Since purchasing this Forester new we have had numerous problems despite regularly scheduled maintenance.
The vehicle chews up tires terribly despite perfect alignment and regular rotation. The rear tires cup on the outer edges irregardless of manufacturer.
The radiator corroded after only 50,000 miles and was replaced at a cost of $300.
The check engine light has been on too many times. If the gas cap is not tightened unreasonably the check engine light will come on.
The air conditioning quit working after three years. The A/C high pressure switch went bad. Subaru does not sell the switch alone... only with an entire compressor at $580.00. I don't think so!
Heat shields on the exhaust system began an annoying rattle after two years.
A wheel bearing went bad at 65,000 miles. Repairs cost $300.
The rear seats are cramped. All the
seats are too firm.
The quality of the carpet is poor.
We purchased the Forester for the all wheel drive capability, safety rating, and supposed Subaru reliability. The tire wear and poor reliability we have experienced will make this our last Subaru. Our local Subaru dealers have helped us come to this conclusion.
I am writing to comment on the content, rather than on the style and grammatical composition of the review. We had exactly the reverse problem as the reviewer. Our 1994 Honda Civic had multiple problems between 50,000 and 100,000 miles, and our new-to-us 2000 Forester has worked like a dream.
How's your "new-to-you" forester doing after a year?
Dead overhead clock, rattling heat shield, failed wheel bearings, blown head gaskets? That's what I've experienced, and I don't think I'm the only one...
Please post a followup!
We have a 1998 Forester. problems with a oil pump seal at 60K miles, head gaskets blown at 90k, bad struts, and the check engine light came on recently... I have been talking to the subaru people and I'm going to send them my bills... they said my car is not underwarranty anymore..but..come on... a 6 years old car with so many problems, axpensive problems???..of course, not to mention the couple thousands dollar spent on regular preventive maintenance..
I too have had far too many problems with my '99 Forester L. I bought a Subaru after much research and upon the recommendations of several friends. I've now been through three air conditioners (the drier keeps cracking, along with some other issues), two sets of rear wheel bearings, more tires than I can count, and two master cylinders. I really enjoy driving my car (when it's not in the shop!), but I won't be purchasing another Subaru again; this one has been so unreliable.
My 99 Subaru Forester, at about 75000 miles has its issues. A/C stops blowing cold all the time, but Subaru never seems to be able to "replicate the problem." Exhaust heat shield rattles, but they want $100 to remove it. Axle boot busted. Gasket between engine and transmission needed replacing. Now the car is burning a quart of oil every 500 miles. Dealership says it needs a new small block! Will my extended warranty pay for it? I'm still waiting to hear back. They don't seem to want to pay for it, because I don't have ALL the oil change records, and I can't get a printout from the one oil change place I always went to, because the computer lost all the data.
LESSON, keep hard copies of all your oil changes and service for your car if under warranty. They will try to screw you with that. The FINE PRINT in the warranty agreement has some really interesting info every customer should know about.
I have a 2000 Forester (bought new) and have had very few problems with it. After an early on recall of a clutch part, it has served me quite well. I've only gone through one set of tires and am, just now after four years and 63k miles, having the clutch replaced. I am also experiencing the rattling caused by the rusted bolts for the heat shield and was disappointed to learn that the heat shield could not be replaced without replacing the entire exhaust system. Given that two different Subaru Dealer service departments expressed to me the increased risk of fire when parking the car near leaves without the heat shields, it seems as though Subaru ought to have the ability to replace them. However they continue to just suggest removing them. Overall, I love my Subaru and hope to have it for many more years. Jessica - Washington, DC.
I love our Forester for it's ability to climb over snow and cope admirably with winter conditions up here in Ontario, Canada, but after replacing a rear wheel bearing and seeing our overhead clock/compass stop working soon after purchase now the car has been overheating, and I am surprised to hear from my mechanic that the head gasket (s) need to be replaced. Similar pattern to an earlier comment, about your "new to you" Forester. Lemon-Aid didn't mention any of these problems.
Recently bought a 1998 Subaru Forester, this is my 5th Subaru and I am looking forward too many years of fun motoring. Haven't had it long enough to talk about reliability, but I really like the handling in wet weather. Nice interior, lots of headroom and loads of gadgets like the large compass display, tach, and seat heaters all make this car very comfortable. The paint looks great after the Miguires 3 part system.
Had my 1998 Subaru Forester since new and it has 100K miles and has done very well thru the many snow filled winters in PA. The tires wear evenly and very slowly. The engine is good. However, I had coolant pump and head gasket changed due to a radiator leak, also timing belt while at it at about 70K miles. The battery was changed once. The check engine light came on once during an extremely heavy cloud burst -- but recently came on again with no signs of engine failure or anything. The struts/shocks have lost their absorbance and the car bounces when you depress the hood -- which is expected after so many miles of use. ANother very peculiar thing is it always checks out less than 3.5 qrts of oil when you change oil every 3000 miles. This happened when it was new and puzzled the oil changing operator.
I have had my '99 Forester L since '02. It had about 38K on it when I bought it and now is at about 75K. I haven't had any trouble with tire wear. The things that have gone wrong sooner than I believe they should have are 1 - ignition coil at 50K and 2 - right rear wheel bearing at 58K and just recently 3 - overhead console clock failed. I have also experienced the check engine light coming on due to "under-tightening" of the gas cap. I wouldn't mention the clock except that it was $82.54 plus tax for a new one. $82.54 for a stinking LED clock? Am I a cheapskate or does this seem like a bit of extortion on Subaru's part?
Overall though I am satisfied with it. I love the all wheel drive and I have heard testimonials from others about wrecks they walked away from that they might otherwise not have had they been in some other make of sedan. I would consider owning another Subaru.
My wife and I both own Foresters. My wife's is a 98 and mine 2002. The 2002 is a dream, no problems whatsoever. Nothing has needed fixing at all. The 98 has has its share of issues. Currently the car is overheating. But get this, ONLY when the heat is on. If the heat is turned off, it will quickly lower back to normal. By overheat, I mean all the way to steaming radiator fluid pouring out of the hood. Head gasket tested fine, although I hear rumors of the potential for an internal crack which only manifests issues upon the engine heating up. I am not sure if that is what I am running into, or just a cracked heater core. I have had all the stereotypical issues with this car, including heat shield, clock, back wheel bearings, tires wearing too fast, etc.
And still, I would recommend them for one reason only. My father was in a severe head on collision about 5 years ago. I won't mention his car make or model, other than to say it was not a Subaru. My father is still hospitalized and likely will never improve much further due to the severe head trauma. He was wearing his seatbelt and he had airbags. The elderly man that hit him passed out at the wheel. He had a forester. He sprained his wrist.
You can repair your overhead clock in about 20 minutes with a soldering iron for free. If you pop out the clock and look at the circuit board, it has several resistors soldered down. Several of mine had popped loose on one end and a touch of solder fixed it right up. I found detailed photos of the fix on the web, but can't find the link now.
I am new to Canada and wanted an AWD for safety in the snow. I bought a 98 Subaru Forester S with 139K on it. In 5 weeks I have done 8K and the car has been in the workshop every week since I owned it.
It overheats intermittently, but checks out OK on a Cooling System pressure test, Mechanics can't diagnose the problem? Seems to overpressure and blow coolant off from the Radiator Header Bottle, get low on Coolant and overheat? Replaced the Water Pump, Thermostat and Radiator Cap, no change to problem.
Subaru found a Cylinder Head Gasket leak from the Oil Gallery to the Cylinder, which explains the litre of Oil it burns every 1,000kms.
Fuel Filler Neck corroded through, causing 'Check Engine' Light to illuminate. Still comes on after the repair, have to over-tighten the Fuel Cap way too much, maybe replacing the Fuel Cap Seal would help?
Overhead Clock has never worked.
Replaced all Tyres, Brake Pads and Front Rotors. Brakes still feel vague and low performance.
Overall I like the car and am frustrated it has so many problems. The dealer is currently in possession of the vehicle and I don't want it back. I would like another Subaru, just not this one.
My girlfriend has 2 Outback Wagons in the family, a 2002 and 2006, they are both very reliable and capable cars.
I used to work in Auto Engineering and particularly Crash Impact Assessment. Subaru's crash really well in head on collisions because the centre of mass of the Engine (flat four) is very low and easily passes beneath the firewall / floorpan in a head on. Means the front crumple zone is dramatically increased and the front seat occupants have a much greater chance of escaping serious injury.
I have had nothing but a great experience with my 1999 Forester. I just turned 192,000 miles on the odo. I bought it with 120,000 miles on it 2.5 years ago. I bought it for the same reasons: They have an exemplary reliability record. Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
Wow! Glad to hear I'm not the only one going back to Hondas forever! I have a '99 Forester which has been nothing, but trouble - check engine light fixed several times, clock never worked, gas gauge failed twice (once discovered after expensive towing to dealer and waiting a week for them to even look at the car! and no apologies!), carpet horrible, cup holders a joke, rattling heat shields fixed many times, tires don't last, etc., etc. I should NEVER have purchased this car - we've always had good luck with Hondas and will again! (And, not to name any dealer in particular, our dealer's service people are rude, unhelpful individuals - and there's no waiting room at the place which is a big problem when you have to spend half your life there!!)