2001 Subaru Forester 2.5
Summary:
Subaru needs to decide whether they want to be a real car company in the U. S. or not
Faults:
Very poor mileage: 18-19 city.
Interior cheapness, broken items replaced:
Clock
Cup holder
Seat belt clip
Arm rest compartment latch
Cargo cover end clips
Mushy brakes, skidding on wet road stripes when braking
Sensors replaced:
O2
Knock
Catalytic converter replaced
Spark plugs arcing in humid weather - all replaced
Warm-up time in cool weather excessive
20-30 pit marks on front hood from pebbles
Small round crack in windshield from a stone
Excessive wear on cloth seat covers
Despite the constant annoyances listed above, the handling and ride is smooth. It handles exceptionally in the snow. Good acceleration, even up long hills. I guess that's a trade-off for the atrocious mileage for a 4 cylinder.
General Comments:
I've been to 4 different service departments. 2 were a trial to deal with and all 4 were incompetent at least some of the time.
Buying the car was an experience. After the usual haggling & sale, I picked up the car. On the next day, I received a telephone call from what turned out to be the new manager of the dealership. He wanted to REDO the financing with a bank rather than with Subaru financing! He also went on to add that the entire sales force had been terminated! Three or four months later the dealership closed. Way to go, Subaru!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 5th May, 2008
16th Jun 2013, 01:57
Although I have never driven a Subaru, I can understand how it can be to have many issues with one's car. I have experienced frustration myself. Vowing never to buy another car from the relevant/ particular manufacturer.
After reading about pit marks on the paint work and windscreen chips, as faults, it makes me wonder about (some) of the rest of the details you supplied. The common ones like O2 sensors and clock are confirmed by other reviews, but;
"Spark plugs arcing in humid weather".
Are you serious?
If you have any mechanic you can trust, go and tell him about your so called spark plug fault. That makes me question if you are a real reviewer, or if perhaps you were lied to by whoever replaced your spark plugs.
Calling a windscreen chip a fault is incorrect, and does not sound like a fault of this particular car. It can happen to ANY car travelling the same path you have. Same goes for the paintwork at the front, caused by pebbles thrown up in the air by highway traffic. These are pebbles that the car ends up running into. It is an impact, and is bound to do some sort of damage a lot of the time. The only real question here is whether the chips are excessive compared to other cars travelling the same roads, speeds, etc. Perhaps there is a quality control / poor paint finish with this car, but it doesn't sound like it.
Before anyone wonders why I have bothered reading this far with the Forester reviews, I am deciding on a donor car for converting to electric, so the engine issues would not apply to me.