- Electrical3
- Acceleration2
- Tires2
- Seat belts1
- Steering1
- Wheels1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2002 Subaru WRX
Fuel smell 209Fuel leak 127ABS 60Brake failure 22Fire or smoke 8Ball joint 7Shudder 5
Recalls 1
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002 and 2003 impreza wrx vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of south dakota, nebraska, north dakota, minnesota, idaho, iowa, montana, colorado, wisconsin, new york, wyoming, michigan, alaska, new hampshire, vermont, and maine. During cold starts, typically under extremely cold temperatures, fuel leaks in the fuel delivery line could occur where the line connects with a rubber hose.
- Risk
- Fuel leaks, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the fuel line free of charge. The recall began on december 31, 2009. Owners may contact subaru at 1‑800‑782‑2783.
Recall number 09V468000 · Recall details
See all 1 recalls for the 2002 Subaru WRX
Defect investigations
Fuel line leak
The design of the fuel line (metal rail/rubber hose interface) is susceptible to fuel odor and/or seepage in extreme cold temperature conditions.owners most often noticed fuel odor in the occupant compartment area during initial cold engine start-up.once the engine is warmed, the odor/seepage issue dissipates.from subaru's data, odi notes that the incident rates are higher in states with colder temperatures.there was one allegation of a fire incident in which the owner had reported that he noticed fuel odor a few days earlier, but odi could not confirm the origin of the fire. To address this issue, subaru will replace the fuel line with a longer rubber hose segment version/design on 5,724 my 2002-2003 vehicles built through september 12, 2002 in 16 states (ak, co, ia, id, me, mi, mn, mt, nd, ne, nh, ny, sd, vt, wi & wy).in addition, subaru will extend the warranty coverage to 12 years/unlimited mileage on vehicles in the remaining 34 states.this engineering analysis is closed (see recall campaign 09v‑468)
EA09011
Fuel line leak
Complainants report fuel leakage most frequently in winter during initial cold engine startup.owners will either notice a fuel odor inside the occupant compartment or fuel odor/leakage at the fuel lines on the right side atop the engine. Once the engine has warmed, the odor/leakage may cease.subaru revised the fuel pipe/hose design for model year (my) 2003-04 wrx vehicles produced after august 2003.subaru also introduced a my 2004 impreza sti vehicle with a different engine and fuel pipe/hose layout.out of the total of 994 complaints, 944 concern my 2002-03 wrx vehicles built through august 2003.subaru also reports one fire on a my 2002 wrx vehicle that occurred in february 2006.in march 2009, odi inspected and video taped a my 2002 wrx vehicle with a fuel leak during cold engine start up.the video was provided to subaru and is in the investigation file. This investigation is being upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-011) to further study this issue.
PE09017
Fuel line leakage in engine compartment
Subaru reports that the fuel odor is caused by fuel seepage during cold start of the engine under extremely cold temperatures. The leak occurs in a fuel line in the engine compartment.it reports that the failure is due to the misaligned angle between two fuel delivery lines which resulted in such fuel seepage during the first few seconds of cold engine start during these cold temperatures.subaru reports that the two fuel lines are connected with a hose that becomes too stiff in very cold temperatures to conform to the misalignment. Subaru has issued a technical service bulletin (subaru service bulletin number 09-36-03) to replace the fuel lines with new lines that are properly aligned and that have a longer connecting hose.odi phone calls to many of the complainants confirm that fuel odor is noticable during very cold temperatures and cold start but goes away as the engine warms up, and the odor is not present in warmer temperatures. A few owners report that attempts to eliminate the leakage by tightening the connecting hose clamps is not effective in eliminating the fuel odor.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
PE04002
Extended stopping distances
During the ea, odi and vrtc performed the following activities:1.conducted a mail survey of 246 subject vehicle owners todetermine the roadway surface that caused owners' concern;2.interviewed complaining owners;3.conducted field inspections of seven (7) complaint vehicles;4.instrumented testing at vrtc of complaint and peer vehicles;5.reviewed subaru's response to our information request;6.met with subaru for technical review of testingas a result of the work conducted by vrtc and odi during this investigaiton, a consistent or chronic pattern of poor brake performance has not been identified.vrtc conducted over 11,500 brake tests.they did not observe any long-duration, low deceleration events (some owners reported delays of 4 to 10 seconds) in the test vehicles.see odi's closing report and vrtc's test report for full details
EA03024
Braking system/ABS
Subaru's supplemental response of september 29, 2003, identified that the 2002, 2003 subaru wrx models areequipped with the bosch 5.3 ABS system, and identified that other model subaru vehicles are also equipped with the bosch 5.3 ABS system, but have different calibrations than the wrx model vehicles.subaru identified that changes were made in the ABS ecu to address a calibration logic issue when driving the vehicle with the spare tire mounted.subaru reported that both the ABS hydraulic unit and the ABS ecu were modified, and gave VIN numbers to identify the implementation of the modified units in production. Testing is underway to gain an understanding of the wrx vehicle performance during an ABS activation.futher, analysis ofthe differences in vehicle performance resulting from ABS software changes will be examined.
PE03029
Technical service bulletins for the 2002 Subaru WRX 129
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This is an update announcement regarding the TechShare & NorthStar Integration
- This announcement provides information on the connected services platform for Subaru EVs.
- This bulletin provides a step-by-step diagnostic procedure for resolving Remote Engine Start (RES)...
- This Service Information Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but...
- This announcement provides information on DCM replacememts due to a parasitic draw.
- This announcement provides information on an outage affecting the Subaru Select Monitor 5 application.
- This Service Information Bulletin announces the availability of ThreeBond 1216J (SOA868V9640) designed for...
- This announcement provides information on a new software update for the Midtronics Dss and DCA machines.
- This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a...
- This bulletin provides paint code information for 2027 model year vehicles.
What 2002 Subaru WRX owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
I have the terrible gasoline smell in and outside of the car as a result of a recall that is not valid in the state of ohio. As subaru thinks ohio is not a cold weather state and has denied the recall on my vehicle. It smells the whole house. It is sickening. I have been putting up for it since I bought the vehicle and am the original owner. According to the recall, it can cause a fire. I cannot purchase another car, and subaru will not honor the recall because I live in ohio (a very very cold state).
The body is deteriorating so fast. I laugh at the subaru commercial where the parents give their kids the old car. I would not trust the old subaru to keep my children safe. I've had to replace the frame, and am letting the body rust. The sickening smell of fumes like gas in the winter are horrible. When I keep the subaru in the garage, it makes my whole house toxic with fumes. Subaru will not honor the recall on it, because I am in ohio, and ohio is not a "cold-weather" state, but do they realize we have tons of snow and frigid temperatures in the winter. I can't stand by subaru no longer, but cannot afford a new car. When I do, it will not be a subaru.
Fuel rail on 2002 wrx is leaking heavily on the engine. This is a high fire hazard as well as noxious for passengers in the car as it smells heavily of fuel. Since I live in washington state subaru of america has not honored the recall they've put in other states for this exact issue. Subaru has denied warranty repair due to the extended warranty expiring for this issue in 2013. I was never notified of this issue. I am the original owner of this car and have taken it in for every other recall issue that I've been notified of. This is reckless and dangerous. The local repair shop has said they don't think it is correct to charge me for labor and parts that should be covered under warranty by subaru and have directed me to the dealership. The dealership asked me to get authorization from subaru, which was denied. This is a safety issue that should be covered under warranty for the life of the car. It is a bone stock car with no aftermarkets parts or enhancements.
There is a constant raw fuel smell when driving, to the point of making me feel sick, cant even drive my car without all the windows down, ive reasurched this issue with other models using the same engine & componints that are on the recall list, but I can not get any help from anyone at subaru, even with explaining its the exact same problem as ither the forester or outback... Of a raw fuel smell from a fulty gas line under the manifold,,, not cool that they are willing to compromise my safety to avoid doing the fix, or addmiting the defect affects the 2002 wrx
When the weather is cold and below freezing there is a gas leak and I can smell gas in the inside of my car as well as outside. It is hard to be able to drive anywhere when it is below freezing. There was a safety recall (http://tinyurl.com/wrxgas) for this situation in 2009, but I was never notified. I discovered this recall when I recently decided to try to research the situation again, although I was turned down for any help from subaru early in my ownership of the vehicle. I recently took it to my dealership to get the issue fixed, only to be told that this recall expired. I am the original owner and have been trying to get this resolved since I bought the car in may 2001 in mn.
Control arms were recalled in 2011 for rust issues and failure on the hanger brackets. Got the parts checked at the time of the recall by a certified subaru dealership, the dealership sprayed a "rust proofing" agent on the control arms. Three years later I was driving down my road and lost control of the vehicle completely. The driver side lower control arm had rusted through and broken at the hanger bracket. Subaru of america will not cover the repairs as the recall had been performed already (even through it did not prevent the issues from happening).
I'm filing my complaint with all the others about the strong fuel smell during the cold months. I cannot believe ohio is not included in the recall. I've taken my car to the dealer numerous times to be told that the car is okay. Frankly, this past cold winter has been awful. The smell makes it's way into the house. It is awful. I cannot believe subaru does not believe ohio is cold and will not stand by its autos. Also, when I brought the auto in for a recall on the front control arms, they only rustproofed them and never told me the frame was rusted out. This was at 125,000 miles. This auto has been meticulously cared for. If this car is meant to be in all kinds of weather, why can't it stand up past 125,000 miles. Ridiculous! I have three other vehicles from other brands with many more miles, one car of which is stored outside in the winter, and all the other autos have great lasting frames. Considering I had only 125,000 miles, I saved the money and made this expensive repair. Com'on subaru make a car that lasts!!!!!
When it is cold outside my car smells like raw fuel very strongly in the cabin resulting in headaches and dizziness. This is a common problem among-st these cars and subaru knows about it because they had an extended recall but does not cover the problem now.
Working night shifts, started my car to let warm up, temperature was 43 degrees fahrenheit at the time. After start up I could smell raw fuel out side the car as well as inside the car through the vents. Also gas mileage has gone down by drastically, normally get 300-330 miles a tank and currently getting barley 200. Noticed car starting to smoke a little as well from under the hood, no fire but not going to keep driving the car.
Compare the 2002 Subaru WRX
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Questions about the 2002 Subaru WRX
Is the 2002 Subaru WRX reliable?
Owners have filed 427 complaints about the 2002 Subaru WRX, 17.1 times a typical WRX model year. It is one of the years we flag to avoid.
What is the 2002 Subaru WRX year score?
The 2002 Subaru WRX scores 5 out of 100 (poor). The score compares it with the other model years of the Subaru WRX: 75 is a typical year, 50 means twice the usual complaints, and serious complaints and recalls lower it.
What is the most common problem with the 2002 Subaru WRX?
Fuel and propulsion system, with 295 complaints, typically around 49,071 miles. Next is brakes (80).
How many recalls does the 2002 Subaru WRX have?
1 recall, covering fuel system, gasoline.
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