Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

hypov

Ed-
Hope your Forester isn't picking up seismic activity. :-)

-Dave

mckeown

Yesterday, Jun 5th, Work found me going to a Suburb of Rochester NY, Pittsford. After I was done, I noticed 9 Forester's in this Parking Lot. All were from Van Bortel's in Victor NY. The guy I was with told me it was 10 minute's away. Well before my 5 1/2 hr trek back to NJ, I decided to get Gas, dinner, and browse. What a Dealership! Having bought 5 Subaru's, all in north NJ, This place made them all look Below PAR. Prices, from just walking in off the street were BELOW INVOICE, 2003 x 5 sp 19K, 2003 XS 5 sp, 21K..WOW. I didn't have to ask or haggle. Next Subaru, I would Seriously consider taking a ride Upstate NY like I remember people driving from all over to go to Reedman's outside of Phila in the 60's and 70's.
PS, even after ECU reset, I clocked 31.5 MPG at 65mph w A/C on. 2002 L 5 speed.

beachfish

Thanks. I'll check back with the dealer. A couple of months ago the head mechanic at the dealer mentioned that he'd installed a front plate for someone else. I was late and walking out the door and sort of thought he was talking aftermarket.

You know, it's on my list of things to do.

I'd do it myself, but I have enough hobbies.

John

lark6

Dennis: LOL. Harleys have been known to set it off.

mckeown: Reedman is about 10 minutes from my house. They don't sell Subarus (ironically, no one in Langhorne does). They have a large "test track" which is basically a 30-mph loop around their inventory lot. Not a way to test drive a car in anything resembling real world conditions.

Ed

hypov

Is the car still beeping?

-Dave

lark6

Haven't been out to check. Dealer said it may be set too sensitively, bring it in for adjustment.

Ed

mckeown

Ed, (lark6), I was not refering to buying a Subaru there, but having grown up near Scranton Pa, May people took a ride to Langhorn to buy GM's, Ford's Etc Back in 60's and 70's, just for the price and the Local dealer couldn't refuse warrenty work. PS, My father was a BIG Stude lover, from our '54 Commando to his '57 Golden Hawk. Think his Dream was the Avanti before they went under. He would not consider the ones made later in the '60's with the chevy 283.

padraicsdad

Hmmmmm, maybe it's just me but I'm not so sure about the bunny-friendliness of that Subie commercial. Did Little Enron and her lovely mom somehow capture one of nature's timid wild creatures in order to achieve Show 'n Tell stardom? Nice, ...unless you're the wabbit. Or maybe they decided to solve their cage-cleaning problems forever by giving En's carefully-nurtured domestic bunny its freedom. Yeah, right. The Buggster probably lasted about 20 minutes before being invited for dinner!

Hey Ed (lark6) - Trade you a Jersey superfund site for a dozen of your Pennsy Potholes.

Query - Has anyone succeeded in making those OEM Bridgestones stay balanced?

Jeff

hypov

Ed-
but all those years to suddenly become overly sensitive last night. Then again maybe it's the old age thing, the alarm I mean :-)

-Dave

storyteller

Woo, this new look is going to take a little getting used to. But change is good.

I just talked a dear friend OUT of buying a Ford Escape and INTO getting a Forester. That should earn me a few points toward getting into Heaven some day. She is gorgeous, which may be why the male salesman gave her such a good deal: $14,000 for a '99 with 33,000 on it and many options and a warranty.

Steve

eps105

Ed,

Here's a couple suggestions to help the problem. It sounds like the shock sensor is chirping. If it's defective, you'll have to take it in, otherwise you can try these to reset it....

First, look in your owner's manual to see if you have the small pamphlet for the installation of the security system. It is a small supplement. It describes how to do a system reset on the security system. I don't have it in front of me, but it goes like this:

1. Pull the negative terminal on your battery.

2. Get under your dashboard and pull the 2 fuses to the security system/keyless entry. You may need to use the plastic fuse puller hidden inside the fusebox in your engine compartment, just above the battery. Note: These fuses are UNDER the dashboard, above the brake pedal, not in the fuse box. You will have to lay down with your back on the drivers seat and your head near the gas pedal, looking up. IT IS VERY AWKWARD. You will see two fuses midway in a harness leading to a black box. I think they are red, 10 AMP fuses, but don't hold me to it.

3. While you are looking up there with a flashlight, you will also see the shock sensor mounted to a brace. It is a bit larger than a matchbox and has a small dial on the side. You may want to fiddle with that dial to adjust the sensitivity of the shock sensor. It may simply just need to be fiddled with to fix a bad contact. It's worth a try!

4. Wait about 15-20 minutes to make sure the memory has died. (I don't know if that is necessary for the security system, but that's the way to reset the ECU, so it can't hurt.)

5. Reconnect the battery terminal.

6. Insert your key in the ignition and turn the key to ON. Make sure it is on ON, not Accessory.

7. With the ignition at ON, get back under the dashboard and reinsert the two fuses.

8. Turn the ignition back to off. You will have to reset your clocks and maybe your radio stations. (My radio stations kept).

This is, in fact, the same process for resetting the ECU. I did this a week ago based on other postings suggesting it could help my transmission.

My transmission was shifting very jerky and the dealer said it was mechanically OK, so I tried this and IT WORKED! I call it the automotive equivalent to rebooting a computer!

As a result of this, your transmission may shift differently at first until it relearns your driving patterns.

Hope this helps!
Elliot

burnsmr4

The poster of message 6501 said that he/she owned a 2001 Subaru Forester until a skyscraper fell on top of it. You're not a New Yorker are you? All I could think of was the collapse of the WTC when you made that comment. Is that what happened?

[Note -- I'm not insensitive to those NYCers here in the forum. I was just curious. If this post offends or rubs you the wrong way, yell to the Edmunds.com folks to remove it. I don't mind.]

Regards,
burnsmr4

ateixeira

Jeff: funny angle.

But in the ad the mother and daughter see another bunny in the wild, and drop theirs off where the saw the other one (alive).

-juice

aezelig

So the only annoying thing about my 98 forester has been the constant brake squeal which after 72,000 miles and no relief from the dealer, i have learned to live with.

I saw an ad for Raybestos New Quiet Stop pads that are designed to stop this semi metallic squeal. I called the subaru dealership if they had heard of it and if it would help but of course they had no idea what i was talking about.

anyone have an idea if these will stop the squeal?

ateixeira

No, but brake pads are cheap, if you want to try those.

Subaru dealers are going to use OE pads, which are a compromise of noise levels, durability, and stopping power.

If you want to try aftermarket pads, you'll probably have to use an independent mechanic, or DIY.

-juice

kate5000

He did mention in some of his earlier posts that his Forester was destroyed on 9/11...

paisan

Is probably a few blocks from my house. I can see the piles of cars everyday I should snap some pics one of these days.

-mike

qmarker

Hmmm, I did not care for the bunny commercial either. But I am seeing "lots" of Forester commercials. Before I discovered the Forester I test drove the Saturn VUE (because I had a Saturn). I thought those commercials were terrible during the super bowl. Huge animals drowned out the VUE. The salesman told me that Saturn fired the ad agency. I said they should have fired the guy that hired them.

I did not order the alarm on my pending Forester. Glad I didn't now, there will be my son's Harley parked right next to it in the garage. I do think it is a "cute" problem though. Harmless but no doubt annoying and embarrasing.

Donna

qmarker

Me again with another question:

I see so much talk about the Forester tires here. They look "pretty" but is there something I need to be aware of when I get mine? I mean like some extra caution?

Also, ran to the hardware store today for wood stain and was delighted to accidently run into a display for Lexol leather cleaner. I had never heard of it until it was pointed out to me here.

Donna

mtngal

Lexol has been around for a long time. People with horses often use it for cleaning tack because it doesn't dry out the leather like saddle soap can. There are other excellent leather cleaners that horse people use, but Lexol is one of the most common (or it was when I had horses 10 years ago). You can always find it at feed stores.

bkaiser1

This is great stuff! I started using it on a 93 626 that I owned for years to protect the leather...I sold the car to my dad a few years ago and the 10 year old car still looks new inside. I've never seen leather wear so well in my life. I used the Lexol cleaner as well as the protectant on the seats -- cheap protection as far as I'm concerned!
Brian

storyteller

A question for you lucky '03 owners: is there a way to make that folding back seat go truly flat? The new Forester I test-drove had an uneven floor when the back of the rear seat was flipped forward. It ocurred to me it might be possible to tie it down or something to give a flat floor. I'll probably never have that seat back up, and I run around with a large dog crate that would ride better if the floor were flat.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Steve

ateixeira

paisan: if you find any 16" rims...nah, that's in poor taste. Never mind.

Take the crate to a dealer, Steve. You gotta test drive it in the conditions you see every day.

-juice

storyteller

Juice: I did. And the floor was uneven to a bothersome degree; this is a big crate. But it looked like a clever guy might find a way to tie down the folding seat to make it lie flat.

Steve

eps105

In my '99 Forester, if you put enough pressure on the split folding seats, they actually 'pop' into a locked position that is nearly flat. To lift them back up, you must pull up on the same seat release button that you use to fold it down.

I haven't tried this on the '03, but my guess is that hopefully Subaru did not take away any useful functionality. I'd be curious to know if anyone has tried this on the '03....

Elliot

storyteller

Kewl! Now I have an excuse for another test drive to check this out. Thanks.

Steve

ateixeira

On the '98 it folds pretty flat. The 2001 models' seats changed a bit (for example, they no longer reclined). The 2003 is yet another design.

Maybe a used 1998-2000 model?

-juice

padraicsdad

Put the crate in the Subie, two Newfies in the crate. Presto! Flat floor.

Jeff

varmint

Two Newfies! I thought I had trouble with greyhounds.

Got my copy of C&D and read through the Forester preview. Not much that's news, but I found something that I thought was an error. They report on the weight savings that Subaru made with the use of lighter metals, but they state that the overall weight hasn't changed. I can understand how that's possible, but it's not what I've read here. C&D lists the curb weight as 3200+ lbs for a 5 speed equipted 2.5X. That's way more than Edmunds is listing. I checked Edmunds for consistency (sometimes they get numbers mixed up), but Ed seems to be on the ball.

Anyone got another reliable source for the US specs?

ateixeira

C&D's numbers are off. My 1998 L 5 speed was 3120 pounds, later it crept up just a tad.

I don't have the brochure in front of me, but I was impressed when I read that the XS Premium with a moonroof actually had about the same curb weight as my basic model.

I'm not sure, but I hope that means the payload has also increased. It was 900-1050 depending on the model, so this means it could be even better. Payload was class leading and the margin may have increased.

-juice

rsholland

did not increase, I don't believe. I got C&D as well as CR yesterday. The payload, IIFC, is still under 900 pounds.

Varmint, I noticed that statement too. I don't have an answer. I also noticed C&D seems to prefer the new CRV over the new Forester. I'm surprised C&D didn't test the up-market-XS model though. Maybe it was too expensive in their minds? In fact, Honda did very well in their truck selections: CRV, Pilot and Odyessy were all category winners in their eyes.

Bob

allhorizon

Subaru's web site lists 3090 pounds for the manual 2.5X.

- D.

varmint

Bob - I'm not sure that the new Forester was included in that Five Best Trucks comparison. They listed the Forester as a contender, but they state that the comparison was for 2002 vehicles. Obviously, they had access to the new Soob, but it may not have met the comparison's parameters.

I also thought that the weight was an error. It's not the sort of thing that C&D often goofs up, though.

allhorizon

The 6/20 life chat sounds like a good opportunity to ask C. Michael Whelan about the turbo Forester (US release date, specs…)

I'll be on vacation w/o Internet connection - I'll rely on someone else to do it!

Thanks,

- D.

cat_and_bear

Bob,

C&D indeed included the 2003 X into the comparison. If you pay attention to the photo which has compact SUV candidates all line up, you will see a silver X there. The comparison focused more on the truck nature of the cars, i.e. the utility side, it's not a surprise that they would pick CR-V. CR-V simply has a big rear seat/cargo space. C&D loves BMW and Honda cars. This time CRV had a bigger engine so it easily defeated Escape. When they do a compact SUV comparison in the future, probably you will see another different result.

C&D often makes small mistakes or distorts facts ... on purpose or not.. who knows. The same article also claimed that people sat in '03 as low as sitting in a sedan. Ok, C&D, find me a sedan which gives me a seat as high as the Foresters. I also do not buy into their 0-60 numbers. The C5's number is the same as E46 M3's? Mmm... I still feel UK's Car magazine is much better than C&D. Even R&T is better sometimes.

-bear

rsholland

the '03 Pilot won, so '03 models must have been included in the C&D rankings. I still don't understand why C&D chose the base X model over the nicer XS model, however.

Bob

kens

I just read through my copy of C&D also. I think they gave the 2.5X a fair review. Basically, Subaru didn't need to make huge changes to the Forester design because it's been doing so well.

On the other hand, the previous generation CR-V had left quite a bit to be desired, especially in the powertrain area. Honda did a good job in updating the CR-V (although I personally like the styling of the previous model better) and it just as may well deserve the top seat.

I'm also curious as to why they chose the X vs. the XS.

Ken

qmarker

The Forester was lightened in 03 by (90) ninety pounds with the new hood.

Donna

varmint

Bob - Looks like you're right. They did include the '03 Forester. That's a reversal of how they ranked the previous vehicles, is it not?

As for the X vs XS issue, that may simply be what C&D was offered. Magazines often do not get a choice. They take whichever press vehicle is available at the time they are writing their article.

Another possibility is that Subaru is trying to avoid what happened with the original Forester. Back in '98, they used the top end model as their press vehicle. Even though it had tons more equipment than the competition, many reviewers labeled it, "expensive" (by 1998 standards). Edmunds even made note of this in their '99 comparison test. It's possible that this time Subaru used a base model to prevent any misconceptions about value.

I suspect that Honda did something similar with the new CR-V. Notice that most reviews are for the 5 speed. Since power was a primary criticism of the original CR-V, Honda may have issued more 5 speeds. They tend to be faster and would improve the perception of power.

It may just be marketing at work.

rochcom

It finally happened. My '98's windshield was hit at the very edge on the driver's side by a stone (right around the deflector). Before you could say craaaack, it spread halfway across the windshield, directly in the driver's line of vision. Fortunately, I have full glass coverage as the result of a learning experience with a previous vehicle.

The invoice says the glass came from PPG and shows a list price of $617.55. Since it was billed directly to the insurance company, there was a big discount.

Glass 253.20
Labor 45.00
Gaskets, etc. 46.20
------------------------
$371.95 with tax

It is a nice, neat installation and although the color is slightly different, it does have the graphics at the edges and looks like factory glass.

One interesting phenomenon. It has greatly cleared up visibility. Looking closely at the old glass (after only 64,000 miles), it hss wall to wall small pits, giving it a slightly frosty appearance compared to the new. It looks like the glass on my son's car with 160,000 miles on it. So, the new windshield is a welcome addition.

miamihawk

I have a new 02 forrester. Would I do any harm in changing the oil at 1000 miles with 5w-30 castrol full synthetic instead of waiting for 3000 miles ? What is a good oil filter to use in this vehicle ?

joseph50

C&D outlined what it considered an overall (minimal, it seemed) upgrading in interior improvements, look and ride. Its assessment: A typical second generation vehicle -- but still the measuring stick for its class.

paisan

My theory is that they didn't make their donation to C&D/didn't take out enough ads. We all know it's a $ game.

-mike

entropy5527

I recently had to replace my 98 Forester window due to sand balsting on the freeeway. The cost with out insurance for the window was $267.00 I wonder if they mark it up since you had insurance?? Every glass place asked me that question before they quoted me the price....

joseph50

The July review indicated that it cannot understand how the 2003 can be 100 pounds heavier (stated to be 3211 lbs.) than the previous model, given the fact of lighter hood, roof rails, etc. Does anyone know the solution?

storyteller

Just to point out the obvious, the June Edmunds chat is about the '03 Forester. The guest is Mike Whelan, who is billed as a "Subaru Product Developer." That will be intersting. Usual time: June 20.

Steve

rsholland

<< My theory is that they didn't make their donation to C&D/didn't take out enough ads. We all know it's a $ game. >>

Why would any car manufacturer offer a magazine a test vehicle that wouldn't present that particular brand/model in its best possible light? As was mentioned by Varmint, C&D has no (or very little) control over what models they get for testing. I'd be very surprised if C&D "requested" a bottom-feeder Forester X (with the implied threat of being better able to "punish" Subaru) over the high-zoot XS Premium.

Bob

rsholland

<< My theory is that they didn't make their donation to C&D/didn't take out enough ads. We all know it's a $ game. >>

Why would any car manufacturer offer a magazine a test vehicle that wouldn't present that particular brand/model in its best possible light? As was mentioned by Varmint, C&D has no (or very little) control over what models they get for testing. I'd be very surprised if C&D "requested" a bottom-feeder Forester X over the high-zoot XS Premium.

Bob

kajko

I would think that, as Varmint suggested, Subaru might be trying to avoid being slammed again for selling an expensive car. Several reviews on the net mention that Subaru is pricey, of course the reviewers seem to never take into account that the so-called "base" version comes with aircon, ABS, power-this and that, CD-player, remote entry...

the 2.5XS might be too much, eX-ceSs. ;-)

tom

dholz

Hello World:

I'm still breaking in an '03 XS-P, a dramatic contrast to my '89 Acura Integra w/ 145K miles. A few comments:

There is now an oil/filter change access 'hatch' provided, unfasten six captive screw fasteners and a panel (~1 foot square) pivots aside to allow access to the drain plug and filter.

The sunroof moves about 2/3 of the way on the initial activation of the open/close, a second press completes the motion.

I think the 'Bright' button overrides the dash light dimming at night to help in seeing the controls.

I'm not sure yet if I like the auto climate control, so far I generally use manual operation. It's too eager to invoke the AC for my taste.

The auto-dimming mirror is very nice, although I would like more dimming - the mirror is still one of the brighter objects in my field of view at night with cars behind me.

This isn't a dealer forum, but a previous post disparaged Morrie's in the Minneapolis area. I'd been emailing Morrie's and Scott Putnam of the Bloomington dealer (he of subaru.net fame) for about 6 months, expressing interest in the '03 release. Of three emails, Putnam only gave a terse response to one. I wandered around that dealership in late May, but the personnel ignored me. I bought from Morrie's at MSRP (high initial demand), they've been very courteous (understandably, given the money they're making). Still, my impression is quite positive so far. I do have to mention the mileage at delivery was 170, the car was mistakenly sent to Duluth and driven down to Mpls; also, the initial tire pressure was 45 PSI, resulting in squealing tires - easily fixed. Can't speak yet for their service dept.

Don