forester479

Thanks for all the great information. Don't know how it could have popped out but it did. I'll be keeping an eye on it to make sure it's not leaking anymore. I didn't drive it very far so hopefully there's no internal damage.

Just got back from picking it up, the service tech wrote; "appears as though someone pried on the left front axle, popping it out of place to fix exhaust" I don't know what was involved to fix it but the only charge was to drain and refill the differential fluid. I know no one pried on the front axle because I watched my mechanic who is also a buddy of mine put on two hose clamps to stop a rattling heat shield. Also it started leaking during the week last week, nothing has been service on it for about a month.

My 03 forester w/ 51k miles started leaking dif fluid last week where the axle comes out of the transmission on the driver's side. This is the second trans in this car, the first one was replaced at 27k miles so I wasn't too happy that this second one was leaking. Since I have an extended warranty I took it to the dealer to have it checked out, I thought maybe a seal had gone bad. When they called me the service writer said the axle had popped out. They put it back in place and are going to change the differential fluid. They asked me if someone had tried to fix a rattling heat shield on that side since the shield has a couple of hose clamps on it. They suggested maybe the mechanic who worked on it used the axle for leverage and popped it out. Is it possible for the axle to come out of the trans that easily?? I told him I had watched my regular mechanic put the clamps on the heat shield and he didn't even touch the axle. I'm a little confused by this one..... Mike

My 03 forester 2.5x has developed a squeaking sound in the front suspension. It does it most when it's colder and when I pull into my driveway, go over a speed bump or any other type of bump that causes the suspension to travel more than it normally would. First it was just the passenger side but now the driver's side does it once in a while too. Any ideas what could be causing it?? Mike

Hey all, Just took my 03 forester with 26k miles on it in for a misfire problem and the automatic transmission had a slipping problem. When it is cold in the morning, the first time it would shift from 2nd to 3rd gear the engine would rev and then it would be fine after that. The misfire was caused by a corroded #1 terminal on the coil and a corroded spark plug wire. I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the pinging problem I have if I don't run super in it. The trans problem was a clutch that was binding. The good news is they put in a new trans, no questions and replaced the coil and spark plug wire, all under warranty. My only concern is having needed a new trans at 26k miles. Now I'm glad I spent the extra to extend the warranty to 100k miles, just in case. The thousand I spent on the factory warranty would more than be paid for if I need another trans job.

Took the car into the dealer and the water pump was bad at 20,400 miles, I guess that happens once in a while. They didn't have one in stock so they kept it overnight and fixed it the next day when the part came in. There still is a very slight coolant smell but it seems to be going away, maybe leftover that had leaked out?? When I got home I popped the hood to take a look and the coolant reservoir was empty. I called them up and they told me it is supposed to be empty. I looked in the manual and the manual says the coolant level should be between the low and full marks on the side of the reservoir. If it's below the low mark, which it was since it was empty, you are supposed to add coolant to the radiator and the reservoir. I filled it myself rather than taking the time to drive back to the dealer. I had to add about a half a quart which didn't seem like too much but it should have been filled correctly in the first place. They said they couldn't find anything with the engine ping, I'm not sure they even check it out. The service writer said it could have been something to do with the water pump. I told them you can hear it the most when stepping lightly on the gas @ about 25mph, it's pretty noticeable at that speed. I'll be taking it back to have that checked out. So much for a "premier service dealer" the service writer couldn't even find the time to call me back a couple days later when I had a question. Supposed to get a survey in the mail to fill out on how well they took care of me and my car. Not too impressed with the service dept. so far.

'03 forester, 26mpg average, have gotten as high as 28. I drive 50/50 highway and around town.

Will be taking my 03 forester in to have it looked at. The two things I think need to be looked at are it knocks like crazy, seems more than before or I'm just paying close attention, I'm not sure. It knocks when I'm accelarating, going up hills or just stepping on the gas at cruising speed. I guess you could interpret that as pretty much all the time . The other is once it is warmed up I get a pretty strong antifreeze smell when I get out and walk past the front. I checked the level and it doesn't seem to be dropping, I don't have any clue what it is. Any input as to what either may be or what I should mention to the service dept?? thanks Mike

Hello, This is my first post here, been reading for a while here and finally registered. Great site, tons of great info. Hopefully you can give me some insight on a paint problem I have. I have a gold 03 forester that I bought in may, it had 16k miles on it and is in great shape. Saturday I parked it under some trees across the street from my house right behind my wife's 00 yukon. It rained a bit and both cars got dripped on and were really dirty. I washed the forester on Sunday and noticed what looked like water spots. On closer inspection, there are about 2 dozen spots on the roof and hood where the clear coat has been eaten thru and the base colorcoat is wrinkled and discolored. I looked my wife's yukon over and it is fine. I went to the dealer yesterday and the service manager took a look and said that it's tree sap, one of the worst things for paint and it's normal, just take some compound and rub it out the best you can. I explained to her that I've been parking under those trees for 15 years with various cars and this has never happened to any of them, in fact my wife's car was right in front of mine and has no spots at all on it. Apparently the warranty only covers paint problems that come from underneath, not from on top. She says there wasn't much she could and if I would like, she will contact me in September when the factory rep is in and he will take a look at it. So I left my card and plan on going back to have the factory rep take a look. Would appreciate any help I can get, thanks, Mike