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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
-Frank P.
-Frank P.
Greg
Kyle,
I wouldn't worry too much about the car, as long as it was reasonably maintained, it should last a while. The newer foresters (2000+) don't seem to have as many head gasket and wheel bearing problems as the older generation, or maybe it's still to early. Either way, I think if you were to have any defects with the wheel bearings, they would have shown up by now. As for the maintenance, there's not a whole they could have missed with only 25K. Probably change the oil, maybe the spark plugs, and that's about it.
Where did you hear this? Can we get that in the NY Metro Area?
Ford Tempos? That was a puttputtmobile, cause they just couldn't go uphill very well, especially if you had any accessories like AC on.
Lou, who is probably going to wait for the 2008 Forester redesign at this rate...
The only concern I have is what would happen if I took it to a drive through car wash. I can see one of those "brushless" strips getting caught in there and ripping the whole thing off. Along with much wailing and gnashing of teeth (on my part).
I've had great luck with LeBra car bras. I think they're made by Saddleman. I also think Saddleman was /is the OEM for Ford. I used the OEM bra on my Sable, and a LeBra from PepBoys on the wife's Honda. Both lasted very well.
The thing to remember is to make sure the bra's rear edge fits very snugly over the hood, or the vibration from flapping when you're going at highway speeds will beat the devil out of the paint. You may not be able to hear or see the flapping so you'll need to check periodically.
Some people like the full nose bras and I think they can look sharp on the right car. They can however be a real moisture trap. Granted most eveything on the nose is plastic, but something to look out for.
I've yet to meet the person who takes the bra off to let everything dry after a rain storm......
This post went so long I'll call it my 0.04 worth.
HTH Larry
Would anybody, who's been using Forester more than 2 years, tell me about the transfer case, its reliability and the peculiarity. Does anybody have any breakage?
All messages are appreciated. Thanks.
Welcome,
Greg
I have to wait until August to buy - hopefully there will be a few fire sales on '03s by that time...
Does TMV factor in cashback incentives? Since it seems like folks are paying near invoice (without cashback), is it realistic to get cashback on top of that? Thanks for any insight - I've never bought car with any cashback involved.
Welcome Moscow (I immediately thought of Moscow, Idaho, lol).
Don't forget the chat tonight.
Steve, Host
You're lucky - those of us in North America don't get the 2-speed transfer cases at all! Or the self-leveling rear suspensions, or the Euro-spec headlamps and/or HID lights, or the headlight washers, or the nifty folding armrests built into the inner front-seat backrest bolsters, and so forth.
- jack
I hope, Edmunds and its Subaru crew will help me to get a gladness of this car.
Some ideas for Sizov. Here in Australia, the Forester has proved very robust. Thy are used extensively by the emergency services, (Police and Ambulance) as rapid response vehicles and in varied roles. They have proven as tough (or tougher) as the regular V8 pursuit cars more commonly used and see high mileages.
Subarus are well known in Australia for living apparently for evor, with many twenty year old Subarus still used for day to day travel.
I have heard no problems of transmission failure with the dual range or auto box. One defect with the manual gear box is a shuddering clutch in cold/wet conditions. Supposedly this is a function of the clutch construction but it is irritating.
Hope that helps
Graham
The symptoms I had was a shudder when the weather was cool and wet until I guess the clutch dried out. I thought the wet was more of an issue than the cold but it sure happened over the winter.
Your original question was about the durability of the 2-speed transfer case. While we can't get that here (rats!), all my research says that even where the dual-range case is offered, it's available only with the manual transmission. Can you get it in Russia with the automatic?
- jack
I'm not sure if the clutch shudder fix is going to affect your ability to get into reverse. Reverse is typically the hardest gear to get into. Sometimes shifting into a forward gear before going to reverse helps to line up the splines and eases the selection.
Ken
Steve, Host
sorry I should have been cleared. I meant 4x4 transmission by "transfer case" and here in Russia, the Forester has the dual-range case with manual tranny only.
Steve,
how's your Trooper? Mine runs well. Though the Forester is purchased for my wife, I also plan to use it sometimes. That's a reason I recommended her the Forester instead any "female" car. Speaking friendly, she doesn't know this yet.
I would join the forum again as soon as my Forester comes. It takes me about a month.
Thanks again.
Things changed since. You would not dream of owning
a Japanese Car.In fact very few people were lucky enough to own Zaparozhez.(for those who don't know -
it is a Russian version of FIAT BAMBINO)
We in Australia get Dual Range Transmission and
now 2.5l engine.
Low range is -20% of normal ratio.
It is good enough if you want to go offroad or tow a trailer.
I got my car in Feb. and very happy with it in all aspects and I'm sure you'll be too.
Vitaly
Good luck,
-alexey.
I didnt have the problem on the previous Subaru so I was hopefull it would improve.
Same block, too, so with less bore and stroke it's probably more robust. Same tranny, so again it's saddled with less weight and less torque to manage. Durability should be quite good.
You could try a synthetic gear oil, for about $7 a quart, I think you need 3-4 quarts. The job is easy, just two bolts, they're tight though. The synchro might be a little worn, so don't force it in. Try 1st, then reverse.
-juice
I'll take the review but what about some performance figures? Also, pricing info has been available on the web for a couple of weeks now. Why can't Edmunds get it? One last thing, there's no way that the TMV for a 2003 Forester is $2k more than a comparably equipped CRV or Escape.
-Frank P.
Steve, Host
* heated seats
* windshield wiper de-icers front and rear
* rear LSD
* heated mirrors
* 16" alloys (vs. 15")
* head/chest side air bags (vs. chest only)
* 67% longer powertrain warranty
To name a few.
-juice
I excluded the little things like the 2nd odo and temp gauge, but those matter to some people. The Honda has a tray beneath the seat and the rear seat slides forward and you could say the little extras offset each other.
-juice
-Bob
Steve, Host
What is the Cayenne (not Cayenne S of course) owner going to think ater you smoke him from a stoplight with a sport-ute that costs $40k less? HEH HEH
TWRX
- D.
My fault really, I was trying to save two milkshakes from toppling. Pulled on the wheel to lean over, steered right into the back of a brand new parked 2003 Acura TSX...which in turn hit a green cadillac (also parked)...
Front of the subie is mangled, lost all my air conditioning fluid, coolant is ok, headlight is gone. Spilled milkshakes sat in hot sun for 8 hours, now interior smells like fetid cheese.
No collision insurance means this is a costly repair....still not sure what the TSX is gonna cost to fix....the shame of hitting a parked car...makes you want to end it all.
I hope you don't mean than, especially the latter part. On the bright side, hitting a moving car may be less shameful, but can end in more tragic ways.
So you learned your milk shake lesson without injuring anyone, that's not so bad.
I once hit the curb while trying to catch a toppling smoothie (VW cupholders are/were way too small). While it only resulted in a scratched rim, the car was brand new! My bright side was that I had gotten leather (to clean up spills of my son more easily). But here it was my own mess that was the first thing to be wiped up.
- D.
Does anyone know if tinting the left back window that is the antenna, will mess with radio reception?? I got the Sierra Gold, and looking at this bronze tint that should looks sweet on the Forester.
Thanks again
Didjfan
Got my question answered.
So being me, I got the socket out, removed the back bolt and clips and had her filter removed and reinstalled in about 5 minutes.
Just the way BOTH owner's manuals say to do it.
Don't know why they ran the A/C lines so differently, but they must have had a reason.
So at least on the 03 Forester's pulling the entire box seems easiest.
I'm waiting for the 05 Turbo Forester. I want to see how well the 04's drive train stands up to the extra ponies and torque. If they do well I'll take my beating on the trade (03 to 05 - ain't gonna be pretty) with a smile just to get the turbo
Larry
When I got my WRX in January, it had a $500 cash to dealer incentive, but they built that into the deal. Coincidentally, I got the car for about $500-700 under invoice. Probably would have been shooting for invoice otherwise.
Craig
IIRC, New England gets hit with a higher freight charge than us folks in the Northeast. If you are close to the NY State border, you might want to check there and possibly save some $$. Also, in NY State, I believe that dealers can not charge more than $20 for the documentary fee.
Those will be expensive milkshakes.
Not any more - they figure that my 2003 XS is worth about 1/2 of what I paid for it as a trade in, better as a private sale, but still well under where I'd like to see it.
Just for yuks, I went back and rechecked the Sable and Honda we traded last year and early this year. The Sable (traded in July) was less than half of the Galves price and the Honda (traded in Jan 03) was about 2/3.
Most of us that follow the used car market have seen it soften over the last year, but it looks like the 0% financing, rebates, incentives etc have finally "officially" hammered the used car market.
I still want the turbo.....
Larry
Cheers
Pat
What is the "Kelley Blue Book" Price?
Steve, Host
For the XT I've ordered, I plan to trade my wife's '91 Grand Caravan AWD. It's a very nice 1-owner with 105K miles (only about 3/4 of what would be average for the age). Kelley's online Dealer Wholesale value is between $2500-$2800 depending on how I rate the conditon.
I have not found a single dealer who will pay more than $1200 for this vehicle. So, from where I stand, either Kelley prices are still VERY generous, or else Portland dealers are bloodthirsty pirates.
- jack
I researched the WRX column-mount boost gauge (which mounts on the right side of the column), decided that the only thing it blocked was the deep-red-zone region of the tach (not important to me), and ordered it on my soon-here XT.
I wonder why Subaru has switched the location to the left side of the column? In that location it almost surely will block vision of the important bottom-1/4-tank section of the fuel gauge, and also part of the water-temp gauge (though probably the unimportant cold end). I can't imagine what was gained by switching from the right-hand to the left-hand location. Grrrrr.
- jack
Did you see Kym's reply to your message about potential boost gauge blockage?:
---
subaru kym: I went and sat in it [the XT] again today, just to answer your question :P And seated, the boost gauge does not block view of the gas or water temperature gauges. The steering wheel sits low enough so that no view of the console is obstructed by the boost gauge, but with ample room in between the seat and the steering wheel.
Given that, you shouldn't need to relocate the gauge. However, you'll probably want to come in and sit in one and get an idea for how it feels yourself.
---
And another person says that if you install it yourself, it will mount on either side.
-tom