Subaru - Forester :: 2003 - Hard Time Shifting Into 2nd And When It Does (at About 40MPH) It Jolts
Feb 8, 2012
I bought my 2003 Forester a year ago from a friend with 90,000. I love this car, I put a new timing belt on it and off we went. The car worked fantastically from January to August 2011. One night I was driving to watch a show and rather then shifting into gear, it jolted. Pulled over, checked fluids and so on, car worked normally for a while. It started doing this more frequently. It has a hard time shifting into 2nd and when it does, (at about 40MPH) it jolts and same thing for third and so on. I took it to my mechanic but it never misbehaved for him sop I took it back and drove some more and dropped it off at a transmission shops. They get it to do what it does, ran many tests, decided it was the throttle sensor, replaced it, car worked great for two weeks and then reverted back to this behavior. Took it in again three times but they can't seem to figure it out. Anyway, I have taken the car to five different mechanics and no one can quite figure it out. So my car, the Diva, as I like to refer to her, continues to jolt to shift gears. If I put it into reverse it will shift normally until I stop again or slow way down. I am stumped and sad because I love my car. It now has 101,000 and I want it to be kind to me.
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My 2004 Forester (73000 miles) with 5-speed manual, is sometimes hard shifting into gears. The Subaru agency says that there's 'not much left' on the clutch and I need a new clutch @ $1300. Does hard shifting , no clutch slipping, indicate new clutch is necessary?
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For longer than I'd like to reveal, my Forester has shifted extremely hard. This happens only when the engine is cold and disappears entirely once it heats up. Also, the RPMs go high just before the shift. When it does shift, it feels as if the engine is going to self-destruct from the sound and rough feeling --as if the entire engine or at least some part of it were going to fall to the ground. After it shifts, it feels as if the car shoots forward like a rocket. The Subaru dealer changed the transmission fluid and reset the computer. The problem persists.
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With the very cold weather I'm having problems getting my car to start again after it's been running a while--starts okay initially no matter the temp, run it for ~15 minutes then go to my first work stop. One hour later sitting outside in 0F and I can't get it to start, won't turn over. Just got a new battery, had the spark plugs/starter/fuel line checked "looks okay". Starts after it gets really cold again, needs to sit out for a few hours in the single or negative digits. Dealer is 100 miles away and I have not been happy with the service there.
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My 2016 Forrester hovers or rolls back for at least 2 seconds after shifting into Drive after Reversing, even though the gear feels fully engaged in Drive and I am stepping on the gas. Consequently I was almost hit by a truck when reversing out of my driveway. I was stuck hovering for 2 seconds before I could drive forward. I brought it back to dealer who said it is "normal" with all makes of new cars. I have not experienced this, nor have my friends.
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2004 Forester does not always start when gear shift shows it is in park. Happens intermittently. Lights, radio come on (battery is OK), but nothing else happens. Car will start after shifting in and out of park and trying again. Have replaced and tightened bushings. Gear shift now moves easily. Mechanic is suggesting a new starter.
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I love my 2011 Forester except for one thing. (you all knew this was coming) it seems to take forever to warm up! My Forester has a blue light on the dash (Coolant temperature Light) It turns red if the temperature is too high and it is blue when the car is started and then goes out when the car is warmed up. To me, this seems to take too long. My Forester has 50,000 miles on it. The other day I timed how long it took to warm up. The forester sat at work for 8 hours. When I started it up to go home, (it was 42 degrees), it took almost 4 minutes for the blue light to go off indicating the car was properly warmed up. All my coworkers were long gone. I bought the car new and I intend to drive it for many years so I have been waiting for the blue light to go off. I get a hard time from friends and family telling me to get going...I don't think it takes this long for other cars to warm up.
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I have a really weird problem with my car. Every time that I apply the brakes, I get a bit of a shudder. It just started a couple of weeks ago and we checked the brake pads which were fine and the bearings were good as well. What could be causing this problem?
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I have a regular mechanic that I use, except for a recent plug change. The car now feels like it is shifting awkwardly, and at speeds of between 15-25 MPH, it's as if it has a hard time choosing a gear. Can improperly installed plugs have an impact on this sort of thing?
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I have a 2006 Subaru Forester automatic with about 40,000 miles on it. When it gets cold out, I notice that when I first start driving the car, it jerks/lurches and makes a loud noise when shifting from first to second and second to third. When the car warms up after driving for awhile, it doesn't do it anymore. It's much colder here (high today of zero), the car is doing this much more often. I brought it to the dealer and they completely flushed the transmission fluid (which they said looked yellow instead of red/orange??), but it is still making the noise and having trouble shifting in the cold. They said need to take the transmission apart, so I've been leary about taking it back. My husband thinks I should just drive it until it dies and then get a new transmission if needed.
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I recently moved to Pittsburgh where I constantly use my parking brake from Rochester, NY where I rarely ever used it. After I've moved to Pittsburgh (7 months after I've owned this 2004 Subaru Forester). After I drive for a significant amount of time (30+ minutes) and come off the freeway and stop or even slow down, the cabin of the car has a distinct, but faint burning smell. I am wondering if this could be the parking brake rubbing just slightly and when I slow down the smell stays in the cabin or if it is possible that the brakes are smelling (or something entirely different). Keep in mind that the smell doesn't happen when I only take a short drive, which is often. And of course, no I haven't taken this into an auto mechanic yet.
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Our 2006 Forester started shaking very hard while idling or driving. We drove it to the dealer asap, but the violent shaking had stopped. They hooked it up to the diagnostic machine and everything checked out as fine. This problem happens intermittently so the mechanics have not witnessed it. We've even let them keep the car a week and drive it home and back and it never gave them the shaking problem. There is no pattern to when it happens - hot or cold engine, hot or cold outside, just started or been running for awhile, it just doesn't seem to matter. If we give it some gas while at a stop sign it smooths out a bit but it doesn't stop the problem. When driving it still shakes but it's harder to tell how hard. I'm talking about shaking very hard, not just a rough idle.
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I have a steering problem in my 2003 forester when i make an extreme right it scrapes and is hard to turn. I took it to morn and they said it was the timing belt, they changed the timing belts and the problem is exactly the same.
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I just bought this car (2000 miles) and I have noticed that it shifts gears oddly (hard to describe) and I get thumps and jolts in the transmission at low speeds, parking lot driving, going from reverse to drive.
Any knowledge of this transmission and it is possible there is something wrong?
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My 94 Toyota Corolla has about 190,000 miles on it and lately it has had a hard time shifting between 20-30mph. It finally does reach it and does not have trouble shifting at any other speeds. This only happens in the heat of the afternoon (Never have this problem in the morning). Also, my O/D light has been flashing when this happens, or at least around the time it happens. Could these two problems be linked? I took it to my mechanic in the morning and he checked the transmission fluid and it seemed fine, he also had no problems driving around when he tested the car. He said my transmission is going and that I should make "long term" plans. Is there any hope?
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Was having a hard time shifting fast from 1st to 2nd when accelerating hard, it was like something was blocking the 2nd gear gate, same thing sometimes when downshifing fast from 6th to 5th.
After JT recommending it here, I installed the Neuspeed torque arm insert. Used a scissor jack on the left front side (it has a wide base), got under the car from the front bumper passenger side. 21mm bolt was tight, but got it out with a regular length 1/2 inch socket bar. Insert was hard to get in (even after spraying silicone on it), finally just sprayed silicone into the existing bushing and the insert slipped right in.
First test drive really made it easy to shift from 1st to 2nd under hard acceleration only a slight bump when entering the 2nd gear gate, downshifing was smooth too. Down side? none that I noticed, no vibration.
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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.
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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.
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I recently bought an automatic 2003 Subaru Forester 2.5x. Great car but....... There is an intermittent problem with the automatic shift stick. It locks "Parking" mode. When I put the key in and put my foot on the brake, The dash lights up, radio turns on everything is alight but the car won't start. It locks "Parking" mode. I am forced to over ride the lock system by inserting a key into the slot on the right hand side of the stick, putting it into neutral then I can start the car. Its been to the garage three times and is scheduled for a forth visit. Because its an intermittent problem that never happens when they have it in the garage they are having a devil of a time sorting out the problem.
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Passat wagon, 2002, 1.8 T engine, 68,000 miles Auto transmission. When I start engine the two warning lights stay on, and then I shift into gear the engine jolts hard. I have parked it for now to learn more about what the problem may be. What is Anti-Slip Regulation and what does it mean when the indicator light stays on?
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I have a 2003 Subaru Forester with 44,000 miles. How will I know when to replace the timing belt? Is it more a question of miles or age?
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