cobalt

On a recent trip to Albuquerque with the 2006 Forrester XT, My check engine light came on. The dealer said it was a bad secondary air pump related to emissions control. He replaced it for about 600.00 ouch! 2 days later the check engine light came on again. Dealer says bad primary air pump. This only cost 400.00 because it`s easier to get to. He says it`s caused by cheap gas and short trips without the engine getting warmed up. Has anyone heard or experienced this ? I did check with my home town Subaru dealer and he quoted the same prices for the service.

2006 Forester XT with wawa noise coming from rear of vehicle. Took it to Subaru dealer who checked for noise and found a small noise coming from differential. Differential was changed under warranty (an 1800.00 item). Noise was still there when I drove home. Took the car back expecting bad rear wheel bearings. Dealer lifted car and listened with stethoscope , He found no noise but he suspected tires may be at fault. I took the car to Les Schwaub tire dealer. He inspected the Sumitomo tires and found uneven wear on one back and one front tire He suspected tire alignment problems. Checked alignment, it was off front and rear. I told him I wanted the quietest and best ride tires he had (this is my wifes car). He realigned the suspension and installed Toyo Eclipse tires and gave me a 160.00 trade in for the Sumitomos. The Forester is now very quiet and very comfotable riding and more responsive with the handling. I thought I was driving a totally different car. What a difference.

It may sound strange, but I have used 2 pipe wrenches opposing each other at times and they work well because the harder you pull the tighter they get. If you have room you might try it.

This winter I have seen a mileage drop from 21-23 city to 17-19 and 28-29 hiway to 23-24. This is an o6 forester xt with 35,000 miles . Air filter is clean, use Pennzoil platinum and drive sensibly staying off the turbo as much as possible. The plugs have not been changed. Could ethanol be the problem? I live in Utah but the cold weather never affected the mileage until now. I`m wondering if the maap sensor or oxygen sensor should be checked. Any ideas?...Thanks:confused:

Stephanie; You mentioned that the steam happens after the car sets outside overnight in the rain. I`m wondering if some rainwater leaks from the top of the car and finds it`s way under the hood by way of a cracked or broken seal between the engine compartment and the windshield or around the edge of the hood. The water would then pool on the engine and then when driven is sloshed over the hot manifolds to produce steam. Just my theory.:cool:

Reply to setright and exdeadhead about tires; The tires that came with the car and are still on it with 17,000 miles are Yokohama Geolander 6000. I drove very carfully and took no chances. The turbo was not needed and not used for this trip. I failed to mention that we did have some excitment, We observed a flock of wild turkeys, a bald eagle, and a flock of birds that I have not yet identified.

We recently traveled in blizzard and icey conditions from our home in Ogden, Utah to Cedar City Utah. This was my first trip in these kinds of conditions since purchasing our Subaru. We passed many vehicles which had spun or slid off the highway and wreckers were a common sight. We had no slippage spinning or hydroplaning at all. The last 50 miles were in whiteout conditions at night. the Forester was still totally stable. We spent the night at a hotel resting for our second leg of the journey. The next morning we awoke to 16 inches of snow on top of the Forester. We climbed the slick slope from the hotel to the road with no spinning while other fwd and 4wd drive vehicles were having trouble on the slope. Our next leg was to be a 40 mile drive on hiway 56 to Beryl Utah. The snowplows had been out earlier in the morning but by the time we were on the road the conditions were slick and snowpacked with hills and curves to traverse. The trip to Beryl was made with no problems. Our return trip home later that day was also "uneventful" My wife and I are now a firm believer in Subaru all wheel drive technology !

There is a little lag on my 2006 XT depending on current speed and rpm but there is enough power to weight ratio with 230 HP that it will still outperform any other small suv or "tuner" .I have used turbo twice this year to avoid other cars that swerved or were bearing down on me. So the turbo adds agility to the manuevering of the vehicle too.

Last night I noticed while coming down a very steep paved grade as I geared down to low (auto tranny)to slow up without overusing the brakes, the transmission would retard my pace for a few seconds and then would release it for a few seconds before cutting in again. I thought once you put the vehicle in low it should lock in and stay until manually taken out. Any thoughts?..Thanks ..Cobalt:confused:

:cool: If subaru would make a "TRUCK" instead of a sawed off station-wagon, with just the basics such as the radio,heater, and a few other options(less is better) much lke the "advanced design" Chevy trucks built from 1948-1954.Many of which are still on the road, They could offer 4 wheel lock-up, higher ground clearance, and keep the symetrical all wheel drive technoogy, they would sell millions of them! ......My 2 cents.

If subaru would make a basic "TRUCK" instead of a sawed off station wagon. Sorry for double reply, see other post.

OBW; The first thing I thought of when I heared the symptoms is a couple of plug wires crossed which will really rock a 4 banger like you described . It won`t hurt to double check this simple procedure . If the motor was running well when stored this could be the problem.....good luck.....cobalt

A few weeks ago I posted a problem with harmonic wind noise sounding like a tuning fork which I could not locate the source of . On a recent trip I started by covering different different areas on the firewall with duct tape with no results. I then moved to the bottom windshield seal covering it with duct tape with no results. I finally covered the top windsheild seal and it stopped. Apparently there is a short length of the seal which was not sealed properly. The noise was unbearable between 75 and 80 MPH. Just wanted to report back and let everyone know it is fixed. Also report the Forester XT got 27MPG average on 1555 mile round trip with no hiccups..Thanks Cobalt.

:cool: First time buyer; I am aware how Hertz aquires their inventory and not all cars are rental fleet stock. Hertz bids at auctions for their car-lot inventory just like any car dealer does, They will sell their highest-quality trade-ins on their lots all others are auctioned off to other dealers. . I am also aware of the quality of service their rental fleet gets and it is top quality. You only have to ask the sales rep about the history of the car and he will tell you where it came from and its previous owner. Over the years I have purchased 5 cars from Hertz including my present 2006 Forrester XTwith 7000 miles (I saved 6000 under new dealer price) and they have all been clean well serviced low mileage cars which Hertz will service for you if needed. Good luck with your purchase!

I have only one question TJ, If it is a design fault, Why did it take 140,000 miles to show up?