Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

leo2633

takes a 17 mm socket (or wrench) on my 2001 Forester and my wife's 2003 Outback. I buy the drain plug washers at my dealer's parts dept., so I know I have the correct size. I change the washer at every oil change.

Len

subkid

yvrwfc,

you made a lot of good observations. IMO, especially, that the size of Forester is just right.

I can't comment on auto trans. as I drive manual, but engine is sensitive in 1st gear, reacts to acc. pedal. "Jerkiness" isn't normal and is probably something to do with the particular car. Nothing to do with AWD. If I had a dime for every car salesman, "AWD expert" I met, I would have been driving Cadillac by now.

K

lfdal

yvrwfc - have them let you test drive another Forester. That one may have some issues.

Larry

c_hunter

I would recommend driving another -- sounds like that particular model may need a little adjustment to the throttle.

Keep in mind that you can remove the crossbars when not in use. That's what I do on my Outback and my wife's Forester, and it helps quiet the car down a lot on the highway.

We also test drove the CR-V, but it felt like a bus to me. Forester is much more nimble. However, the CR-V has a lot more room in the back seat. If that is a concern to you, also consider the Outback -- base models are reasonably priced, and overlap the Forester in many ways. Also a great driving car.

Craig

ivestorpark

If all else fails, I'll buy a locking washer from the dealer and then use it as a comparison in locating them elsewhere. Usually when I buy a new car, I buy a new oil filter wrench to get the factory installed one off, then never use the wrench again.

Has anybody bought any rubber floor mats for their Forester? I dislike carpeted floor mats, as they're almost impossible to keep clean. I like Rubber Queen, but their website is apparently been deactivated. The shape of the floorboard will no doubt cause a lot of cutting on whatever style that I select. I've seen the Subaru Forester rubber mats on a website, but find those "all-weather" mats as hard to keep clean as carpeted ones. They may be find for a work truck, but I prefer a smoother finish for my car and something easier to clean. I usally hose them off every few weeks at the car wash, then Armor All them. If I can find a decent set of rubber mats, I'll use them and then place the carpeted ones back in the car before I sell it. Also the last pair of carpeted floor mats (Honda) that I had wore out in about three years. thx

lfdal

I bought the factory rubber mats for the 03 Forester and they were great except they leaked right around where the holding pin comes up through on the drivers side.

For the wife's Outback I bought a set of Husky Liners. They work great, and are the best way to protect the entire floor pan on a given side, IMO.

I'm glad you posted - it reminded me to order a set of Husky liners for my new Forester.

One word of caution on the Husky Liners - since they cover the entire floor pan, don't use Armor All on them - they'd be very slippery getting in and out of the car.

HTH

Larry

once_for_all

you are looking for a "crush" washer, not a lock washer.

I put the Subbie Forester mats in, they work great and the deep channels are super for holding water and debris. The driver's side pin hole is isolated from the channels so it does not drain the water down to the carpet. Looks are another matter, I personally like the ruggedness and functionality so looks aren't important. BTW, the driver's side carpet needs to come out in order for the rubber to go in.

John

speterson1

I also am not crazy about carpeted floor mats and so a couple years ago I did some research and decided on Weathertech floor mats. They hold a ton of water and are made from a very high grade rubber which is also quite soft and resistant to cracking. They can be found at www.weathertech.com, go there and click on the second square in the red strip, "Classic Premium Rubber Mats".

They're certainly not cheap, but I heartily recommend them. Ours are two years old and are in the same excellent condition they were they day I put them in. They are wonderful in the winter when your boots get loaded with snow and slush. I usually just pull them out and shake them well to get debris out, vacuuming if I've got a lot of junk in there. They have many sizes and shapes available and you select which type will best fit your car from the website. For my 2001 Forester I did not have to cut at all, they fit great right off the bat. The grey color matches the carpeting almost perfectly.

The only thing that makes these mats less than ideal is that over time they will slide up an inch or two. So that means every couple of weeks or so I have to reach down and pull them back an inch or two, which doesn't bother me. I imagine if this was a big deal for you you could align them perfectly and then try cutting a hole to match the Subaru floor mat anchor pin so it stays put, although I have no idea what to use to cut through these floor mats. I don't think it would be easy!

Bottom line, my wife and I love these floor mats and I will be surprised if they don't last longer than our Subie does!

njswamplands

all my cars have them. do a great job of holding a ton of spilt drinks. wife loves them also.

lark6

I bought them for my '00 Forester less than a week after I bought the car. Yes, they're not cheap but they are extremely durable and hold water, mud, snow, etc. as advertised.

The gray mats are an exact match for the gray carpet and upholstery in my car; not sure if they'd match the gray in the current-generation Forester. Fronts fit without trimming, rears with only a minor amount of trimming.

Keeping them clean means just hosing them out when the dirt gets intolerable. I treat the rubber occasionally (usually 2x/year) with Vinylex, which is less glossy and less slippery than ArmorAll. I buff them with a paper towel or cloth to remove any excess and reduce the slipperiness further.

I imagine when the day comes to sell my car the next owner will wonder why the carpeted mats are like new!

Ed

ateixeira

Interesting about the SSF being improved, I thought so given the roof rails and hood are aluminum. The Forester lost weight up high. I still kind of expected 4 stars, but light weight actually works against you here.

Funny Ka commercial. Did you know it came well before the New Beetle?

So Forester scores higher but doesn't get the top pick? Oh well, those in the know, know.

Try Sears for big socket sizes, they carry them. I bought individual sockets for 20mm, 22mm, and 24mm, IIRC.

-juice

ken_from_nj

ordered mine last fall for our 03 xs prem forester from www.1stsubaruparts.com - quite satisfied after this past winter. had the carpet back in for the summer but will put the rubber ones back in next month. - ken

leo2633

are excellent. I have them in my Forester and also in my wife's Outback. They are expensive, but I've never regretted buying them. We had them for our Odyssey, also. (Now THAT was an expensive set, since it was for all three rows of seats!) By the way, I keep the original factory carpet mats in place, and the Weather Techs fit perfectly right on top of them.

Len

joseph50

Driving into the sun is extra difficult in my 2001S due to the fact that the inside of the windshield is covered with a thin film. I can smear it with my hand.
No one has ever smoked in my car. I think I read somewhere that plastic dashboards "vaporize." Can this be the source of the film?
I use the interior protectant juice recommended, perhaps that, or something coming through my AC vents.
Anyone else dealing with the same problem?
Thanks.

c_hunter

I think it's called "outgassing", and it happens in all of my cars. Sometimes, I wash the windows and it comes back a few days later. I heard the Car Talk guys discuss this a while back, but don't recall what they suggested.

That reminds me, I need to wash those windows! Anybody know of a good product for cleaning windows, maybe a pre-moistened wipe? I normally use Windex and paper towels, which cleans nicely, but is a pain to use in cramped spaces like the windshield.

Craig

p0926

Yep, outgassing is the correct term. The source is the plastics used in today's cars. When they sit in the sun, there's a chemical reaction that causes the plastic to release molecules which accumulate on the inside of the windows. It's most noticeable on the windshield due to its proximity to the largest chunk of plastic in any vehicle, the dashboard. There's not much you can do but periodically clean the windows. As time goes by, the emission should eventually lessen. The good news is that I know of no evidence that outgassing is harmful to humans or the environment.

-Frank P.

subewannabe

outgassing is an ongoing process, worst at the very beginning (think new car smell) and will get temorarily worse every time you replace a plastic part or if you replace your windshield. Clean the inside of your windshield on a regular basis with a clean sponge and warm dishwater and remove the water and gunk with a small household squeegee, wiping the blade clean with a paper towel after each pass . Rags just wipe dirt ,grease and chemical build up around, paper towels create microscopic scratches and windex allows the stuff you dissolved to reappear somewhere else on the glass when the windex evaporates. Awful when youre driving into the sun!
mark

kens

Save money and don't buy the pre-moistened wipes. Many of them don't work very well and leave lint on the inside of your windows.

As it's been mentioned, using a squeege is the best way to clean the inside and outside of your windows. Use any kind of cleaner or just soap water and squeegee away. I use my California Car Blade and it works great. You'll be amazed how much clearer your windows are and how less prone they are to fogging up. The gunk on the inside of your windows provide a place for moisture in the air to collect.

When squeegee the inside, you might want to put a towel on the dash. Since the windshield is sloped towards you, the squeegee will drop water on the dash.

Another alternative -- newspaper. Newspaper is actually very good at cleaning windows because the fibers are abrasive enough to scrape away the gunk. It's also relatively lint free. The ink won't stick the windows (it will stick to the trim around the windows if you accidently brush up on it though).

Ken

crashton6

My wife says that it's me outgassing.=) I use Stoner's Invisible glass & wipe it off with newspaper. Seems that I have to do this every two weeks or so.

russski

I always use newspaper and methilated spirit to clean glass.
It always does an excellent job. I use the same materials when cleaning house windows too.

Vitaly

joseph50

Thanks for the day's worth of feedback.

lakepop

Stoners invisible glass is definitely....good stuff. Best glass cleaner I've found.

dnestr

Such a good habit to clean house windows by newspaper! Most of friends of mine do the same, though there is a lot of new cleaners. I guess your habit came from the remote past, from "total deficit time".
...
Good luck.

ivestorpark

Never heard of or saw Vinyex in an auto parts store. Where do you buy it and how much does it cost?

By the way does anybody know of a good cleaning compound for cars/trucks? Not crazy about the cleaner/waxes (2 in 1) products. Use to use Malm's cleaner, but they're expensive and the owner refused to honor his guarantee several years ago on a new product after I had been a loyal customer for a very long time (10 years +). Haven't bought a Malm product since.

Once: I thought the terms crush & locking washers were used interchangeably. Educate me!

lark6

I bought my last bottle at Pep Boys. About $7-8 per bottle. I've also bought it at my local NAPA store.

It's made by the makers of Lexol leather conditioner, so you should be able to find it anywhere Lexol is sold.

Ed

stever

I haven't seen it locally yet here in Boise, but haven't been looking too hard for it. I still have a few ounces of 303 left. How much was it per ounce, Ed?

Steve, Host

lark6

I'd have to go look at the bottle, Steve. Maybe on my lunch break as it's still in the car.

Ed

stever

No hurry. I had a mail-order price but lost it. Just curious to see how it compared to 303, which runs about a buck an ounce here.

Steve, Host

ballistic

I thought the terms crush & locking washers were used interchangeably. Educate me!

Lock washers come in several types; the most common is a split ring of spring steel. Tightening the nut compresses the ring, and the latter's sharp edges at the split help prevent the nut from backing off. This type of lock washer can readily be re-used, because it returns to its original uncompressed shape upon disassembly.

Crush washers are not spring steel; they're folded disks of soft metal. They're designed to deform (crush) as the nut is tightened, to form a seal. They are not to be re-used, because once crushed, they do not return to their original dimension.

In answer to an earlier message of yours, you should not rely on the threads of the drain plug to adequately seal against oil leakage. That is the job of the one-time-use crush washer. They're cheap; pick up a few from your dealer. Mine throws in a free crush washer with each oil filter.

lark6

0.5 liter or 16.9 fluid ounces.

Ed

once_for_all

for your clear explanation. The temptation to solve a leaking drain plug problem is to keep on tightening it (especially when you have a crankcase full of new oil), this has led to more than one disaster of stripped threads.

once_for_all

a while back someone posted that the current 2.5 liter has a large oil reservoir and that clearance between the crankshaft and max oil level on the dipstick was considerable. Based on that fact (which IIRC came from a factory Subaru mechanic) they always used 5 qts per change. Has anyone ever documented a problem related to an oil overfill up to a maximum of 5 qts? Why would Subaru say 4.3 quarts if 5 is ok?

John

russski

I had a good laugh when I read your followup post.
Yes, you right, I had to use a newspaper in old days, but for "different" purposes.

And actually I have learned about using newspaper for glass cleaning here in Australia many many moons ago. When I've tinted my car windows, I was told by the person who did the job - never use ammonia based products on tinted glass. The same time he suggested to use metho and newspaper.
I've tried this method and nothing yet convinced me that there is a better product on the market.
I have tried a few (supose to be good products) in between, and realized - it is just a "gimmick".
So, sometimes, there is a reason why you cant teach old dog new tricks.

Vitaly

rsunico

Thanks to all for their camaraderie and answers to prior questions. I've been on and off this list for over 2 years. Alas I sold my Forester today ... I needed to make room for my Mini Cooper S. I hope it will be as reliable (it will definitely be funner).. Regards.. Renato

c_hunter

I'd be curious to hear how you like the Mini -- looks like a fun car. I keep threatening to buy my wife one, since she takes up more than half the driveway with her Forester. Some days, I barely have room to park my car!

Craig

georgeinmd

I'd like to hear about the Mini, too. I used to drive an MG 1100 (a slightly "larger" (!) version of the original Morris Mini Minor (which the "Mini Cooper" is referencing). (I had a Morris Minor before that). Does anyone know how BMW was able to usurp the quintessentially British "Cooper" appellation? (I also used to drive a BMW 1600, then a 2002). -- George

ivestorpark

I've found that USA Today is excellent for wiping windows clean. No lint. Nothing else I've tried is close (clothe towels, paper towels, other newspapers, etc).

tincup47

BMW bought the Rover Group in 1994. At the time Rover Group consisted of Rover Cars, Land Rover, Mini, and MG. They also owned the right to several other classic British Automotive names like Triumph, Wollesley, Riley, etc. In 2000 BMW sold Land Rover to Ford and Rover cars and MG to a financial consorteum called the Phoenix group. They retained the right to the new Mini (which they had helped develop) and all of the other nameplates.

ballistic

I used to drive an MG 1100

Alec Issigonis was a bona fide genius. In addition to the Mini, he was responsible for (among other things) the Hydrolastic fluid-filled fore-and-aft-connected suspension on the MG 1100 Sport Sedan. For a car its size, the 1100 offered the most pitch-free ride available, feeling like a much larger, heavier vehicle. Yet at the same time, it provided amazing roll stiffness for flatter cornering than could be believed in a lightweight car with such phenomenal passenger-pampering ride qualities. Along with its Austin stablemate, that was a remarkable car.

crashton6

I think you'll love the Cooper S. I drove one with the works package two weeks ago & I'm still grinning. I wouldn't give up my Forester for one, but my Miata is another matter.

Chuck

stever

So $8 for 16+ oz - that's about 1/2 of my present brand. I'll have to look a bit harder for it - right now I shop for my car stuff at the hot tub store or REI (303) and the tack shop (Lexol leather products).

Steve, Host

gened1

Is menthilated spirit another name for vodka?
Gene

gmginsfo

Ken, Great to see others are using old newspapers to clean glass; they're the best! Also, does anyone other than me use vinegar and water as a glass cleaner?

One other source of dirty inside windshields: letting outside air flow thru the heater/defroster/vent blend modes. A friend of mine drives everywhere with his AC on RECIRC and keeps his entire interior much cleaner this way, even if he does use more gas. Me, I'll stick with fresh air, vinegar and vodka!

russski

Methylated Spirit:
Chemical Formula C2H5OH
Molecular Weight 46.08
Other Names: Metho, Alcohol Denatured, Ethyl Alcohol Denatured

Properties of Vodka closer to Isopropyl Alcohol
C3H8O.

Gened1, I do not recommend you to try either of those. The safest way is to buy Stolichnaya in the bottle shop. But don't drink when you drive.

russski

I forgot to mention that Metho is very cheap.
You can pick it up from any Hardware Store for about A$3 a 1L bottle (that is in Australia).
In US it is probably even cheaper.

Vitaly

gened1

As gmginsfo stated,
HC2H302 + H2O and newspaper (I'll have to try USA Today) is good too!
Gene
PS you are right don't drink this and drive!!

russski

I think you got general idea now :-)

subewannabe

dont drive and read USA Today at the same time either. I agree that it seems to clean better than most newspapers..maybe better quality inks .

kens

USA Today is a real newspaper? Sorry, couldn't resist.

The recent Windex products with vinegar work quite well.

Ken

fryingbologna

Thanks to you all (especially subkid), I go to pick out a Forester XS Premium leather package tomorrow. Leaning towards silver, although that will mean a week's wait (with loaner from local dealership in the meantime). There are also black and white sitting on the lot - I am also partial to white (hardly see any on the road, and the car I sold today was a white exterior/grey interior that I liked). Carcostcanada worked well to get me closer to invoice price, and Subaru of Calgary has been very helpful throughout the process. Beers to subkid! Literally!

I am currently adding the extended armrest, window tinting and 3M protective film as options. Can anyone (a) comment on obvious options that I may be missing, and (b) describe the upgraded security system, and whether it is worth adding. I really like the engine immobilizer concept, and dislike the annoying siren/honking horn idea.