2001 Subaru Forester S from North America - Comments

We have a 2002 Subaru Forester which I like except for having to replace the clutch for a second time! It only has about 33,000 miles on it. I guess the clutch goes out every 20,000 miles or less. There is not a recall as of yet. I now suspect that this is going to continually happen. I guess after it is repaired this time I'm going to sell it.

Kenny

Chicago, Il.

Another love hate relationship story with my 2001 Forester. I love the handling in snow and ice and the good gas mileage for a vehicle it's size.

Problems:

Cup holders cheap and broke as soon as my young children touched them - not a kid friendly car.

Good for hauling dogs not kids - no room in the back seat.

Very thin paint on exterior. Tons of road nicks for only hi-way driving.

Headlights burn out every 10k miles (using various brand bulbs still the same problem).

Tires wear out very quickly - this may be typical of AWD's even though not a problem on my 1996 legacy.

40k miles - replaced O2 censor

light comes on about every 5000k - 10,000k miles for engine misfire on cylinder 3. Subaru cannot find problem. I'm sure this will lead to a more expensive engine repair later down the road.

After paying $50 each time to reset computer I finally went out and bought a code reader to tell me what's going on every time the check engine light goes off.

79k miles - replaced catalytic converter (just squeezed in under warranty).

I'm 100k and still running with the annoyance off the check engine light continuously (falsely) coming on. The same misfire on cylinder 3 even though the car drives well.

I have always owned 2 Subaru's at any one time for the past 20 years. The quality on newer vehicles has eroded as the price continues to rise because of popularity. Good lord if this trend continues with Subaru I may have to switch to a GM product :)

I use a 2001 Subaru Forester to travel, after 40K the wheel bearings required replacement.

Immediately I returned the vehicle to Subaru which stated the latter is a known problem?

How can a manufacturer continue to sell a vehicle where a fault is guaranteed to occur along with no recourse to correct the issue?

I would never buy another Subaru...

Hi. I am considering purchasing a 2001 (used, obviously) Subaru Forester, with 100,000 miles on it. Of course, I am very concerned about all the comments on here re: service nightmares. The car I am looking at, though, has been meticulously maintained (every 3,750 miles) and appears to drive very well. Am I an idiot to purchase this, or are there some people out there who have had positive overall experiences with their Foresters? Also, I noticed that many of these comments here relate to Foresters with manual transmissions; is the automatic any more reliable?

Thanks very much.

I just (September) bought a used 2001 Subaru forester, (I obtained all service records and the car had been maintained impeccably) at first I was extremely happy to have my forester as I have always wanted a subi.

We bought the limited edition with all the leather, heated seats, sunroof etc... After driving the car for a couple months and got over the 'I got my subi' complex, I have noticed a few things wrong with the car. At first I thought I had to get used to the clutch, - no, it shudders and it is not me, also you can feel every bump in the road, the check engine light has come on, gas mileage has dropped off significantly (probably due to the CEL) and there is something funky going on when switching gears - when I gear up then take my foot off the clutch, step on the gas the engine revs up (3500rpm) then comes down (2700rpm) and then starts to go back up again all in the same gear (and no my foot is not on the clutch during this process). I find this extremely weird and irritating. One more thing, when in cruise control and going up hills, it is like the car wants to gear down and then all of a sudden it slips out of gear (but still in gear) and the car revs up until I cancel the cruise - it would red line if not caught in time.

Overall to much 'stuff' going on in this car, I live in an area that gets LOTS of snow so I am going to drive it this winter and then decide on whether or not to keep it. It is a comfortable car with lots of room for lots of stuff, dogs kids and all their stuff. Will let you know after winter.

What a turd car!

After hitting a deer with my 91 Maxima, I convinced my Dad he needed a new car, and further convinced him that I needed his 01 Forrester. He was always complaining about his car doing this, doing that, or smelling bad. I thought he was just being a bit of a wuss about it, sometimes cars stink and do weird things.

I should add that my father drives much more slowly and conservatively than most grandmothers do, I was pretty convinced I was getting a peach.

Well, combined with the obvious ergonomic issues and regular piddly crap problems everyone seems to be having (I have three BIG chips out of my front windshield), I am having some pretty big problems.

The headgasket is leaking, oil outta da motor, and coolant into. Happy Day! That was what that stink was Pops!

I got an estimate of about 1800 dollars to repair the headgasket, do the timing chain deal and replace the valve cover gaskets. I have been looking for another big deer to run in front of me ever since!

Now the headlamps are spontaneously turning off, flickering, and doing weird stuff, this just started happening. The factory harnesses have never been spliced into anywhere on this ride, it is 100% original, what kinda idiotic retarded arrangment is permitting this to happen?

This Subaru is a turd.

Buy a Toyota, Nissan, Honda, or a Hyundai! You'll arrive safely, with headlights shining brightly the whole way. When you arrive, no one will ask you if your car is on fire.

I know your pain. After having had a 1987 Subaru that was retired after going around 350,000 miles I now have owned for three years a 2000 Forester that had been meticulously maintained. The horror show now includes a third catalytic converter, 02 sensors, as well as trouble with the clutch & the brake. And dealing with the Check Engine Light being on constantly, we actually resorted to covering it with tape at one point. Why did I ever buy this car?

I too am an owner of a 2001 Subaru Forester and like so many of the previous owners I have had issues with the check engine light since the very beginning. At first it came on every few months, but within the last 6 months it has been on continuously other than when the dealer resets it. They have replaced the O2 sensor more than once, multiple valves associated with the exhaust system, the catalytic converter and most recently they dropped the gas tank and replaced the entire system. After having the car at the dealer for 4 weeks I picked it up on Thursday evening and the check engine light came back on Sunday morning. The dealer states it is the same issue and they do not know what more they can do. I now have a car that I cannot sell because the light is continuously on and I can’t seem to get it fixed.

I just purchased a 2001 Subaru For. S series with 103k miles. The car test drove just fine and since then the check engine light has a mind of its own! I had the dealer reset it 2 times, only to have it arrive again! I had owned a 1997 Toyota Corolla with 177k miles and only had to replace it because something abnormal occurred with the engine that was going to cost over $3k. So, purchasing the Subaru seemed like a logical choice and ran in similar competition with Toyota and Honda. I like my car, but extremely frustrated with the check engine light constantly on! How am I supposed to determine if something is wrong when the light has a mind of its own???

I have a 2001 Forester S, the car is aw-some. I just had to replace the front O2 sensor for the first time at 76,680 miles. While I was at it I just threw a new rear one in for the hell of it. The check engine light switched on and I had the code read out at a local shop, "not a dealer"! then I had the code reset. Hasn't came back on. I live in the mountains and drive the car hard. I pull a trailer with it to go mt. biking every week end and you can't even notice its there. I keep expecting some thing to break but I'm left disapointed every time. I stay current with all the service that's required and in return she sounds like a subaru should. I think that when you have a car that's acting up all the time you bought your self a lemon! Unless it's new. In that case I don't know what to tell you. I previously owned a 1989 4wd loyal and I drove that car to the ground and gave it to the local high school at 350,000 hard driven miles on it! So unless I catch the I don't take care of my car disease like every one else on this page I am going to drive this Forester to the ground. Good luck with your car maintenance you hippies!

I bought a used 2001 Forester with 120,000 kms in Oct '06 and it ran great for two months. Then I noticed a smell of burning grease every time I drove it. A local Subaru dealer told me it's a leaky head gasket with a repair bill of $2600! Not impressed. It still runs fine and I'm getting a second opinion on the problem before I go ahead with the fix. My faith in dealers was shaken after my Mazda shop tried to sell me an $800 timing belt replacement for my Mazda3 which has a timing CHAIN that never needs changing. I wonder how many Mazda3 owners paid for a timing belt they didn't need?

We bought a 2000 Forrester after much research (Consumer Reports, etc.) and the check engine light came on after about a year. The dealer always told us it was a faulty gas level sensor and it wasn't covered. They'd reset it (for free, thank goodness) and it would come back on after about a couple of weeks... so we've driven it with that light on ever since. We recently had the timing belt replaced (I guess a 100K mile maintenance requirement??) and the guy at the dealer said the check engine light is for a faulty O2 sensor, not gas level sensor. I don't think they really know what they're reading on those little units they plug into your steering wheel. Other than that, it has 140K miles on it and gets 29 MPG and still runs like a champ. We do get the shudder in first gear every now and then, and the hatchback rattles when it's warm out. I don't know that we'd buy another one, though after reading these other comments.

I've owned three Foresters so far: 1999, 2003 and 2004. Each one has had three unexpected problems: the 1999 and 2003 each failed a right rear wheel bearing around 40K. The 2004 failed the turbocharger (it's an XT model) around 60K. I suspect I stretched the oil and filter change intervals too far on the XT, but am not certain of it.

Most of the posts here that comment on their Forester being a "turd car" and so forth reflect an attitude or lack of education that's not compatible with car ownership. Driving and car ownership requires discipline, education and diligence. If you are lacking in any of these characteristics, no car is going to last long and you are going to be a lethal weapon on the highway. Hopefully you'll take this advice before you kill someone who is innocently going about their daily life.

I own a 2001 Forester automatic which I bought new. I don't drive it much so total mileage is only 60K, and I don't off-road at all. So far I have been very happy with it, with no major mechanical problems (unlike most of the other unlucky people I've read in this board) thank goodness. My only complaints are that the windshield seems prone to damage (I've had to replace it once and the current one has some decent chips in it), and just recently the clock stopped working. Oh, and the door that covers the gas fill cap doesn't seem to stay closed anymore. Reading this board scares me silly though. Now I'll be waiting for the wheel bearings or an oxygen sensor to fail.

I have a 2001 Forester and have had all the common problems others have mentioned, Check Engine Light, Wheel Bearing and now the infamous Head gasket issue (yes it smells and heats up).

OK it has 179k on it, but I wanted 200k like a Toyota or Honda, sorry Subaru, but adios.