All,

Thank you for taking the time to look into this.

I have a couple issues with what you are telling me here based off of my 2 years driving experience in an STi over 30k miles.

First, 14.7psi is the maximum boost in a 2015+ STi as quoted on Subaru's website and in my car's manual. The ECU allows for temporary over-boosting which is anything above 14.7psi including the 17.2psi you reached while driving yesterday and the 15.6psi your technician achieved in my car. This means my car was driven in a manner where over-boost was necessary indicating aggressive acceleration.

 Second, while we were talking in your (Kristina's) office, you told me you have this conversation "10 times a year" about reaching max boost in a customer's car (generally a STi). Yet you just informed me you, personally, were not comfortable at anything above 13psi. This indicates, to me, that there is continued misuse of customer's cars. I will not take my car somewhere that this is the case, which it apparently is at your dealership.

Third, what I am upset about is not a question of whether or not a STi can take reaching those boost levels. We all know they can and are made to do that. I am upset that my car was driven in a manner I do not want anyone driving without my explicit permission, or an implied service reason such as having engine/turbo boost work done. Since there was no service reason and absolutely no explicit permission to drive my car hard, I now have no trust that my car will be respected while in your dealership's possession.

Fourth, my intention here is not to get anyone in trouble as that's the last thing I really want. Due to that, I will not be sharing the dash-cam video. This isn't about 1 person's actions but a widespread problem about finding a shop/dealership that will respect performance cars. A simple google search will show that this is an on-going problem with WRXs and STis.

Overall, I no longer trust your dealership with my cars (2016 STi and 2017 Crosstrek both purchased at your dealership). I love my cars and will not take them somewhere they are not respected.

Based off of this experience, I likely will not purchase another car through your dealership. This is especially disappointing as I would be the first person to purchase a new STi as soon as the next redesign and engine revamp comes through (here's to hoping its 2019).

Thank you all for your time and I hope you have a pleasant day.

Sincerely,
Nick Wright

…
On Wed, Aug 2, 2017 at 10:22 AM Kristina Kelley <kkelley@carterseattle.com> wrote:
Mr. Wright,
Thank you for the e-mail.  I am very sorry your visit to Carter was such a disappointment.  I spent some time yesterday driving an STi along the same test route and found that when pulling out onto Aurora and merging, the max boost I was comfortable obtaining in a car that does not belong to me was about 13psi.  At WOT boost registered 17.2psi on a 2017 model year.  I’ve discussed this with the technician who test drove your car.  He extends his apologies for his actions.  As one of our leads and a father of two sons who started driving in recent years he certainly knows better and understands the value of respectfulness.
As discussed while you were here, I would still like to see your dash camera footage if you are able to share it with us.  Carter takes pride in giving quality care to our customers with complete transparency and anything that jeopardizes that is taken very seriously.
We hope that you will reconsider your conclusion given the positive experiences you have previously had, but we absolutely respect your decision.
Sincerely,

Kristina Kelley
Service Manager
Carter Subaru
206.546.9940
kkelley@cartersubaru.com

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From: Nick Wright [mailto:nickwright2440@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2017 5:28 PM
To: kkelley@cartersubaru.com; jmoran@cartersubaru.com
Cc: hsantos@cartersubaru.com; bwolff@cartersubaru.com
Subject: 2016 STi Misuse During Regular Service

Good Afternoon All,

I had my 2016 WRX STi serviced at your dealership this morning on 7/31/2017 at 7:10am. An oil change was completed along with a tire rotation. After arriving at your dealership, I reset my boost gauge to 0.0 psi. Upon receipt of my car at 12:40pm this afternoon, my peak boost read 15.6 psi. Max boost in a 2016 WRX STi is 14.7 psi.

I went back in after checking my boost gauge and talked with Helder who referred me to Kristina. I spoke with Kristina who explained to me that after a tire rotation you guys have to drive the car up to 35 mph to ensure that the rotation was done properly. Kristina also explained to me that sometimes, especially in a car as responsive as an STi, in order to merge into traffic it is normal to reach maximum boost. This is where I have the problem.

As someone who has been daily driving a STi for 2 years, I know what it takes to get what boost out of my car. In order to merge into traffic and get up to 35 mph in the 2/10ths of a mile needed, there is no way you should be getting close to max boost. In 1st gear, you have to effectively go to WOT to reach 15.6 psi. This is unacceptable.

I 100% understand that you have to drive the car in order to do your job. That is not what I am upset about. I am upset that someone (other than myself) drove my car hard enough to achieve maximum boost in a situation that does not require it. Not only is this entirely unsafe when performed by an inexperienced driver but it is completely unprofessional.

I am very disappointed that my car was treated this way and I am especially concerned that it is "normal" for your service techs to do this. Needless to say, I will not be trusting you with servicing my car again.

I have had 2 great experiences purchasing 2 new Subaru's through your dealership. At this point I am strongly considering taking my future business elsewhere.

Sincerely,
Nick Wright