2001 Subaru Forester S from North America - Comments

Have a Forester 1999 model.

74,000km owned since brand new, and always Subaru serviced.

No issues since 1999, though it's now just starting to get issues like...

- Check engine light coming on after service, so I'll take it back.

- Replaced rear wheel bearings.

- Clock in ceiling replaced.

- CV boot fixed.

- Front discs machined.

This has all been this year, so might be the start of more issues for this car, though it shouldn't be as it has low mileage...

I still have the 2001 Subaru Forester S I bought new. After reading these horror stories from other Subaru owners I find myself fortunate. I now have 89K miles. I've experienced two major issues since owning the car. First, I noticed the clutch shuddering during the winter at 50K miles. The local dealer replaced everything at no charge. The second issue was my CEL informed me that the knock sensor needed replacing at 80K miles. Had to pay for that replacement.

Here are a few additional hints to reduce your CEL from coming on and making Subaru ownership a little bit less irritating:

1. Replace your spark plugs with platinum ones.

2. Use name-brand gas. I've live in the Pacific NW. I've heard some issues with Arco gas, but I've always used Arco without any problems.

3. The dealer can fix the gas cover lid. I had that issue and they adjusted the hinge - no charge.

4. Replace your differential and transmission fluids every 40 - 50K miles, depending on your driving habits.

So far, no problems with the manual transmission, wheel bearings, coolant leaking or catalytic converter issues. I do have a small oil leak that I'm going to try to fix myself by tightening down the valve cover. The leak comes and goes and I think it might have to do with the type of oil; synthetic versus regular. The leak goes away using regular oil. Go figure.

I probably jinxed myself by posting this comment...

Have had my '00 Forester for four years. It had 70k when I bought it. Now has 124K. Clutch shudder has been a problem since the start for me. No shudder when cold, only when warm and mostly when I am stopped on a slight incline and try to start off. Just cannot make it smooth. Had a new clutch, pressure plate and flywheel changed at the same time but problem persists. My mechanic said "Let out the clutch as fast as you can." No help there. I have had lots of standard drive vehicles, starting in '59 with a '51 ford, two VW beetles, a new Beetle, one VW van, two VW Vanagon. The Forester is my first vehicle with a shuddering clutch. Somehow, I feel it was not properly engineered. We love the vehicle. Good on snow, good fuel economy etc. but will replace it with a Subaru automatic.

2001 Subaru Forester, standard transmission.

Sure sounds like we all have common problems with our Subaru Foresters.

Bought this for a dependable 2ND car, wanted standard, AWD and liked the cargo room and ground clearance. We live in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada, get lots of weather, lots of ice and overall poor road conditions, Seemed like good fit for where we live.

The CEL was on when we bought it from the dealer, they reset it. Came back on, dealer claimed this was unusual, changed one O2 sensor. CEL came back on, dealer changed the other O2 sensor. Came back on and dealer changed the CC. Then the transmission started leaking oil from the seal. Dealer (the dealer mind you) claimed that I needed either a rebuild or a replacement. As they did not feel competent to repair or rebuild (did I mention that this is the Subaru dealer), they recommended that I replace the transmission with another one from the local wrecker. As this vehicle was mine for only 3 months at the time, I ventured that I thought that Forester was not a very good investment. The dealer told me that I had a unreasonable expectation for a used vehicle. From the start the clock did not work, the CD player never worked and it was fight with the dealer from day one.

Now the second transmission is not working correctly, seems like the car is always in AWD and we can no longer drive it on the highway. Yes, the head gasket is leaking oil and our fuel consumption is poor. Anyone else have issues with the signal lights? Found out that the hazard light switch controls the signals, no separate system. Change the hazard switch and your signals work again.

I would like to like this car, it's great in snow and ice, we switched over to studded tires for the winter and it's like driving on dry pavement, but there is no way I would ever buy another one. My 94 Dodge diesel 4x4 has been more dependable, and gets the same or better mileage.

2001 Forester S - Purchased new Aug 2000.

190,000 Kilometers to date.

Radiator replaced about 25,000 km in (700 bucks)

Two new pistons to fix horrific & persistent piston slap. (700 bucks)

Rear bearings (left & right) (700 bucks)

Left & right front CV boots (700 bucks)

Anyone else see a pattern here?

(Magic number 700... can you say "revenue stream"?)

Just replaced Knock & Forward O2 (guess why.. P0420) sensors myself (around 100 beans each). The prices I'm seeing quoted on this list for replacement sensors are obscene.

In summation... It's great car to drive, but the dealerships will rob you blind on the service (90 dollars an hour here in Quebec - Canada) and they really mark up the parts as well. They wanted 180 to install the new knock sensor (took me 15 minutes).

Thank you all for your insightful comments. I was starting to think I was the only Forester owner with problems.

Yesterday I bought a Honda Fit. I've thrown in the towel with my 2001 Forester that I bought new.

The usual suspects:

* Check engine light is always on: who knows if there's really a problem? And who has the time or money to keep running to the mechanic to see if this time it's really something serious?

* Sick and tired of replacing boots, CV joints and dealing with cracked axles. I drive in the city and never off road.

* First two years I had flat tires like mad.

* Hard to get car into first gear (manual transmission.

* The dreaded dead clock and cheesy cup holders.

Too bad because I really do like this car. I've moved several times and filled it to the brim with stuff. I had such high hopes but now I am going back to my first love: a Honda.

Sayonara Subie.