Subaru Forester S3 (2008-2012) Questions & Answers

That’s a lot of kms and turbos can be expensive to repair and replace. Unless u get the car for next to nothing I wouldnt buy it, it’s a big risk

Also I would suggest that such high KMS would mean the engine would be very old and tired and towards the end of its life, car had probably been thrashed.Definitely worth paying a bit more and get one with lower KMS AND NON TURBO! I wouldn’t pay more than $1000 for it

If highway kms and well serviced, (and the DPF could be a pain on these ( Diesel particulate filter))and if a low price could be plenty of life left. Diesel buyers are typically not hoons, tend to look after their cars, generally. I have seen cars with 200,000 kms that were in incredible condition. Get a independent mechanical inspection, peruse Forester owner forums, then decide.

Hi,
I don't know as i've never tried it but I do know there is quite a lot of leg room and space in the rear seating area which is why we bought this model as we had teenage boys. The only way to be sure is to measure the amount of space three booster seats take up and take a tape measure with you when you look at one to compare if it is big enough. Good luck.

sorry, mine is diesel. no such issues.

We also have a 2010 model and the same lights do come on occasionally, usually not a problem just a quirk. Check with your dealer if you are concerned but we've had that a few times over the last 3 years or so. The first time we checked with a dealer who told us it's a quirk. All the best.

I have owned 10 different Subaru’s and have the latest Forster 2.0 xt premium and as much as I love the concept of Subaru’s they are temperamental cars and are no way near as reliable or robust as a Toyota for example, this new one of got does some weird things sometimes like surging with air con on when I reversed out the driveway to be perfectly honest I feel like buying an old 90 model hilux without all the over technical stuff .

I have 2.0D MY11, bought new, 155,000 km on the clock with a couple outback back road trips. Only issue was CV joint boots replaced at 110,000km and a few other things. I have been careful to service every 12,000km, thats the secret. Not serviced regularly you're asking for trouble. I drive for economy and get about 900km out of a tank, BUT I drive all open road and not too hilly out our way.
My experience
*stalling when moving from idle - Yeah I've done it if I let the clutch out too quick. :) That's life with a manual. Bigger issue was the gear ratios are closely spaced so it is easy to select wrong gear on downshifts. Test drive will give you an idea.
* DPF warning light issues. Had it a couple if times up to around 120,000km, but I live rural and all my driving is open road. All that happened is the light came on. Then went off again.
* Not suitable for short around town use. Confirmed by dealer when asking about DFP light. Needs regular open road to clear the particulate filter. If this is your usage pattern, don't buy diesel, end of story!
* Needing more frequent oil changes. Not my experience, never put any oil in between services. Was an issue and a class action with US built subarus a while ago, but here we get Japan made. Handbook says more frequent oil changes if towing a lot or a lot of dusty roads.
Check the service history closely for regular servicing within the required kms (12,500, 6 mths). If no history or not serviced regularly don't touch. I've found the engine a bit more relaxed and better fuel economy with more kms so 90k sounds perfect.
Cheers skip

I just purchased a 2017 2.0 xt premium and I asked the dealer about the diesel versions he’s exact words were they are phasing them out to many dramas .

In ZA, we have the same spec subaru 2.0D forester as australia. I purchased a 2012 2.0D in december 2017 with 120k on the clock. we have subsequently done 20 000 km...thus mostly long distance. There are 3 major areas of concern with this car. 1. Centre Diff: If the car is pulling to one side slightly, it may not be alignment. The centre diff is hellish expensive to replace. 2. The intercooler pipes - apparently there was a fix for the later model Outback. The main pipe from the exhaust manifold breaks off. A combination of poor design and wrong material. Coupled to this, the pipe from the inter-cooler to the intake manifold bursts. 3. DPF: This is a complete disaster coupled with the oil dilution. Under warranty, SSA will replace the DPF, but outside of that, your cost or, and this is the unofficial permanent fix, remove it and re-tune the car. we have been battling with this over the past 10000 km and are now fighting with SSA to get a replacement or removal/deletion of the DPF unit. A MAJOR design flaw. Most of our problems are on the oil dilution. This has required an oil change every 1.3 tankfuls. Crazy and they blame it on driving style. 20 000 km in 8 months? If you don't get it done, engine goes into limp mode and you sit at a maximum of 3100 revs/min.
Other opinion.......it's great when it goes. SSA not very forthcoming with support. blame my driving style. Over 500 kms at 120 km/hr continuous travel...oil dilution increased from 2% up to 7%.......that is not driving style. Fuel consumption is great.

The best is....SSA direct me to Subaru forums/videos, etc from Australia and say, yes this is a world-wide concern......end of story, and no solution......

Would I buy one again - only if the centre diff/intercooler pipes were replaced and the DPF removed! and a check on the cylinder head gasket - basically check that the anti-freeze has been changed......

First of all make sure it's an xt or don't bother go buy a stupid rav 4 or something, secondly big services are split in 3 services 100,112,125ks so make sure there all done ..cam chain? No idea what your on about it's timing belt and due at 125,000ks like I've mentioned earlier.. make sure it's been serviced by someone that knows turbo engines not your local mechanic who's put crap oil in it. There great reliable cars if taken car off

Also check ozfoz for more details ..