Hi Forester Folks, When my wife Kathy and I picked up our 02 Forester L on March 1st, the salesman mentioned that if I ever needed to disable the AWD that there is a fuse I can install to make that happen. In several trips through the owners manual I can't find any mention of it. Am I missing the info on each reading, or is there someplace else to look for this info?
Paul- According to the manual, the fuse applys to AT only. Assuming that the manual hasn't change much, you'll find the topic in chapter 8 "In case of emergency" between 'Temporary spare' and 'Tire changing tool'. It's page 8-12 on my manual (OB though). hope it helps =D
You can tow the ATs for short periods of time with the fuse in place if the front wheels are lifted and the fuse is in place and the car is in the full-on position. The fuse does you no good if the car is "off"
Personally I'd just get it flatbedded or dolly towed.
Man...I nearly got hit coming out of a parking lot today because of the aforementioned transmission lag folks are talking about on auto-tranny Foresters.
I have a 2002 Forester S with the auto-tranny and was nearly hit today turning out of my apartment complex into a slightly curvy road with an incline (a.k.a. I didn't see any cars from the left, but they could've sped around the corner in the time it took for me to turn right).
The transmission lag hits right after I start up the car and put it into gear. I was parked near the entrance to the complex this time, which is why I was just starting up.
Subaru Team -- WHAT IS THIS PROBLEM? I've seen lots of folks talking about it in this forum, and there's been no definite answer. One fella had an idea about the fuel system being the problem. Another talked about the AWD kicking in at the start of vehicle use.
PLEASE -- tell us what is causing this transmission lag! When I'm not at the apartment complex entrance getting hit because DRIVE doesn't actually DRIVE my vehicle forward for a half second, I'm dealing with crazy college kids flying through the apartment complex and nearly hitting me because my car nearly stalls when pulling out of a space. Someone's going to get hurt because of this problem, and I don't want to see it happen and/or be the first.
Pulling up a few notches also works for a open diff. It slows the spinning wheel down so the diff transfers some power to the other wheel. I have used this technique to unstuck myself.
<< I've seen lots of folks talking about it in this forum, and there's been no definite answer. >>
Are you sure you're not referring to "turbo lag," which is an issue only with the Impreza WRX? I've never heard of transmission lag, and I virtually live on these Subaru forums.
Sorry - but I'm a bit "green" to this issue. It is not something that I've heard much about. I don't want to try to give you advise over the web. It's like calling your doctor with indigestion only for your family to find out later you had a heart attack. I can only suggest you talk to the dealer. Has it happened before? I'm sorry I can't help with this until I have more details (of a technical nature). Once we have more, I'll check it out for you.
I'm sorry you're unhappy, but you have a promise to check it out from me.
actually, in our AT OB, it was almost the opposite - a surge forward. I believe the gas pedal is more sensitive that most, at least to my wife & I. took only a few days to get used to and now I don't even notice it.
Is real. I also have a 2002 AT. You press the accelerator, and for a good second or two, the car does nothing, then it surges forward. It happened to me twice, right after start-up, going uphill.
Drivetrain lag, drivetrain lash, there were several posts on that a few days ago, IIRC. It can be rather startling, I've noticed it on our AT but I'm pretty used to the gas pedal by now and can usually finesse the gas enough so that it doesn't happen.
Michael, you'll get better at figuring out how to finesse the gas pedal, just keep working with it. Although if you frequently have to make quick starts b/c of your apartment parking lot layout or whatever, I can see where you're a bit worried.
These tires were stock on our 2001 Forester L which we bought in ~August of 2000. We drive long distances in the winter, often in difficult snow/ice conditions. I can't say we ever had a problem with the tires, but it irks me that I'm now in the market to replace them after only 30,000 miles. They don't last long enough.
I'm still looking for new tires, by the way. TireRack service person recommended Yokohama Avid T4s. The reviews there seem only so/so. I'm also thinking about the Michelin X-Ones. Has anyone replaced their stock tires? ARe you satisfied?
Well...I'm glad I didn't totally imagine the earlier posts about this issue. :-) It was, however, referred more to as gas pedal surge/sudden accelaration at vehicle starts.
Basically, and I believe this is the issue described by others who were referring to their gas pedals being touchy, I start up the car when the engine is cold and/or hasn't been running for a few hours. I put the car in either reverse or drive to leave a parking space/parking lot, and, upon pressing the accelerator, I get the following:
Sudden drop in RPMs, to the point of nearly stalling the engine.
Half to one second lag between hitting the accelerator and actually getting forward motion.
I think after that second part is when people are getting the sudden acceleration, as the RPMs come back up very quickly and cause the vehicle almost to jump from a full stop. This whole series of events only occurs at vehicle startup -- I don't have to finesse the gas pedal like people are recommending after this nearly stalled start. That's just the way the car drives.
What I'm describing feels like a definite and sudden loss of engine power right after starting the vehicle and pulling away from a dead stop. Tweaking the pedal a little helps, but the feeling that the car is going to stall is what concerns me. Almost like the engine's power/fuel is being sucked away at the start.
I hope this better describes the issue that I believe other folks have been talking about. It is certainly different than the general discussion about accelerator pedal feel. That's just the way the car drives. It's the uncertain starts and near stalls that concern me.
I will wait until other folks chime in before getting my dealership involved, as it sounds like a common problem among Forester owners. Thanks!
At least in our AT OB, there wasn't a loss of RPM's with the 'surge'. And to this date, I don't recall ever seeing the rpm's drop when initially accelerating (even with a cold engine).
How many miles on your 'ster? Only happens when cold, warm engine wots are ok?
My previous ride exhibited similar characteristics when cold. But, it would go away with a bottle of injector cleaner every few months. Maybe you could try that?
My father's AT '01 Outback does the same thing. You press the pedal to go and...nothing for a few seconds...and then whoOSH! You're off. It has the same engine as the Forester, but I'm not sure about the trans.
This hesitation happened at stoplights and in traffic in July (the car was warm). It seemed the further I pushed the pedal, the more the car would hesitate. It really freaked me out the first few times. Eventually I stopped expecting instant power and began driving more defensively and with a lighter foot.
When I told my dad about it he looked at me as if I had two heads. Never happened to him. Never happened to Mom. Just me. Maybe it takes a certain type of driver (do you have lead shoes like me?) to bring this problem out. Maybe the AT is adaptive and hasn't learned you tendancies yet.
FWIW I still like my dad's car, and it tears up the snow-covered Wisconsin roads every winter.
I have a manual Forester, but my Dodge Caravan a/t has the same problem. My mom-in-law's Mercedes also has the same problem (though it is worse). My previous Caravan did not have the problem.
What seems to be common is all of the cars that I have driven with an electronic transmission has this problem. The older Caravan had their 3 speed, non electronic transmission.
I wonder if it has something to do with some sort of computer lag...
Brick22, Well at least you seemed to feel that they are an ok tire. I haven't had experience with Bridgestone, as I've said, so I guess I will try them and see how I like them. I test drove an S premium with the Yokohama Geolanders and they were ok but that was on dry pavement. I wonder if I could put 16 inch wheels and bigger tires on later. It probably would make the speedometer reading off though. Keep us (me) posted as to what you find out. I went to the i-club forester site and there were a lot of pictures of Foresters with upgraded wheels and tires but I think they were S models and so were already larger than the L that I purchased.Thanks for the info. Gene
Actually, I think getting 30K on OEM tires is pretty good. What kind of driving do you do? Since you seemed to like the H/Ts other than treadlife, you might want to look into the H/Ls. I've heard good things about them.
In general, I find Michellins to be expensive for what you get. The X-One is a good tire, but I've heard that it's noisy -- probably a tradeoff for it's long treadlife.
Have you tried looking into Dunlops? The new Sport A2 have been getting very good reviews and are reasonably priced.
Just to chime in another 2 cents worth, with my 2001 Forester S automatic transmission (30K miles and going strong):
When the car was new I occasionally surprised myself (and my wife) with the quick acceleration. This went away as I became more familiar with the car, and developed the right touch on the pedal. Side note: Friends are impressed that I can "chirp" the tires in a 4-cylinder AWD .. ;-)
I have experienced an annoying acceleration delay on occasions when I had to start slowly, then suddenly accelerate. An example, during some road construction the exit from our subdivision onto the main road was a bit gnarly and required easing forward before stomping it. To get around this annoyance, I made a habit of shifting into low gear for the "takeoff," then once I was on the main road and accelerating smoothly shifting it back up into auto.
I also experience minor hesitations when "goosing" the gas pedal hard enough to make the transmission downshift. It seems the car likes to think it over for a half-second (feels like minutes) before connecting in the next lower gear. With time, I've adapted my touch to the car and this happens less frequently. I have noticed this behavior in other auto transmission cars I've driven so it never occurred to me to call this a Forester issue or even a problem.
I have a 2000 Forester with AT, and I get the lag as well at start up. I thought it was a safety/damage prevention feature. Since the engine is revving high on a cold/cool start, I was thinking the engine computer must slow the RPM's down so the transmission doesn't lurch when entering into Reverse or Drive. I can't imagine how locked down the torwue converter would be if it hit gear with the enine at 2000rpm my MT forester runs up to on a cold start. My thoughts and observation on the issue anyway...
I have driven a fair number of AT cars, domestic and Japanese, and none exhibited this kind of behavior... Somebody suggested to "finesse" the gas pedal, and in my experience that works. But there are situations when you just have to "punch it", e.g. entering from a small lateral street into a high traffic street... Or making a left turn at an intersection, when cars are coming towards you - this can be really dangeros if your Subaru "decides" that you should stay a few more seconds in the middle of the intersection...
Though I don't quite understand every issue discussed here(oh, because of my poor English), I REPORT and share my experiences about my "new" old forester (2001) here. Mine is a 2001 forester but I bought it in April this month. It cost me 27,352 US (rate: 1 US=34 new Taiwan dollar). It's a pure Japan-imported car so I am not able to tell which model (S or L) you Americans means. I envy you guys living in American and Canada where you can enjoy a cheaper price with this car. Ha!
One big difference between my old Mondeo and forester is I found when the car is iginified (?, start), the rotation speed will keep at 1000-1500 rpm for nearly 1-2 minutes, which I think is too high, compared with my Mondeo. The noise and the car little car-shaking annoy me.
(Is that normal for this car?)
About the car, so far so good, I enjoy its quietness, quick response and acceleration. But I don't like its color. When I bought it, the white color is the only option I could choose. In Taiwan, I heard in 2001, there were only 240 forester cars imported. In Taipei, where full of air-pollution, it’s very easy to get a layer of dust coating in just a few days. I have decided not to dust wipe my car for at least one year to see what will happen. I will show you a picture of the car in this trial.
The car is still running in its 1000 km (??) stage. What do you call it (?? period)? I need to change oil, and ... and ... after the car reaches its 1000 km. The dealer told me to drive gently at this stage. Anything I need to be aware of?
That’s it.
This is our correspondent Chuanfang's latest report, Taipei, Taiwan
It's normal for your engine to run at 1500 rpms after a cold start. Mine does the same thing.
The shaking is due to the size of the engine. I'm not sure what size engine you have in Taiwan, but in the US, we get a 2.5L. That's very big for a 4-cylinder and will cause some shaking at startup. Fortunately, the opposing action of the horizontal engine layout cancels out much of the vibration.
We are delighted to have you as our Asia correspondent. I think that might make you our second foreign correspondent. We also get charming and thoughtful letters from Graham Peters in Australia, so our Pacific Rim coverage is becoming good.
Your Forester would cost about $10,000 less here. Ouch!
You might decide that frequent dust wiping would harm your car's finish. But if you mean to avoid dusting it you still might want to put down a good coat of some high quality wax to protect the finish.
The initial period of gentle running is often called the "break-in" period here, although I believe in the British Isles it might be the "running-in" period, which sounds less violent.
Welcome to the Subaru Crew. I too really enjoy news and views from overseas. If your Forester is only 1 of 240 imported to Taiwan in 2001, it must be rare indeed! I have a few questions: - Do you have right-hand drive or left-hand drive cars in Taiwan? - Which model do you have? (With a 2500 cc engine it must be a high end model. Many Foresters sold in Asia and Europe have the 2000 cc engine.) - What wheel and tire size? - Do you have the power-operated side mirrors that fold in for parking? Some Subarus have them, but not in Canada or the U.S. - What kind of sound system?
My Forester is a '99 "S" (the deluxe model then) is silver-grey (good for hiding dust), with automatic transmission, heated seats & side mirrors, AM/FM cassette+CD, and 16" wheels. It has 95,000 miles (around 150,000 km), mostly highway cruising. Because we live about 300 km north of New York City, we can get some serious snow and ice in winter. I have a separate set of 4 snow tires on 15" wheels. The Forester is a better bad-weather car than the big 4-wheel-drive sport utilities which are so popular here. Much more fun to drive, and easier on gas too.
I went to the tire rack site and the goodyear regatta 2 tires standard touring all season tires look pretty good. Does anyone have or have used these tires? Also how does one go about trading in a set of tires, with little use, on a new set of tires. I have seen sets of what goodyear has labeled take offs in their store but never had a thought of how they got there. Thanks for any info you may be ale to provide.
Do you have right-hand drive or left-hand drive cars in Taiwan?
I sit in left side. It means I use right-hand to change the gear. We are not allowed to drive in right side. It’s illegal!
- Which model do you have? (With a 2500 cc engine it must be a high end model. - - 2,457 CC, automatic. - - Many Foresters sold in Asia and Europe have the 2000 cc engine.) - What wheel and tire size?
215/60R16. with Yokohama tires.
- Do you have the power-operated side mirrors that fold in for parking? Some Subarus have them, but not in Canada or the U.S.
No I have to fold it manually (myself). Err..I am not sure, to be honest. I haven’t tried, yet.
- What kind of sound system? - S/6 or 2 DIN ?? Errr..no idea. In total it can swallow 6 CDs in it.
And the seats can be heated (useless in Taiwan). Actually we need cooling systems instead of it. It can also connect to my cellular phone with a speaker (above the wheel (?)). What surprised me is that whenever I drive, the head light is on. It’s not compulsory in Taiwan. Others include cruising system (fixed speed), leather seats, ABS, 4 disk breaks, also with at least 4 safety “balloon” (SRS?) can passively explode to protect me. Ha! My poor English. Sorry. The dealer also gave me 5 accessories including a big head case which allow me to put a tent in it.
Storyteller
With regard to the price, I think I might order one next time online from America. Ha! It’s much cheaper there ! Is that possible?
I will wax it, definitely. Any suggestions? Taiwan is a very hot and humid place. Now is about 30 degree C here, can you imagine?
Once again, your English is terrific! When you tell us your sound system can swallow 6 CDs, we know just what you mean.
The price I quoted was for a typical used 99 Forester S. It might be pretty expensive to come here to buy one, and then you'd have to make sure it would qualify for all technical standards to be operated in Taiwan. But you'd have no trouble finding a place to stay here. I think many Subaru Crew members would be honored to host you.
There are many different opinions on the best wax products. The top brands here include Klasse, Meguiars, 3M, Zaino and Turtle Wax. I don't know what sells in Taiwan. Do you know about all the other boards on Edmunds for Subaru fans? When you go to the "Town Hall," go next to "Owners Clubs" and then "Subaru Crew." You'll find 24 different discussions related to Subarus, including one on "Cleaning Interior and Exterior Surfaces." You can read that to see what car care products seem best to you, although everything depends on what is available in Taiwan. A direct link to the Subaru Crew is: /direct/view/.eea1a91
Thanks, kens, for your point of view on the Michelins--the price difference doesn't seem worth it. I did buy Dunlop Sport 5000 (I think they were called) las summer for my Miata and thought they were great. So I'll look into the Sport A2 today.
Gened--I've been researching pretty thoroughly--and have heard some general comments that have steered me away from Goodyear. The Regatta 2s were at the top of my first list. Have you read the posts on Tires, Tires, etc. on the Aftermarket and Accessories thread? Go back to ~1100 or 1150 and there's a very informative discussion.
I have 4 Regatta 2's on my 99 Forester, about 28K miles on them. I suspect I will get about 35K miles on them before replacement. I will definitely get the Regatta 2's again, they are good in all weather conditions and reasonably quiet, too. They were $69 ea at Tire Rack and my local Goodyear store wanted $108 ea for them - before the additional charges for mounting and tire valves!
Thanks for the info Brick22 and dt63944. dt do you have the Forester L? Living in upstate NY I do have to consider the two seasons (you know winter and the 4th of July!!) Even though this past winter was pretty tame. Last year we had over 180 inches of snow. My daughter lives further in the snow belt and several blizzards were downright scarry in just the front wheel drive cars that we had. Now I am hoping that all wheel drive will be the ticket. I probably will drive on the dueler tires until I figure out a better tire. Brick after reading your suggestions on the accessories post under tires tires tires there doesn't appear to be a clear cut advantage to any of the tires. Aqua tread 3's seem to have quality problems and the rest just not enough information on them. Thanks anyway, Gene
Have you guys considered Nokian tires? They typically are known for their winter tires, but they have one all-season tire that they claim has more grip in snow than any all-season out there.
Drove home in my new 2002 Forester L yesterday. Nice experience in purchasing. Dealer had a sale at $500 under invoice. When I showed the salesman a competitor's ad with a price $400 lower, he agreed to install a CD player!
One minor complaint so far and that is the sunvisors. Mine don't have the upgraded ones with vanity mirrors. That's OK, I would seldom use the mirrors, as I ain't that pretty anyway. But, the one's on the car are vinyl and somewhat cheesy. And they are definitely too short and they cover just over half the side window.
I commute 25 miles one way to work, with the sun on my left both coming and going, so need an improvement.
Any suggestions for upgrade and/or some sort of extensions?
I can't decide which tires to buy either. You're right that almost anything said is contradicted by someone else. Just when I thought I had narrowed my choices down to Michelin X-Ones and Yokohama Avid T4s, I started reading the reviews on Tirerack one more time and there were all kinds of comments about the Avid T4s not standing up to snow. I was glad to hear from the poster who said he/she had the Regatta 2s. If I rember, they were praised highly on the Tirerack surveys.
We also live in a snowbelt--the east side of the Cascades in Washington. We get caught in blizzard like conditions at least once a year, and the rest of the winter we're mostly driving on snowpack. Then, as where you are, things get hot in August.
We've still decided to go with an all season tire rather than spend $40 twice a year to have tires mounted and unmounted etc.
Still looking out here. I'd like to hear if you make a decision.
I forgot to say--I looked for Dunlop Sport A2s on Tirerack and they weren't listed in my size. 205/70/15. Or does tirerack not carry them? Where have you found them? Thanks!
I just reread your earlier post and noticed your question about selling tires that had little wear on them-- In 1993--I had a Scirocco then--my car was caught in the Iowa flood and declared a total loss by the insurance company. I had just bought new tires, probably less than a year before. I remember speaking to someone at a local tire shop who told me they would buy mine if I could get them down there--but things were too hectic, so I never did. Someone got a deal on my tires, though, I'm sure! I did, however, sell my winter tires with an ad in the paper. It was very easy.
My experience is that most cars made IN Japan have very cheap looking sunvisors no matter what the price of the car is. You can spend $25K on a Forester or RAV4 and still will get those visors made out of window shade material without lit mirrors. I think if the Forester were made in the US it would have more substantial visors. I think the 2003 model may be improved in this area. As far as aftermarket visors... I don't know... you can search the internet. Maybe Legacy Outback visors will fit? I know... it's irritating when you spend so much for a car and the manufacturer still has to cheap out on something or not even offer something as an option. If it makes you feel better... my friends 1995 Land Rover has those economy car visors as well.
Comments
-mike
When my wife Kathy and I picked up our 02 Forester L on March 1st, the salesman mentioned that if I ever needed to disable the AWD that there is a fuse I can install to make that happen. In several trips through the owners manual I can't find any mention of it. Am I missing the info on each reading, or is there someplace else to look for this info?
Paul
According to the manual, the fuse applys to AT only.
Assuming that the manual hasn't change much, you'll find the topic in chapter 8 "In case of emergency" between 'Temporary spare' and 'Tire changing tool'. It's page 8-12 on my manual (OB though).
hope it helps =D
-Dave
-Dave
Personally I'd just get it flatbedded or dolly towed.
-mike
-juice
I have a 2002 Forester S with the auto-tranny and was nearly hit today turning out of my apartment complex into a slightly curvy road with an incline (a.k.a. I didn't see any cars from the left, but they could've sped around the corner in the time it took for me to turn right).
The transmission lag hits right after I start up the car and put it into gear. I was parked near the entrance to the complex this time, which is why I was just starting up.
Subaru Team -- WHAT IS THIS PROBLEM? I've seen lots of folks talking about it in this forum, and there's been no definite answer. One fella had an idea about the fuel system being the problem. Another talked about the AWD kicking in at the start of vehicle use.
PLEASE -- tell us what is causing this transmission lag! When I'm not at the apartment complex entrance getting hit because DRIVE doesn't actually DRIVE my vehicle forward for a half second, I'm dealing with crazy college kids flying through the apartment complex and nearly hitting me because my car nearly stalls when pulling out of a space. Someone's going to get hurt because of this problem, and I don't want to see it happen and/or be the first.
HELP!!!
Are you sure you're not referring to "turbo lag," which is an issue only with the Impreza WRX? I've never heard of transmission lag, and I virtually live on these Subaru forums.
Bob
I'm sorry you're unhappy, but you have a promise to check it out from me.
Thanks!
Patti
-Brian
Michael, you'll get better at figuring out how to finesse the gas pedal, just keep working with it. Although if you frequently have to make quick starts b/c of your apartment parking lot layout or whatever, I can see where you're a bit worried.
Steve
Anybody know if this can be done without turning the tranny into goo?
-Dave
The Rec. Vehicle was probably towing a Forester with MT.
-Dave
tidester
Host
SUVs
I'm still looking for new tires, by the way. TireRack service person recommended Yokohama Avid T4s. The reviews there seem only so/so. I'm also thinking about the Michelin X-Ones. Has anyone replaced their stock tires? ARe you satisfied?
Basically, and I believe this is the issue described by others who were referring to their gas pedals being touchy, I start up the car when the engine is cold and/or hasn't been running for a few hours. I put the car in either reverse or drive to leave a parking space/parking lot, and, upon pressing the accelerator, I get the following:
- Sudden drop in RPMs, to the point of nearly stalling the engine.
- Half to one second lag between hitting the accelerator and actually getting forward motion.
I think after that second part is when people are getting the sudden acceleration, as the RPMs come back up very quickly and cause the vehicle almost to jump from a full stop. This whole series of events only occurs at vehicle startup -- I don't have to finesse the gas pedal like people are recommending after this nearly stalled start. That's just the way the car drives.What I'm describing feels like a definite and sudden loss of engine power right after starting the vehicle and pulling away from a dead stop. Tweaking the pedal a little helps, but the feeling that the car is going to stall is what concerns me. Almost like the engine's power/fuel is being sucked away at the start.
I hope this better describes the issue that I believe other folks have been talking about. It is certainly different than the general discussion about accelerator pedal feel. That's just the way the car drives. It's the uncertain starts and near stalls that concern me.
I will wait until other folks chime in before getting my dealership involved, as it sounds like a common problem among Forester owners. Thanks!
Regards,
burnsmr4 (Michael)
How many miles on your 'ster? Only happens when cold, warm engine wots are ok?
My previous ride exhibited similar characteristics when cold. But, it would go away with a bottle of injector cleaner every few months. Maybe you could try that?
-Brian
This hesitation happened at stoplights and in traffic in July (the car was warm). It seemed the further I pushed the pedal, the more the car would hesitate. It really freaked me out the first few times. Eventually I stopped expecting instant power and began driving more defensively and with a lighter foot.
When I told my dad about it he looked at me as if I had two heads. Never happened to him. Never happened to Mom. Just me. Maybe it takes a certain type of driver (do you have lead shoes like me?) to bring this problem out. Maybe the AT is adaptive and hasn't learned you tendancies yet.
FWIW I still like my dad's car, and it tears up the snow-covered Wisconsin roads every winter.
-jim
What seems to be common is all of the cars that I have driven with an electronic transmission has this problem. The older Caravan had their 3 speed, non electronic transmission.
I wonder if it has something to do with some sort of computer lag...
Well at least you seemed to feel that they are an ok tire. I haven't had experience with Bridgestone, as I've said, so I guess I will try them and see how I like them. I test drove an S premium with the Yokohama Geolanders and they were ok but that was on dry pavement. I wonder if I could put 16 inch wheels and bigger tires on later. It probably would make the speedometer reading off though. Keep us (me) posted as to what you find out. I went to the i-club forester site and there were a lot of pictures of Foresters with upgraded wheels and tires but I think they were S models and so were already larger than the L that I purchased.Thanks for the info.
Gene
Bob
Actually, I think getting 30K on OEM tires is pretty good. What kind of driving do you do? Since you seemed to like the H/Ts other than treadlife, you might want to look into the H/Ls. I've heard good things about them.
In general, I find Michellins to be expensive for what you get. The X-One is a good tire, but I've heard that it's noisy -- probably a tradeoff for it's long treadlife.
Have you tried looking into Dunlops? The new Sport A2 have been getting very good reviews and are reasonably priced.
Ken
When the car was new I occasionally surprised myself (and my wife) with the quick acceleration. This went away as I became more familiar with the car, and developed the right touch on the pedal. Side note: Friends are impressed that I can "chirp" the tires in a 4-cylinder AWD .. ;-)
I have experienced an annoying acceleration delay on occasions when I had to start slowly, then suddenly accelerate. An example, during some road construction the exit from our subdivision onto the main road was a bit gnarly and required easing forward before stomping it. To get around this annoyance, I made a habit of shifting into low gear for the "takeoff," then once I was on the main road and accelerating smoothly shifting it back up into auto.
I also experience minor hesitations when "goosing" the gas pedal hard enough to make the transmission downshift. It seems the car likes to think it over for a half-second (feels like minutes) before connecting in the next lower gear. With time, I've adapted my touch to the car and this happens less frequently. I have noticed this behavior in other auto transmission cars I've driven so it never occurred to me to call this a Forester issue or even a problem.
Cheers,
Scott in Texas
One big difference between my old Mondeo and forester is I found when the car is iginified (?, start), the rotation speed will keep at 1000-1500 rpm for nearly 1-2 minutes, which I think is too high, compared with my Mondeo. The noise and the car little car-shaking annoy me.
(Is that normal for this car?)
About the car, so far so good, I enjoy its quietness, quick response and acceleration. But I don't like its color. When I bought it, the white color is the only option I could choose. In Taiwan, I heard in 2001, there were only 240 forester cars imported. In Taipei, where full of air-pollution, it’s very easy to get a layer of dust coating in just a few days. I have decided not to dust wipe my car for at least one year to see what will happen. I will show you a picture of the car in this trial.
The car is still running in its 1000 km (??) stage. What do you call it (?? period)? I need to change oil, and ... and ... after the car reaches its 1000 km. The dealer told me to drive gently at this stage. Anything I need to be aware of?
That’s it.
This is our correspondent Chuanfang's latest report, Taipei, Taiwan
It's normal for your engine to run at 1500 rpms after a cold start. Mine does the same thing.
The shaking is due to the size of the engine. I'm not sure what size engine you have in Taiwan, but in the US, we get a 2.5L. That's very big for a 4-cylinder and will cause some shaking at startup. Fortunately, the opposing action of the horizontal engine layout cancels out much of the vibration.
Ken
Mine is the same as yours, 2500 CC.
Chuanfang
Your Forester would cost about $10,000 less here. Ouch!
You might decide that frequent dust wiping would harm your car's finish. But if you mean to avoid dusting it you still might want to put down a good coat of some high quality wax to protect the finish.
The initial period of gentle running is often called the "break-in" period here, although I believe in the British Isles it might be the "running-in" period, which sounds less violent.
Keep us posted! ;-)
- Do you have right-hand drive or left-hand drive cars in Taiwan?
- Which model do you have? (With a 2500 cc engine it must be a high end model. Many Foresters sold in Asia and Europe have the 2000 cc engine.)
- What wheel and tire size?
- Do you have the power-operated side mirrors that fold in for parking? Some Subarus have them, but not in Canada or the U.S.
- What kind of sound system?
My Forester is a '99 "S" (the deluxe model then) is silver-grey (good for hiding dust), with automatic transmission, heated seats & side mirrors, AM/FM cassette+CD, and 16" wheels. It has 95,000 miles (around 150,000 km), mostly highway cruising. Because we live about 300 km north of New York City, we can get some serious snow and ice in winter. I have a separate set of 4 snow tires on 15" wheels. The Forester is a better bad-weather car than the big 4-wheel-drive sport utilities which are so popular here. Much more fun to drive, and easier on gas too.
Again, welcome.
John
Bob
Do you have right-hand drive or left-hand drive cars in Taiwan?
I sit in left side. It means I use right-hand to change the gear. We are not allowed to drive in right side. It’s illegal!
- Which model do you have? (With a 2500 cc engine it must be a high end model.
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- 2,457 CC, automatic.
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- Many Foresters sold in Asia and Europe have the 2000 cc engine.)
- What wheel and tire size?
215/60R16. with Yokohama tires.
- Do you have the power-operated side mirrors that fold in for parking? Some Subarus have them, but not in Canada or the U.S.
No I have to fold it manually (myself). Err..I am not sure, to be honest. I haven’t tried, yet.
- What kind of sound system?
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S/6 or 2 DIN ?? Errr..no idea. In total it can swallow 6 CDs in it.
And the seats can be heated (useless in Taiwan). Actually we need cooling systems instead of it. It can also connect to my cellular phone with a speaker (above the wheel (?)). What surprised me is that whenever I drive, the head light is on. It’s not compulsory in Taiwan. Others include cruising system (fixed speed), leather seats, ABS, 4 disk breaks, also with at least 4 safety “balloon” (SRS?) can passively explode to protect me. Ha! My poor English. Sorry. The dealer also gave me 5 accessories including a big head case which allow me to put a tent in it.
Storyteller
With regard to the price, I think I might order one next time online from America. Ha! It’s much cheaper there ! Is that possible?
I will wax it, definitely. Any suggestions? Taiwan is a very hot and humid place. Now is about 30 degree C here, can you imagine?
Thanks for all your support.
Chuanfang
I sit in left side. It means I use right-hand to change the gear. We are not allowed to drive in right side. It’s illegal!"
Chuanfang-
hehe
From your description, it will be left hand drive.
-Dave
The price I quoted was for a typical used 99 Forester S. It might be pretty expensive to come here to buy one, and then you'd have to make sure it would qualify for all technical standards to be operated in Taiwan. But you'd have no trouble finding a place to stay here. I think many Subaru Crew members would be honored to host you.
There are many different opinions on the best wax products. The top brands here include Klasse, Meguiars, 3M, Zaino and Turtle Wax. I don't know what sells in Taiwan. Do you know about all the other boards on Edmunds for Subaru fans? When you go to the "Town Hall," go next to "Owners Clubs" and then "Subaru Crew." You'll find 24 different discussions related to Subarus, including one on "Cleaning Interior and Exterior Surfaces." You can read that to see what car care products seem best to you, although everything depends on what is available in Taiwan. A direct link to the Subaru Crew is: /direct/view/.eea1a91
Steve
Gened--I've been researching pretty thoroughly--and have heard some general comments that have steered me away from Goodyear. The Regatta 2s were at the top of my first list. Have you read the posts on Tires, Tires, etc. on the Aftermarket and Accessories thread? Go back to ~1100 or 1150 and there's a very informative discussion.
Thanks anyway,
Gene
http://www.nokiantires.com/html/NRW.html
The downside is the availability and price.
Ken
Thanks for the heads-up I'll have to see who carries them and how much the 205x70x15's are.
Gene
One minor complaint so far and that is the sunvisors. Mine don't have the upgraded ones with vanity mirrors. That's OK, I would seldom use the mirrors, as I ain't that pretty anyway. But, the one's on the car are vinyl and somewhat cheesy. And they are definitely too short and they cover just over half the side window.
I commute 25 miles one way to work, with the sun on my left both coming and going, so need an improvement.
Any suggestions for upgrade and/or some sort of extensions?
We also live in a snowbelt--the east side of the Cascades in Washington. We get caught in blizzard like conditions at least once a year, and the rest of the winter we're mostly driving on snowpack. Then, as where you are, things get hot in August.
We've still decided to go with an all season tire rather than spend $40 twice a year to have tires mounted and unmounted etc.
Still looking out here. I'd like to hear if you make a decision.
I think the 2003 model may be improved in this area. As far as aftermarket visors... I don't know... you can search the internet. Maybe Legacy Outback visors will fit?
I know... it's irritating when you spend so much for a car and the manufacturer still has to cheap out on something or not even offer something as an option. If it makes you feel better... my friends 1995 Land Rover has those economy car visors as well.