The failed transmission poll

[Huskymaniac]

Not sure if this was ever done or if I will do it right but I will give it a shot. The idea here is to get an idea of the rate of failures for different model year cars under various conditions.

[Coan]

Good idea.

How about those of us who have the original tranny, never failed, but are starting to suspect a failure in the not-so-distant future? It's not for certain yet, but my car is having... symptoms...

[Subie59]

Mine is a 1994 with 187,000 kms and the tranny is just starting to slip between 1st and 2nd. I'm hopin it's a solenoid problem but have not checked it out yet.

[1986nate]

holy poll options batman!

[1986nate]

92 silver-original failed 60-70k
Subaru reman failed at 103k
92 NJ claret-don't know when original failed
bought with failed subaru reman with 118k
94 laguna FWD-original trans good, failed diff with 93k-was abused for 2 months by stupid kid
94 pearlie fwd-160k original trans as far as i know
92 FL claret- 143k-probably subaru reman or other rebuild
92 ebony parts car-101k, had subaru reman in it that ended up being good
92 pearl parts car-bought without drivetrain, had receipt for Subaru reman at 78k, previous owner that parted out drivetrain said trans was still good with 145k on car
92 pearlie i worked on, had 145k on it, had a reman in it but can't say the mileage that was on it.
92 ebony I'm going to be working on, 190k and has Subaru reman that is very strong in it-not sure if its the first or second reman though...

IDK how i'd put all these options into the poll, but there's the info...

[Subix]

As far as I know, my 94 has the original trans in it and is at 192k miles.
However, the differentials had issues and were attended to as necessary.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

92 silver-original failed 60-70k
Subaru reman failed at 103k
92 NJ claret-don't know when original failed
bought with failed subaru reman with 118k
94 laguna FWD-original trans good, failed diff with 93k-was abused for 2 months by stupid kid
94 pearlie fwd-160k original trans as far as i know
92 FL claret- 143k-probably subaru reman or other rebuild
92 ebony parts car-101k, had subaru reman in it that ended up being good
92 pearl parts car-bought without drivetrain, had receipt for Subaru reman at 78k, previous owner that parted out drivetrain said trans was still good with 145k on car
92 pearlie i worked on, had 145k on it, had a reman in it but can't say the mileage that was on it.
92 ebony I'm going to be working on, 190k and has Subaru reman that is very strong in it-not sure if its the first or second reman though...

IDK how i'd put all these options into the poll, but there's the info...

Everyone with multiple cars can select multiple choices. You aren't limited to one. As far as abuse is concerned, use your judgment but I would lump that under "modified for high HP" as my intent was to show normal use versus abuse either in the form of poor maintenance, abusive driving or cranking up the HP to specification beyond the manufacturer's intent.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by Subie59

Mine is a 1994 with 187,000 kms and the tranny is just starting to slip between 1st and 2nd. I'm hopin it's a solenoid problem but have not checked it out yet.

That's a lot of mileage and you don't know if it is failing so I would call that a non-fail...for now. I think I will leave this poll open for a long time to let people go in and change their choices as necessary.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by Coan

Good idea.

How about those of us who have the original tranny, never failed, but are starting to suspect a failure in the not-so-distant future? It's not for certain yet, but my car is having... symptoms...

If you are certain it is failing, you can list it as a fail. Otherwise, assume the best case scenario for now.

[Huskymaniac]

Anyone that never responded to this, here is your chance. As of right now, here are the statistics:

Tranny failure rate = 76.6%

Wow.

Failure rate by year:

1992 = 83.3%
1993 = 100%
1994 = 37.5%
1995 = 25%
1996 = 66.6%
1997 = 25%

1992 isn't a surprise but 1993 and 1996 seem like anomalies.

The failure rate for modified or hard driven cars is 66.6% so that doesn't seem to be a major factor.

Mike's new TCU code keeps the line pressure high at low throttle and Mike has said that he believes this is a major factor in tranny failure. Clearly, the modifications made by Subaru also reduced the failure rate. This implies the known flaws with ATF flow and clutch material were a factor. I think, together, TCU programming and original tranny flaws are a really bad combination. Here is a theory. When someone is stopped or cruising at light throttle, the line pressure is low due to the original TCU programming. If one then stomps on the gas, the engine soon delivers a ton of torque to the tranny. If that torque arrives before the line pressure rises in response to the TCU asking for more line pressure, the weak clutch material, high torque and low line pressure would result in a slip which would damage the tranny. If done many times, the tranny starts slipping worse and worse and the ATF heats up more and more and you have a downward spiral. The poor ATF flow may also cause the line pressure to rise more slowly when the TCU signals for higher pressure. This could be the main cause of or, at least, add to the delay. Just a theory. But, if true, Mike's TCU changes plus his valve body modifications would both be a big help in addition to what Subaru already did in the later models.

[lhopp77]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

Anyone that never responded to this, here is your chance. As of right now, here are the statistics:

Tranny failure rate = 76.6%

Wow.

Failure rate by year:

1992 = 83.3%
1993 = 100%
1994 = 37.5%
1995 = 25%
1996 = 66.6%
1997 = 25%

1992 isn't a surprise but 1993 and 1996 seem like anomalies.

The samples are so small in some years that just one entry will change the data percentages dramatically. I suspect 96 has changed with just my non-failure entry.

Lee

[icingdeath88]

I agree, way too few entries in the poll. Hopefully this will bump it up so that more people will answer.

[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by lhopp77

The samples are so small in some years that just one entry will change the data percentages dramatically. I suspect 96 has changed with just my non-failure entry.

Lee

That's why I called it an anomaly. The sample size is too small at this point. It looks like 1994-1997 have a failure rate of around 40%. It is probably even lower for 1995-1997 as, I believe, all of the Subaru changes were in place by around mid-1994. But you can see the issues with 1992-1993 models pretty clearly.

[Cam]

You also have to take into account the fact hat the 1992 is about 33 percent older than the 1997 models. Thats quite a large difference. Much more time for miles to add up and tranny parts to wear. I would take this poll with a grain of salt. I believe people should still post their personal experiences and vote on the poll but it is much too early to make any kind of conclusions outside of the obvious, already known facts.

[1986nate]

I need to add a few but I don't remember which ones I put in already... basically, with the SVXi that I've been in, and have, or have worked on, I'll list here in addition to the ones I listed earlier


92 silver- 2 dead transmissions by 103k miles
92 ebony parts car-pulled reman out of it, sold to fellow member and was told it was working but hasn't been driven much at all due to other circumstances, had 101k miles
94 fwd Laguna-trans was good but failed front diff, figures, it is a fwd, 93k when I got it, just turned 105k this week
92 Claret-2 transmission failures by 118k miles
94 FWD pearlie-original trans as far as I know, 160k miles(ish)
92 pearl parts car-paperwork of original trans dying around 76k, and as far as I know still was good (bought car without any drivetrain left
92 FL claret-143k, bad transfer clutch, had a rebuild in it
94 emerald-unknown, was wrecked badly, picked up with no drivetrain
97 ebony-110k miles, trans was replaced around 108k, unknown if trans was dead or just had transfer clutch binding
92 pearl-unknown, 142k miles, no trans in car so assumed old one was bad, hasn't been on the road since April of 02 as I found out
95 emerald-108k, has bad trans, I assume original
94 emerald fwd-130k miles, assume original trans
95 polo LSi-125k miles, bad trans and assume it is the original
92 pearl-111k, bad trans, haven't been able to find out if its original or rebuild, previous owner bought car around 93k miles
last 2 in my signature I have no clue

ones I've worked on
94 Emerald AWD-failed trans, original around 103k
92 pearl-front diff failed, 145k on body, had reman trans

Can't remember the others, so I'll add these newer ones to your poll...

can you tell I'm a little bored tonight?