2001 Subaru Forester S with premium Package from North America - Comments

The 2001 Subaru Forester S with Premium Pkg. ran well for the first 45,000 miles except for a constant odor of oil. No wet oily spots were visible under the vehicle until about 44,000 miles when it was discovered that the automatic transmission was leaking onto the catalytic converter which had been burning the leaking oil. The car had the transmission replaced under warranty and 3 days after getting it back the motor suffered a major failure. Subaru has not honored the warranty so I had to replace the engine myself. The new 'short-block ' threw a connecting rod, and Subaru hasn't paid for that either.

If you buy a Subaru product make sure you first have a good lawyer to go after the company when they fail to honor the warranty.

I purchased this vehicle because Consumer Reports rated it best in its class. It is just too bad they didn't buy the one I own, it would've changed their opinion.

Steven,

I completely agree with you regarding Subaru not standing behind its product. I bought a 2001 Subaru Forester S when it was allegedly new. It had only 17 miles on it. The first thing I noticed was that the fob didn't work to unlock the vehicle. Actually, it worked, but only if you stood on the driver's side of the vehicle, about 2 feet away. The first time I brought it in to get it repaired, the dealer told me it was fixed. I picked up my car. Not only was the fob not fixed, but the mechanic got grease all over my new carpeting.

So, I brought it back. Again, they claimed to fix it. It wasn't, but they cleaned the grease stain. In the winter, I noticed that my windshield wouldn't de-ice properly. I discovered that there was no air coming out of one of the windshield air vents. I took the car back. They told me that it was "normal" for air not to come out of ALL the vents, as they work in conjunction. So, I took it to another Subaru dealer. This guy took things apart and said that the hose had never been connected to the air vent. He connected it. I asked about the fob. He said that he'd have to take the whole dashboard apart, and he wasn't willing to spend the time doing that, since I didn't buy the car there. He also asked me if I had tampered with the wiring under the dash, because some of it was held together with electrical tape! No, I hadn't. He then said that some of the hoses under the hood appeared atypical - as if the car had been in an accident.

So, I called the Subaru "800" phone number and asked to please have a factory rep come and check out my car. They refused, saying that I needed to work things out with the original dealer who refused to fix my fob, and lied to me about my air vent, and got my car dirty.

Since that time, the cruise control light doesn't work; neither does the gadget over the rear window that is supposed to emit windshield wiper fluid. And, the gas tank flap doesn't close all the way. This car has been a hideous disappointment. And, last, but not least, the car only gets 16 miles to the gallon, and that's doing Thruway driving! No better than my Pathfinder V8. I would not recommend this car or this company to anyone.

I agree, Subaru seems to try its best to avoid paying for anything. They are lacking in customer service and they aren't backing their product. I can relate to your experience with them. PAINFUL.

I agree. My mother has an '01 and has had nothing, but problems with it. The O2 sensor has gone out on it 4 times. The dealer said it was because she was putting mid range gas in it and that the 01 Foresters must have regular gas. The self dimming mirror in it stopped working around 20K miles, the car shutters a lot in the winter and she is on her 3rd set of tires. She rotated the tires every 3000 miles when she got the oil changed. This car only has 76k on it. I told her to get a Honda next.

'01 Forester S, bought new, 58,900 miles, needs new plug wires and coil. #3 plug wire leaks electricity to metal retaining bracket. #3 plug wire terminal at coil cracked and arcing. $450-475 repair estimate.