Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

ateixeira

Ed: manual tranny with a V8! Cool. How desirable are those as collectibles?

Rod: silver XS manual? I'm jealous. Congrats.

A while back we asked Darlene, and she said Subaru did not use a break in oil. In fact I think it was Havoline, the same stuff you get off the shelf. Are you sure that's changed?

AFAIK the first oil change is scheduled for 3000 miles on my wife's 2002 Legacy, which has the same engine (SOHC Phase II).

Either way, I changed my oil at 1000 miles, and it's hard to argue with my 25mpg average.

-juice

ateixeira

Sweet! Best Pick? Way to go, Subaru! On top again! Woo-hoo!

Sure enough, check out www.iihs.org.

-juice

lark6

V8/manual w/overdrive combo the most desired, followed by V8/AT, 6/manual, 6/AT (guess which I have? :-p) Sedans much less prized than coupes, hardtops, convertibles, even wagons. Top dollar for a restored or good original V8 sedan is running in the $4000-4500 range these days, about $500-1000 less for sixes.

A nice entry-level hobby car that won't break the bank, is a good size for modern roads, decent economy for the day (high teens - low twenties), easy to drive, repair and maintain, and gets big "you don't see THAT everyday" points.

Ed

eps105

I had something very disconcerting happen to me yesterday with my new 2003 XS Premium. I was wondering if anyone else has had any similar problems....

I stopped at a convenience store and armed my Forester (I have the security system upgrade). When I came out 2 minutes later and disarmed it, the lights blinked twice (I have the audible beeps turned off) BUT my door did not unlock. (I was NOT pressing the arm button - definitely was disarming.)

At this point, I figured that the power lock actuator malfunctioned (even Subarus have new-car defects) and used my key to unlock the door. When I unlocked it, I expected the alarm to go off, but it didn't, so I figured I was right about the actuator being bad and that it did disarm. The lock/unlock button on both the driver's and passenger's side were both dead. The locks could only be operated manually. But....

When I put the key in the ignition, the car didn't crank. Then the alarm went off! (The starter kill was somehow still enabled, even though the intrusion alarm was off.) So I pulled the key out and pressed the Disarm button again, and the alarm silenced.

I put the key back in and this time the car started! However the power locks still did not work. I turned the car back off, and the power locks started working again! Boy, was I puzzled!

I tested it for a few minutes - turning the car on and off and arming and disarming it, and it seemed everything was working fine again.

When I drove off, I discovered the power locks weren't working again. When I got home and turned the car off, they started working again, and everything has worked fine for the last day.

Needless to say, I am a little freaked out, and I know the hardest thing to get diagnosed is an intermittent problem. I am curious if anyone has ever had that problem or knows what it may be.

Thanks!
Elliot

forester13

My Silver 2003 2.5X now approaching 1,500 miles.
Following impressions from a first-time Subie owner:

Very solid mechanically.. good pickup, and love the fact that there's virtually no sway on high-speed turns thanks to low center of gravity.
Getting average 25 mpg in a mix of suburban and freeway driving.

Have had the following concerns:
1/ Clear plastic cover over speedometer and tach rattles when going over certain road surfaces. Dealer has had one pass at fixing.. still rattles.. will take it back again.

2/ Right front door vibrates and buzzes occasionally from speaker .. will ask them about that too.

3/ Vehicle wants to drift to the right.. I thought it was an alignment problem, but service tech told me this is true of all Subies.. to keep you from drifting left into oncoming traffic.. is this true?

4/ Dealer had the Geolander tires inflated to 37 psi on delivery.
Label inside door calls for 29 psi.
Do dealers routinely over-inflate tires on new vehicles.. and if so, why?

All in all.. very happy with this vehicle.. as soon as the rattles and buzzes are eliminated!

ateixeira

Elliot: sounds odd. I don't have an alarm so I can't comment specifically.

Gary: the speaker covers on my '98 pop off easily. You may want to try stuffing some foam in there strategically.

For #3, check the crown in the road. Most of the time you'll pull to the right simply because the road isn't level, so water drains off.

The factory sends the cars with lots of air in the tires to prevent flat spotting. The dealer is supposed to air them down, and must have forgotten during the PDI.

-juice

subearu

The following is IMO, YMMV

3. A good service tech will be able to set the alignment straight, even for a Subie. It recently took me 2 alignments at 2 different Subaru dealers to get our Outback straight. The first place got it within 'spec', but maybe the specs are too broad. The second place fixed it properly (and I bet if I went to them in the first place that I would have only had to get this done one time instead of two!). A good test would be to try getting to a flat road (or the middle of a crowned road) and see if it tracks straight on it's own.

4. The dealer forgot to do the PDI on the tires and set them to the correct psi. Tires are set higher at the factory or port during transportation to prevent flat spots (?) on the tires. It's pretty common for the dealer to forget this it seems, IMO. Even our Outback was overinflated at delivery.

-Brian

brianknobular

Forester13,

FYI, My 2003 also had an apparent alignment
problem on delivery. The alignment was
"within specs" The dealer replaced a tire,
which was "out of round". Drives straight
now.

-brian

rsunico

Just completed a 1700 road trip from NJ to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gods country.. not a lot of subies (except in Maine and Halifax).

A.J. I was reading Business Week and I saw they quoted you when you bought the Legacy. What did you have to do to get written up?

Lastly questions. My Forester L is 1 years old w/ 22,000 miles. When I press on the brakes I notice the steering wheel shakes slightly. I'm assuming the tires need balancing. Also, the Duelers on my 15 inch rims are still not wearing out (darn). When did people replace theirs? I'm eager to upgrade to the 16" WRX rims that are sitting in my garage.

Regards.. Renato

gshaffer

with 1295 miles on my 2003 XS I was hit from behind by an inattentive lady in a 2001 honda civic. I was stopped at a stopsign on an expressway feeder ramp and she just keep rolling around the curve, she was probably doing 5-10 mph, hit me straight on. her license plate bolts went through my XS bumper and pivoted my bumper plastic down a couple on inches. jolt felt pretty strong. knocked my travel mugout of the cupholder and threw coffee all over the console and dash. No sheetmetal or glass damage, doors all still aligned and operate okay. I think subaru's bumper worked as expected. have an appointment with her claims adjuster next monday

masan

Lots of questions:

If I recall correctly, the CR-V and RAV4 are required to have a rollover warning on the driver's visor while the Forester is not. Why is this? Is it because the Forester is considered to be a car and therefore meets the higher car safety standards whereas the others are considered to be trucks? If that's the case, then what are the other safety advantages of car vs. truck?

I don't understand why the warning is not on the Forester's visor since most of these vehicles get a 3 star rating on rollover, so they seem to be at equal risk.

mckeown

Renato, AS far as Business Week, I was contacted by both Business Week AND NY Times for a review of the 2002. They said they got my name from the Edmunds Board Registration.
AS far as the Brakes, sounds like your Rotors are slightly out of round.
Tires, I purchased rims and tires from Tirerack with 16" rims for my 02-L and out them on for the summer. Big difference. I will use the deulers/Steel rims again in the winter.

ateixeira

Renato: there is a thread right here in the Town Hall, Jeannine is the host and she put me in touch with someone looking for a then-current shopper. We had just bought the Legacy.

Is it this week's print edition of the magazine? I want to buy a copy.

gshaffer: ouch, hope you are OK. Demand a complete detailing of the interior, including the dash and carpets, everything. If the coffee had sugar in it things will get sticky.

Also make sure they check the bumper completely, often it's more than just cosmetic damage.

masan: the feds require that warning on every truck, regardless. For example, the Aztek gets 4 stars and still requires the warning.

But rolling a Forester would be nearly impossible. In fact I've only heard of one case, and it was a raised and modified model on an off road excursion. It ended up completely upside down, but get this - none of the windows even broke!

Which leads to another point - since the Forester is a car, it must have 5mph bumpers and the roof must be able to withstand 150% of the weight of the vehicle without crushing (see example above). Trucks may or may not meet those standards, but they are not required to like the Forester is.

-juice

lark6

I bought a copy in the hopes that juice will autograph it for me someday. ;-)

Ed

PS: Hope you're right about not rolling a Forester as paisan and Dave (hypov) are nudging me into auto-x.

stever

Not sure of your circumstances, but typically what happens is that a reporter will ask us to interview username "ABC." We then look up the username/email and our PR person Jeannine emails the person asking if they would like to be interviewed, that Mr. Reporter read their post and would it be ok if they were contacted. If they say no, then no. If yes, then the reporter can email them and make arrangements to talk.

We don't just give out member information. We ask the member if they would like to be interviewed, etc.

But if you show your email address in your profile (public info) then a reporter may not call us, they may email you directly.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

eps105

I've discovered another electrical glitch in my 2003 Forester XS. This time it is in the automatic climate control, and I think it is a programming bug rather than a defect. I am curious to see if anyone else out there can reproduce the same thing. Here's how:

1. On a day warm enough for the A/C to run (should be for just about everyone reading this), put the climate control on AUTO and set the temp for 75 degrees. For the sake of reproducing this, wait until the fan speed settles down to speed 2.

2. Now, say you decide you want to roll down your windows and turn off the A/C, but leave the fan blowing to keep the air circulating when at a stoplight. To do this, of course all you have to do is push the A/C button to deactivate it. The A/C light and the AUTO light both turn off. (You may also need to turn off the RECIRC mode.) At this point, it SHOULD be in manual mode, since the AUTO light is OFF, right?....

3. Now, since you're in manual mode, the temperature dial that was at "75" is now technically at a 50/50 warm/cool mix. Since we want fresh, unheated air blowing, we need to turn the temp knob all the way down to the coldest setting. Doing this, I have found that the climate control thinks it is still in AUTO mode.... It will turn the fan speed all the way up to 4 trying to compensate for the fact it thinks I want it to be 65 degrees inside! If you then manually turn the fan speed back down to 1 or 2, it seems to cooperate and stays in manual mode.

I can reproduce this consistently. The only workaround I have found is to first press the OFF button, then turn everything back on manually, requiring an extra 2 or 3 button-presses. This is mildly annoying.

Can anyone else reproduce this? If so, my bet is Subaru will come out with a service bulletin to upgrade the logic in the climate control if we all start reporting the annoyance to our dealers.

Thanks!
Elliot

mckeown

Steve, that was the exact circumstance. Got a note from Jeannine first(Edmunds), then she forwarded my address to the interviewers.

stever

Great - for a minute there it sounded like you had gotten "spammed" or something. Guess Juice had a better sound bite ready when the reporter called :-)

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

p0926

"Guess Juice had a better sound bite ready when the reporter called :-)"

One thing's for certain, Juice has never been known for being at a loss for words! :(o)

-Frank P.

rsholland

I've always felt that automatic climate control was a waste of money. Years ago I had it on an old Saab 9000, and hated it.

We now have a '01 Forester S Premium, with the huge moonroof; but to be honest, if I were looking at a new Forester today, I'd be inclined to buy the base model (and give up the moonroof) just to avoid the auto climate control of the XS models.

The "glitch" you described would absolutely drive my wife up the wall. I would never hear the end of it...

Bob

ffsteve

eps, that's exactly the way the climate control systems work in my cars (1 subaru, 3 toyotas). It lets you manually control one aspect of the control (AC) while still automatically controlling the others. I consider it a minor annoyance for the example you mention, but prefer it when considering the operation of the Fresh/Recirculate button. I would not like the automatic control disabled just because I choose to hit Recirc when following a deisel emitter.

If you want the fan to hold at a particular speed, then I think you just set it manually - then it too will remain constant - leaving the automatic system frustrated because it is no longer in control

Steve

ffsteve

Juice,

You're in the 15 July edition of BW. Nice quote. I have to admit I only scanned the article roughly and missed your name until reading the mentions here at Edmunds. But went back, and sure enough there you were! A very positive comment for Subaru.

Steve

cat_and_bear

Elliot,

Be honest to you... I am afraid it is more likely that you misinterpreted the function of the temp knob. The temp knob is used to control the auto A/C system. You set a temp then the system will try to keep it. Now the auto switch is off, you touch the temp button again, the system will think you want a specific temp so it will start to pump lots of air in.

If you just wanted fresh air, you should adjust the fan knob, not the temp knob.

-bear

cat_and_bear

BTW, in some auto A/C systems, if you turn off the auto mode, the temp knob will be disabled as well. This will cause less confusions.

-bear

tom_k

Although the auto industry has tried Hill-Holder type devices several times over the years, for some reason they never caught on as a standard feature. Personally, I think a hill-holding feature would be a great thing to have, provided that it worked reliably and held only when on a hill, not on level ground.

Based on my limited test drive experience with it, it still has not been perfected. I really wouldn't like having to overpower it routinely in order to get the vehicle moving.

It seems unlikely to me that there is no adjustment possible on the Subaru Hill-Holder. Maybe you're supposed to adjust something else to get it to work right, like the clutch pedal, instead.

eps105

I disagree with Bear. With the Auto button off, the system SHOULD behave like a manual system - IE, like the one in the Forester X. With that logic, the 65-75-85 dial should become "fresh, unheated (blue)"-"mixed (blue/red)"-"fully-heated (red)".

HOWEVER....
I think Steve is correct. Looking back at my description of the problem, it seems that I am turning off the A/C but other aspects are staying in Auto mode, even though the Auto light turns off, which is confusing to me. It would seem that when I then override the fan speed, I am essentially forcing it into manual mode by manually changing everything. (Everybody got that?!)

If this is true, then we can draw the following conclusions:

1) The Forester automatic climate control DOES let you override things like A/C and RECIRC while still staying in Auto mode (this is GOOD), even though the Auto light is off (this is confusing). Perhaps a two-color LED would help - Green for full automatic and yellow for semi-automatic!

2) Pressing the OFF button first, then changing settings DOES put it in 100% manual mode. (I just checked the manual, and it does say to press the OFF button to operate in manual mode. They just don't do a good job explaining the semi-manual aspects Steve described above.)

3) Therefore, what I said at the very top should hold true IF you press the OFF button first - leaving the dial set on 75 in manual mode will not maintain the temperature at 75 degrees, rather it is mixing fresh and heated air unless you turn it down all the way, just like on a manual climate control system.

SUMMARY: You can operate your Forester XS climate control completely manually IF you press the OFF button first, then adjust settings. In doing so, you must turn the temp knob all the way down if you want unheated air.

Thanks to everyone who helped me think through this and understand it. Now I know how it works, and that it's not a defect, I think I like it even better the way it is!

If anyone diagrees with these conclusions, I'd be more than happy to consider them.

Elliot

rsholland

you need an advanced degree (or at least a Merit Badge) in order to operate it. Seems like Subaru has thrown the old "KISS" principle out the window.

Bob

hypov

lark6 Jul 10, 2002 9:25am

Ed-
I don't believe that should be a worry.
After all, the Forester is a wee tat taller than the Outback, and I haven't rolled over the Outback yet.

-Dave

lark6

Thanks, Dave.

tom_k: As I like to point out (with little provocation ;-) ), my other favorite vehicle manufacturer, Studebaker, used the Hill Holder as standard equipment in all MT vehicles from 1936-1964. While it is true they ceased to exist as an automaker in 1966, they were at one time the # 4 manufacturer behind GM, Ford and Chrysler (prior to the merger of Hudson and Nash to form AMC, now part of DC). Far smaller than the traditional Big Three, Studebaker was at that time a mainstream manufacturer and, save for AMC, was the last of the independents. AFAIK no company used the Hill Holder after Studebaker's demise until Subaru revived it - but I could be wrong.

Ed

ateixeira

Frank: what? Me talk a lot. Nah...

Hill Holder would be cool if you were towing and had to stop on an uphill.

Drove an XL7 today (wife got a freebie offer), and was very happy to get back in my Forester. Man those things are tippy, it's scary. The XL7 is so long it should beep when you put it in reverse. And it's tall and long, but not wide. The Forester is actually wider. I could reach over and close my wife's door in the XL7, basically.

Pros? V6 was peppy, low range, 3 rows (tight leg room and cargo when deployed, though).

Cons? Body welds visible. Cheap, cheap carpets. Unfinished edges on some plastics.

Prices were low, but you get what you pay for. I was not impressed. I'd run and buy a Mazda MPV instead, if there was a need to seat 7.

-juice

cat_and_bear

Elliot, you have not got the things quite right yet. As I have said, the temp control is mainly used to control the auto mode. In one of my high end Toyota cars, if you turn off the auto mode, the temp knob will do nothing at all. You can turn it, kick it, bite it, nothing will happen at all!

On the other side, Subaru's engineers decided to allow you to adjust the temp in the manual mode. Think about this... when driving in a cold weather, you keep the heater high all the time, suddenly, you need to lower the room temperature. One thing you can do with the Subaru system is to turn off the auto mode, adjust the temp knob to a lower setting then the system will turn on the fan to bring lots of cold air in. This will cool down the car faster. In other words, the system just allows the temp to be another thing which can be manually adjustable. Yes, it is possible to do this without the help of an A/C or a heater. Sure, this extra feaure will confuse lots of people.

-bear

beachfish

My '86 GL 4wd wagon had the hill holder on it and it worked just fine every 3 or 4 years when I'd remember to try it. I learned to drive on a stick shift in the mountains, so I didn't need it and forgot it was even there.

It never caused a single problem in the 14 years I had the car.

Maybe they 'fixed' it.

John

kate5000

I've got 2003 Forester brochure from the dealer, and noticed that fuel tank capacity is now 15.9 gal. I think 1998-2002 models had 16.4 gal.
Oh well... I really wanted to see more range not less...

eps105

Bear,

I for one sure am confused now! ...Like I wasn't before.

Suffice it to say and I not going to try to figure anything else out until I can play with it a little more.

All I do know is this: Without needing a PhD, anyone can operate the XS climate control in full manual mode *if* you press the OFF button before touching any other controls.

How the temp knob behaves in manual mode is left for each of us to figure out on our own!

Elliot

eps105

It was always 15.9 gallons. IIRC, I've seen it either misquoted at 16.4 gallons or perhaps the '98 MT models had a larger tank... or something like that. I can't remember the exact reason.

I wouldn't have minded an 17-18 gallon tank. With 15.9, I can usually sqeeze out close to 300 miles in mixed driving. I'd like to comfortably go 350-400.

Elliot

rsholland

has only a 13.2 gal tank. The new ones are 15.9, I believe.

Bob

ateixeira

I'm pretty sure my Forester has the same size gas tank, 15.9 gallons.

My wife's Legacy has a 16.9 gallon tank, and that extra gallon goes a long way. She routinely approaches 400 miles on a tank, while I'm not sure if I've ever reached that mark. Maybe once.

Maybe I'm more conservative, too, but still. Long range is a nice feature.

-juice

ffsteve

eps and cat_and_bear,

You know, when you get down to the basics, the Subaru Auto A/C simply works very, very well (as do all, in my experience). Trying to reverse-enginer its functions to determine the logic will only result in more frustration when all we want to do is drive our cars in comfort.

I admit to not being 100% satisfied with the system either, but upon reflection I don't think I have ever used anything but the A/C On/Off button (not the system button) and the Fresh/Recirc button in 18 years of enjoying the feature on my cars. OK, I press the defrost button on occasion to help it along when necessary, but have never had to adjust the fan or modes otherwise.

And I've been tempted. The Cressida had a nifty motorized tray containing the detailed mode and fan controls. Pressing a button would cause the tray to motor out of the dash, revealing the additional controls. You could set the controls, and press the button again to cause the tray to recess back into the dash. The engineer in me (and the little kid) wanted to play with that thing all the time, but I never could drum up a good reason to!

All the best. Enjoy your A/C, enjoy your rides, and drive carefully.

Steve

cat_and_bear

Elliot,

Exactly. I can't agree with you more. The more I got to know Subaru cars, the more I am convinced that the company is really run by a bunch of nerdy engineers. Engineers all love to add in more functions into a product but usually this will only confuse more users. Sometimes engineers just do not realise that not every would think in the engineers way.

Steve,

I did not get caught by the temp knob design as Elliot did but I did get lost with the recirculation button at the beginning. When the A/C is in auto/recirculation mode,
you will have to push the recirculation button once to disable the auto mode then
push the button again to bring in fresh air. My wife even thought the a/c was broken at first!

-bear

ffsteve

That hurt!

With pocket protector and slide rule at the ready,
Steve

rsholland

all this discussion on the Forester's auto climate control convinces me that Subaru has hired Rube Goldberg to oversea in their HVAC department. When the Outback H-6 debuted with it's auto AC, I had complaints about that unit too. As I recall, you can't view the outside temperature and the inside temperature at the same time.

Bob

tom_k

lark6: Ah yes, I can remember where the Studebaker dealership was in my home town back in the 50's... Unfortunately I have never driven a Studebaker. I understand they were pretty innovative, and had a good engineering dept. They certainly had innovative styling, e.g. Hawk & Avanti. Have you ever considered starting up a Studebaker discussion on the Town Hall? :-)

But back to the main subject. If the hill-holder was standard with Studebaker for so long, they apparently got it right. I thought I had heard stories of other manufacturers trying it also, although I am unable to say for certain which. I can swear that I have even seen aftermarket kits for universal installation. When I wrote that it never caught on as a standard feature, I meant that it never became commonplace across the board like say, rear window defrosters. Beats me why not.

ateixeira

Anyone reading now - join us for the chat, starting soon! There's a link at the top of this page.

-juice

stv99

Hi folks, hope someone can help me out here.
I have a 2001 Forester S+ with approximately 25k miles. Lately, I I've been hearing a squeal or squeak coming from underneath the car. The sound is only audible at 5-10mph, rolling from a stand still, and sometimes in reverse. The noise only occurs sometimes, not always.
I have taken it to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong, plus they couldn't reproduce the noise.
please help.

eps105

Shame on me for writing so much about how I think the auto climate control should work without really trying it all out first!

First and foremost, I owe Bear and big apology for disagreeing with his previous posts on the matter....

Last night while driving home, it was 80 degrees out. Climate control temp was set at 75. I turned off the auto mode and left the temp at 75. Now, based on my previous posts, what I would have expected to happen is the 80 degree outside air to now be partially heated since the temp dial is midway between cool and hot, like a manual climate control would.

Nope! It was fresh, 80 degree outdoor air! Moving the temp knob anywhere between 65 and 80, it was the same, unheated outdoor air. When I moved it to 85, suddenly it got burning hot... and the vent selector moved itself to the floor registers.

So, as it turns out everything Bear and Steve said are correct - - there is no true manual mode on the Forester XS climate control, only manual override of some functions while maintaining semi-automtic functionality. The system, even in manual mode, will attempt to maintain the temperature set on the dial given the constraints of whatever the user has not manually set.

I will admit a few things here:
1) Yes.... I'm an engineer, and LOVE to understand how things work. Please don't hate me.
2) Everything I've discussed is moot, because the Auto mode works so well, I have no desire to use manual mode, although it is nice to know I can override some things while everything else stays automatic. For those of you considering an XS, please don't be turned off by any apparent complexity. It's a great system and just as intuitive to set as a manual system, like the one in the X.

Elliot

stever

lol, now I'm confused (as usual). You only got the 80 degree fresh air because you turned off the auto mode - otherwise the AC would have kicked in to bring the temp down to the 75 degree setting?

Steve (the other one)
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

cat_and_bear

It's Ok, Elliot, I am an engineer, too. We all know too well what engineers love to do. Talk about study. An engineer friend has already spent three months studying the BMW I-drive system. I heard he was only half way through.

Drove the XS again this morning... played with the A/C a bit. Guess what? I turned off the auto mode, everything else off, then adjusted the temp. Nothing happened. The temp function was disengaged. Now I AM confused!

One thing I do know is that next time in an interview, if I find a candidate who can operate the A/C through the I-drive system, I will hire him right at the spot!

-bear

ducktapeguy

Has anyone disassembled their dashboard of a 2001 Forester, and can anyone tell me how much room there is underneath the ashtray? The reason I'm asking is because I removed the cupholders of another car, and I noticed a lot of unused space underneath the center console, just a couple of wires running through. If the forester also has space down there, I'd like to mount some things underneath the center console out of sight. If this is confusing, the area I'm talking about is directly in front of the shift lever, right under the little storage area in front of the ashtray. I don't want to disassemble my whole dash and find out there's no room.

Also, has anyone ever attached a roof rack to the factory rails? I'm not talking about bike racks or ski racks, but the basket type things. I have a large roof rack that I want to attach, but I don't want to spend the money for the custom attachments since it will only be for a one time use. The only problem is that the factory rails are kinda odd shaped, neither round or flat, so it's not that easy to improvise something to fit. I was thinking of using flat bottom U-bolts, similar to the ones they use to hold leaf springs onto trucks, and using those to loop underneath the crossbars. Anyone have any other ideas?

hypov

How much space are you looking for?
Went through my '98 OB and '99 OBS. Although they aren't the '01 Forester, I would guess it would be similar. Maybe juice could give a better reference. Anyway, IIRC, there is room for something like a radar detector size. However, I would bet and caution that the SRS control unit resides in that vicinity, and wouldn't have anything there that might interfer with it.

-Dave

jimbob17

I had a 1987 Subaru GL that I bought used (5 years) in 1992. It was one of the best cars I ever owned. Everything worked when I bought it and everything worked when I traded it in on a 2003 Forester.
The timing belt broke two or three times on the 87 with no major problems. My first question is does a broken timing belt/chain cause expensive major damage on a 2003 Forester. The second is where are the air intakes located on the engine. I understand if you drive through high water and the water goes into the air intakes there can be a trip to the bank.
By the way I checked your discussions before I closed the deal on the Forester and appreciate your sharing the knowledge you have.
The 2003 Forester X is a great ride.