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Comments
But I don't think that transfers the responsbility over to Subaru, clearly this vehicle was neglected.
-mike
I am not blaming Subaru. I have always wanted to own a Subaru for some time now. I just need an expert to tell me what the stuff was that Subaru corporate had dealers add to the cooling system. There was a service bulletin issued from Subaru for Foresters in 2000, 2001, and 2002 about this head gasket issue. The "fix" was to have dealers add something to the coolant. If it was a "stop leak" type of compound, that would be sad.
This will help me determine whether I should try that route again to save big bucks, or drop $1200 on a rebuild ($1200 I will have to take out a personal loan to acquire).
Did you see the MythBusters episode where cracked pepper successfully sealed a leaky radiator?
I figured it was a stop leak type of substance. So, I assume Subaru saved big bucks on having to rebuild mass quantities of engines by using a temporary fix that would obviously not permanently resolve the issue. That is not good to hear - always had respect for Subaru for a company that would do the right thing - this jades my perception a bit.
Oh well. On to the next issue:
Any suggestions on whether I should (1) have the head gasket replaced or (2) get a used engine from a 2003 Forester? My fear about the head gasket replacement (the cheaper option) is that they could find some cracks in the engine block and/or head once they get the engine disassembled. If that happens, I will be out the cost for the labot to take the engine apart and still have to pay for a used engine.
Any experiences about Foresters having cracked block problems because of overheating issues? Aluminum blocks to have a tendency to develop small cracks more than cast iron.
Opinions?
Coincidentally, the JD Power results are out for vehicle dependability and Subaru showed a significant improvement for MY2004, probably because the new Forester had better wheel bearings and the head gasket issue was resolved by then.
-mike
Any ideas?
I would request them give me a loaner (no cost to me) until they get it straightened out. That will give them incentive to do it quickly and do it right.
I'm sure they accepted your money, though!
Call 800-SUBARU3 and express your displeasure. Be polite, but I agree with the suggestion above that you ask for a loaner.
-mike
The timing belt, fan belt-the complete service for 105,000 miles was completed for $860. Today they replaced the new plugs and wires and a new coil-nothing has changed. No codes showing at this time. They are stumped. It is now able to be driven, but continues to run roughly.
Galen
-mike
So, we are still trying to diagnose the problem.
Galen
back to 1800Subaru by the field manager.
Note we did have some roughness before any work began and could have been
the start of the internal gasket leaks?????????
Both the dealer and 1800Sub indicate the car needs the head gaskets repaired
and of course on our nickel.
I did call the local Honda dealer-owned by the same company- and talked to the manager about trading our Forester, as is, on a new Civic or Accord and he is ready to deal. He drove over to the Subaru dealer and looked at our
Forester. He also recommended that we not open up the motor to repair the head gasket because his experience is that there will be extensive damage and much more than the initial quoted $800 repair. He wants us to visit the
Honda dealership, chose a car and then work a deal.
I have a .50 caliber Desert Eagle and I am tempted to go euthanize the damn
thing!
Galen
Anyway, if you have had no overheating issues, there might not be more of a problem with it.
Of course a dealer is going to encourage you to go with a new car, so anything other than an affirmation of your inclination to replace with new from the dealer would be a surprise to me. If you are ready to dump it though, your peace of mind is worth a heck of a lot more than a new round of car payments.
-mike
02s are borderline. Some early ones were still affected, later models were OK.
I agree that they probably already reduced the cost substantially, though.
Its like vroooooom...autoshift(CRICK) vroooooom...
Can anyone give me some ideas? Thanks!
I stop the engine, it keeps making some clutter
sounds - does this indicate any engine issues?
If it shakes more than other models (you can check at a dealer, perhaps), then have the engine mounts inspected.
-mike
some sounds (like tinerking of some metals pieces) -
the sounds stop after a couple of minutes..
-mike
Our Forester was an early 2002-but Subaru and dealer both said it was not one of the identified problem motors.
I told the Subaru Service Manager that I will never ever own another Subaru. Subaru clearly knows there is a design flaw, that is why they put the chemical additive in the coolant at 48,000 miles-which plugged the leak areas until it was out of warranty and then told he was a high mileage car. Pure BS!
Thanks to everyone who offered assitance with comments and suggestions! We really appreciate your help.
Galen Diehl
Slow down.
Nah, just drive easy the last mile or so of each trip to let the engine cool down a tad before you get out.
My Toyota is even stranger - you hear a pump go off after you leave the car for a while, "whiirrrr". It's emissions related.
does anyone know as to what could be the problem or what should i get my subaru diagnosed for?
thanks
We needed more space, so we got a minivan, but we plan to trade our Legacy on an 09 Forester when those come out.
You're covered for, what, another 36k miles? That's as long as some new car warranties.
My wife has an '03 Forester XS. It's got just over 40k miles on it and the only thing it's needed so far besides regular service was a new oxygen sensor a few months ago.
Today I noticed some spots in the driveway where she parks, small pools of an off-whiteish liquid. There are a few of them and they're maybe 2" across. In a left/right sense, they appear to be coming from the middle of the car. In a front/back sense, I can't tell because she doesn't always park in exactly the same spot.
When she gets home, I'll check the fluid levels. What are the likely possibilities here, and with each one, what's the urgency? (I'm not trying to blow it off, I just like to know whether it's a case of "must get to mechanic immediately and drive no further" or "it's ok to wait a few days until the dealer can take you.")
Thanks for any info.
-cb
-mike
-Frank
I wonder if it's just water from the condenstation of the A/C system. Not sure where it picked up the whitish color, though.
Comendatore
Consumer Reports still recommends every single model year Forester, since it arrived here. So reliability is still good.
#1 complaint was probably wheel bearings, actually. I'd say head gaskets were #2.
What they failed to realize is that there are a number of factors that contributed to giving them the false impression that the Forester isn’t reliable.
Take this topic for instance, it's almost 2 years old and has 140 posts while other Forester topics have had hundreds and even thousands of posts during the same time span. And of those 140 posts, you can figure that well more than half are responding to someone asking a question, so the actual number of head gasket complaints is pretty small.
And then as Comendatore pointed out, it’s only natural that just the owners who have problems are going to post in a head gasket topic, there's no representation for all the owners who haven't had any problems. So say 20 owners had head gasket issues, there’s no doubt hundreds of others who haven’t had a problem.
Also, the Subaru forum is one of the most active ones on Edmunds with plenty of owners ready to offer advice or opinions which ups the number of posts in the problem topics. This leads to more total posts which can give the impression that there are more problems than there actually are.
For comparison purposes, The Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee forum has a total of 12,500 posts while the Subaru Forester has 28,200! Now obviously the Cherokee and GC are way more popular vehicles which also happen to have far worse reliability so clearly all forums aren’t equally active. In fact a while back, I tried to get input to a transmission problem with a Grand Cherokee. Not too surprisingly, I didn't get a single response to my question.
All this isn’t to say I’m trying to diminish the problem with the head gaskets. We all want to drive the perfect vehicle and get understandably upset when a supposedly reliable one like the Forester has a problem. But at the same time, it helps to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
-Frank
When I go up hill, I hear loud knocking sounds from the engine (and yes it is getting louder)
I went to the dealer 3 times (3 different dealers). When I take them for test drive, they all say 'oh! I hear it and it is weird' but later thay all say it is normal. And the cause of the knocking noise could be bad california gas (I always put premium :mad: ).
I feel like since they cannot fix the problem, they are saying it is normal.
Does anyone have same problem as me?
That is typical.
How long has the car done this? There are a few things you can do to try and mitigate the problem, though. If you are hearing the sound just when going up hill (i.e., the engine is under load), then it could involve the fuel system, timing, injectors. It might even involve the transmission; if it is not downshifting properly then it might cause the engine to "bog down." Try adding a bottle of Heet to the fuel to make sure there is no water in the tank. Put a good fuel system cleaner in there as well, just to make sure there is nothing partially clogged. Granted, it is an '08 (i.e., basically new), but who knows at this point. At least you can reduce the possibility that the fuel is the culprit. Even premium can be "bad" if it is contaminated!
It is not normal and should be addressed.