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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
Our insurance (which is replacement value coverage) gave us a check for the value of a brand new Forester S including tax even though the car was 2 1/2 years old and had 45,000 miles on it.
Rick
Wow. That's amazing. I'm glad to know that your daughter was able to walk away with relatively minor injuries for such a terrible accident.
Your story makes me feel better about my choice with the Forester.
Are you going to buy another one? The 2002 or the 2003?
Ken
First of all, thank Goodness your daughter is OK! Without a doubt she had some ride! While both my sister and I drive Outbacks, and have selected these vehicles for reasons including safety, it is stories like these that reassure us about Subaru's safety. It also makes me feel good since my mom is about to take delivery of an 02 Forester L.
By the way, what insurance company do you use? Your story is as much a testament to the safety of Subaru's ring shaped reinforcement frames as it is about your insurance company's appreciation for the value of Subaru's
Pete.
Good luck!
Regards,
burnsmr4
d
storyteller: you'll have to beat my bid of $8 grand. By all means, though, get in contact with each other. Sounds like both parties could benefit, big time.
Rick: first off, glad to hear she survived. Sounds like an unbelievable amount of force to absorb. God bless her.
Nice insurance, too. If she can, wait until May to peek at the 2003s.
-juice
Don
Someone asked about our insurance. It is Donegal Insurance out of Pennsylvania. One thing about replacement value insurance is that since the cost to replace a car with a new car versus a depreciated car is so much higher, it takes a lot more damage to total a car. Consequently, the insurance company will want to repair the car if it is cheaper then replacing with a new car. If the damage is more then depreciated replacement but less then a new car you may end up with a car that was repaired after catastrophic damage, unless you can work a deal with the insurance company. Our insurance company was initially talking about repairing the vehicle. I asked for a second appraisal of the damage and both the adjuster and the shop agreed that the car would cost more then a new one to repair. The shop also said that the car was "too far gone" to be safely repaired.
Rick
Tell her congrats.
-juice
The 2002 CR-V is a good alternative, especially if you're interested in more passenger space. The Forester raised the bar with mini-ute saftey and others have been following suit.
In the interest of keeping you in the Subaru family, could we interest your wife with a roomy Legacy or Outback wagon? They've scored even higher on crash tests. :-)
Ken
-juice
-juice
Thanks in advance,
Mike
-mike
Mike
It says that the 2003 model is due in May and will only have a "facelift".
As with any modification, a dealer can only void the warranty if it can be proven that the modification was the cause of the problem. I think in this case, you don't have much to worry about.
Just try the dealer first. I'll bet they won't even mention it.
As a rule of thumb, always do due diligence by working with the dealer before getting SOA involved. You'll be suprised at how good and responsive dealers can be when you allow them to work with you.
Ken
Thanks!
Patti
-mike
-Frank P.
If you had water in the engine and a wet air filter, they could say something, but not in your case.
Bummer, Gina, sorry to hear that. Get a dealer or a very reputable shop to do the work, and demand OE parts. Let the paint cure for 6 weeks before you wax it, and keep it clean in the interim.
Before you take delivery do a detailed inspection, not just on the outside panels but the doors, hinges, fenders, underbelly, engine bay, etc.
-juice
Mike
What's a snorkus, and why would you want to remove it?
Steve
Why take it off? The stock intake on my 1998 gets air from the engine bay, which is hot. Requiring that the air make the extra twists and turns can in theory restrict the flow of the air as well. So you have less air, and hot air, which is less dense.
Why leave it on? Less work, less noise, and it may not work as well in practice as in theory.
-juice
Just picked up my wife from the airport. She was in Japan for a two week trip.
One of the goodies she brought back for me was a special issue of "Car Top" -- a Japanese car magazine -- dedicated to the 2003 Forester. Lots of cool photos, pics and diagrams in there.
I'll look through it later and maybe take some digital pix of ones that are interesting.
Ken
Am I to conclude that in a case where I need to stop real short, I should pump my (Forester AT) brakes like I learned in my long lost youth?
Thanks for your response.
Joe
A long answer to say if you have to make a rapid stop.....pump the pedal yourself!
I hope you never face this situation..because as someone that has the potential of it happening daily.....its scares the bejebers out of me. I highly recommend you avoid to the best of your ability by conservative driving on ice/snow.
Hope this helps....
-juice
Ed
On the other hand, I genuinely enjoy seeing all the Canadian flags. It is too easy to forget how closely the two economies are tied.
Joe
Repairs are estimated at $2,000.00. The car has never been wrecked, or used off road. A call to 800subaru3, was met by indifference at best, but, the lady on the phone advised in no uncertain terms not to expect the least amount of help from Subaru. Has anyone ever heard of this happening?, and if so, was there any recourse against Subaru? The manager of the transmission shop was almost cerain the problem was caused by a defective part. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I have not heard of this problem before. Perhaps Patti can be of some help...
Bob
She questioned the service rep for details and was told that the mount was installed improperly. A part of the mount was missed during assembly. They replaced the whole mount under warranty.
Coincidentally, I'm reading the 3/4/02 issue of AutoWeek and see something similar in their long term update for the WRX. "Last quarter the dealer tightened a loose motor mount, but we're still experiencing mild drivetrain lash and a vibration at idle and wonder if the mount itself was damaged."
Mike
Sorry for the problem.
Patti
Exterior length is 10mm less, at 4450mm and, for ease of access, door sills are 86mm lower, while ground clearance is unchanged at 200mm.
Hope I'm not rehashing what everyone already knows.
1 - Speed sensor failure (car still ran though)
2 - Over head clock works sporadically
3 - Rear gate cord shorted.
4 - Code P0420 consistently reported by the CEL. Requiring two new catalytic converters, and two oxygen sensors. *If anyone knows how to properly trouble-shoot this I would appreciate help, I think the dealer is shot gunning the repair by wanting to replace everything, instead of finding which is the problem. The service manual has very little on this.
I have 5 beloved Subaru's and the eldest have over 350,000 miles. I have NEVER had any problems like this with them. I am worried that something important might break and be left on the side of a highway waiting for a terrorist to find me....
-mike
PS: the problems you are having are not mechanically related to the cars well being, I doubt you'll get stuck with it.
The issue cropped up with a defective vent valve in the fuel system around the gas tank/fuel filler neck. It took the shop about a day to find the problem, as the mechanics had to rule out blockages in any of the fuel system hoses at the back of the car. A bent hose or bent connection can also cause similar problems.
After vacuuming the entire series of hoses, they re-tested the vent valve, which had earlier come out OK. The problem was intermittent, so your mechanic may miss it the first time 'round.
Unfortunately, the shop did not have the part, and seeing as I had just bought the car, they offered to take the part off another car on the lot and put it ouf of service. At least...I hope they put the modified new car out of service. Actually, now that I think about that, it's sort of scary. :-(
Anyway, my car has been running fine since the repair. I've filled up at 4 gas pumps in the past week and a half with traveling out-of-state.
I was concerned that my gas mileage might not be where it should, with the fuel system problem and everything, but I'm getting about 25MPG combined highway/city driving (with a slant the past two weeks toward highway driving). I'm keeping an eye on the gas mileage just to be safe.
Hope that helps.
burnsmr4