Subaru Forester 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.

Shannon’s

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.

I think it all depends on what size you want and which model suits your needs best. I drove both but prefer the Forester. It just felt more comfortable to me.

Thank you Karen, anyway I’ll test drive the forester and decide which one I go for

Just bought the top of the range 2022 forester in December abd I am 100% happy. Have done almost 5000kms already. Easier to drive and park than my previous Ford Focus due to much better visibility, height and of course the cameras. The auto transmission is much smoother. I was worried initially about getting another CVT after my experience with the Focus. Fuel consumption currently 8 4/100kms. I feel safe, drives smoothly and is quiet. The driver recognition camera seems a bit glitchy as it doesn't always recognize me when i get it but my son who also drives it never has the same problem despite this I haven't regretted my purchase.

I haven't heard that this is a common problem with the Forester. My brother bought a 2012 new and its been a great car with no issues. He was however not impressed with the Subaru service department and now goes to a private mechanic. I also spoke to my mechanic before purchasing my Forester and he advised that they are a good reliable car.

Yes I had exactly this problem with the low beam lights in my Subaru Forester 2012 diesel. Upgraded the high and low beam lights to LEDs, problem solved, no more blowing lamps. I love my Forester, by the way. Chap at AutoBarn told me that when one lamp blows it overloads the lamp on the other side, which is why the second one goes a week or two later. Which overloads the replacement lamp so it goes a few weeks later, which overloads the other replacement... You get the idea. It's a peculiarity of Subaru headlight wiring he said, but I don't recall if it was just the Forester model or not.

I recommend the duel range manual if wanting off-road and go Subaxtreame for a sump guard and Bull bar if can and talk to subieliftoz on Facebook for lift wifes SH has been a ripper car to own

Doesn't this model have a reversing camera with distance marking overlay? If so, you don't need reversing sensors - you can see what's going on back there!

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 cant really answer this as mines not old. But I love Japanese technology and all my landcruisers have gone beyond 350000 kms before i sold them to happy customers so I expect Subaru to be similar.

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......

Hey, i dont know a huge amount about cars. But as long as the car is well looked after it should be ok. But that is high kms for a 2008 model.

Make sure the timing belt has been changed.
Check the service history, if not consult a mechanic that you trust to give the car a going over.

Thats not a big mileage these days but just ensure that the service history is up to scratch and as previously mentioned the timing belt has been changed i know of a 2009 model that has nearly 450,000 km on the clock that has only had consumables replaced and is immaculate

Hi TS, I'm sorry I can't help you here as I have never owned or driven either of these models.

Going by these reviews - I would recommend the suburu Forrester over the Toyota. Toyota used be very good back in the old days when the engines were steel blocks and when the fuel injection alliminum motors came in Toyota started declining

Graeme, in short no, and no. Firstly these expensive extended warranties are really a waste of money and I would not buy one. A lot of them aren't value for money at all, impose conditions in the small print to restrict servicing by dealer only, and really only exist to make more profit for the dealer. Secondly, my previous 2011 Outback did 240,000kms and did not have any issues with electronics or ECU. 65,000km is low, you should not expect any issues and would still be covered by Subaru factory warrantyt.
I have not heard this being an issue at all. My other previous cars (a Toyota Kluger and a Holden Commodore also did 200k + and neither had any problems of this nature. Others may have a different opinion. Hope that helps.

Makes me wonder why they want you to take out an extended warranty, only 65,000 klms on the clock.

Its like those extended warranties on whitegoods, TVs and so on.

Get them to include it in the price, otherwise, give it a miss.

If the car is of the high quality and ratings it claims, why should you have OBD problems?

I wouldn't buy a Forester anyway.

Thank you for your information.

Some 2010 Forester diesel vehicles gave quite a bit of trouble with the DPF and Glow plugs.

You will find plenty of Aussies there and discussion re your issues throughout the forum - http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f81/

Intro. yourself and say g'day, a fair few Aus. on it.

It seems like it's a good idea to take your vehicle to a diesel engine specialist workshop.