Subaru Forester Transmission Questions
Hello, all. I need your help in assessing the need for a transmission
servicing. My '01 Forester has 119k mostly highway miles on it and I need
to know whether or not it's a good investment to have this service done to
get the max life out of my car as possible. my questions are these:
A) what does this job consist of?
what is a fair price to pay for it? dealer quote was $140, but don't
know what all it entails...
C) any reason I shouldn't take it to my mechanic to perform versus taking it
to the dealer?
would love to hear your experiences-- thanks.
DAN
servicing. My '01 Forester has 119k mostly highway miles on it and I need
to know whether or not it's a good investment to have this service done to
get the max life out of my car as possible. my questions are these:
A) what does this job consist of?
what is a fair price to pay for it? dealer quote was $140, but don'tknow what all it entails...
C) any reason I shouldn't take it to my mechanic to perform versus taking it
to the dealer?
would love to hear your experiences-- thanks.
DAN
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I live in a small town, so frequently take short trips; it's not ALL the time, but is happening frequently enough that I need to figure it out. Car had routine 30,000 maintenance, transmission fluid looks fine, gas mileage the same as always.
Any thoughts? THANKS.
Hmm, could it be a heat shield making the sound?
HTH, Owen
vehicle about 15 miles with no problems. We picked up the vehicle and within three miles the check engine light came on again. The error code that was displayed was P0740 (Torque Converter Clutch). The place we purchased the used transmission has offered to send another one but of
course at our expense to have the other pulled and replaced. The Forester appears to be driving just fine with the used transmission. Would appreciate any suggestions or ideas that we could pass along to our dealership.
Price sounds a tad high, but dealerships are like that. I've heard price quotes as low as $80, but to be fair that was a while ago.
Jiffy Lube can even do it, but I'm not sure I'd trust them to. At the very least supervise.
-juice
I'll look around, I bet my mechanic will do it for cheaper than $140. Especially while I've already got the car with him for wheel bearing replacement.
Fred
I've had both. The SPT shifter is more direct, basically it removes a layer of rubber insulation, so will it fell less rubbery? Yes, that is exactly what it will do. It'll feel more metallic, in a way.
Here are the shifters side by side, stock to SPT.
-juice
-juice
Compared to all the other stickshifts on various makes of autos I've had over the years, the Subie ranks near the top.
I haven't yet, but perhaps I should. I also haven't tried the XT version, and the dealer does have one with manual. Let's see, I'm retired, I have no action items for today, the sun's out...........
I recall people posting in these forums about a slight hesitation, but nothing so jerky as to be compared to whiplash. I think you should take it to another dealer.
Call 800-SUBARU3 and ask them to help your dealer diagnose the problem, it's not normal by any means.
-juice
:confuse:
The price does sound a bit high, though.
-juice
On the main Edmunds site, they have links to extended warranties. Check it out HERE .
Nobody will stand behind their warranty like the manufacturer. 3rd parties are actually selling insurance policies, not warranties, legally.
-juice
Are you in any way associated with a dealership or sales of such manufacturer warranties? Did you know WarrantyDirect is the company behind some manufacturers warranty plans?
The company you often site for failing wasn't in business even close to 25 years, and wasn't nearly as highly rated as the company (WarrantyDirect.com) I sited, nor were their warranties ones that actually exceeded what the dealers offered.
I have already posted, many times, what is good for you, or me, isn't always good for another. Give it a rest.....please?
Information about WarrantyDirect:
The Company
Warranty Direct is the consumer division of Interstate National Dealer Services, one of the largest independent automobile warranty providers in the US. We are not just another web site selling automobile warranties. You can buy from us with complete confidence. We are a 26 year old company that has received numerous distinctions of its financial stability including being named a Forbes Magazine Top 200 Company three times and being featured in Fortune Small Business Magazine. We are also Dun & Bradstreet verified . When looking at extended warranty companies, this financial stability is of the utmost importance. It's important to know that we handle our own claims, we never send you off to an unknown third party. Our experience is unmatched with nearly 2 million plans sold, assets in excess of $165 million and over $500 million in paid claims.
We are NOT an Internet only company. We have a long 26 year track record of selling extended warranties through wholesale channels such as manufacturers, car dealers, banks and credit unions. Why pay the car dealer's markup when you can buy the same coverage direct?
Many of the 50 states have licensing/registration requirements to make sure auto warranty companies are financially sound and/or properly insured. A growing number of states, including New York, Florida and California have very strict requirements when it comes to issuing licenses. Warranty Direct's ability to market in all states reflects our financial stability and claims history.
Our commitment to Customer Service is unmatched. We are members in excellent standing of the Better Business Bureau and WebAssured.com . Our reports show the fewest number of complaints in the industry and the most verified customer testimonials. We survey our customers every time a claim is filed and have a 99.4% Customer Satisfaction Rating .
We had a Warranty thread here on Edmunds, my advice for any would-be consumers is to find that and read through it carefully. There were a lot of horror stories from those with 3rd party warranties, including Warranty Gold customers that were left in the dust. Noone with an OE warranty had any such issues.
WarrantyDirect was not mentioned, AFAIK, so I'm not familiar with them.
Find that thread and you'll see where I'm coming from.
-juice
Like so much on public forums, ( and you and I have both posted the same thoughts, I believe) it is full of half-baked info along with what it obviously true.
Back in 1999, I bought a van. Econoline E-250, V-8, purty thing, empty in the back, but with carpet there, headliner, captains chairs in leather, all the bells and whistles up front. The fleet manager offered Ford's extended warranty for below their stated cost. I paid like $400 for 5 years, 100K miles. $50 deductable.
I own several vehicles, as you might know. I couldn't keep the damn thing in brakes! Rotor problems, before the Ford standard warranty expired. Bearings as well. You name it, it happened. Including the corker. I had to fight every darn time I went to the dealer to get service under "their" warranty. A couple of times I had to find the service bulletin and shove it in their faces. I have owned several Fords, of all kinds, and always liked them, never had near the trouble with fit and finish GM gave me, never mechanical problems either, so I was puzzled.
The "corker" was the pressure relief seals on the tranny. One day one of them gave. Spewed hot tranny fluid all over the underside, it caught fire! They refused to fix it, my insurance company investigated, said it was Ford's problem, many cases of that happening were documented. In the ten years, after getting my statement, and supposedly filing suit, I have never heard back from Progressive. I paid for a new tranny, sold it off.
So, as you can see, having something issued supposedly by the manufacturer doesn't mean much. A simple web search will return thousands of cases of people being stiffed by Ford, Chrysler, GM, Toyota, Nissan on their in-house programs. In most cases, you are totally locked into taking it to one of their dealerships, or them towing it there. Too bad for you if you break down 200 miles from one.
Check out the company I now use, and read it all, and you decide for yourself, but please don't keep posting over and over warnings based on a thread where nothing is verified, and you yourself say you know nothing about the company you are warning against. What you are failing to tell people is that manufacturers can be just as prone to deny coverage, if it will cost them money.
So you'd be half way home.
I know a more than a few folks at Subaru and feel confident in the Subaru warranties, so I did not hesitate to get one. I realize not all consumers are in the same position as I am.
-juice
PS I had a terrible time with Ford Credit so I've been there, in a different way, but I've been there.
PPS To be fair, a neighbor with an F-250 did get a new tranny under his extended warranty from Ford. He uses it often. LOL
I'd like to push Bill Ford down some stairs! :P
Where the Ford threads any help?
Ford Credit tried to screw me when I paid a loan down early. The fact that I wrote "for principal only" on the check was what saved me. But they fought me tooth and nail over a few bucks. No more Fords for me, I was done.
-juice
Is this the one you had in mind?
"Warranty Gold" Claims
tidester, host
-juice
Maybe I've just been lucky so far.
HAS ANYONE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE?? AND COULD GIVE ME SOME DIRECTION AS TO IT CAUSE.
Thanks,
-juice
-mike
The VC on the manuals is pre-engaged, so you don't feel it.
-juice
-juice
Loose strut top mount?
tie-rod end?
Bearing?
Ball joint?
-mike
-mike
Also agree about the possibility of ice on the rim. If you can, clean it and wax the rims. If not at least scrape off the ice, and maybe spray a tiny bit of WD40 in the area (not on the tire, though).
-juice
However, why won't the rear wheels engage in All Wheel Drive, only fronts??
I just bought a new '07 Subaru Forester, automatic trans, 5 days ago. It's my first Subaru, so I was pretty excited about that.
Unfortunately, I've noticed a strange sound while driving. The sound seems to be coming from under the car (wheels, drive train, etc), but I can't tell if it's from the front/rear or left/right. It's hard to explain, but the sound is kind of like a tapping/hammering noise. Almost like the sound of a very loud valve tap.
It can only be heard at speeds between about 35Mph and 60Mph while accelerating and the RPM is held between 2300 and 3500. If I roll down the window at those speeds to try and pinpoint the noise, the wind washes out the sound.
This noise is much more pronounced when accelerating up a hill in this RPM range. Letting off the accelerator makes the noise stop, and mashing the pedal to force a downshift makes the noise go away (higher RPMs make it hard to hear or completely gone). As the RPMs increase, the speed of the tapping increases too. While the noise is occuring, if I put the transmission in Neutral and rev the engine to those RPMs, I cannot hear the noise.
I also noticed yesterday that when this tapping noise is occuring, steering the car affects it. If I steer/swerve quickly to the left, the tapping noise gets much faster and a little bit louder. If I swerve to the right, the tapping noise briefly disappears until I straighten out again. Making a very hard left turn (like at a stop sign) seems to increase the chances of the noise occuring when I hit that 35-60Mph speed range, while making sharp right turns sometimes eliminates the problem for just a little while.
I'm afraid this could be one of those deals where the dealer service techs either won't hear it since it's intermittent, or will say it's "normal". If I can take it in for service with at least some idea of what the problem might be, that might be helpful. Anyone have any ideas? Wheel bearings, steering rack, differential?
Thanks,
Bryan
For the 2nd half, I was thinking wheel bearing.
Maybe at the first oil change have them inspect those areas. You can register a "customer says" call with 800-SUBARU3 so that if it ever gets worse you can prove you noticed it while it was still under the full warranty.
I've owned cars with noisy/rattling heat shields before, and this doesn't sound too similar. I'm not ruling it out, but it doesn't seem like that would be it. It's really not a metallic rattling type sound. It's more of a tap or a knock, like a "piston slap" type noise. It only does it at certain speeds. Driving slowly at 15 Mph between 2300PRM and 3500RPM does not cause the noise.
The sound is very rhythmic and repeatitive once it kicks in, not at all random in nature, like a baseball card in a bicycle tire. The faster the RPMs are, the faster the tap/knock is. Once it gets to about 3500 RPM, the taps get so fast and close together that I can't hear or perceive them anymore.
It seems as if the noise is louder as the load on the engine increases. Going up a steep hill, the noise is very pronounced. On a flat stretch of road I can hear it, but the noise is much quieter.
I think issue of swerving left and right making the sound worse and better is important to the diagnosis, I just haven't figured out the correlation yet.
Bryan
-mike