2009 Subaru Forester

ateixeira

OK, so I sat in the driver's seat last night, and per Frank's request, lowered it all the way down.

In the lowest setting, it's basically even with the passenger seat.

So raise it and it just gets higher and higher from there. All the way up and it's well above the passenger's seat.

To be honest, I didn't like it all the way up there, but my wife does, and I try to move the seat as little as possible (usually just back one inch).

rsholland

I saw a new blue Forester yesterday parked in the driveway of a house around the corner from me. The guy used to own a 2002 WRX automatic.

Bob

p0926

Good! That's what I expected. Were the passenger seat set higher, tall passengers would lose out on head room. I agree that having a height-adjustable passenger seat is a good idea but also acknowledge that it's fairly uncommon in this price range.

-Frank

prndldriver

Thanks for everyone's comments as they cleared up some questions.

I guess that perhaps for me the Limited/LLBean model might be worthwhile. The seat height adjustment and lumbar support along with leather seats make it seem that those might be worth more money. Altho I like LLBean, I'm kind of glad that Subaru is ending that connection as it makes the car seem more commercialized.

I have one dealer offering $400 under invoice and another slightly lower than that on the Foresters, so I'm thinking that maybe the Limited might be ok if I can get that price.

Does that sound like a decent price, or do you think I should negotiate?

pgb0517

Yes, but what does "4-way" mean? Subaru describes the Forester's front passenger seat as "4-way manually adjustable." That makes it sound nicer than it really is. 4-way simply means back-forward for the seat, and back-forward for the seatback recline. So a 4-way power seat would just be the same thing, only power-operated, right? Can anyone confirm that?

Any seat would be 4-way adjustable, unless someone out there knows of a front passenger seat that doesn't slide back and forth or let you adjust the seatback recline.

So 6-way would be 4-way plus up/down; 8-way (like my old Taurus had) would be 6-way plus seatbottom tilt front-up/front-down; and 10-way would be what the LL Bean/Limited has, 8-way plus power lumbar in/out. Each kind of movement it makes counts for 2 "ways" because it can move in two directions.

In other words, we *assume* a front seat to be 4-way adjustable. It's really not worth mentioning; in fact, describing a seat as 4-way adjustable is almost misleading, making you think it has something that it doesn't, unless you analyze it.

(I wish that each "way" meant the kind of adjustment, not the two directions it moves in; thus, a 10-way adjustable would become 5-way: seat slides, seatback tilts, seat cushion tilts, height adjusts and lumbar supports.)

So here's an oddball question: Not that it would be practical, but would a manually adjustable driver's seat from a country where they drive on the left work as a replacement for the passenger-side seat on cars designed for driving on the right? (The driver's seat in the U.K. is where our passenger seat is.)

sgloon

Kurt,

I believe I tested one of these. The 4-way seat was up/down & forward/backward for just the seat part. The seat back was an additional adjustment.

A minor difference I saw with the electric seat was that it went separately in each of those four movements. While on the manual seat, as you lowered it, it also went backward a bit at an angle, which felt kinda weird to me. ie the electric has more position options than the manual. But once it is in place it won't really matter...

sgloon

Thanks to yours and others' comments. The consensus seems to be don't bother with the nets.

Thanks all for your help!

volkov

4 way adjustable is as basic as it gets and is really only 2 adjustments. JDM or UK seats to get adjustability would actually be a consideration. Quite a few people used to get seats WRX or Sti seats from Japan as they are a cut above what we get here. So the search engine challenge is on. Which USDM vehicles offer passenger seat height adjust?

orc

I only have an iPod Shuffle and the interface works perfect for it. It's just a simple display and the shuffle is a simple player. Maybe you could have the sales person take the time to see if he can make it work or maybe the service manager. They're obligated to do that - it's part of the Subaru sales customer policy.

jeffmc

Too many models to list from the lux/near-lux brands:
Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Saab, Volvo.
Also:
Various Buicks, Ford Freestyle, Ford Flex, GMC Envoy, Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, Hyundai Genesis, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Land Cruiser, Chevy TrailBlazer, Lincoln Navigator. Not available on Camry anymore now that they've got Lexus.

My favorite discovery, though: Tribeca, Outback and Legacy are all available with 8-way power passenger seat!!!*

*in Australia. :mad: (It's actually standard on every Australian Tribeca.)

sgloon

I've noted several people talking about how they aren't suppose to use the cruise control, or otherwise go accelerating fast, breaking hard, etc referring to a break-in period for the vehicle.

I specifically asked my sales person about this today regarding the Forester, and she said that was only for the older model cars and the new cars you can drive however you want from day one.

Does any one have further info about this? Is she correct, or just not wanting to bother to give me the info? If we are suppose to break the car in, what are we supposed to do or not do? And for how many miles?

Thanks!

djmacedonas

Hi,

My salesman told me no cruise control, no autostick, and to keep it at or under highway speeds for the first 1000 miles. I would go with this recommendation, it really is kind of nice to go Zen-like and baby the car initially. I got 25.2 mpg today, my first commute, in mixed driving. I think this should only improve.

Regards

prndldriver

Great photo! Could you tell us what color you have?
Your dog looks perfect in the photo.
Also thanks for letting us know that you got your iPod to work well.

kurtamaxxxguy

Subaru manual gives specific instructions for driving first 1000 miles which include (paraphrased here) not over-reving the motor, no hard accelerations, to vary engine speeds slightly during extended highway cruising, etc.

It will do no harm and most likely good to follow those instructions. Every new engine needs some break-in period.

tinycadon

I seem to be having an issue with the Fuel Gauge on my dashboard. When I start up in the morning it moves up to Full and stays there for a good 5-10mins before it starts to settle down to where it should be. In the afternoon after work when I start up the car, the gauge goes right to where it should be. Has anyone had an issue with this before? It's not a BIG issue, but it's a little annoying. Thanks.

pgb0517

If true, this would be confusing terminology on Subaru's part -- 4-way for power (front-back, up-down) plus 2-way manual (seat back).

p0926

I got the cargo nets for my 2006 Forester and soon abandoned them. Instead, I find that simple cardboard boxes are a good way to keep grocery sacks from sliding all over

But then aren't the cardboard boxes in the way when you want to carry that ladder or other bulky items?

I normally keep the back seats folded and I find the rear cargo net handy when I've got 3-4 plastic bags of groceries that would otherwise slide around and lose all their contents. I just put the bags in the net and they're right there when I open up the hatch. If I'm going to be carrying something bigger, I just release the two top loops and the net lays flat of the floor.

-Frank

bigfrank3

Your sales person should stick to just selling cars, and not giving bad info. Engines are much, much better than they used to be, but the basic rules are still the same. They are put together with new parts that have to get used to each other.

It is always wise to just baby a new engine for the first couple hundred miles, but too much of that is no good. The miles between 200 and 1000 are the most critical for an engine. Piston rings need to "wear in" with the cylinder walls and the only way this happens correctly is with changing cylinder pressure. This happens with acceleration and deceleration, and not with a fairly constant engine speed as you get with cruise control.

Moderation is the key, so you don't want to be running the engine up to redline, but occasional, temporary full throttle (high cylinder pressure) followed by no throttle at all (low pressure, high vacuum), and in fact downshifting (more high vacuum) to slow the vehicle, is the best thing for getting all parts working together.

After 1000 miles you can pretty much do anything you want, especially if you have changed the oil/filter and don't have metal particles and filings floating around in there.

Engines that burn oil later on in life are usually a result of it having been babied too much during "break in", and the rings and cylinder walls getting glazed and not fully seated.

volkov

Sorry, I should have come at it the other way. Know the high end vehicles have it. But as you are showing, none of Forester's competitive set do. You have to step up at least to Tribeca's competition before you find it. In N. America anyway. It's a valid dislike if one finds the seat too low, but not really a valid discriminator to criticize the lack of a passenger seat height adjust.

pgb0517

Good point, but we wouldn't be having this discussion if Subaru had set the passenger seat to a reasonable height in the first place.

btw, The other car we seriously considered before buying the Subaru was the VW Rabbit, which starts at under $16,000, and offers the following on all models, along with a long list of other standard features that were really, really tempting:
8-way manually adjustable sport front seats: fully reclining, height adjustable with adjustable head restraints for driver and front passenger
Manual Lumbar support, adjustable for driver and front passenger seats.

If VW can do it on the Rabbit, why not Subaru?

redherring1

How are others doing with XT Mileage? My best to date has been 26 mpg driving mostly freeways, but more typical has been 20 - 23.

Still mostly in-town short hops for me, often with little opportunity for the engine to get up to temp (so as bad as it could be) for which I'm typically between 17-18. Did finally take a run up to Milwaukee earlier in the week (about 150 miles round trip) and got a tank average of 24. Assuming everybody's assurance that this will improve with time is true, I'm not unhappy with that for now.

jeffmc

I don't even know if it's that the passenger seat is too low... it may be similar to before. I do know the cowl is higher (just like new Impreza). Perhaps next time I'm at the dealer I can measure floorboard to seat and floorboard to cowl for '08 vs. '09.

I'm not really complaining that the Forester (& Impreza) lacks a height adjustment. I agree with you that for the most part the competition does not either. My complaint lies mostly with the higher cowl. Height-adjustable passenger seat is simply my suggestion for a solution to the cowl... it's a lot easier to raise the seat than lower the cowl.

pgb0517

I just got my Subaru Rewards Card. Been reading the fine print. Wonder if anyone can provide a "real-world" answer on a couple of things.

It looks like you can't redeem any rewards until you accumulate at least $100 and get the certificate. That would equal charges of about $3,333. Is that the way it works in practice?

It says the unused balance of a certficate can't be returned in cash. Does that mean that if you have a certificate of $100 or greater and get an oil change for $30, you lose the balance? Or do they give you a certificate for the remainder, or credit your account in some way?

I am going to call Chase, of course, but sometimes you get clearer answers from other consumers.

samiam_68

It looks like you can't redeem any rewards until you accumulate at least $100 and get the certificate. That would equal charges of about $3,333. Is that the way it works in practice?

Yes, that's exactly how it works. Limit is $500/year in certificates. Equivalent to $16,666.66 in credit card charges.

It says the unused balance of a certficate can't be returned in cash. Does that mean that if you have a certificate of $100 or greater and get an oil change for $30, you lose the balance? Or do they give you a certificate for the remainder, or credit your account in some way?

You don't get anything back. If the oil change costs $30, don't use the certificate - that would be a waste. Use it for more expensive services such as 15K / 30K miles / brakes / tires.

kurtamaxxxguy

For those curious, the '09 Forester Side protectors appear to be a 4 piece set, one piece per door, which are mounted on the upper middle of the doors (where they stick out their farthest from the car body). Strips are around 1.5 - 2" wide, painted to match color of the vehicle. The dealer recommends having your vehicle thoroughly washed and dried before the strips are applied (I did just that). Cost for the strips was around $220 and it took an hour or so for the dealer to apply them to the doors.

rebatechamp

Can't decide if I want the side moldings. Forester (most vehicles) looks better without them, but I'll regret not getting them with the first avoidable ding.

board_jay

I wonder if the folks who created the iPod interface actually OWNED an iPod? The 2009 Forester iPod interface looked to be good, but is a major disappointment. There is no way to browse artists faster other than 100's of button presses on the head unit to go through ALL the A artists to B artists to C artists, etc. And yes, I know you can also go backwards. But with 70GB of music, it takes 10min to get to the artist I want if they are in the L,M,N area. It is absurd that holding down the button does not 'fast forward' by letter of the alphabet so you can get to different artists faster. And the fact that the steering wheel control won't advance the artist (or playlist for that matter) is another major oversight. As one who has a VW with a Phatbox, the Subaru iPod interface, in a word: blows. The Phatbox speaks to you and lets you browse artists by letter of the alphabet when the button is held down AND works with the steering wheel control. I expect a little more for a $250 option. To Subaru: Nice vehicle, but maybe you should TALK TO SOMEONE WITH AN ACTUAL iPOD BEFORE YOU CREATED THE INTERFACE!!!! It's called "Gemba" and I am surprised that a Japanese company hasn't figured out this part of LEAN mfg.

board_jay

You have to use the buttons at the top across the CD input/eject area that are labelled 1-6. Press button #2 and then the CAT button (lower left part of radio). Then you can use the up/down arrows to select playlists. Wait a few seconds once you chose one until it starts to play. Then you can use the right control turning knob to advance to songs within that playlist (or you can use the up/down arrow on the steering wheel if you have audio controls). To browse by artist, you press buttom #3 and then the CAT button and again you can use the up/down arrow to select the artists. Unfortunately, there is no way other than consecutively hitting the up/down arrow to scroll through artists. If you want to get to someone on the "M's" then you need to keep pressing all the way through all the A artists then all the B artists then all the C artists, etc. And you need to use the up arrow button on the head unit to do it. Once you find the artist you want then the right hand control knob will take you through songs under that artist. Good luck.

boomxr

Thanks for all the great discussions everyone. Over the last couple of months, I have been shopping for a new vehicle and finally took home a 2009 Forrester Premium with the all weather package yesterday, and found this community to be invaluable in assisting with making this purchase. I am very happy with the vehicle so far and am now looking forward to a warm posterior this winter. I live up on the coast of Maine, and it can get pretty cold and messy up here. I am now starting the process of shopping for accessories and am wondering if folks have any suggestions on the best place to buy Subaru Forrester accessories online?">

boomxr

I came across the following site which sells Forester accessories for what appears like good pricing:

http://www.foresterpartsstore.com

rsholland

Bad news for lovers of manual transmissions: If you're looking for a Forester with a manual tranny, good luck. If you find one, it's likely to be a bottom-feeder model. I checked a few dealers, both on line and on site, and 5-speed Foresters are very rare!

Also, because of (A) the new redesign, and (B) the recent dramatic shift in buyer's preferences thanks to fuel costs, finding "good" Forester discounts are getting harder to find as well.

Bob

sgloon

I just bought a manual transmission, premium model. There were color choices on the lot, et al. Perhaps it may depend upon where you live as to what is available?

I'm sure you could always order the one you want...

sgloon

Thx, Kurt! Knowing it was there enabled me to find that section in the manual...although I do like your synopsis...easier to remember. :shades:

On a related issue, it says at what speed to shift gears for the MT. I grew up relating to shifting based on RPMs. Has something changed? Or is there a place to look for the RPM at which we should be shifting? :confuse:

kurtamaxxxguy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yp1PkXizeQ

The '07 (turbo, with lower profile tires than the '09) got stuck several times.

The '09 didn't get stuck and I saw very little lag in its VTC.

and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_hOjhfzV_Q&feature=related

shows the '09 fording a stream.

redherring1

I came across the following site which sells Forester accessories for what appears like good pricing:

They've got about everything, but be sure to figure out all of what you want in advance and order it all at once--their shipping prices are ridiculous if you're only buying one or two things (and eat up most of the discount).

phdhusky

I think this is an issue with where you are located here in CT there are lots of dealers with MTs in the premium package. Also you still can get great deals if you look for them...Subaru isn't the only one with a CUV and still needs to stay competitive in pricing with the Cr-V, Rav4's, and Rogues.

boomxr

Great tip redherring1! I did make the order worthwhile:

1 - Luggage compartment cover
1 - Set of Door molding protectors
1 - Set of mud flaps
1 - Bumper cover
1 - Cargo mat
1 - Ipod tray

Shipping worked out to be around $45 which I can see can eat up the discount quickly. Have a good one!

ateixeira

I wonder if there is a leak in the vacuum canister or other area in the fuel system. But if there were, you'd get a check engine light.

If you open the fuel cover, is there any pressure?

ateixeira

For those Subaru Bucks - if you get an oil change, just spend your change on any of the accessories in the catalog. Or get a T-shirt or a hat, something like that.

boomxr: congrats and welcome to the club. :shades:

kurt: the 09 really does perform well, though I think the 07 would have done better if they had aired down the tires.

Kids are loving that moonroof, though. When given the choice of the DVD/movie player in the van or the moonroof, they opt for seeing the sky.

pgb0517

I got the 24K miles/24Month maintenance plan for free as part of the deal, so I will only pay for oil changes that I choose to do outside the plan coverage. I figure in a couple of years I'll have enough Subaru Bucks to pay for the first major maintenance. (That fine print is killer, though.)

ateixeira

It's been OK for us. You get them $100 at a time, then save them up.

First I spent $100 on some accessories, a cargo liner or something like that. And a net, for my wife's Legacy.

Then we had some body damage, the Subaru dealer's body shop accepted $300 in Subaru Bucks. We got paid by the insurance company, so that was cash in our pockets. Ka-ching. :shades:

The other $1600 went towards our 2009. We've had it for 4 years and hit the $500/year cap each time (business expenses for the wife go on that card).

The next $500 can pay for the 30k or 60k service, like you said.

You can even save up and pay for an extended warranty this way.

When we hit our cap, we use our Shell gas card. The rebate is only 1%, rather than the 3% the Chase Subaru card, gets, but before you know it a year is up and we're back to using the Chase card.

Over time, the fine print has not stopped us from cashing in, BIG TIME, on the Chase card.

If you look at other plans, like the Chase freedom rewards card...well, sounds better, right? Wrong. It caps out at something like $18 per month in rebates, which is pathetic. Even then, you're only getting the 3% on 3 categories of purchases. After the $18 and outside those categories, it's just 1%. Way more restrictive, IMO.

We basically buy what we want, accumulate $500, then switch to the gas card. Much simpler, IMO.

There's always a catch, and this one really isn't that bad considering the alternatives.

pgb0517

Oh, I'm sure the Subaru Chase card will be a great deal or I wouldn't have gotten one. Wasn't sure you could buy an extended warranty using the Subaru Bucks -- that's good to know, if I ever wind up with some that are gonna go stale. I guess the online dealers will take them, too? You'd have to mail them in or something. Anybody done that?

We plan to keep our Forester six or seven years, although if Subaru came out with a hybrid Forester I'd be sore tempted to trade sooner. Or I might use 'em on a Subaru for me when I pass the Ford on to the young 'uns! I deserve some fun, too.

... Way off topic, but the best deal by far I've found on cash back is to become an executive member of Costco. The benefits way, way more than pay for the membership, and the no-fee Amex card gets unlimited cash back -- 3% gas and restaurants, 2% travel, and 1% everything else. In addition to that you get 2% cash back on all Costco purchases up to a $500 annual cap. I'm only saying this because between these two cards, I've got it made.

jeffmc

After owning Subarus for many years now, we FINALLY got around to getting a Chase Subaru card last week. Thanks for giving me a nudge, folks. Subaru Bucks, here we come.

ateixeira

I guess the online dealers will take them, too?

Affirmative. In fact we spent ours at 1stSubaruParts.com IIRC. It was definitely on-line. We mailed them the Subaru Bucks, and they knocked $100 off the order, and put a small balance on my credit card (therefore earning 3% more on the balance, LOL).

I like your plan - you seem to leave yourself lots of options on spending the Subaru Bucks. :shades:

The Costco card sounds good, if you want one all-around card to use and just not worry.

The Shell card gives 5% on Shell gas only, but it's OK because that's the most common station around me, so I rarely go out of my way. We use that for gas year-round, it's basically our gas card all the time, and then becomes our primary card when we max out on the Chase Subaru card.

Jeff: you won't regret it.

tinycadon

Juice, now that I'm at 1/2 a tank the gauge has been working properly in the morning, I'm wondering if there's TOO much pressure in the tank when it's full or near full? Either way it seems like it's not going to be a problem worth trying to fix, as long as it does it when it's close to Full and not Empty, I'm good to go. :confuse:

pgb0517

I recommend the side moldings. We had our dealer install them and they look good. They really are not that noticeable. They have a simple design. And I can't stand dings!

rebatechamp

What color is your vehicle? I think that it looks better on some colors than others.
Do you also have the rear bumper protector?

redherring1

I have them on my pearl white, and they look great--actually better than without them, I think. The thought of nicks in that nice white paint makes me shudder. I was advised against getting the rear bumper protector by my salesman, who said they look cheap. I've always made it a policy that if a salesman advises you not to buy something he sells, listen.

ateixeira

To be honest I don't think I have ever trusted gas guages. They read Empty when you have 4 gallons left, it's ridiculous. Also, they stay on F for a long time, and then drop from about 3/4 tank to 1/4 tank very rapidly. Definitely not linear, at least the ones I've had.

I use the Trip odometer instead. Zero it out when I get gas, then drive 250-400 miles or whatever, depending on the vehicle (Miata has a tiny gas tank, the van's is huge).

With a trip computer, you have a pretty good idea of when you're truly empty. The Forester has 16.9 gallons, let's call it 16 gallons to be safe, so we can go about 384 miles in town since we're getting 24mpg. So I'd get gas around 350 miles or so.

Having said that, yours should still be fixed.

pgb0517

Ours is Newport Blue Pearl. Beautiful. Wanna keep it that way.

I didn't go for the bumper protector. Saw negative comments about them, but have not seen one up close.