The head gaskets are less than 2 years old, radiator only almost 3 years old, I've constantly had oil leak issue. Now the problem is my temperature gauge rises after driving for 20-30 minutes when I'm going at a lower speed or in stop and go traffic. Both fans are working, no leaks, new thermostat, and new radiator cap.
View 2 RepliesSometimes 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 Replies35,000 miles... I don't know which I noticed first, getting my head snapped back after rounding a corner and accelerating or starting to free wheel at about 15 mph approaching a stop. I am embarrassed to say it took me a while to figure out it was the same problem only worse when rounding a corner.
Briefly. The transmission is not down shifting all the way on deceleration. My local mechanic told me to try overfilling the xmission. I did (1qt) and now it only does it when cold. Subaru knows all about it except that part about how to fix it.
2003 Subaru Forester with 130,000 miles. We put new tires on two months ago and when I started hearing the wah, wah, wah noise coming from the back of the car (rhythmic - increases with speed of car) I assumed on of the new tires was bad. It isn't. Also pulled the brake drums and cleaned everything there up.... What this might be?
View 5 RepliesI brought my car to a dealership for its 120,000mi check-up, and they told me that the front axle boots were torn. They replaced the right axle, and on the ride home, I noticed a burning smell. Short story is four return trips, and the right axle replaced three times (including the initial replacement), and the smell has finally gone away. The weird part is not that I went back to the same place four times instead of giving up, it's that they told me this last time that they moved the replacement #2 right axle to the left when they installed replacement #3.
Why would they do that? Why would the smell go away if the issue was with that axle? I looked it up, and the same part is used on the driver's side and passenger side, so it wasn't as though they installed a left axle on the right the first two times. Does this mean the "new" axles were just new-to-me and had been reconditioned? If reconditioned, would it matter if a previously left axle was mounted on the right?
Meanwhile, about six weeks after replacement #2, the car started making a thumping noise when the accelerator was depressed at a speed over 35mph (but not when coasting above 35mph or with the gas on below 30-35). I was wondering if it was misfiring or something, but lo and behold! That noise went away with the axle switching. Way back at replacement #1, they replaced the boot on the left but not the entire axle until #3.
I have a new 2015 Subaru Forester and I noticed the following problem: When driving at a constant low speed, in the 20-30 MPH range, the car bucks/hesitates slightly off and on, while driving. At first I thought the engine was missing, but I noticed the RPM was at about 1000 RPM, very low. And a missing engine would cause a "check engine" warning.
So I think this is a combination of the CVT and the engine lugging. The CVT should move down a notch to a lower "gear" but it doesn't, so the engine is forced to operate at a problem speed. A normal transmission would downshift, I would think.
Can I do anything to solve this, other than manually shift to the low range?
I just took my 2009 Subaru Forester (80,000 miles) in to a mechanic because it was having an intermittent power steering assist failure during low speed maneuvering (i.e., parking lot). This is always accompanied by a loud rhythmic whining form under the hood (kind of like a whaawhaawhaawhaa). By intermittent, I mean maybe 50% chance of it happening when I am maneuvering in a parking lot. By failure, I mean I can still turn the wheel but it's much harder. The mechanic diagnosed it as the following:
dry rot in drive belts, recommended replacement
leaky rack and pinion, recommended replacement
2 leaky front struts
I checked my power steering fluid before I brought it in and the level/color looks great. The mechanic said in addition to the leak that there's a little bit of a catch in the steering at a certain steering position when going faster, but I haven't noticed it myself. I have trusted this shop in the past and had good experiences, but there has been a lot of turnover lately, so I'm unsure of what to do. I went ahead and had them change the belts, but decided to wait on the rack/struts until I did more research/got a second opinion.
First & main issue: I throttle on, the RPMs jump, speed drops. I think I dealt w/ this before in my old Toyota pickup by replacing the clutch master cylinder. Is that right?
Secondly, I don't know if the engine of this lil car has been rebuilt, but the smoke from under the hood has been alarming. It smells of oil, and I've seen some spots that appear to have leaking oil dropping onto the exhaust, but the smoke keeps coming from various spots.
I really enjoy driving this lil car, it's my first Subaru and my first wagon, but if the trouble is just now starting for me, at over 210,000 miles... I've replaced a few things, but I've never owned a newer(ish) vehicle (except a Harley), and come to expect to do work every once in awhile. I'm fairly regular w/ preventative maintenance, but not strict about when to change fluids or flush things (i.e. transmission or radiator). Maybe I should just sell this one and move on.
I also hit a deer the other day going pretty fast and fortunately only busted out the passenger side head light, fog light, and blinker. The other day being over a month ago. I just don't drive at night and try to avoid right turns. Any thoughts on where to get cheap replacement parts? I can't seem to find anywhere that'll sell me those plastic bits for under a few hundred dollars.. strange considering a necessary part like a master cylinder is only $40..
My Keyless remote control is "DEAD" however my system is somehow engaged. In order to start my 99 Subaru Forester I need to reach under my dashand hold in the emergency override button. Car starts fine every time. Is it difficult to unwire this keyless system? I'm not going to keep this car much longer. Will probably replace car before end of 2013. Easy fix or keep driving as is? Any possible problems if I keep starting car with button release?
View 2 RepliesI took my car to my previous shop for a P0325, Knock Sensor Circuit Malfunction. They wanted nearly $500 to fix it. My new shop said that I just needed some engine treatment and the code went away for a week and a half, but it came back yesterday, and my engine ran a little rough.
I heard what sounded like a very rough engine and it was my car. The technician came in saying that I was only running on two cylinders, but that sounds like far worse of a problem than I had been experiencing. They say that I need a $266.80 valve adjustment, which is all labor, but the total is $300 more than that:
Engine Light diagnostic: $44.99 Shop Fee: 35.00 Tune up package Remove and replace spark plugs: 60.03 Additional access time - remove: 64.20 and replace spark plugs: NGK Spark Plugx4: 9.96 Adjust Valve Clearance: 266.80 Pepguard Limited Extended Labor: 58.65 Warranty BWD Custom fit ignition set: 36.39
Parts: 46.35 Labor: 436.02 Other: 93.65 Tax: 6.55 Total: 582.57
Of course, my roommate, who is upset that I am not continually pouring fluids into leaky power steering and AC systems butted in and said the entire thing is preposterous. Problems with cylinder firing are invariably the result of bad spark plugs andor wires.
Well, they say that I need to replace those, which cost $46.35, the least expensive entry in the entire estimate. They just want to charge $124.23 to replace them.
Why don't I replace them myself and see if that fixes my problems?
They say that if the valve clearance adjustment does not fix the problem then I need new cylinders and valves.
Regretfully, I have a "service plan:""Engine: All internally lubricated parts contained within the engine block, cylinder head(s) or rotary engine housing(s); oil pump; timing belt or chain, timing gears and timing tensioners; water pump; engine block, cylinder barrels, engine head(s), rotor housing(s) if damaged by the failure of an internally lubricated part. Dipstick and tube; harmonic balancer; oil pan; timing chain cover."
I cannot imagine that it would cover a valve clearance adjustment and they would only cover cylinders and valves "if damaged by the failure of an internally lubricated part."
So, ride my bike eight miles tomorrow, replace the spark plugs and wires, and hope that it is enough?
I noticed something while riding as a passenger in my 1999 Subaru Forester lately. I was riding in the front passenger seat with the window down, and noticed a strange "spritzing" noise coming from the passenger side front of the vehicle. The sound is very brief, about a second in duration. I heard this repeat several times as we went down the road, and decided to time it. It turns out that this sound occurs exactly every 33 seconds while the car is in gear going down the road! It sounds like a pressure relief valve going off....but what could it be?
View 2 RepliesMy engine starts to overheat (the thermostat creeps up towards the red) when I run the a/c. This started this summer. If I turn the a/c off, it settles back to normal. Mechanics said a/c pressure sensor was defective and caused a/c clutch to stay on all the time. so they replaced the a/c receiver dryer (whatever that is). didn't fix it. they looked again and said a/c fans were cutting out and causing overheating. they replaced them. that didn't fix it. now they're proposing exploratory open heart surgery: opening up the engine. if it only happens when the a/c runs, seems extreme.
View 5 RepliesMy 2001 Subaru Outback H6-3.0 is at 215k miles (I bought it for $4k at 201k miles). It overheats only when I drive for a while on a hot day. I was trying to get to Yosemite with my whole family in the car, and rather than do the intelligent thing and go back home and get it repaired, I kept going, stopping when the gauge started going past the middle to let it cool down and replace any water it was missing (after the engine cooled, of course). Amazingly, we managed to use the car almost normally during the trip, as long as we did short-ish trips and kept some water in the car. Having to pull over randomly isn't so bad when you are in Yosemite anyway.
There was a mechanic shop in the little town we stayed in, but they weren't equipped to to do a head gasket job in the little time we were going to be up there, and we needed the car to get around anyway. So I tried putting some of that coolant leak repair gunk in there and it seemed to work. We made it the hundreds of miles home, no problem (but it was downhill, where the trip up there was uphill). Problem solved, right?
Well, about a year later of only driving the thing about 50 miles in any given run, and not terribly hot weather, we decide to go a few hundred miles south. Sure enough, it was a hot day and after about 60 miles I saw the temp gauge go past mid and immediately pulled over. After it cooled a bit, I drove it (in two hops, because it started heating up again quickly) to a shop. They tested it and sure enough it's a head gasket leak. They said it'd be $2500 to fix it.
So far this car has been pretty good to me otherwise. Numerous times, I've taken it up 300+ miles into the snow and ice covered roads to go skiing and LOVE not having to put chains on. I am guessing that all the cold air up there kept it from overheating while I was pushing it pretty hard up some steep inclines without issue. It seems like there is a temperature threshold beyond which it starts to quickly overheat, and below witch, the gasket is holding fine, or something along those lines.
So, given that I like this car, is it worth another $2500 to get her back on the road? Should I just try the leak stopping junk again? Should I have been using "SUBARU cooling system conditioner" this whole time, even though it's not one of the supposed head-gasket-problem engines? Should I just drive it until it finally overheats to death? It's probably still fine to drive in moderate to cool temperatures (winter is coming), but I haven't driven it since the leaking head gasket diagnosis. I don't know if I did permanent damage to it that day, or if it's just its usual self still. It didn't get into the red, heat-wise.
Several weeks ago, my wife drove our Outback for 10 minutes, turned the car off, then turned it back on after 10 minutes. After 15 minutes of its being on the second time and the car being in a car line, the red temperature indicator blinked, then went solid. She pulled over to let it cool, then put coolant in the overflow reservoir when she got home. The reservoir was nearly empty. The very next day, the exact same thing happened, in the exact same sequence - 10 minutes on, 10 off, 15 minutes on in a car line, then indicator came on again.
I took it to a mechanic who could not reproduce the issue after letting it run for four hours. He replaced the fuses and told us to bring him the car when the problem recurred. Reservoir tank is full, no blockage in line from radiator to overflow tank.
The next day, for a third time, the car overheated in the pickup line. We brought it in the following day. The mechanic finally was able to reproduce the issue. He said that both fans (a subi outback has two) needed to be replaced, as they were drawing a tremendous amount. He advised that I take it to subaru to find out if there was anything they could do re: warranty.
I took it to subaru, who said that the fans are not now under warranty (we have 65k on the car). I decided to have them replace the fans anyway, so I asked them for a diagnosis. However, after two days in the shop, they were unable to reproduce the problem. They ran the car in idle, they tried to recreate the stop-and-go/standstill environment of a carline, but no luck. They said that the fans were drawing the expected amount and that they would need recreate in order to diagnose.
I have two questions:
1) Should I replace the fans myself? I can either take the car back to the first mechanic and have him replace the fans or I can do it myself. I can do basic jobs like oil changes, replacing serpentine belts, but I'm not sure what nuances are involved with replacing anything electrical.
2) Most importantly: What would cause both fans in a relatively young subi to spike their amperage draw intermittently? I guess it's possible that i just got two bad fans, but that doesn't seem to be a common problem with this model. So, I want to make sure that this issue is not indicative of some other underlying problem.
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 RepliesI 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 RepliesI 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 RepliesAt 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 RepliesI 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 RepliesI 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.
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 Replies