2006 Subaru Forester X Premium from North America - Comments

The catalytic converter was replaced at 27,000 miles. The repair was under warranty, but I had to wait 2 months for the part.

Then the dealer broke some other part, during the repair. My car was in the shop for a week while I was stuck driving a junky 10-year-old Legacy, which I barely fit into.

AWD is excellent.

I think the reliability reputation is a facade.

You kiddin?

You are complaining about a catalytic converter going out at 27,000 and then claim it's an unreliable car because of it?

Get a life sir/maam.

I agree totally with the first comments, we have had several issues with our car (a $45,000 brand new car less than a year old) including the following;

1. Speedometer is 9km out - this is within 10% standards and so Subaru will not fix it

2. Suspension and Suspension coils broken at 30,000km with no off road driving

3. Cruise Control and Brake Lights needed replacing at 25,000km due to faulty switches

4. Diff which drives the car broken at 5,000km - we are still waiting for the parts to be ordered a month later as they are on backorder (obviously a common problem)

This is in a brand new car!

We are not impressed with the car (despite being nice to drive - when it is working), nor or we impressed with the customer service and will not being buying a Subaru again.

Be happy your problems were only limited to a defective Cat Converter. My 05 Forester's 2.5L engine stopped dead with a huge puff of smoke and roar on the Interstate at 47,000 miles. Problem was coolant pressure related. The instrument panel oil and temp warning lamps never came on. Turns out the head gasket cut loose on the #3 cylinder and all the oil & coolant blew out at 65MPH thus burning up the engine in seconds. Subaru says it's not covered. All of the routine maintenance schedules were followed at the dealer. Thankfully it was a lease car and not owned. This piece of garbage Subaru has since been replaced with a Toyota which runs and drives far better. Stay away from Subaru! Their 2.5L engines are time bombs.

I would never dispute that the car may have no issues, but I must say my experience has never been as bad as those stated above me. I've had three Subaru Forester's in the last 15 years, my second was smashed in an accident, after two years of service, with a drunk which left me and three passengers without a scratch while the driver of the Camry wasn't as lucky, but she is fine.

I've never had any major issues with any of the my Foresters, they have all performed tremendously well all year round and handle better than any rental I've ever had in Canadian winters. I can say that my cars have been very reliable and very safe, which is key, and handles great in all conditions.