Subaru - Forester :: 2006 - Condensation In Driver Side Headlight After Heavy Rain
I have a Subaru Forester 2006. This year, noticed condensation in driver's side headlight after a heavy rain. Not too long after, the headlight blew. (My headlights have been blowing at a frightening rate, but that might be a different thread for another time.). We changed the light and did our best to dry out the inside of the housing. We also checked for leaks by blowing air into the housing, with no luck at finding anything obvious. We put a little flashing on the inside, thinking there might be a problem with the rubber gasket.
Next rain, same problem. We also noticed in a parking lot another Forester, similar vintage, with condensation in both of its headlights. Is this a known problem...
Subaru - Forester :: 1998 - Head Gasket Leaking Oil
I have a 1998 Subaru Forester that is leaking oil through the head gasket. Repairs for the head gasket seem to be in high range, which is at or above the value of the car. Is trying any of the head gasket sealant products such as Blue Devil worth trying? Do they have the potential to do more damage than good? I love the car, but I'm also not sure if it is worth getting if fixed or if I should be looking to sell it for parts and buy a different used car.
View 15 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2003 - Leaking Struts / Replacement?
The other day my 2003 Subaru Forester was getting its oil changed and when it was done the mechanic informed me that my struts were leaking and needed to be replaced. He didn't seem to think it was urgent or anything. He mentioned something about roll overs and the wearing of the tires, but I'm not entirely sure what this means for the car. It has 140K on it, and I drive it a lot on the high way. I'm also planning to go on a trip in Mid July that's about a thousand mile drive. So, how soon should this be done? What do leaking struts mean for a car?
View 14 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2002 - How Long Can Drive With Leaking Head Gasket
My mechanic told me that the burning smell I've been getting in my '02 Forester when I'm idling is a leaking head gasket. It seems to be a slow oil leak. If I keep an eye on my oil level can I continue to drive the car without doing further damage or having to worry about breaking down?
View 4 RepliesForester :: 2012 Subaru - Rattle Started Out In Glove Box Area
I have a 2012 Subaru Forester with 27,000 miles on it. It has a rattle that started out in the glovebox area, and has migrated to areas around the dash, center console, liner by the sunroof control etc...I have had the car in the shop 5+ times, the last time being a week and a half. Everyone is baffled by this rattle. It seems to come and go. The glovebox liner was replaced, and other areas insulated, yet it still rattles, although it is not consistent.
View 3 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2012 - Metallic Sound When Passenger Side Door Is Opened
I have a 2012 Forester. When I open the passenger side door first thing in the morning to put my stuff in the car and then close the door - there is a loud metallic noise. It is not repeatable at that time.When I open the driver's side door after work (or about 8 hrs after the first time in the morning) and sit in the car, I get the same noise. Again, it is not repeatable at that time.The dealer says, they cannot recreate the noise but I am getting it regularly every day.I live in Central Texas, the Forester is in the garage at my house and in the garage at work.I am currently at 27,500 miles.
View 19 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2012 Auto Transmission Jerky - Sluggish Acceleration And Rough Start
I purchased a 2012 Subaru Forester 2.5X Premium (automatic transmission) in November 2011 with 4 miles on it. Since the get-go it has had issues, but we thought that some of them might work themselves out as we broke the car in (which we were religious about). At the first oil change, we told the dealership about the issues we were experiencing and got the expected "the computer doesn't say anything is wrong" and "we couldn't replicate the problems" excuses. We were told to bring it back if the problems continued. Well, they've gotten worse. Here are what we are experiencing:
- Erratic shifting. I commute from the mountains to the city every day, so I need power from the car. Sometimes, when I'm heading down a hill and I tap the gas slightly to give myself a little boost, the car will suddenly downshift, even though it was sitting at 2500 RPM and didn't need to get any extra power beyond more fuel. Going up the hill is worse, as if you are not actively accelerating (including if you are trying to maintain a constant speed), it will upshift on you and you lose all power, so it will need to downshift to make up for this. It does this constantly for the entire drive home. Everyone who has driven this car in the mountains has experienced this.
- Jerky transmission. When the car shifts, it is super harsh and tends to throw you forward or back. Even when on flat ground it shifts roughly.
- Sluggish acceleration. If I give the car any more gas than I usually do, it hesitates before going anywhere. One day I needed to get over on the highway fast and floored it - it took the car about 2 seconds to respond. Then, yesterday, we were turning on to a highway from a side road and I tried to accelerate (gas about 1/2 way to the floor) and it didn't respond at all for about 5 seconds and the "Check Engine" and the traction control lights started flashing at me. We were on a paved road with no gravel, water, ice, etc and the traction control light began flashing on the straight, not while we were turning. There are also days when it feels like there is an anchor tied to the car and it just doesn't want to give me any umph at all.
- Rough starts. This is the really weird one as there is no rhyme or reason as to when it happens. Some times it takes the car several revolutions to turn over. Oddly, it's never on the really cold (under 20 degrees F) days, but it has happened when it is ~35 degrees and a couple of times when I have started it in the middle of the day to grab lunch and it is ~65 degrees out.
- Running rough. This usually happens after a rough start, but can also happen at other times. It just idles very rough and won't calm down. These are the days I have the worst time with the shifting issues.
I had a 2001 Forester that threw a rod, which forced me to get this car. Everyone who has driven both agrees that the 2001 was quicker, easier to drive, and had more gumption than the 2012. It also had less problems even though I purchased it used in 2005 (until the whole rod-throwing thing, of course). I really want to love my 2012 Forester, but I am so upset that, for the first time in my life I have a new car, and it runs terribly.
Subaru - Forester :: 2004 - AC Goes Out Intermittently
I have a 2004 Subaru Forester xs and the a/c goes out intermittently. I was told I need a new compressor clutch and that the whole compressor assembly will have to be replaced. I contacted another mechanic and he said that he would fix just the clutch but I should replace the whole thing. So, what do I HAVE to do? Are these prices in line? Can I get used parts or discounted parts?
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: Stumbling At Around 2500 Rpm
I have an '06 Forester XT 2.5 turbo that has, what I can only describe as a stumble around 2500 rpm. The car's maintenance is always up-to-date, and never has anything under 91 octane run in it.This started out when you had the cruise set and now does it all the time whether or not the cruise is used. I've had it to 2 shops including a Subaru dealer that had it for a month and couldn't find the issue. We've been through injectors, coils, maf sensor, etc. to no avail. The trouble code that we're given is a misfire in cylinder 1. We discovered, while trying to find the issue, that there was only 30psi in that #1 cylinder and the valve guides were the issue. So the motor was pulled, heads planed, etc. and new guides installed. Also, put in a new timing belt, and so on, that is usually done when the motor is out.They have done a leak down test and compression tests as well. This is my wife's car and she absolutely love it, so I need to get this figured out.
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Gas Mileage Is 20 Mpg?
I just bought this car for my daughter. It's in very good shape; runs like a top. But the gas mileage is a lousy 20 mpg. All of my trips are local (no stop and go stuff as we live in the country). A buddy of mine with the same car and similar driving habits says she gets 25-28 mpg. So far I have changed the oil, oil filter and air filter.This can't be the best I can expect, can it?!
View 10 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2006 - Low Miles - What To Do
At 56,000+ miles on my 2006 Forester, I was horribly shocked to learn while having 60,000 maintenance done that my head gasket was leaking. inclusive of timing belt replacement required. I have read some discussions in this vein, but none regarding a car with this few miles on it. It does not seem right. I have had other issues with this car, my 2nd forester. I do not know what I should do.
View 12 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: Front Seats Are Not Wide Enough
I have a 2015 forester & the seats are not wide enough so my right leg rests on the front corner of the seat & after driving 70 miles my legs & back are hurting. I think the outback has seats 2 inches wider , that could work.
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: AC Is On Automatic Control - Fan Will Speed Up
Sometimes when the AC is on automatic control it will kick out of auto control into manual control and the fan will speed up. All this happens without touching anything. Dealer said it's working fine.
View 1 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2003 - Low Air Flow Through Vents
I have a 2003 Forester that has low air flow thru the vents if you try to use the AC or heater.
If you turn the speed from 1-4 you can hear the blower fan turning faster but the air coming out of the vents is very low. YOu can hardly feel it. I checked to see if there was a cabin filter and there was none.
Even though you can barely feel the air coming out, when on AC the air feels cold and when on heat it feels hot.
Subaru - Forester :: Standard Transmission Not Going Into Reverse
Sometimes the Subaru standard transmission just does not want to go into reverse. I don't see a pattern here, but when it happens I have to double clutch it, or hold the clutch peddle down and move from first to reverse.
View 3 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2009 - Car Battery Keeps Dying
I bought the car brand new in May of 2009. All was good until February of last year when the battery died. I kind of wrote it off as one of those things that's part of life in AK. But then the same thing happened in November - yes, it was cold again, but it died after I'd successfully started it and drove it to my husband's work. He was inside for maybe thirty minutes. Not wanting to waste gas, it turned the car off and listened to the radio. When hubby came back, I tried to start the car and ... nothing. We had to get it jumped. Hubby said I shouldn't have been listening to the radio with the engine off. Anyway, I had a service appointment at the dealership a few days later and mentioned that the battery died again. They checked it and said it was weak so they replaced it.
Now, of course, I'm super-paranoid about everything that could be draining the battery. I turn the lights off whenever I turn off the engine (even though that's supposed to be something the car does automatically), and only listen to the radio when I'm driving. I've made sure that there's nothing plugged in any of the power outlets, and I don't have anything that's aftermarket. Oh, and middle of last year the radio/CD player died too, and that had to be replaced. Don't know if it's linked, but it's still odd.
The only advice the dealership had was to drive it more. I guess I'm pretty severe on the car - work's maybe a fifteen minute drive (20 if it's snowing) and a fair few of my journeys are short ones, for a variety of reasons. Plus, it's Anchorage, AK. Severe driving's standard here. But I never had these issues with my other cars, and my driving patterns haven't changed at all. Could there be something that's draining the battery that I haven't thought of, or am I really stuck with driving around Anchorage aimlessly for at least 20 minutes each time I get in the car?
Subaru - Forester :: 1998 - Smell Of Fuel Outside The Car
Okay, I've been trying to diagnose this problem for ages. Whenever I top off my tank with fuel, the garage smells of fuel until I use up about a quarter of the tank. The smell stays mostly outside of the car. So far I have replaced the drain filter (a few years ago), fuel filler neck, hose leading from the filler neck to the tank, and had the system pressure tested. I'm fairly certain it's not the tank because the car has been undercoated since new and my mechanic saw no signs of a leak when he replaced the rear crossmember recently. My next guess is either the gas cap, the charcoal filter, or some hose leading to/from the charcoal filter.
View 7 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: Engine Oil Filter On Transmission
After having changed the oil in my 04 Forester multiple times, I must have lost my mind and drained the transmission fluid. I realized this when I started it back up and it wouldn't move. Clearly I put an oil filter on with engine oil around the seal. Should I do a tranny flush or can I just replace filter (with correct one) and fill with tranny fluid?
View 16 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2003 - Squealing At Start Up
I have a 2003 Subaru forester w/ 148k and manual transmission. Recently I have notice two new symptoms, but am not sure if they are connected. First is some bluish exhaust just at startup. Second is a wining sound out of the front of the engine. It fluctuates in time with the rpm. When I pop the hood it sounds like it may by coming from the generator or AC unit which has a wired red powdery substance on it. The wining seem worse for the first 1/2 hr of driving.
View 7 Replies