2002 Subaru Forester s+series review from North America

Two months after I purchased my 2002 Forester S+ series I had an O2 sensor go bad. I have had an Engine RPM problem ever since day one & seems to happen more often when the outside temp. is below 50 degrees. Upon starting the RPM needle winds up to 2-2,500 Rpms & then drops almost to zero (car starts sputtering) and then climbs back up to above 2. The rpm needle then settles after giving it a bit of gas. The dealership has never fixed the problem & the Vehicle only has "38,000" miles currently!. In addition I have had the R. front speaker blow twice & then the CD player, the clock& temp has stopped working (these are usually the last things to go),window seals warped on passenger door window & front window, motor on power windows is going bad (sounds like a creaky door opening when engaged, and the Leather on the side of the drivers seat has been cracking since 15,000 even with regular moisturizing/cleaning.I only weight 110 lbs so its Not from body weight!!. It would seem that the car has a short somewhere, but of course they deny it & indicate they checked. Unfortunately I'm not done yet I don't want to forget about the bad Charcoal cannister "they claim" was struck by some object, but were unable to show me an impact mark!. They actually pointed at a Nut on a screw & said "see here on the Nut where the silver is showing something impacted it here". I replied "I see where some grease has been wiped off maybe by a wrench". I left & when I got home I took a cloth with some degreaser and wiped it clean!. There was absolutely NO evidence of impact on the "Plastic" Charcoal Cannister & the nut they pointed to is just part of the mounting bracket. They wanted $365 to do the work (it's a 30min. job). I called another subaru repair shop & they owner advised me that they should have done a smoke detector test & asked me if my check engine light was still on & I replied "yes". He advised to disconnect the battery cables on the car for 10 min & then reconnect to see if it came back on. I followed his instructions & 1,100 miles later still NO Check Engine Light!!!. I even told the Headquarters office about the whole visit (4hrs. wait with appt. & about the result of resetting/clearing the computer that I did on my own). I asked them to look at it again free of charge since it seemed to me they didn't examine it good the first time & I had already paid them $95 for their so called diagnosis. They actually denied my request!!& said if I wanted it a new cannister they would take $60 off. They even admitted that I have had more problems than the avg. Forester owner.

I also notice after shifting gears that the transmission seems to slip/jolt if you step on the gas too quickly. I unfortunately was in an accident the other day which consisted of a Tbone impact into my front left fender & front bumper. The "Honda Pilot" only hit me going about 35mph, but according to the Inspector for the Ins. Co. & Auto body shop my axle was broke, hood bent & the front end was pushed 3 inches to the right!!!. My Car has been deemed a TOTAL LOSS!! (indicated $17,000 in damage).The Air bags Did Not deploy & for a honda pilot to do that kind of damage only going 35mph. all I can say is Totally RIDICULOUS!!.I only have one positive comment & that is I like the "full" moonroof, but they stopped putting those in after 2002!. Thanks Subaru for making my "first" brand new car purchase so pleasant.