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quieter than some other comparable CUV's I've driven.
The biggest noise variable I have found is with the combination of tires and road surface.
There are a few roads near me where the road surface is older and rough and grooved, and the tires sing out very noisily! But then there are a few stretches of ultra-smooth, newly paved highway, where the Forester rides quiet as a Lexus.
My suggestion would be that if you live in an area where the prevalent road surfaces cause the Forester to be noisy, then you can fairly easily replace the tires with a much quieter style.
Cheers!
The warm water would only be a temporary solution, as that simply puts more water there to freeze up later.
The good thing, I guess, is that you don't usually need the windows down when it's below freezing.
Wait for a warm day, and clean and dry your windows and all the rubber seals to dry up any residual dampness there.
If ice is involved, the problem is usually that the windows don't want to move at all (or the motor mechanism breaks!). If it is moving slowly it may simply be that the lubricants Subaru used on the motor do not have good cold flow properties and are creating extra resistance.
Also, the stock batteries on Subaru cars are crap. I think they are rated at 280 CCA. This may not be the problem if the vehicle is running, but a good battery never hurts. I replaced mine last month with a 680 CCA battery. The car now starts easily at -20 or colder, whereas it would barely start with the stock battery.
I think the stock battery on my '98 Forester was 360 CCA, something like that (it was in the 300s). Still much lower than the aftermarket battery I replaced it with.
Has anyone else heard of this?
If so, how did the tune work out (I'm considering stage 1, as stage 2 requires an exhaust pipe/cat converter swap that will void the XT's engine warranty.).
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2010-Vehicle-Dependability-Study-Results/p- age-3/
This is for the 2007 model year, but to me it is FAR more significant than the 90-day Initial Quality study.
You're under the full warranty and you want this documented even if you can fix it easily, just in case it creeps up again later.
I have been looking at the mysubaru.com site but it's hard to tell what the 15k maintenance requires because it is formatted incorrectly.
My dealer wants to do all this fluff service. Do you guys know what kinds of things are necessary that I can't do myself (such as cabin air filter). I am going to have them do my oil change as it is a huge hassle because where I live it would be difficult/more expensive than to have them do it.
I get this for my 10 from mysubaru:
Interval: 15,000 miles / 15 month service
Action Description
Replace Engine oil
Replace Engine oil filter
Inspect Disc brake pads and discs, front and rear axle boots and axle shaft joint portions
Perform Inspect brake lines and check operation of parking and service brake system
Inspect Clutch operation
Inspect Steering and suspension
Perform Rotate and Inspect Tires
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f77/diy-2009-forester-cabin-filter-repla- cement-59650/
http://www.carspace.com/tinycadon/Albums/InteriorAirFilter/
My wife had her Toyota cabin filter replaced by Lube Stop for about the same price as what I paid for my filter and shipping FYI.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/subarus-april-sales-reach-new-heights-wi- th-a-48-percent-sales-increase-92686504.html
Bob
You're at 55k miles so my guess is you were past the 36k when that storm came.
Knock on wood, our 2009 is fine.
I think we have about $1000 worth of those saved up just in case. Last time, with out '02 Legacy, nothing ever broke, so we got $2400 off our Forester. :shades:
You are under the 12 month/12k mile adjustment period, so I would take it to your dealer.
The back seat doesn't even get used as often, so there's no way that is acceptable. Knock on wood but our 09 Limited is perfect, so they should fix that or even replace the whole bottom cushion!
My friends have a '10 Forester premium at the same mileage in Dark Grey, with the grey seats, and while I like the light interior (aesthetically), it definitely has a propensity for staining. Again, upholstery fit & finish is perfect.
Sis was shopping for a '12 but I think she's keeping the '03. Needs a new timing belt, though, and they had that $500 Costco offer, so she was tempted.
( recovery cost £500)
While I am not particularly fond of the clutch, there's nothing "wrong" with mine after 45,000 miles, and I suspect I use it much heavier, if you will, than most owners since I do off road with it in the winter as well as pull heavy loads from time to time. Let's just say that I am familiar with its tolerance before it starts to burn.
Just for information here is my letter to Subaru M.D. 15/9/2012. I await a response. Thanks for your interest.
Re: [Edmunds.com Forums] New message in 2009 Subaru Forester
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Dear Sir,
I am the owner of a Subaru Forrester MF09 GXJ which I purchased from M Kar SUBARU on the 5th August 2009 for the purpose of towing my caravan. This demo model had a mileage of 3500.
On the 6th September 2010 without any warning on a four lane roundabout the clutch suddenly overheated and burnt out. It was agreed from the evidence that this was a mechanical failure and not due to misuse by the driver. The clutch plate and casing with photographs was returned to Subaru for examination by the franchise agent. - Mileage 10,600.
I was repeatedly reassured that this situation would not reoccur A ECU Configuration was done on 14/6/11. This was after a routine service by the agent earlier on 7/2/11. A further service was done on 16/3/12.
On the 10th September 2012 whilst travelling on cruise control for the preceding 45 minutes on the M40 in Oxfordshire the clutch started to slip and the car came to a standstill. The AA rescue person remarked “oh its another Subaru” When I questioned him about this he said he had three such cases recently but there weren’t many on the road yet. The £500 rescue by the AA retuned us to the nearest possible place to home. Repairs revealed that the clutch and fly wheel had been completely destroyed. Mileage reading 22,800 – 12,000 miles and two years after the first repair.
I telephoned and spoke to Mr Adrian Hogg at your head office customer care centre, and he said that you had not had any cases of failed clutches at all so it was driver error. – It had to be a mechanical fault or faulty driving and there were no mechanical problems experienced. I mentioned my experience in 2010 which Subaru were aware of and the cars reported by the breakdown man but he simply replied that it would have to be proved it was mechanical failure by the agent and even then any recompense would be very unlikely as the car had just passed it’s three year warranty. Even so the repaired clutch had parts which had failed after two years and were still within the warranted three years!
In consideration of the nature of the failures I am convinced that there is a fundamental cause for these failures, and that the final collapse is the result of short periods of excessive wear of which the driver would not be aware. It is also apparent that a clutch failure will reoccur after a further 12,000 miles unless some fundamental cause is discovered and corrected. Without this I will inform all members of the caravan club of my experiences, and seek outside expert advice.
Having spent in excess of two thousand pounds in recoveries, repairs and parts in the duration of 12,000 miles of motoring I would enquire if you have a good will policy? I would also point out with all the available evidence this machine is without any doubt not fit for the purpose for which it was sold, unless it is subjected to a radicle clutch modification.
In conclusion I would very much appreciate your opinion on this situation.
From: Edmunds.com Forums
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2012 6:07 PM
To: keithashworth@route56.co.uk
Subject: [Edmunds.com Forums] New message in 2009 Subaru Forester
New message posted in 2009 Subaru Forester
#3729 Re: merlinhorse1 [merlinhorse] by xwesx Sep 17, 2012 (10:07 am)
Ah, yeah; we don't have that drivetrain on this side of the world, so I cannot help there. How heavy was the caravan? Sounds like the added weight and the engine torque combined to disappointing results....
View/reply at: Re: merlinhorse1 [merlinhorse]
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Best of luck to you.
That's actually above the tow rating for here in the USA, but I believe they're higher in Europe, 1800kg IIRC?
Subaru acknowledged my letter - said it had been logged, they very much valued customer feedback and appreciated me bringing the matter to their attention, and would be in cotact shortly!
Good job my Nissen Primera 2litre diesal car with I used to pull the same caravan and others for five years has never had clutch problems, and was there to complete the journey this time!. This should help to eliminate the cause being "Driver Error" I think.
Based upon the early leaked info on the 2014s, I think I'm okay with getting the old model. While it never won any styling awards, I've always liked the utility-oriented body style and dislike the current trend towards swoopy and rounded with its associated loss of interior volume and driver visibility.
So anyway, this will be my 3rd Forester and will make it one from each generation. And who knows, maybe I'll get the next generation Forester in a few years when Subaru finally brings the STi version to the US
Frank P.