2001 Subaru Forester L - Blue Ridge review from North America
"Poor buy, not up to the reliability claims"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Clutch chatter when cold at 50000 km.
Head Gaskets (both) at 89000 km.
Ignition coil at 89000 km.
What's next?
General comments?
This is my wife's car and she loves it, I on the other hand find it handles pretty poorly (rolls too much in the corners), doesn't have very much rear passenger room. It is hard on gas and rather gutless on hills. The best feature is the AWD which I bought it for. With winter tires (Blizzak's) the car is great in our Canadian winters.
I am now starting to experience the poor reliability and service of Subaru. I have maintained this car on a regular basis and it is 90% highway driven. The original tires are beat, only used in the summer. They lasted about 50000K. I have experienced the dreaded clutch chatter. I found out the dealer will quietly replace these under special customer care on low mileage cars. There is a special kit to supposedly fix this problem. I am trying to get them to give me one under this care warranty when the head gaskets are replaced (tomorrow). I have also just replaced an ignition coil which is 300.00 CDN installed.
Overall, I will not be keeping this car past the 100000 km.
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.5 Manual |
| Performance marks | 6/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 5/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 0/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 89000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Honda Civic |
| Date of Entry | 17th November, 2003 |