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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
It looks an interesting concept. The Prius looks very attractive as a commuter option but I wonder how it would go for longer trips. The Highlandder option looks even more appealing. However, I do wonder how they will get on for electric motor sealing etc. given that AWD is occassionally used for fording streams etc. Probably got it covered but it will be fascinating to see.
Cheers
Graham
Another example: electric submersible motors for water pumps. Cooling no problem for them as long as water is flowing past the motor.
John
John
Yes my ponderings are around how they would dissipate heat from a sealed electric motor. In most industrial applications, they rely on air cooling. In a vehicle where the motors are presumably fairly close to the rear wheels, it could be an interesting challenge
Cheers
Graham
Which, unless they do it really well, raises the question: What happens if you drive your electric vehicle onto an ocean beach and through a bit of conducting saltwater? Or, more common, on slushy salted roads?
Short city?
-juice
That seems like a good idea....ez
Very quietly. ( - ;
I can tell you firsthand that we drilled constantly to handle various casualties, and the deadly chlorine gas that would be produced if seawater reached our battery compartment was one of the major threats prompting the training.
Keep it clean, though, and you could call it a non-stick surface.
-juice
- MD
My OCD Club membership is secure...
Hmm, if it needed new bearings twice, they probably used the wrong parts the 2nd time around. They started using Legacy parts for those, and failures are very rare.
Let us know the outcome.
-juice
Drove home with the bun warmer set to "toasty." Just in time, too ... current temp: -9 degrees F
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
Casey - My OB didn't have its rear power outlet connected. Worked great Tuesday to blow up one of those tube sleighs.
Greg
-juice
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
-Frank P.
-juice
-juice
John
John
John
John
Perhaps I passed you on the Grapevine (see my message #3320 in the XT section...). How well do you think the NA Forester would have done at ~80mph with, say, 500-600lbs of load? Do you think the suspension/ steering would have been more of a limiting factor, or a lack of power? I am just curious how car-like the Forester felt to you in that situation --- the power issue could be dealt with by picking the XT.
- D.
I have the opposite problem - the seat base in my XT is too "flat", and to get sufficient support under my thighs I need more angle, not less. I hope eventually to put spacers of some sort under the front mounts to raise the front edge an inch or so.
It really is unfortunate that the 2nd-generation Foresters give only a single height adjuster, instead of separate adjustments for the front and the back of the seat base.
"Casper" started each day - with some hesitation and a high squeal - and quickly warmed up a few minutes after driving away. The seat heaters are really great as well.
All I would add to this set-up for cold spells like this is a remote starter. I had one in my 96 Sentra that was replaced by the Forester, and it worked great. Is there anyone out there who has a remote starter in a newer Forester?
What type of mileage did you get on the Grapevine (I read your post on the XT board). I'd be interested in comparing the gas mileage between the NA Forester and your XT. I wonder if that extra power and effortlessness would be worth it for me, since you could have easily passed me on the Grapevine - I drive it just about every day. While I'm not in a position to buy yet, I'm thinking about the Forester and wonder if I should go with the XT and its extra fuel cost.
-Frank P.
Anyway, any tips/suggestions on best touch-up?
My old white honda’s touch up paint yellowed - don’t want to go through that.
Has anybody used Subaru's Aspen White touch-up?
Anything better?
I recall seeing somebody on the web selling 'touch-up pens' for small scratches and dings.
Hoping for success stories.
-srp
I have a 2001 Forester S, and in the last week on two evenings where the temperature was 0 degrees on one and minus 3 degrees on the other my idle started to act weird about a 2 minutes after I started the car. It would go down by about 600RPM for a second then back up by 600RPM and keep doing his until the car stalled (sitting parked in the parking lot). After starting the car a few more times and giving it gas to hold the RPM steady eventually the car warmed up enough in 10 minutes to stop this behaviour. The other time I drove off before the behaviour started and about a quarter of a mile down the road the car would suddenly reduce its speed dramtically all by itself. This continued on and off for a few minutes then the behaviour disappeared after the card had really warmed up.
I normally use premium gas but the last fill up I used a midgrade ethanol blend. Thinking I had moisture in the fuel line I added some heet (and topped off the already 3/4 full tank with premium gas) the night the behaviour started and the next day things worked fine. But about two days later again on an evening below 0 the behaviour reappeared. This same behaviour happened about two years ago one very cold night but this is the first time it has occurred since then. Any ideas? I just had the 15000 mile checkup in Oct 2003 and everything was fine. I plan on taking it in to have it checked out but I'll have to pick a day when it is expected to be below or around zero to hopefuly reproduce the problems.
Stumbling at idle - I was going to suggest DryGas, but I think Heet is the same stuff.
My other suggestion is to prime the fuel pump. Turn the key to the on position, but pause for a second before cranking the starter. You'll hear a "whirr", that's the fuel pump.
Modern fuel injection systems prime fuel pressure up to 60 psi or so. Compare that to your tires at just half that. Getting the pressure up makes sure the fuel is fed to the engine so it doesn't starve.
-juice
Greg- Certainly something you want the dealer to take a look at. It's going to be tough for them to reproduce though unless you leave it overnight (when you know it's going to be real cold) and convince them to start it first thing in the morning. Hopefully your description of the symptoms will help them diagnose it also. By the way, I'm jealous that your 01 has so few miles on it! Mine had 4 times that amount when I traded it.
-Frank P.
I don't know specific MPG going up the grapevine. Low, would be my guess.
Frankly, the more I drive my XS, the less need I see for an XT. Power is adequate everywhere. It holds 70+ going up a hill. Since you are a regular on the grapevine, then you know about the trucks going up at 40 mph. IMO, doing 80 going up is just asking for trouble given how much lane switching happens there.
BTW, the CHP were in full force on the grapevine last week. They had 3 pulled over for speeding going Northbound last week.
The XT wasn't out last February when I bought. If it had been, and it could have given me 25+ regularly, I would have chosen it. I might be in trouble today though, because I certainly get a nice adrenalin rush from speed and my competitive nature would possibly have won out when faced with a challenge.
No regrets, the XS is all and more than I thought.
John
I would agree, so long as you never want to pass a semi or a car-towing motorhome going uphill on a 2-lane road...
Thank your for your follow up.
There is always a large CHP presence at the top, which is probably a good idea. I always cringe when I see someone driving fast/passing in the right lane, since those 18-wheelers sometimes can't even go 40 mph, and there are a number of drivers (mostly on Friday evenings) who drive the Grapevine at 90 plus...
FWIW, I specifically got the XT for my Hwy 14 - 138 - I-5 (including the GrapeVine) - 166 - 1 to the Central Coast trips.
Summer/ AC/ Loaded/ two-lane safe passing/ all that.
Always liked the Forester but never was an option, for me anyway, until the XT came along.
srp
Besides owning a 2003 Subaru Forester XS, my wife drives a 1997 Chevy Cavalier. During the last three weeks when the temperatures in Northeast Ohio were in the single digits and teens, my wife's car would hesitate to start (usually would require two attempts to start the vehicle). Once it did start, the car would shake terribly. To prevent the car from stalling after starting, my wife and I would have to press the accelerator for about 15 to 20 seconds. After driving the vehicle for about 5 minutes to reach optimum engine temperature, the vehicle would shake a little bit but exhibit no tendency to stall. After my father and I changed the spark plugs and the ignition (spark plug) wires, the car would start on the first time. In addition, it no longer shakes and exhibits no tendency to stall. The Cavalier starts and drives just like it was brand new! After my father did some detective work, he found out that one of the ignition wires had severe corrosion due to water infiltrating one of the ignition wire terminals. If I were you, ghgemmer, I would remove your existing spark plugs and see if there are any carbon deposits (replace any with carbon deposits). If your spark plugs are fine, I would remove your ignition wires one at a time to see if rust has formed on one or both lead ends (replace all 4 ignition wires if rust is present; be sure to squeeze some dialectic grease inside both ignition wire ends to prevent water and later rust from attacking the ends). I hope this helps.
Dave
I have had very good luck with the Subaru touchup paint, it seems pretty good. I also recommend using the Langka kit:
http://www.langka.com/
This allows you to fill chips and remove excess touchup paint (ie, no blobs). Using this method, I can pretty much make chips invisible on all three colors we have (silver, green, and red, all metallic). I generally apply 2-3 coats of touchup and then use Langka to remove the excess. Works like a charm.
Craig
How about a final clearcoat?
obsessively yours,
srp
I own a 2003 Subaru Forester XS. For the past three to four weeks in Northeast Ohio, the day and nightime temperatures have been in the single digits (almost below 0 degrees Farenheit) and the teens. When I had the original Panasonic 350 CCA battery in my vehicle, it would hesitate to start. It would take anywhere from 4 to 6 seconds to start. Once I replaced my original battery with a Sears Diehard Gold 640 CCA Group 35 battery, it would take between 2 and 4 seconds to start on those cold days. Joseph50, I think that the delay you experience on start up by your vehicle is normal. I think it is one of the inherent characteristics of the Subaru boxer engine. I hope this helps.
Dave
Ed
Larry
My '98 L feels peppy at full throttle, actually if you never sample the XT I don't think you'll ever feel the need for more power. Note I said need, WANT is a different story...
I've towed and driven up mountains and passed on 2 lanes, just not all 3 at the same time! )
Sample an XT, and it's all over. Everything else seems downright slow. And yes, you could probably do all 3.
Joseph: you can have the battery load tested, but they're so cheap, and so vital, that I'd replace it. Get one with more CCAs while you're at it.
-juice
Greg