27th May 2004, 12:59

I am planning to buy an SVX LSI. Will you post info on where is the best place to find a manual 6 speed transmission? Also, is the retrofit good, or does it look and perform like an add-on? I can't stand automatic transmissions, and that's the only thing that makes me hesitate to buy an SVX. I have had excellent experiences with other Subarus. Unlike Nissan, Subaru actually plans their car designs based on how owners interact with their cars.

31st Dec 2005, 10:45

I believe the 13B engine referenced in the earlier comment is a Mazda rotary. I'm not familiar with the transfer case arrangement in the SVX, but would tend to think that changing transmissions and retaining AWD would be extremely complex. If this is an easy sway, would love to see details on a web page.

13th Jan 2006, 01:26

To the guy who is complaining about the dealership and the car, it's not their fault you're an unpleasant person. To the guy who wants a 6 speed manual, HA HAHAHA HAA HA. Do your research, there is not stock Subaru SVX 1992-1997. Got that none, they did not make any. Now that I had my fun here is some advice, there’s a shop in Washington state that specializes in changing your automatic to a manual. It will cost you almost 5 large, but you also get a turbo with that, nice trade from an automatic. Or IF your really LUCKY you'll find some one who did the switch themselves.

1st Feb 2006, 16:30

I think the prez of that company you mailed should move. I don't think he wants his personal life invaded by letters that are supposed to be handled by the customer service department.

Better idea: Go to his house and see what happens.

27th Feb 2006, 22:41

I bought my 94 SVX LSi with 80k miles, and by 140k it can't make it 3 months without a trip to the shop. It's had 2 transmissions (one on it's own, one as a result of Oil Can Henry's allowing the transmission fluid to drain out 3 miles from their shop). I think at least 3 times in 4 years it's been in the shop for a solid month.

The last couple of failures have been hoses that simply fall off. The first nearly killed the transmission, but I stopped in time - the second was the power steering fluid hose. The fluid hit the engine block and burst into flames.

It's a wonderful car to drive, but for me, it was literally a flaming piece of junk.

20th Jan 2007, 09:12

You can't guarantee it wasn't the how it was built. I know many owners with the same car as mine (nissan sentra spec v) that had their QR25DE destroy itself. I understand it can also be an owner's lack of maintenance that causes parts to break and stuff to fail, but you have to understand that this isn't always the case.

Anyway, I will agree that the trans is the area this car suffers the most from. A decent external filter and cooler will go a long way toward keeping it alive longer.

About drilled/slotted rotors...don't buy that boy racer crap. Drilled and slotted rotors can crack or warp a lot easier than a solid rotor. They are mostly for looks, so just buying a larger/thicker rotor and better braking fluid should help to make this hefty car stop better.

22nd Oct 2007, 18:49

I own a 1994 SVX which I bought in 1998 so I have therefore run it now for almost ten years. In all that time, apart from routine servicing (about which I am quite tardy), I have only had to replace a single broken electric-window switch cluster. My SVX has never broken down, never refused to start and never overheated. It has proved to be an exemplary car to own and a great pleasure to drive on a daily basis. Its two failings are that (1) at about 22mpg around town it is pretty thirsty, although this consumption rate improves to about 30mpg on a long run if the speed is held at a steady 70mph; and (2) it consumes tires almost as fast as petrol.

7th Dec 2007, 20:31

I just bought a fully loaded, almost mint 1996 SVX from a friend for $800 (lucky me) with 160k miles on it. The first day I got that sucker up to 140 mph and just about toasted my routers coming to a stop! lol... I Put my foot into it for the first week, (its the funnest car Iv ever owned) and then gave it a rest for the last month. It sounded and felt good until about 5 days ago it started this weird clunk on the take off and it kinda slams into 2nd. I'm not sure if its serous, but I'm hoping when I take it in to get looked at it just a the tranny filters and maybe bearings. My friend who sold it to me said besides normal oil changes, tune ups, etc. Its never broke down, or been in the shop for any reason in the last 4 years.

16th Jan 2008, 10:13

January 16, 2008.

I have a 1992 Subaru SVX. I purchased it in 1999 with 95K. In 2004, I spent some money replacing the transmission, rack & pinion steering etc with 132K on the odometer. The car has run tops since then with regular O & L maintenance.

At 149k, suddenly, on the road, my engine cut-off with all power loss. I put the car in park and the engine started right away and this was repeated after a 3 mile journey.

If anyone had a similar situation, I would appreciate any information about the possible cause of sudden engine cut off.

Thanks.

23rd Jan 2008, 06:10

I have a 1995 SVX. I love it, but, the Mass Airflow sensor will cause the car to die intermittently until catastrophic failure. The vehicle will restart immediately and fail down the road a ways. It'll do it until the car won't stay running for more than a few minutes. This can take a while, 1 to 2 months, but if this is the problem it will happen.

24th May 2008, 14:37

I have a '94 SVX. I have owned it for about 16 months now, and it's been fine so far, but recently the power in the cigarette lighter, the controls to the A/C, Heat, Outside Temp, and Defroster stopped working, along with the Clock, which I could give a about.

I used an Ipod adapter that plugged into my cig lighter, and whenever I would put the cig lighter in, the lights on my radio and dash would flick off for about a second.

I was just wondering, has anyone ever heard of this? I looked at the cig lighter to see if possibly it disconnected (it wasn't); because last time I did anything, it was to unplug my iPod. I am almost positive that the cig lighter is what caused the other problems, because the next time I started I noticed all these things were simultaneously out.

However my radio, rear defrost, and most my essential electrical things work.

Other than this mishap, which really only bothers me because it's summer, the car has been great. I've probably mistreated it more than I should on the road, but it still runs extremely smoothly.