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Comments
-Frank
Simple common sense applies. Very little can go wrong just because you miss a 7,5k oil change by a 1,000 miles (for instance). On the flip side, the manufacturer is obviously going to deny a claim when an engine fails in a car that's been driven 55k and never had the oil changed (yes this happens). I think the key here is that the owner make a "reasonable attempt" to comply with the scheduled maintenance guidelines. And yes, the manual states X months or X miles and you should indeed follow the whichever comes first rule. The "average" driver goes 15k a year so that's how the month-based schedule is calculated. Low mileage vehicles obviously need to stick to the calendar schedule while high mileage drivers (like me) only worry about the mileage-based schedule.
-Frank
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Ellen
By the way, the Forester uses the same SOHC 2.5L H4 engine as numerous other Subaru models. So if there were a widespread problem, it would be affecting many other cars as well. The only problem we are really aware of relates to head gaskets, but they cover those past warranty.
Craig
I installed a remote car starter on my 04 Forester XT (AT). Because I maintain my Forester in a garage at home, I don't use it daily but it's been great when I go visit friends, family, and restaurants. I start the vehicle from inside the house or building and let it run for several minutes.
The starters bypass the key's ignition when they operate, so it uses the same existing wiring as already in your car. As far as I know, every model comes with additional wiring to detect when you press the brake pedal or when you open the hood -- if you do so without turning the key's ignition to run, the remote starter shuts off power and the car's engine dies. So, your car will be safe from anyone driving off with it and you won't have the car time out (and turn itself off) if you forget to put the key in.
The model I installed is two-way, so the car transmits back to the remote that it's running, etc. It's also sophisticated enough that it has additional relays that, properly wired, can turn on the climate control system, rear window defogger, etc. Even without the additional relays, the XS and XT models can start warming up the seats if you remember to leave the switches turned on.
A friend at work says he'll never install a remote starter -- he wants to be able to hear the car in case something is amiss. The remote starter won't detect an abnormal running condition and turn itself off. But for such a relatively new car I wouldn't worry about it. If the time comes that you think the remote starter may be hiding or causing problems, disabling it by removing its fuse is easy.
Somewhere on the boards people don't recommend the remote starters because they waste fuel and potentially harm the engine by allowing the oil to absorb too much air due to the extended idling.
If you have a MT vehicle, I also wouldn't recommend the starter -- it requires the vehicle to be in neutral to start the vehicle which will limit the places you can use it to relatively flat areas (areas where you won't keep the vehicle in gear to help prevent the car from moving).
If starting the engine on cold days is the biggest concern, consider the block heater or battery warmer.
Kevin
tidester, host
-Frank
I am happy to find out about the extended warranty from here because when I was purchasing my car, it was not mentioned by the salesperson.
I have read on different forums, that the 05 MT had a max towing weight of 2400lbs, but that auto was only 2000lbs.
This does not agree with the Subaru catalogue, which shows max towing of 2400lbs for both MT and Auto. I think the 05 got a new auto transmission,
This information is important to me, since I will be pulling a boat and trailer close to 2400lbs.
Donluce, we say that the XT auto also has a maximum towing capacity of 2400 lbs. (link).
Steve, Host
Kevin- Speaking of remote starters... I didn't think you could even get a remote starter for a manual transmission (because the clutch has to be depressed in order to start).
-Frank
If the car is garaged, there's less need for warming it up since the windshield will be clear.
I don't like the idea of idling vehicles, but I understand that new cars don't dump a bunch of emissions into the air while they idle.
But idling cars do create carbon monoxide, so I wouldn't want to use a remote starter if the car is in a garage, especially in one that's attached to my house.
Steve, Host
Not having a MT vehicle, I don't know how the wiring is set up, but I do know that remote starters *can* work on MT vehicles -- typically through a relay that allows the clutch circuit to be bypassed.
Generally there's some type of precaution built into the starter to prevent starting the automobile with the MT vehicle in gear. For the starter I have, you must allow the remote starter to turn off the vehicle. Specifically you must turn the key to off (engine remains running) then open and shut the door (remote starter turns off engine). In theory the car is in neutral with the parking brake engaged. If you subsequently press the brake pedal the remote starter won't start the car. Because these precautions generally do not actually sense whether the vehicle is in neutral, most companies will not install a remote starter on a MT vehicle due to liability concerns.
Regardless of which vehicle it's installed on, the remote starter is primarily for creature comfort and/or defrosting the windows. With the car idling the engine will warm up but the rest of the car's motive parts (transmission, brakes, tires) stay at their original temperatures, so you should drive conservatively for the first few minutes to warm them up regardless of engine temperature. For those that have access to it, a garage (especially a heated garage) is better choice overall than a remote starter.
One thing that surprises me about today's cars is that there's no proactive method for removing hot air from cars during the summer. It'd be nice to have a function on a remote starter (or automatically based on passenger compartment temperature) that simply started the ventilation system's fan to remove the trapped hot air inside the passenger compartment.
Kevin
Does anyone know of any problems that would cause me to take this more seriously?
My husband does this every morning for a pretty long time which he says is for the engine but I think it's to warm the cabin because he leaves very early in the morning. :-) I sometimes do it for a few minutes also, but I guess I'll stop doing so. How long is needed to warm up the engine? I'd like to encourage him to do it for a shorter period of time. (He drives a Tundra.)
He is also parked in our garage. I presume the problem is helped somewhat with the garage door open? And in terms of CO coming into the house, would it seep through the door cracks etc. and potentially build up? I just want to be able to articulate the danger before I start sounding like the nagging wife... TIA
I've found with my Forester that the engine is warmed and the passenger compartment is reasonably comfortable within 5 minutes in lightly cold weather. In much colder weather (very little experience thus far) I think it may take up to 10 minutes.
The biggest problem with regards to Carbon Monoxide (CO) from a car is that when you first start a car the catalytic converter is not warmed up to normal operating temperature. Below this temperature the converter is very inefficient at completing the "burn" of various combustion gases, including CO to CO2. In a garage there's little natural action to purge the air within the garage to the outdoors. So, you fill up the garage with CO and then shut the garage's car door -- all the CO is stuck inside. The CO will diffuse as any gas will with some of the gases seeping into your attached house.
Take a look here for information:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/communications/CO/co_car.h- tml
Perhaps you could purchase several CO detectors and put that in the garage and another just inside the house's door to the garage?
Kevin
My wife sometimes warms up her car with the garage door open, and I think it's a bad idea. I get instant headaches when I go out into the garage or even ride in the car. Too many enclosed areas (car and garage) in my opinion.
Craig
Thanks.
See this link: http://content.subarunet.com/snet/business/Subaru_Added_Security/- sas_pricing_list.htm
DaveM
(Because summer see more car sales)....
Did I miss the window (last day of '04?) or will
end of the model year also be a great time to buy?
Is our Forester due a facelift/redesign in '06?
all the best.........ez
DaveM
I bought a 2003 XS 5-speed two years ago. I racked up 60,000 miles, and traded it in on Friday.
I had a generally positive experience, but need a bit more back seat room, plus an automatic for my teenage daughter to drive.
The infamous PISTON-SLAP, which impacts some 30% - 40% of Subarus, was finally fixed under warranty at 58,500 miles. It was a four-day service stop that resulted in a basically rebuilt engine.
However, I can say that the BEST PART of the Subaru Forester was the incredible retained value!
I bought it two years ago for $21,000, on Dec 31, 2002; put on 60,000 miles, and received $14,000 as a trade-in value on Dec 31, 2004! NOTE: I did trade it in, the dollars would clearly have been higher if I sold it myself, but I just didn't want to mess with that!
I used about 1/3 of the life of the car, and paid about 1/3 of the value! That's paying for the USE, with little penalty of depreciation!
As a comparison, if I'd paid $21,000 for a Ford or Pontiac, and put on 60,000 miles in those two years... that Ford or Pontiac would be worth about 1/3 of what I'd paid.
In a strange way, the strong retained value of the Subaru made it possible for me to sell it and make out just fine.
THANK YOU to everyone on this board. I was here before I bought the car, and periodically throughout the two years of ownership. The Forester is a good, tough little car that was unstoppable through any Maine snow I challenged!
Best of luck to all of you!
Craig
?????
Is there anything we can do to ward this problem off? I'm about 250 miles into my break-in and I'm babying the hecke out of my ride ...
Jopopsy
Thanks
TAP
Craig
I am half way through my 30k, the front and rear diffies went fine (except the front, refilling is a PITA unless you have the right size funnel and extension tube--I managed to drip some 90W on the exhaust pipe, it still stinks when hot). Bleed brakes was a piece of cake, thanks Subaru for putting the bleeder valves right out in the open ("just like spit from a trombone" says my 10 year old). Also thanks for putting the clutch slave cylinder with easy underhood access, even though it took me 10 minutes to find it. So far, 3 1/2 hrs later, I still need to do the spark plugs.
John
It involves the sizing of the alloy pistons inside the cyl sleeves; and if they are too "loose" at cold start-up, they wiggle inside, and make a KNOCK sound for the first 5 or 10 minutes.
The fix on my 2003 XS was new cyls and new lining sleeves. It was a major, four-day job. And Subaru of America paid every dime. They could not have been nicer about it!
= = =
My first thought on a replacement for the Forester was to move UP to an Outback, but I was afraid of more piston slap; because the non-turbo is the same 2.5 engine. PLUS, when I sat in the back seat of the Outback, I was shocked to find it no larger than their "smaller" Forester. Tiny back there, in fact!
Instead, I went down the street and bought a CRV-EX. Very nice vehicle, with tons more room inside. The gas mileage is almost as good as the Forester. And I hope to find the "Real-Time" four-wheel drive system is up the the task of a Maine winter.
(Tough to compare, because the Forester was UNSTOPPABLE in the snow!)
Best of luck to all of you!
Got the following quotes from dealers thru Edmunds for a 2005 XT Premium:
(ePrice): $25,453 & $24,959
In lay men terms what does this mean...
What kind of questions should I be asking after the delaer has sent me the quotes...
Any help would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks.
-Frank
Regarding piston-slap... I think the service manager is guilty of exaggerating. Certainly piston-slap occurs more than it should in Subarus but were it really up near 40%, I don't think Subaru would still be in business.
-Frank
Jopopsy
PS Ordered the tweaters early as they were relatively cheap and easy to install.
They're not bad but you can probably do better for less money with a set of aftermarket ones. IIRC Crutchfield's website will tell you what fits in the Forester.
-Frank
????
FYI: I'm satisfied with the premium speakers but you can definitely get comparable (or better) performance for much less.
-Frank
For the money, I would recommend good aftermarket speakers, BUT I have had mixed experiences adding aftermarket speakers to a factory radio. All the good aftermarket speakers are usually designed to handle more power and correspondingly, draw more power for a given loudness level. Thus, they will appear to be quieter than the stock speakers and you will need to turn the volume up higher when using a factory deck (which are typically designed with low power). Subaru radios typically use a "loudness" equalization which reduces bass as you crank the volume up (to minimize distortion). So, the overall effect of adding higher power aftermarket speakers to the factory radio is that is plays quieter and with less bass when you crank it up. Basically runs out of oomph at lower volume levels.
If you just want cleaner sound at low volumes, aftermarket speakers are fine. But if you like it loud and thumping, I would stick with the Subaru speakers. Of course, you can always try to upgrade the head unit too.... I put an Alpine V-Drive head unit in my WRX, and it sounded great with some high end aftermarket speakers. The V-Drive units have a large amp (with a cooling fan no less!) and can really kick it without having to buy a separate amp. They do require a separate 10ga power line however -- the factory harness is not beefy enough!!
ANyway, you get the idea, it's easy to get carried away!
CRaig
CRaig
Thanks CRaig for advice on bike rakes.
TAP
I got a 2.5x with a couple of extras I didn't need,popular equipment Group 3B and 6. I have a habit of buying the least expensive car in the model I want. Now they come with so much at the basic line I hate to have anything added on.
It did snow here New Years Eve, but we took the old Ford Aerostar AWD because my wife was sure a drunk would run into us! I will check in after a few months to report, didn't like that story on piston slap, as I didn't buy the extended warranty Jim