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As an interesting side note, I got back from a 1000 mile drive Sunday night, parked the car for 10 minutes, got back in to drive to the store, and the clutch had the most bizarre feel to it that I've experienced. It did not even feel like the same car -- to the point of me stoping at the end of my street to look under the car for clutch fluid (?) or whatever all over the place. The clutch was incredibly light (I could push it with my finger) for about 90% of the travel, then it would catch RIGHT at the floor. I had to look to see that the pedal was even coming up after I released it because it was so light. I ended up driving it for another 30-40 minutes just to see if any other weirdness developed because I was amazed at the difference in the way the car drove -- actually, in this state, the clutch felt better (smoother, more predictable) than it ever did in the previous 30K miles. I have noticed in the past that extended high speed (90+ mph) highway driving affects the way the clutch behaves in town, but it was never this pronounced. By Tuesday, though, my clutch was back to its same old self; bucking at stopsigns, shuddering from a dead stop. Ugh.
About the paper getting sucked into the air vents -- I had that happen last year, too. I took it to the dealer to find out why the airflow stopped when I pushed the "recirc" button. Turns out, when I switched the fan to "recirc" it sucked in a fist full of napkins from the glovebox. There must be some amazing suction in there, because there were a TON of napkins in the intake. There's nothing loose in the glovebox now!
Steve
-Dennis
Bob A.
Bob
-juice
Patti
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The on the car lathe does an excellent job. It only removes a very small amount of metal, but the finish is like satin. It is a "true" cut rather than them being pulled off the vehicle.
Brake pads are another "fine line" issue. A lot of manufacturers are trying to find the right solution. Since asbestos has been removed from pads, you have metal as a substitute. More metal, more noise and quicker wear on the rotor. Less metal, more frequent replacement. I believe that our current pads are good in comparison to some of what the others are using.
It's really rare to hear that someone blames the customer for wear. The only times I've personally seen issues is with drivers that prefer driving with a foot on the brake and one on the gas or if the driver has his/her foot on the brake partially when driving. If your dealer is telling you that the wear is "your fault", ask why they are saying that. Test drive the car with them. If you are out of warranty and paying for the rotors to be cut, please be sure to ask them to use the on the car lathe.
These are just my thoughts. If you have a problem, it's always a good idea to call us at 1-800-SUBARU3.
Thanks,
Patti
thanks
Steve
I also had them perform the ECM recall service and change the spark plugs. I remember reading here that the ECM needs to re-learn your driving style. The car seems a little sluggish since I picked it up. Does anyone know if that could be caused by the ECM reprogram, and if it will reset itself? Thanks in advance for any and all info.
Len
From various conversations I've had with Subaru, I get the impression that there may have been a problem with the catalytic converter on many Foresters delivered 8 months ago. When that was replaced, my mileage jumped up to 20.5 mpg.
The dealer's advice is just goofy. So far, I've had dealers tell me that 13 mpg (!) is normal, that I'm using bad gas, and that the car takes 15K miles to "break in". Don't believe a word of it. Call Subaru and get a case going if you can't get the dealer to make it right. I have a variety of postings on the Forester forum and the Subaru General Maintenance and Repair II forum detailing the whole story if you're interested.
My car goes back in on Tuesday for more diagnosis by an increasing number of people from SoA. 6 months, 8 trips in for servcice, 27 days without the car. I'll be posting on Tuesday with the latest outcome.
Greg
Wonder if they didn't gap the plugs right, or perhaps used the wrong plugs? I don't believe that pulling the negative battery cable is necessary for a spark plug change. But, that's IMHO.
You could reset the ECM yourself. I believe you let the vehicle cool completely, pull the negative cable for 30 minutes, reconnect and idle the vehicle until warmed up. Or something to that note.
-Brian
teetime2--our 99 Forester has always gotten great mileage on hwy runs--28 to 29 mpg, but the mileage around town has always been a little less
than the EPA says at 17-20 mpg. I think a lot depends on your driving habits. The Forester is fun to hot-rod around town when the opportunities permit, and this is going to lower mileage substantially if (like me) you are prone to bursts of quick acceleration. Also, the amount of time warming the car up and the amount of time you spend at red lights (obviously) makes a difference. And there's a slight chance you are getting watered down gas at the place where you are filling up. You might try filling up at a new BP-Amoco station (which I feel is very trustworthy for quality of their product) and see if this makes a difference. if not, then at least you've eliminated that possibility.
means what please?
rexaroo: I do mostly town driving, and do sometimes accelerate too fast from the stop light. And I'm buying my gas most of the time from Chevron, which is supposed to be reputable. But I might try another brand and see if that helps.
The explanation I got from the Subaru website was that the EPA numbers on the sticker are purely estimates (duh!), and shouldn't be taken at face value, and what you get is what you get! In other words, not a lot of help.
Jon
Jon
Just curious as to what Flemington gave you as a loaner. When I took my OB in for 30k service to Somerset, they gave me a 91 Legacy L with 140K miles as the loaner.
Jon
Did notice a couple *cough* pings *cough* during some driving the other day. The ping was not persistent, only pinged maybe a couple pings (ping ping ping) during an accelerator angle change (read that as accelerating in a corner). Couldn't get it to do it again at that time, but heard it on another day in probably a similar situation. Threw a bottle of Techron in just for giggles.
Other than that, the engine seems to be itself still. Loves to rev to 5-6k just fine when prompted.
-Brian
The sticker on the car gives a broad range of EPA mpg numbers, of which the 22/27 number is just an average. Even so, 15 mpg is out of range. I had a Subaru customer service rep tell me flat out on the phone that such poor mileage indicated a problem with the car.
The reps I was chatting with the other day started laughing when I repeated one dealer's advice that it would take 15K miles for my car to break in. I'm 1500 away from 10K miles now. If my mileage suddenly jumps, I'll eat crow and be glad to do it. By the way, the same dealer told me I should avoid Amoco, Mobil, and BP fuel. Since Exxon and Mobil are the same, I guess I can't use that either. Pretty soon, I'll have to start drilling and make it myself.
I thought maybe you meant by "watered down" the idea of selling 87 gas as if it were 91.
Two other things to consider for poor mpg are chronically under-inflated or leaky tires, and again, the "slight" chance that gas is being siphoned off--not likely, but if you live in the inner city or park on the street overnight, it's cheap insurance to get a locking gas cap for the Forester.
Regarding the engine break-in, it should be virtually complete after no more than 3000 mi. The close tolerances they build engines to these days means the days of the 10,000 mi. break-in are long gone. I've even heard estimates that most of the break-in occurs within the first 300 mi. after you drive off the lot, so I'd agree your problem is not due to lack of break-in time.
Let me think here of significant factors that hurt fuel mileage:
1. Underinflated tires
2. Poor wheel alignment
3. Frequent use of A/C (a gas gobbler especially in city driving)
4. Improper shifting (lugging the engine in a higher than needed gear)
5. Trying to estimate fuel mileage over too short a period of time. If you miscalculate a fill-up of 15 gallons by just one gallon, that's like a 7 or 8% error right there.
Clutch fork boot and return spring
Clutch cable
Clutch operating
cyllnder
Clutch hydraulic line
and gasket
Clutch master cyllnder
and connecting link
clutch master Cylinder piston and
piston seal
clutch
master cylinder push rod
Clutch damper assembly and bracket
Clutch pedal, washerand bushing
Clutch pedal lever and
return spring differential
dip stick
so a lot of stuff except "wear" parts
Thanks for the input. That should give him a benchmark of sorts. 31 psi sounds about right and your numbers sound very plausible.
I used to get 24+ as an average with my 2001 Forester.
Also, say a gas-station owner taking on a shipment of 5000 gallons adds only 3% water (150 gallons) to the supply. I seriously doubt his customers filling their tanks there would notice any difference in terms of driveability, but if they stopped to figure their mileage, they would probably notice a slight decrease in mpg. I'm not saying this happens very often and stations do under-go periodic inspection, but it has been known to happen in the past.
A tiny bit of water might even make an engine run better, if it were injected in a vapor.
I'm going to ask around and see if anyone has a definitive answer on this for us.
So it looks like we're both correct in our statements. The car can run OK with water in the tank (as long as the water isn't being drawn into the fuel system), but once the water does finally hit the fuel filter and/or injectors, it's good-night-Irene and serious problems can occur.
Since most cars have a 2-gallon reserve of fuel when the gas gauge reads empty, it's possible to drive around with as much as a gallon or so of water in your tank and never suffer the potentially serious consequences (as long as you always remember to fill up in time :-)
So really, one you are underway, even a small amount of water can interfere, but if you are just sitting there idling, maybe not. On a moving car, two quarts of water will definitely bring it to a halt in a few miles at most.
The smell today, during a mere 60 miles of driving, was choking. SoA is supposed to see the car again on Tuesday. I have high hopes...
Regardless, when do you smell it?
IdahoDoug