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Comments
Ditto. Whether at home or in our cars, the thermostats always become battlegrounds.
Forester has the ONLY "Good" bumpers in its class. And it's the only car. Coincidence? I doubt it.
My A/C cranks. I do have tint, but it'll put icicles on my nose above fan setting 1.
-juice
Where are people coming up with the numbers? I've looked through material that came with the 2002 Forester, but can't find anything. Would it make a difference depending on the type of wheel; alloy vs. styled steel?
You will find when you start to do the plugs that it is truly a pain in the [non-permissible content removed] in that engine. If it's your first time doing plugs, set aside a couple hours at least. Make sure you get the anti-seize lube, the proper spark plug socket, gap the plugs to spec, and maybe even get a partner to hold the windshield wiper fluid out of the way so you don't have to siphon it out.
As for your air filter efforts, I'm surprised your dealer agreed to go halvsies with you on the air filter housing when it sounds like the part being mis-handled during the K&N installation? You might want to give them some "customer service" credit rather than guff for that one.
For steelies, it's a little higher, I just use 75 for both.
100 lb-ft is definitely higher than spec, though. If they're all even, it's still probably OK, but I'd go with what Subaru specifies.
-juice
Thanks,
Mike
Am contemplating 20% all 'round. IIRC, my Camry has 20% back / 35% front - but those fronts are a bit wimpy in the summer here in the Mojave.
FWIW any front tint is illegal here, so tinting with repect to the law is moot.
There sure is a lot of glass in this baby - no more SAD for you morose Pacific NWers, eh?
s(quinty)rp
Mike
Vitaly
Wheel nut tightening torque:
90 N.m (9.1 kgf-m, 65.7 ft-lb)
CAUTION:
Tighten the wheel nuts in two or three steps
by gradually increasing the torque and working
diagonally, until the specified torque is reached.
For drum brake models, excess tightening of
Wheel nuts may cause wheels to “judder”.
Do not depress the wrench with foot;
Always use both hands when tightening.
Make sure the bolt, nut and nut
seating surface of the wheel are free from oils.
-Frank P.
This 'feature' is up there near the top of my 'like' list. Matchless outward visibility.
The only issue on your list that applies to mine so far are the multiple rattles. Maybe it's because studs are legal here, which really roughen the surface of pavement, but mine just keeps developing more and more rattles. I keep my tire pressure down to 31 mainly because of this. If I used 36-40psi as some do, I think pieces of the car would start falling off.
Mike
I was going to respond to your post but can't honestly answer what I expect to be the "most common reoccurring problem". Partly this is because the current model is still too new to have developed much in the way of bad habits but I also have high hopes that there won’t be any problem areas to speak of. The previous model was somewhat prone to rattles but the current model seems to be noticeably more solid. Jack's winter ordeal aside, I don't have a single rattle in mine. The only "fault" that I know of is the "rough idle" that is common with boxer engines. However, that isn't really a fault because there's nothing wrong with the engine. FYI: In case you've not experienced it, the roughness I'm referring to is the boxer engine's tendency to shake the body slightly while at idle.
-Frank P.
Good point but if that's your biggest complaint then I'd say the Forester is pretty well constructed :-)
-Frank P.
Craig
I've become a little disappointed with my car's acceleration lately. Nothing has gone bad with the car; in fact, as I've just passed 8500 miles, the gas mileage continues to improve and I can now go a full week between fillups, a noticeable gain. But I want a little more "pep" in the drive. I tend to accelerate, if not drive, conservatively, and rarely allow the engine to rev over 3.5K. E.g., when going uphill on freeways, I'll disengage cruise control if it kicks in to maintain the usual 74 mph/3K RPM I keep it at. I rarely merge so fast as to rev over 4K as well, mainly because of mileage concerns, but also because I don't want to "strain" the engine. So I guess my first question is, am I straining the engine by allowing it to rev over 4K in these situations? Can/should I satisfy my need for speed without burning out the engine, or should I think about trading up to an XT? Are there any engine modifications I should consider, or would their voiding the warranty not be worth the bother?
gmginsfo- The answer is no, the only thing you're doing is burning gas a little faster. Have you heard the term red-line? That refers to the point on your tachometer where the markings turn to red (appropriate eh?). On the Forester this occurs at 6,500 rpm. Which means that you can rev all the way to that point with out harming the engine (in fact some people argue that you occasionally should just to exercise the engine). Also, you don't need to worry about revving past that point and harming the engine as the ECU is programmed to prevent that from happening.
-Frank P.
Do you have an auto transmission? Because your comment about the cruise control confused me. I'm assuming this would not happen with a manual transmission.
If auto, I suspect that's the biggest problem. Manual transmission Foresters are quite peppy. You can normally drive around on the low end grunt alone, meaning shifts at 4200rpm or so. I never had a complaint with my 5-spd Outback that had the same engine. It was no XT, but it was more than adequate for normal driving.
Auto trans does indeed sap the life out of the 2.5-H4, so you lose a lot of the pep. My wife's Forester is an auto, and it's not nearly as responsive as 5-spds.
Craig
Yikes! 4200 is low end? What's midrange?
I wanted to purchase a Prius and the local Toyota dealers are taking deposits but delivery dates are very indefinite. The wait could be as long as six months. Therefore, I am now looking at the Forester (I test drove one some time ago and it was great). However, I wanted to know if there are any real problems with the 2004 as I suffered a huge loss on a Ford Escape that was a lemon and I am very wary about another problem vehicle. I live in Miami and drive only in the city so snow, etc. do not factor in my decisions.
thank you.
Craig
Keep in mind that I'm very pleased with an 04 XT and an 03 OBW - but I live in New England where AWD is really beneficial. Also, my previous Forester was an 03 XS. So I've spent a fair amount of time (>22k) in the new style Forester.
Honestly, negating the AWD, and blinding acceleration of the XT, my 99 Mercury Sable LS was a much better vehicle dollar for dollar than either of my Foresters. The 03 OBW on the other hand does compete better against other vehicles of the same style, IMO.
And its only my opinion. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Larry
What do you really mean...that the Mercury Sable has better reliability than the Forester...less component failure?? If so what has been your specific problems with the Forester?
Mike
Riley, I do not own a Forester (yet), but I've driven them a good deal. The handling is good, and the driving position and visibility are outstanding. As for reliability, I'm only going on statistics, and it would appear that the Forester gets above average marks, though not maybe quite as high as Honda or Toyota.
Zman
Must agree with zman re the handling and visability - loved it when I test drove the Forester.
Also, I have two large dogs and my boyfriend would love an extra car for his surfboard Lastly we always hope to move back to LA. Did not want to go into all of that but I realize without it, it may sound absurd to buy a AWD in Miami.
Thanks again. Was worried about some of the gasket problems posted on the Forester problem board. Just cannot take another financial hit on a "lemon" after my two year Ford Escape problems.
Craig
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Forester has been named number one SUV in both Oz and Canada (below). From desert to snow-country AWD will come in handy. Nevermind drivng on flooded FL 'sand' trails.
My in-laws have a first gen Prius - nice enough little car but I never felt safe in it (and that was before seeing the abysmal NHTSA crash results!) Zero to 60 in 13 seconds is unsafe in these parts as well.
I don't think you have any cause for concern with a Forester - been around for a while now and has proven to be a solid all-around package.
-srp
http://www.subdriven.com/artman/publish/article_116.shtml
http://www.subdriven.com/artman/publish/article_115.shtml
Personally, I survived quite well without AWD for 30 of my 32 years of driving. That includes the NW, SE, and SW, so I've driven through about anything and everything, short of a tornado (came close once in OK, however).
That being said, now that I've had the pleasure of driving 3 different Subaru's in the last two years, especially living in the NE, I don't think I'd want to go back to FWD, and definitely not RWD.
I do think that to properly maintain an AWD car the owner needs more mechanical awareness (savvy, whatever) than for the average FWD car. Just look at the quality and depth of the posts on these forums. Although you could argue I suppose that by just knowing about these forums we're not the average owners.
My only point is that the car needs to fit the mission, and not everyone has the same mission.
My other comment - well if I wanted leather, pwr drivers seat, moonroof, ABS, 6 speaker stereo w/6 disc changer, auto, V6 w/200hp, mileage as good (or better) than the XT's, 80-90% as good as an X or XS's, a non-psychotic automatic climate control system, and wanted to get out around $20K after rebates and incentives its tough to beat a Sable LS.
BTW - I owned model years 86, 90, 94,& 99 of the Sable so you can assume I was rather fond of them. Biggest reliability problem I had - front rotors, went through a set on each of the 90's series before 20K.
Definitely not going to haul two big dogs in the back of the Sedan, but the LS wagon is cavernous by comparison.
All depends on the mission.
Larry
IRT the gasket problem, every manufacturer has had to deal with similar problems with their cars at one time or other (even Toyota). IMO, how they handle a given issue is equally or more important than the issue itself. It's in this area that I think Subaru really shines. From what I've observed, they stand behind their product and work with owners to try and find a solution to any problem, the gasket problem being an excellent example. In most cases the repair was fully covered, even when the vehicle was outside the warranty period. And now Subaru has developed an additive for the coolant system that will hopefully solve any future problems but if not, they have agreed to extend the warranty period so owners will be covered all the way to 100k miles for that particular issue.
-Frank P.
Foresters have great ergonomics: though some people do not like the location of the cruise control switches, most all of the other controls fall readily to hand and are easy to use and see. It is a very easy car in which to load and unload people and cargo. You neither have to climb up nor hunker down to seat youself, nor to load your stuff. (You sit at the ideal height for most drive-up ATMs, BTW.) The expanse of glass makes for excellent visibility, though in Miami I'd definitely spring for window tinting to the extent the law allows.
Finally, as you noticed, it's an enjoyable car to drive. Its looks are deceptive; while it doesn't track like a sports car it doesn't drive as "tall" as it looks. Indeed I've found it a better handler than many passenger cars that are lower to the ground.
If you get out of Dade County and into the backroads of Florida, the AWD system may actually help you. I often drive some pretty rough roads in eastern PA but I've also had my Forester on a number of dirt backroads in the Carolinas, where it performs well. My intro to Subarus was in the mountains of GA/NC/TN where a lot of hikers, campers, paddlers, outdoorsy folks and people who just neede to get around in bad weather owned them. IMO Subarus would be great cars for other parts of the rural South, but I suspect that many people can't get past the fact that they're Japanese. I still see a number of right-hand-drive Legacy wagons serving as US Mail carriers in rural parts of PA.
(Aside: Maybe Foresters should be marketed as Chevrolets in the South, as they are in India? Food for thought.)
Since you live in a climate where heated seats, mirrors and windshields aren't likely necessary, the Forester X may make sense for you as it lacks those features. The X also has a manual climate control system, which does not have a mind of its own (as apparently the XS/XT system does). The X's unpainted lower body cladding doesn't show little nicks and scratches like the painted cladding on the XS/XT.
Of course if you're looking for a little hot rod only the XT will do. However, since you were shopping the Prius I'll guess that's not the case. The X and XS run on regular unleaded.
Good luck with your decision.
Ed
(edit: Looks like Frank echoed my thoughts a lot more succintly while I was composing this message. ;-*)
FYI: The advantages of unpainted lower body cladding is one of Juice's favorite things to point out. Not that his 98 having this feature has anything to do with it ;-)
I guess it's the nature of these forums that necessitates repeating info. I certainly understand why someone wouldn't want to read through almost 14,000 posts (interesting though they may be) to find the info they seek.
-Frank P.
2004 XT, but would like to know if cable chains
could still be used on the front. Anyone have
experience with this? If so, what tire was used,
considering the slightly different dimensions of
different brands and models.
Ken
I really like the Prius and won't say anything bad about it. More people should consider hybrids.
Forester offers AWD and decent room in a fun, affordable, safe package. You do get a full size spare, more towing, more payload, more roof rack capacity, and a lot more cargo space. The X/XS are quicker, the XT much quicker.
Tint: I have 35% all around, but none on the windshield.
Most common problem? #1 would be the rear wheel bearings, but note that only the 1998-2001 models are affected. In 2002 they started using the Legacy bearings, which have been fine.
2nd most common problem is probably the head gaskets. Subaru has extended the warranty on those to 8 years/100k miles, and they've been covering them under the powertrain warranty all along.
What I can say is that if you join the Edmunds.com Subaru Crew, you will be taken care of. We have SoA representation and ask around, they definitely take good care of us. Subies tend to be reliable, but if yours isn't, you'll have the tools here to assist you in getting that corrected.
Mike: simple, they forgot the turbo in your model. Clearly you have to go back and get that fixed ASAP. ;-)
-juice
Interestingly, I read it'll be FWD or AWD. In the FWD version, engine + electric motor power the front axle. In the AWD version, the rear axle gets power from a 2nd electric motor, but not the engine. There is no driveshaft going to the rear.
So it should be efficient, but the AWD will be only part-time.
I found it interesting because that means the AWD hybrid will *not* be based on the regular AWD Highlander, which has a VC and full-time AWD.
-juice
For example, it would now be possible to have a mid-engine AWD Porsche Boxster, with an electric motor driving the front wheels. I've also read that the all-new upcoming Acura RL may have AWD, with electrically driven rear wheels (and 300 HP).
Bob
BTW, that old GMC motorhome with the Toronado drivetrain was way ahead of its time. Unfortunately, like many GM vehicles of that era, suffered from poor engineering and poor execution. The idea was spot on, however.
Bob
I guess I'd be willing to try it, though, if other advantages proved worthy.
-juice
Bob
We'll see. So far we've only seen previews of how it works.
-juice