Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

demre810 · April 2003

Our brand new 2003 Forester X seems to vibrate excessively when idling. You can feel it in your lower back in the front 2 seats, see it when the windows are rolled down, and it causes the rear-view mirror to vibrate like the radio's bass is high. When we took it to the service dept. they claimed that all Foresters run "harder" than most cars. Does anyone else notice this?

lfdal · April 2003

Mine is an automatic, and compared to a small 6 banger its definitely rougher. I also can feel it in the back of my seat, but its not as rough as you describe. If its still under the first 1000 miles I'd wait for the ECU and engine to settle in together.
I hate it when dealers say "they all do that".

tkevinblanc · April 2003

Is he willing to let you sit in a brand new one so you can see "they all do that"?

Did you get the lower back massage when you test drove it? :0)

Last question, did you test drive the vehicle you bought? I'm going to insist on that when I buy my next car...

corkfish · April 2003

I thought a "strange" idle was characteristic of the boxer design.

williaday · April 2003

Hi--

For my price (under 25K) I'm looking at the Toyota Highlander base 2WD, Hyundai Santa Fe LX AWD, and the Subaru Forester XS AWD. I live in the Washington DC area (this past winter was heavy for us). Has anyone else compare these models, and what did you choose?

Thanks

bsvoller · April 2003

... and I thought a smooth vibration-free 4 was a characteristic of the boxer...

Harmonic balance without balance shafts and all that...

-brianV

kens · April 2003

Boxer engines have perfect first-order balance, but that alone doesn't insure freedom from vibration.

Also, the Forester engine is quite large for a 4-banger and therefore it's motions will be felt a little more than an equivalent 2.0.

However, the idle shouldn't be anything close to where the rear view mirror vibrates!

Ken

mtngal · April 2003

I've test driven all 3 at one time or another. Definitely apples and oranges - not much in common. Personally, I would choose the Forester for my purposes, but the Santa Fe offers a whole bunch for not much money. My reservations had to do with the fact I couldn't get the V6 with a MT, and the Forester 4 banger with the 5 speed seemed to be better for my daily mountain commute. The Highlander is nice, but you only mentioned the 2WD. That would rule it out for me - I gotta have at least AWD to get out of my driveway on certain days in the winter (my 2WD Tacoma sits for several days, the reason I want a subie!).

Now, I don't have any of these because I owe too much on the Taco (it depreciates faster than I'm paying it off). As soon as I can afford one, I'll probably get a Subie. I will admit that my first choice is the WRX. My husband's first choice is the Outback. If we can't agree, we very well may end up with a Forester Turbo as a compromise...

And that's just my personal opinion. If you don't have as extreme commute as I do your choices might be totally different.

psfod3 · April 2003

I have a 03 x with a auto for over 6 months with over 14000 miles on it. I usally only feel the vibration in my lower back with the ac on and standing still with the car in drive. If I move it into N or Park it raises the idle up enough for that vibration to go away. With the ac off I usally dont feel it. I am sure all the foresters are like that. The computer sets the idle at what it considers to be a good level I think that level causes the slight vibration you get in your lower back.

gened1 · April 2003

Looks as though it's starting.
We will be called Saabaru in the future.
From Autoweek:

2003 New York: Saab to add small car built off of Subaru platform

I think someone also said that Saab might add a rebadged forester to the lineup too!!
Gene

maverick1017 · April 2003

There goes the neighborhood!

ateixeira · April 2003

Wow Larry, on my'98 the cabin filter is much easier to change. Two screws, IIRC, and you don't touch the glove box. In my case, the filter was clean after a year or so, but I have to check it again soon.

Crystal: HL base 2WD, SF LX AWD, For XS?

Hmm, we looked at the Highlander for my wife. The V6 is torquey, but the 4 may be lacking for such a large/heavy vehicle. Also, FWD and it's just a Camry wagon. Plus, a stripped Highlander is truly stripped. We wanted traction and stability control, V6, AWD, and that pushed to price to $30k. I didn't see the value, to me the Pilot offers far more at that price level.

The Sante Fe is decent, and reliability has improved, plus the warranty is great. Even with the V6, though, the Forester is quicker and more fuel efficient. But here's what's funny, by the time you option it up, and get ABS, you're paying more than you would for a Forester XS.

Here's a great resource for you: fitzmall.com. They sell all three brands, and at no-haggle prices.

$23,035 for the Sante Fe LX 4WD. $23,821 with a moonroof.

The XS auto Forester starts at $22,116, $22,603 with the much bigger moonroof. Add leather and it's still $23,275.

So you pay less, and probably get better resale later.

Their cheapest Highlander is $23,346, so basically a stripped model picks up where a fully loaded Forester leaves off.

-juice

mjsnd80 · April 2003

Have a wonderful '03 XS 5-speed.

Looking to upgrade the speakers. On Crutchfield, the Sony X-Plods look to be about the best. Will the 6-1/2" speakers pop right in? Is there a great sound improvement? Sometimes I get a little buzzing from the front speakers - I figure they must be really cheap paper cones.

But - when you replace the factory speakers, do you add the foam baffles, or sound-deadening materials? Are they needed?

And the Rear Speakers -- smaller than the front? Do I need to replace those too, or does it matter? My guess would be I could get by fine with a nice new pair in front.

I have the factory tweeters (installed myself in less than five minutes total!)

Any help/advice/warnings/etc. greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Martin

P.S.: Yesterday, I topped 30MPG for the first time!! Yippee!!!

ateixeira · April 2003

Sweet. I've hit 30.4. The record here is 33+!

-juice

forestergump · April 2003

I replaced all the factory speakers on my 99' Forester and noticed a marked improvement. I specifically picked Boston Acoustic speakers because they made them in precisely the same sizes as the factory mounts. In the 99', the rear speakers are bigger than the fronts - I don't know about the 03' (but I will when I buy a 04' XT later this year!).
-Bob

kens · April 2003

Martin,

I replaced my 98 Forester speakers with Sony Xplods in the front and Polk 801as in the back. I purchased them off of Crutchfield. If they're listed as "EZ Installation" all you need to do is pop off the covers, unscrew the original speakers, unplug the speakers and then reverse with the new ones.

The Sony Xplods made a huge difference in sound quality for me -- and I was replacing my "premium" factory speakers too. The Xplods are the few EZ Fit speakers that are 3-way. The entire dynamic range, especially those highs, are much crisper.

The rear speakers don't give you as much bang-for-the-buck unfortunately. They are small and are positioned low so you won't hear as big an improvement.

Ken

gened1 · April 2003

MY 03 requires that you take off the whole door panel to access the speakers in front and I am pretty sure in back too. Not like the panels over the speakers in 98-02 my.
Gene

c_hunter · April 2003

williaday: we bought an 03 Forester XS-Premium over the Highlander (and several other vehicles). If you can afford the well equipped $32-35K V6 Highlanders, they are very nice. Anything less is quite mediocre in my opinion, and we had a hard time even locating a model equipped like we wanted, in price range we wanted. A 4-cyl FWD Highlander would be a real dog in my opinion.

After driving several other vehicles, including the Pilot (too big!) my wife fell in love with the Forester. Of course, it was my first choice all along, but this is her car and I wanted her to make the choice. The Forester is considerably sportier and more fun to drive than anything else we looked at. I can't give it a higher recommendation!

By the way, no major vibration in ours at idle. It's an automatic.

Craig

lfdal · April 2003

Not sure if this is the right place to post this as it really relates to all Subarus and everyone that uses the mySubaru.com website. For those of you familiar with the site, they allow you to enter your service information on line as well as provide information on recalls (both pending and completed) etc. A feature that's lacking, IMHO, is the ability to print out the entire maintenance history. I personally think this would be a great way of maintaining an up to date hard copy of all the service info, and its a little more protected than if the hard drive in my own system goes bonkers.

The point of this post is that if enough people think this additional feature is worthwhile and ask them for it, they will probably add it. -- So, if anyone besides me thinks it's worthwhile, please visit the site and ask them to add it.

If anyone including the moderators can suggest a better place to post this for more coverage, please let me know.

Thanks
Larry

deepdrop · April 2003

I'm getting ready to buy an "03 Forester XS. The OEM tires are Yokohamas. I live in Florida and drive in a lot of wet. Does anyone have any experience with the OEM tires and their wet traction? I can have the dealer switch them out to a better tire if that is recommended. I don't want to get stuck with crummy tires and have to either get rid of them or wait for them to wear out.
I once had a full size blazer that had OEM's that were terrible and I don't want to repeat that experience.

leo2633 · April 2003

deepdrop,

I have a 2001 Forester S 5 speed that came with the Yokohama Geolander HT's. I realize that Subaru started using a different Geolander model in 2003, so this is really apples and oranges, but I wanted to share my experience, FWIW. I have found my Geo's to be a pretty good all around tire. They don't excel in any one area. They are quiet and fairly comfortable, and they handle well in the dry, and pretty well in the wet and in light snow.

Where they have been really surprising is in the area of treadwear. Mine currently have 58K on them, and they have worn beautifully. They are down to around 5/32" tread depth. I've always run them at 32 PSI all around, and have rotated them religioulsy every 5K miles. Approximately 90% of my driving has been on the highway, so I'm sure that has been a contributing factor to their long life as well.

From everything I've read, my experience is the exception, rather than the rule. I have a set of Continental ContiExtremeTrac's sitting in my garage, which are going on my Forester at 60K miles. The reason I settled on the Conti's was due to their reviews on Tire Rack's website, as well as their price of only $66 per tire. In all honesty, if the Geolander HT's were the same price, I would have bought another set to replace the originals.

My recommendation is to try the car with the Geolanders. If you feel that they aren't adequate for your needs, then change to something else. No need to throw money away prematurely.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I hope this is helpful to you. Best of luck with your Forester.

Len

kens · April 2003

deepdrop,

I'll echo Len's comments too. The OE Geolandars on my 98 Forester S were good all-seasons that wore very well despite their relatively low treadwear rating.

I drive about 80-90% highway also and my Geolandars still had tread on them after 45K miles.

My advice is to stick with the Geolandar G900s. There are better tires out there, but I don't think you'll get the full cost-performance benefit by swapping them now.

I heard that the G900s are similar to the outgoing G035 H/T model so they should work well in rain. In fact, MOST all-season tires do well for the 1st 1/2 of their treadlife.

FYI, I went to Dunlop SP5000s after my last set of Geolandars wore out. The SP5000s are high-performance all-seasons. Based on my driving experience with them so far, they are quieter and grippier than the Geolandars -- but -- they cost about $20-30 more per tire.

Ken

c_hunter · April 2003

The Geos on our 03-XS seem as good in the wet as any other all-season tire I have had in recent years. I have been quite impressed with these tires, including their handling characteristics. They did well in the snow too.

Craig

ducktapeguy · April 2003

I also liked the OE Geolanders on my car. I heard a lot of stories about premature wear, but mine lasted till 45K and didn't even have half the tread worn down, it probably would've lasted till 80-90K no problem. The only reason I changed it was because i damaged a sidewall on one of them. It was mostly highway milage, but with a lot of spirited driving too.

jimbob17 · April 2003

I bought the 03 Forester X in June 2002 with geolander 900(maybe I'm missing a zero). In any event they have been on dry, very wet, new snow and accumulated snow here in NE Pa. I would replace them with the same tire when it is time to do so. They are stable with good traction.
I dont take things to the extreme but I have had good results with the geolanders.

kens · April 2003

Since were on the topic of Geolandars, did you all know that Yokohama originally designed the Geos for the specifically for the Forester?

Ken

ducktapeguy · April 2003

kens,
Where did you hear this? That's pretty interesting. They seem to be a good match for the forester, not really spectacular at anything, but a good all around performer.

grahampeters · April 2003

G'day

This is the perspective from an Outback owner down under where Geolandars are fitted to Outbacks as well as Foresters. We live in an area which swings from drought to torrential rain and have been generally pretty impressed.

I have a fairly conservative attitude to tyre wear and swap them when tread depth gets down to about 2.5mm (say 3/32"). My driving is a mix of city stop-start, long distance freeway, dirt roads and moderate off road. We are off to investigate some old mine workings tomorrow and this will be slip-sliding trip.

I got 50,000 km (about 31,000miles) from the first set and was on lin for a similar mileage on the second before staking one on a tree I drove over and getting nails in two others, inside a month.

I asked several tyre shops here for their recommendations for replacement. All gave the same opinion that the Geolandar is the best tyre for Subarus, particularly the Outback and Forester. They seem a pretty good compromise all round for my use.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Graham

nygreg · April 2003

For what it is worth, I like Yokohamas in general. I just replaced the Aegis LS4s with the Avid Touring on my Sienna. The LS4s were great in dry, wet and snow with little noise. Lifetime was 30K. The new Avids handle better and are very smooth and quiet. Too new (installed yesterday) for real input though. I am thinking about the Avid H4 for the OB when the time comes to replace the Sport A2s.

Greg

bsvoller · April 2003

I too have heard that the Geo H/T's were designed specifically for the Forester (98-02), but I can't recall where I saw that now.

I wonder if the new Geo 900's are designed special for the new '03's...

-brianV

retiredguy · April 2003

I had road tested a Forester back in December but did not take it out on the highway. I took one out Thursday, it was quiet, plenty of power and tracked nicely. BUT, I noticed a low level of bouncing, coincidentally I looked at the Toyota Rav4 site (first time) and found a post where the owner of one was very upset with that characteristic. I have read on this site several people being satisfied with the Forester on long trips. Anyone have any comments on boating?

gened1 · April 2003

Don't go near the water and you should be all set.
Really never had heard the term boating to refer to up and down motions of a vehicle. My only advice is try a Forester out on a longer test drive. If it is not to your liking then it is not the vehicle for you.
My 02 Forester is a combination of nimbleness, enough power (don't I always want more!) and comfort to drive anywhere I want.
Gene

subearu · April 2003

that the tires were not at the 'proper' psi setting. Typically, they're overinflated at the factory to prevent flat spotting from sitting on the lot for an extended period of time. In December, it's possible that the tires were lower than they should have been (maybe lower than 'normal') due to the colder temps.

I'd go give another Forester a spin and see what you think.

-Brian

rochcom · April 2003

The word is out. Saab will be introducing a new smaller vehicle based upon the Subaru WRX wagon platform. It will be called the 9-2 and is expected to be in showrooms in the Summer of 2004. More information is available at:
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B9DDE6504%2DF3C9- %2D4069%2D97C8%2D16ADDAA02B7E%7D&siteid=mktw

I am a former Saab driver (I had owned 4 over the years), as are a good number of other Subaru drivers. It is ironic that many of us abandoned Saab because we did not want to go in the upscale direction that Saab was going (nor to deal with the lack of dealers after they cancelled contracts with many of the low volume ones). Also, for a while, quality control was a real problem. Since the new car will apparently be built in Japan, the quality issue may go away.

retiredguy · April 2003

Thanks for the good suggestions. I will possibly rent one for a day and take it for a long drive and will try one where I have checked the tire pressure. I have seen several posts comenting on tire pressure of 40+ lbs.

taft4 · April 2003

I have a 2003 XS2.5 which I drive about 7,000 miles per year. I will, in the course of each 12 months, accumulate $500.00 in Subaru bucks. When I have enough would I be better off buying an extended warranty with them, or would it be better to just save them to use towards the repairs, servicing and parts replacements that are part of the regular expense of owning a car? Incidentally, I don't expect to buy a new vehicle for a long time so their use towards the purchase of a new car is of little interest to me.

pschreck · April 2003

Now it's bens3 who is spamming us.

stever · April 2003

on the trail ... thanks!

Steve, Host

c_hunter · April 2003

We took my wife's 03 Forester XS on a trip at Christmas (1200 miles round trip) and I was extremely impressed with the car. No boating as far as I can tell. The car is not as great a cruiser as my Outback, but it's still very good. I can't say enough positive things about the Forester, it's a really great car.

Definitely check the tire pressure if you take a test drive.

Craig

inseattle · April 2003

Hi All, I am thinking of purchasing a used 2002 Forster S with 32 miles for $17k. I was wondering if this is a reasonable price for this car. The car appears to be in pretty good condition. Or I could pay around 6k more and brand new one! Thanks.

rsunico · April 2003

Has anyone else seen the black Forester XT Turbo with 5 speed, leather and premium package? Sweet! I'm glad you can get leather, a 5-speed AND that unbelievable moonroof! I'm sold. Though I also loved the new Baja Turbo and the 04 WRX. The Subaru associate told me Subaru's goal is to have only turbos and v6 engines.

rsholland · April 2003

That 5-speed, moonroof XT was an anomaly, or so said the SOA reps at the NY show. We asked about that, and they said the car on display was not accurate in that respect.

Bob

ateixeira · April 2003

Larry: I did print my maintenance history from my.subaru.com, just one service at a time. In fact I have a 3 ring binder. I'm an OCD member, after all, we'd have no less!

Saab talked about the Saabaru openly at the NY show. They said prices $20-25k, which surprises me. That's about the same as Subaru prices!

Well, the NY show was cool. Loved, loved the Forester XT! They had a silver auto/premium at the show that was just perfect. The black one looked almost dark copper in color, not my cup of tea, but they said it would not be produced. But they showed it, so maybe they were gauging reaction?

Still, the silver one was so complete, so near perfect, that I left wanting one as-is. I compare my '98 and I find about two dozen little improvements that add up to a major upgrade, not to mention that engine! :-)

-juice

gvmelbrty · April 2003

There may still be time for Subaru to change their minds and build Forester XTs this year that have both a 5sp manual trans and that huge moonroof.

You can send product recommendations to Subaru here:

http://subaru.com/contact/contact/middle.jsp

-tom

kullenberg · April 2003

juice:
Were you able to take any photos?? What you were looking at is exactly what I plan on next spring!

Cheers
Pat

ateixeira · April 2003

Bob's camera was dropped very early in the day, we were so bummed. But it looks just like the current Premium in silver, just add a hood scoop. Oh, and the alloys are unique, I like them much better, too, though they might be hard to keep clean.

-juice

rochcom · April 2003

For those who have seen the XT:

What about the interior? The photos available on-line seem to show the standard XS interior. One major point for me is: Where are the auxillary instruments that are part of the XT package and do they now match the design of the regular ones, or do they still look like cheap add-ons? Are there any other interior differences? The on-line photos do seem to show a somewhat different audio unit.

kens · April 2003

juice,

Were you able to get any info regarding the XT suspension? I've heard that it gets a "sportier" tuning.

I'm not sure I'm all for the XT wheels, however. I think the standard ones look more interesting.

Ken

rsholland · April 2003

<< What about the interior? The photos available on-line seem to show the standard XS interior. One major point for me is: Where are the auxillary instruments that are part of the XT package and do they now match the design of the regular ones, or do they still look like cheap add-ons? Are there any other interior differences? The on-line photos do seem to show a somewhat different audio unit. >>

I didn't cross-compare the XT interior with the XS. I too was wondering also about the gauges, but again, I didn't cross-compare; probably should have...

Bob

lfdal · April 2003

I borrowed from your idea of imagestation and posted a picture of the dirty air filter there. If you have a chance let me know if it works - I'll post some of the Fujimoto oil valve when I next change the oil.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290330285

Larry

Subaru Forester (up to 2005)

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles

Your Privacy