Hello everyone I am new to this forum. I currently drive a stage 4 wrx and am planning on purchasing an evo IX by the end of the month and wanted to clear up a few things. This question is more so directed toward the owners who have had their evo's for 40,000 or 50,000 miles. How reliable are they in the long run? Is there anything i should look for as mileage gets higher? My mods to the car will be simple. TBE, reflash, boost controller just something to yeild me over 300whp, so nothing to put too much strain on the car.

 

46000 with 310/337 whp. Zero problems. Enjoy it.

 

50000 miles 378whp now, 344whp since 3500 miles, still on stock clutch, 0 problems!

 

57000 o3 evo. Installed new clutch in 25000 miles. tbe exhaust. Drive it like I stole it. Never one hiccup. Have no complaints, other than the carbon fiber wing clearcoat. But that was my fault for not waxing it...

 

there was a guy on here that had over 100k on his
he said he still love the car

 

thaks for your responses guys, looks like i have nothing to worry about then.

 

15k of pure abuse and tons of racing and still going strong...

 

I have 1500 miles on my IX MR so can't really give you any decent feedback on that (but no probs whatsoever thus far).

What I can tell you is the reason why I bought the Evo > Sti in the first place...

I first fell in love with mitsu engines when my buddy's mom bought an 89 Chrysler Lebaron turbo. Right out of the box, that thing was fasst. Now this was before I knew anything about turbos so seeing a 4cyl engine with that kind of power just blew me away. Now let me tell you, that car was ABUSED. No proper maintenance, crappy oil, and just roached on at every opportunity. The tranny broke multiple times (that was all Chrysler), and every other part of the car was falling apart. But I still remember to this day looking at the odometer which read over 100k miles and hearing it idle in his driveway and that engine just purrrrred. It would not, could not die.

Subsequently I bought a female friends 92 Eclipse GS turbo at 50k miles. Well I drove it til 150k miles through every Chicago winter where it sat parked outside. On -20 degree nights that was the only vehicle that started...the wife's brand new Elantra ran home to momma. All that time, it never gave me ONE SINGLE mechanical problem...just normal tires, clutch, batt, belts, etc.

So given the reliability of this engine a full 17 years ago and all the R&D since, I can say with confidence I fully expect the Evo to carry my butt around for the next 10+ years trouble free.

 

3500 miles.... No problems LOL

 

Don't want to jack your thread but...

I'm glad I saw this post since I was wondering the same thing...I'm in the same boat as you - I'm going from a heavily modified car (VR6 Turbo in my case) and I am considering an Evo IX-

After seeing all the warranty issues and clutch issues that have been posted about on here- I started to do a little thinking about the move... I do keep in mind that this is indeed a website for enthusiasts and enthusiasts tend to drive with more spirit at times ---But I really don't want to buy a car that is not going to be reliable- I already have one of those

Bump for more positive feedback...

 

the clutches are fine and reliable if you don't abuse it. if you slip it aggressively to launch or drag race you will need to replace it in short order. There are plenty of people who get good life out of the stock evo clutch by treating it like it should be treated. After all, it is a street car, not a race/drag car. Race/drag cars are expensive, and will require more repairs.

 

04 28K miles. Replaced clutch and water pump. Water pump not a common issue. Other than that, no mechanical problems.

 

haha don't worry about it man, i gaurentee it is more reliable then your Jetta VR6, not to mention a turbo'd one.

The Evo has the same exact problems that every new car has, there are recalls and TSB's, weakpoints, etc. It's not an esspecially sh!tty car or anything. It's no civic, or camry when comming to reliability, but it's still far supirior to any American or European car.

On that note, welcome, you'll enjoy the change. I just raped my buddies supercharged VR Jetta on 11 psi; I'm stock. Next goal is my buddies built mk3 GTI VR race prepped motor w/ gt35r; I'll beat it on my stock block, stock turbo, and stock ECU. This is a whole new world you have entered here buddy.

 

The clutches are just fine. In fact, I think its quite strong for a stock peice. The ones you see being replaced are abused, period.

Something Ive noticed a lot is guys buying EVOs "new" with 1000 miles on them. Think about every slimey guy that works at Mitsu dealers driving the **** out of the car. That is what happens. I went for a test drive with some clown from Brad Benson Mitsu (when I was looking at an 04).... it must have been this guys first week on a manual tranny. He couldnt take off, couldnt shift, etc. Then he was telling me as he's flooring it in every gear that he's done 4 wheel burnouts...

Basically everyone who drives the car, beats the crap out of it. It made me buy a brand new 2005 and forget about saving a little money buying used.

As I said before, Ive had over 100whp/tq over stock since 3500 miles and now Im at 378/386 all with the stock clutch, with launching and 50000 miles. Take care of the car, learn to drive it correctly and you should be fine.

 

2003 with about 33,000 mile -- no issues yet. Still on first clutch, TC, wing, calipers .. everything. I drive it hard, but I just don't beat on it all the time.