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Comments
While it should be checked to make sure that it isn't defective and thus overly inefficient, there isn't much that can be done except replace it and hope for one that has slightly tigher tolerances on stator clearances, etc.
Steve
Steve
-Dave
~c
Steve, I did catch your earlier response and the shop did also raise a similar possibility. They also did point out that it's not something one would want to do to a new car.
Colin, when you say upper strut mounts, do you mean the plate with three screws visible from the engine bay?
Ken
John
Ha! You should try driving our CR-V! It's totally normal for those things to slide backward even on a slight grade. Another reason I love my Subie.:-)
~c
I don't want to unleash a blast of comments on Left vs. right foot braking, but it has always worked well for me. And yes, I have had my fair share of stick shifts...three on the tree, four on the floor and five speeds too. No problems forgetting which foot to brake with.
Doug
Also wanted to have them hear the ever-loudening differential noise my wife was getting. Figured it must be diffs because it didn't "sound" right for the auto-tranny. It was only under acceleration, and I could replicate it easily under light accel - noise went away as soon as gas pedal released. Also worse under load - uphill etc. Took a tech w/me for a test drive this morning and he heard it w/no trouble.
Anyway - dealer calls me back and wanted to know why I under filled the differentials - explained to them that I haven't touched them since I wasn't planning on looking at them until 30k.
Turns out both diffs were low, so I'm getting the fluid changed in both of them today while its in the shop. No leaks, must have come this way from Subaru.
What ticks me off on the front diff is that when I had them flush the brake fluid at 15k I told them I thought the front diff fluid looked low on the stick. Very low, as in barely there. When I picked the car up, they told me it was fine, just hard for the average person (read: idiot customer) to see.
Enough ranting - the question I have for the more knowledgeable folks is - Is there any reason for the diff fluid to be low, other than an under fill from the factory? No leaks or seeps from either diff. I've never seen a car "use" differential fluid this early in its service life. With a 100k on it I can understand it needing fluid, but at 25.5k?
TIA
Larry
I learned to drive at 15 on my Mom's 51 Hillman convertible that had a 4 speed shifter on the column...that was a very weird car!
Science teacher had an old Mercedes diesel 4-spd column shift - I always thought that was a cool car.
Cheers!
Paul
...and perhaps it's just me: I wouldn't be braking with my left foot.....course that most likely since my last automatic was a '57 Ford Fairline 500 convertible way back in the bronze age...Holidays best, ez..
Chuck
I'm hoping that somebody can answer my question even though it could be a question that's asked frequently ...I don't know.
I just returned from a road trip to las vegas in my '02 Forester, obviously putting on a few thousand highway miles. I'm in the Seattle area. The Forester ran like a top on the trip.
Now that I'm back home, each cold morning when I start the engine, it makes a clattering sound --sounding almost like a diesel engine-- until the water temperature gauge reaches the normal operating temperature. Then the engine returns to its normal sound.
It's never made this cold start clattering sound in previous winters. Could the continuous highway driving caused this? Is it anything to worry about?
Any helpful comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
~tonya
From those discussions, it sounds like this loud clattering sound is nothing to worry about. What makes me wonder though, is that why is it starting to do this at this time? Why didn't it do this when it was new? The first two winters, I didn't hear this cold engine clatter at all.
It's hard for me to believe that all Subarus are this noisy until they warm up when the ambient temperature is below 55 degrees or so.
Is it really true that I shouldn't worry about it?
thanx again!
~tonya
I have 29k on my '03 and had the noise one cold morning after I had hosed the engine down the afternoon before. In my case, it was a shorted spark plug wire which corrected itself after drying, and has not repeated itself.
John
Although one day it was fine and the next day not. I was trying to nurse it until the weather got warmer so I could put new rotors on.
It's bugging the hell out of me so I guess I will have to bundle up and do it when I get back from my visit to TENN. I will get these ones maybe turned and keep for spares, it's especially annoying since these rotors are still pristine with no scores or tracks.
Cheers Pat.
Ken
The other members have given good advice about having the dealer keep the car overnight and replicate the same conditions you experience.
My first guess would be a loose belt tensioner. Another possibility would be piston slap, but typically that would manifest itself earlier in the engine's life.
Ken
And the electric starter (for those that had electric) was a foot button actuated by your left heel next to the bottom of the driver's seat.
Those were the days... years before VDC...when many cars rolled over easily.
~Colin
I was thinking of getting those Aussie rotors DBA is the manufacturer, they are getting good reviews.
Ken, the rotors are, well as old as the car but have less than 20K miles.
Cheers Pat.
Do I need to bring the car into the shop?
My wife and I decided on the above vehicle. Now, I understand this is a 'problem' board so I can't take this as a representation of everybody's experience. However, I was wondering if there were certain issues native to the car I'm about to buy or things I should look out for?
I've read about premature break/rotor problems, piston slap, leaky gussets, etc. Does anybody know if Subaru addressed any of this in later model Foresters (05's particularly?)?
Jopopsy
Buyer beware.
Sly
As for the brakes, each successive model uses larger diameter brakes and newer pad designs so I would assume that the 05s are less prone to rotor warp than previous models.
It might still be a tad early in the model year to get any real statistical data on the 05s. You might want to look for 04 information here at Edmunds or other Forester owner forums.
Ken
Ken
Possibly related to the hesitation problem is an issue of the car decelerating roughly. Often when smoothly decreasing pedal pressure, the engine responds by what feels to be a total cut-off of the gas for an instant prior to settling in with the appropriate gas flow.
The car has also started using oil at about a quart every 2,000 miles. I mention this for I saw one post that indicated that oil consumption and hesitation could be related to a PCV Valve. Any other experience with this?
The Subaru dealer checked out the surging/ hesitation problem in the October and said on their invoice that the "engine runs as designed." They suggested that I switch brands of gas. Afterward, I did try different brands, but the engine runs the same regardless of major brand used. I have also always used at least 87 octane. It runs a little better on premium, but I feel I shouldn't have to buy the premium gas, especially at 6,000 feet elevation where I live. I also just recently tried a brand name gas treatment, but this hasn't helped.
I've scanned the messages and see that the hesitation/ deceleration problems could be caused by numerous issues: sensors, PCV valve, spark plugs, and even see where I could buy an add-on that may help (Kimoto). However, I feel this should be fixed under warranty and plan to take the car back to the dealer.
I would appreciate any help/ideas on how to present this/these problems to the Service Department so they will actually fixed it this time.
Thanks
Turn the key to the 'run' position and wait about 5 secound before proceeding to 'start'. This gives the fuel injector pump a few second to 'prime' the system. While the injector rails should hold pressure overnight, a number of people has complained that they do not. If the lines are not at about 35psi, the spray pattern into the cylinders is diminished - basically you are trying to start cold on a lean mixture rather than the intended richer settings.
Luckily, I don't seem to have this problem with my Subi, but I lived with this modified start procedure for years with an older Nissan until I got a new fuel pump.
Let us know if this helps.
Steve
Craig
Craig
Still have the tip which is installed approx. flush with end of tail pipe.
Bob
I've not noticed any engine surge on my '05 OB XT but I do detect a hard impact when I first engage the transmission into drive in the morning. I guess the car idles at high rpm's until warmed up.
Bob
(at 50K miles - YIKES! - we called it 60K mile service ;-)
I told them when dropping if off that it was making a rhythmic howling or thumping noise in the rear at highway speeds and to please check the wheel bearings. Anyway, the dealership said that the bearings were fine, but they didn't rotate the tires because that noise was the rear tires. Apparently the rear is out of alignment and caused uneven wear and "cupping" in the rear tires (not the original tires -I'm guessing there's 25-30K miles on them) which caused the noise. To rotate them to the front would have cause a whole body vibration. They suggested replacing at least the two rears and getting an AW alignment. I agree wholeheartedly but my mom and I are now debating - 2 tires or 4? Will replacing only the rears cause the AWD from front to rear to be out of whack and cause problems in the differential? Or, is it fine to replace only two at a time, as long as the tires on any one axle are the same circumference? Opinions, please! Thanks all!
Elissa (trying to save her old mom a couple hundred dollars)
If it were me, and I was going to keep the car a long time, I would get four new tires and a good alignment!
Craig
So to second Craig's post, if she's planning on keeping it for a few more years, then its probably time for a set of 4 :<(
Also get the before and after numbers from the alignment shop - most shops can give you a hardcopy of just far out of tolerence things were and how well they did bringing things back in to tolerence by the alignment. This can be useful as a starting point of discussion if the car tends to drift or wander after the alignment.
HTH
Larry