Thinking of purchasing one of these, but concerned with some of the reviews I've read on edmunds.com. Any known problems associated with these such as turbo failure, constant bushing replacement or are the users on edmunds, full of it?
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the stock rear swaybar bushings are crap but it is a very easy and cheap replacement, if you plan on keeping the car stock you shouldn't have any problem, i love my MSP, best car i've ever owned, it's modded though but i caused the problems i'm having but it's a great car none the less
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Are there after market bushings that last longer?
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I'm in the same boat, thinking about buying a MSP as a DD. Any thoughts or advice you guys can provide would be great.
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you need a bracket relocation to rememdy the bushing wear and clunk. There is a sticky in the MSP section that lists all known MSP problems. check it out.
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Yes, there are aftermarket bushings but they're of similar material and demand about the same amount of attention. You'll be under the car greasing it every six months or so. And really, you'll wind up wanting to be working on the car more often than that anyway, she has a way of getting you hooked.

If you want a car you can put in your garage and only do oil changes, ever, go buy an accord. If you've got a little free time to soak up some knowledge from the forums, a few extra dollars for some mods (the dark side WILL claim you), and a little time every now and then to give her some love, you won't regret it.
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Dont Do It!!
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Read all the valid sticky-threads in all the various MSP subforums. That'll tell you just about everything you want to know.
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i wouldnt... its worth it if you can afford it but there are a lot of issues with MSPs just some get lucky. If you do get one start moding and never look back.
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I'm not opposed to replacing bushings or greasing them on occasion. I read the sticky but no mention of turbo problems, so from a mechanical standpoint they seem pretty solid?

Thanks guys.
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bushings is a very minor problem. when you hit bumps there is a clunking noise from the back but it doesnt bother me. read up on the forums, its a great car, looks good and is a great performer. if you start to mod, boost is an issue. the engine internals are weak so anything above 10 psi is very dangerous. with supporting mods i believe you can run on 10 psi daily but its still a gamble. read up in the forums
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It appears that everybody failed to mention the LSD problems many have had. I have not expierenced this problem myself but even as a daily driver(no racing etc.) it seems like people somewhere between about 50k-100k miles get a blown LSD.

If your buying from a dealer just get the extended warrantee and it should cover your LSD pending that it breaks. A Private seller I would be more questionable about especially if they don't have the mechanical records on hand. I would definatly buy the car just gotta do your homework before taking that plunge. Good Luck with it.
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Thanks for all the comments. Sorry, but what does LSD stand for?
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LSD stands for Limited-Slip Differencial...
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It appears that everybody failed to mention the LSD problems many have had. I have not expierenced this problem myself but even as a daily driver(no racing etc.) it seems like people somewhere between about 50k-100k miles get a blown LSD.

If your buying from a dealer just get the extended warrantee and it should cover your LSD pending that it breaks. A Private seller I would be more questionable about especially if they don't have the mechanical records on hand. I would definatly buy the car just gotta do your homework before taking that plunge. Good Luck with it.

Are these failures due to the car being driven especially hard? Or do they fail with normal, somewhat spirited driving?
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dont beat it to death, and it will be fine. i love mine
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LSD stands for Limited-Slip Differencial...

not being a dick but, its differential

Are these failures due to the car being driven especially hard? Or do they fail with normal, somewhat spirited driving?

a wide variety of driving has caused random failures in the LSD. There is no "drive like this and it wont break" method. Most of the failures are during normal "easy" driving.

That said, I love my car to death. Its an absolute blast to drive and modify. Im 100% happy with my purchase.
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as a DD, don't friggin do it. i hate this pos car. nothing but problems from day 1. wish i had never bought the thing. if you're after a nice little car with some oomph, but a vw 1.8T. bushing replacement every 12k km, sway bar end link replacement as well, horrible accleration due to crappy computer tuning, shitty stock deck (sure it looks cool when it turns itself around like that when you shut it off, but it really pisses you off the day it never turns back around), shitty piping design robs you off boost, stock wastegate is junk, lsd that will randomly blow up on you some day when you're driving down the street, no guages to tell you what is actually going on with your car. the list goes on. i really wish i had found this forum and the sticky of known problems when i was researching the car. all i could find were a few magazine articles stating what a great, fun-to-drive little car this was. sure, when it's running properly, it really is fun to drive, it'll stick to corners like you wouldn't believe and it'll go like snot, but I have yet to have a full day of those things. you'll hear "with a few mods, it's an amazing little car" which is true. if you can afford aftermarket intake, chip, and guages you can make it a decent little car, but you're still stuck with the explosive lsd, weak internals (whatever you do, don't turn up the boost), crappy stock kenwood deck with a short life span (my last one didn't last a year) and the horrible design of the rear sway bar (which you can fix with an aftermarket kit i hear). so, to recap, if you're looking for a car that looks really cool and you want to spend about 2 grand (or more) on after you buy it to make it run right go ahead. if you're looking for a reliable car to use as a DD and you don't have the budget to mod just to make it reliable, move on, this isn't the car for you.

there, i said it. it had to be said. flame away.
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as a DD, don't friggin do it. i hate this pos car. nothing but problems from day 1. wish i had never bought the thing. if you're after a nice little car with some oomph, but a vw 1.8T. bushing replacement every 12k km, sway bar end link replacement as well, horrible accleration due to crappy computer tuning, shitty stock deck (sure it looks cool when it turns itself around like that when you shut it off, but it really pisses you off the day it never turns back around), shitty piping design robs you off boost, stock wastegate is junk, lsd that will randomly blow up on you some day when you're driving down the street, no guages to tell you what is actually going on with your car. the list goes on. i really wish i had found this forum and the sticky of known problems when i was researching the car. all i could find were a few magazine articles stating what a great, fun-to-drive little car this was. sure, when it's running properly, it really is fun to drive, it'll stick to corners like you wouldn't believe and it'll go like snot, but I have yet to have a full day of those things. you'll hear "with a few mods, it's an amazing little car" which is true. if you can afford aftermarket intake, chip, and guages you can make it a decent little car, but you're still stuck with the explosive lsd, weak internals (whatever you do, don't turn up the boost), crappy stock kenwood deck with a short life span (my last one didn't last a year) and the horrible design of the rear sway bar (which you can fix with an aftermarket kit i hear). so, to recap, if you're looking for a car that looks really cool and you want to spend about 2 grand (or more) on after you buy it to make it run right go ahead. if you're looking for a reliable car to use as a DD and you don't have the budget to mod just to make it reliable, move on, this isn't the car for you.

there, i said it. it had to be said. flame away.

Tell us how you REALLY feel...

In all fairness - EVERY car has problems... its just the type of problems that you have...

(NOTE: I am not flaming in any way, just sharing MY experience)

I had a VW, purchased brand new... It was the most unreliable car I ever had. It was in the shop every 3 months (sometimes sooner) for something new. I loved the car for its everyday use, but I couldnt trust that Id be able to use it everyday. Dilemma? you bet...

Short list of issues:

Water pump 30k
Catalytic converters 34k
3 transmissions for a reoccuring and uncorrected issue 23k, 34k, 40k
4 window actuators 2k-30k
6 speakers 1k-18k
1 radio ~ 20k

Thats with me doing all of my maintenance ON TIME and correctly. Add that to the cost of parts for a VW, and youre broke in no time. Telling him to stay away from the MSP, may or may not be correct but telling him to goto VW is a joke. Their reliability rating is even worse.
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lol, +1 every car has its problems and every car makers produce lemons. but the LSD is kinda crazy craping out at DD conditions.
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Tell us how you REALLY feel...




i am waiting for the day i get rear ended in traffic so my insurance will pay me to buy a new car....
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Are these failures due to the car being driven especially hard? Or do they fail with normal, somewhat spirited driving?

I wish I had an absolute answer to that question but i think some people just get lucky. Although you can usually tell when buying a used MSP whether or not the previous owner beat the crap out of it. Before I bought mine i drove a Yellow 03.5 and it was blatenly beat up. Also it was modded and "attempted" to be put back to stock order. I wasn't trying to deter you from buying the MSP because it is a good car. I do love mine but I really wish the little maintenence was less often thats all. Other than that I love the car.
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Tell us how you REALLY feel...

In all fairness - EVERY car has problems... its just the type of problems that you have...

(NOTE: I am not flaming in any way, just sharing MY experience)

I had a VW, purchased brand new... It was the most unreliable car I ever had. It was in the shop every 3 months (sometimes sooner) for something new. I loved the car for its everyday use, but I couldnt trust that Id be able to use it everyday. Dilemma? you bet...

Short list of issues:

Water pump 30k
Catalytic converters 34k
3 transmissions for a reoccuring and uncorrected issue 23k, 34k, 40k
4 window actuators 2k-30k
6 speakers 1k-18k
1 radio ~ 20k

Thats with me doing all of my maintenance ON TIME and correctly. Add that to the cost of parts for a VW, and youre broke in no time. Telling him to stay away from the MSP, may or may not be correct but telling him to goto VW is a joke. Their reliability rating is even worse.

+1.. Vw are POS


i know msp's have there problem and yes they cost alot to mod/replace to get things right that mazda failed to do.. but after that, everything is alright..

i put 2K in my hood .. and didn't even up the boost yet.. but the car is alot better that way and alot more reliable

sure it's not "tha bomb".. but it will spank 90% of the cars on the road here and will go around real nice in either spirited driving or smooth driving.
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lol, +1 every car has its problems and every car makers produce lemons. but the LSD is kinda crazy craping out at DD conditions.

when mine craps out im taking the easy way.. not putting another in..
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