Buddythedog

I finally moved from the mountains (Rockies) at 8000 ft. to almost sea level just in time for Hurricane Katrina. My car was spared, more so than my beautiful home in South Mississippi. Question, my mpg went down since I arrived to about 23 mpg hwy driving, at relatively moderate speeds. I've had problems with all my other cars/trucks making the altitude change, like the computer never really adjusts. My 03 Forester XS has 30K and had the 30K service done on it. Do I need to reset my computer by disconnecting the battery for an hour or so to "relearn" the atmosphere here? I've been here 2 months already.

The Mazdaspeed6 is for those of us who are a little more mature now; a little too old to be seen in a hardcore street machine, but who still enjoy driving and want something affordable, practical, and fun." So why are you on the USMB? Go to the Mazda website. Best of luck with your Mazda. Oh by the way, go to any mountainous state, or state with snow, bad weather, etc., and count the ratio of Subie's to Mazdaspeed 6's. Maybe I'll pass you when you're stuck in the snow or mud. I'll still pull you out with my awd and limited slip rear diff.

It's nice to see a positive attitude. Wish I tackled home repairs like that. Anyhow, if you go to mysubaru.com you can look up your car and get the maintenance list of what to do around your mileage. I had a 97 Outback, and one thing I would do right away is have the dealer adjust the valves. They are actually non adjustable, they have to be shimmed. I didn't want to spend the 900 bucks for it, and the CEL came on stating misfire cyl. #4. Well I did everything as it was running rough and popping from the tailpipe. The exhaust valve burnt and it needed a new valve, so naturally, you do all 4 with the heads off. Other than that, timing belt is a must, but you've had that done already , so do a drain and fill on all fluids. Good luck. You can always do a search on this board, it is amazing all the old posts you can find.

I put the Mobil 1 ATF in, so no problem there. All the shops I talked to had no incentive to get my business. The dealer farms out their tranny work to a shop that was closed at the time. All knew I was from out of town, and none offered to fix it for me, just giving advice.

You are the kind of guy that sees the glass as "half full" Thank you for that insight. I actually didn't think of that. You are most likely correct. I used a can of motor flush when I did my change yesterday.

It's nice to see people doing things to help their parents out. Just make sure that your/her car uses plat. plugs or non plat. or regular old plugs. My former 97 Outback was platinum only. My 03 FOrester is regular plug only. I was told not to use platinum plugs in it, so I didn't. I just put in the Denso plugs at 1.87 a piece,and it runs beautifully.

Well, I just sold my Eddie Bauer Expedition 4x4. I loved that truck, it has taken me on many camping trips, and kept my family safe and comfy. That said, I just bought an 03 Forester XS. I must say I love this car. It is safe (6 airbags, see crash tests) reliable, and comfy, albeit smaller than her Durango is. She can make do, as I did. I found the FOrester is more stable in the heavy snow of Northern New Mexico, and a much nicer all around ride. Have someone competent (dealer mechanic) check the car out very well. Have them include a compression test, and see if they will do a major fluid service on it (trans, differentials, oil, atf, everythig). It costs them around 200 bucks, you and me around 450, but it will give you piece of mind that the car was just serviced. Good luck, there are other nice cars out there, but you will really like the Subaru's.

Well, I have the Geolander things on my Forester, and they seem ok. Would they be ok for rally racing? No. Would they be ideal for snow rally racing? No. They are ok for normal everyday driving around, and what the car was designed for. If winter is a huge issue, and I assume it is way up there, I would recommend a FULL SET of winter tires. You can't just change the "drive wheel" tires like the old days. YOur folks will ruin their tranny in short order. All 4 tires must be the same on AWD systems. Short of that, I'm sure they're safe, responsible drivers.

Whilst doing the 30K mile service on my 03 Forester, I did the "drain and fill" on my Auto tranny. Well, I did use ATF, not mountain dew or washer fluid, but I put Mobil 1 synthetic in with the regular atf that the car came with. I assumed it would be about a 60% 40% mix in there. I drove 150 miles or so, and suddenly realized what I had done. I checked with 2 tranny shops, and the dealer tranny specialist. All 3 said I needed a flush and fill. 96 bucks later, I have regular atf dexron III in there, and a clear mind.

Does anyone know who produces the Wal-Mart oil? I know their filters are good. I don't use Fram, and after my crap from Jiffy Lube, I think I'll avoid Pennzoil. I've never had oil look so dirty after 3k, and my driving habits didn't change over the last 3k. Quaker State has pretty bottles, maybe I'll try them. Maybe Clamato Juice would work well.

SOrry, got to running off with my fingers (usually its with my mouth) I have an 03 Forester. I got to looking at the on going dino vs. synthetic debate. I'll probably go with dino in the engine. It's been used a 100 years, and the new dino oils like Quaker State, Castrol, etc., seem to hold up well. I have noticed less oil consumption in my wife's Expedition with the Castrol GTX. Everyone seems to have their opinions, and the sales seem to ebb and flow with whatever oil company sponsored NASCAR is winning (ha ha).

I'm no mechanic, but it may be that the clutch is super new, and therefore more "sticky" than one that has some miles on it. My old Outback did the same thing when I got the new clutch put in.If it doesn't clear up, I'd take it to the dealer where of course it will automatically spontaneously resolve itself, get 100 miles to the gallon, self-apply a coat of wax,and be the best Subaru ever produced by mortal man. Whenever my cars act up, I drive to the dealership and they run perfectly out of fear of being traded at pennies on the dollar.

Well, I "got 'er did" and went to Jiffy Lube out of time necessity. Reasons to avoid them.... The Subaru's count there as SUV's. That equated to extra money to do a simple oil change, even though there's no 6-7 or more quart oil capacity as there is in my 4x4 Expedition. I told them according to Allstate Insurance, the car is a wagon. They said some bs about not according to them... Second, I think 3K oil changes are bogus. I always do 5k between them, and use Castrol GTX, with never a problem. When I use Castrol, the oil is dirty, but at 3K, my oil looks just used up. I'm towing a small U Haul next week to the deep South to move. I did the ATF, plugs, the 30K mile tune up/full fluid replacement. Looks like I'll need to do the oil again at 3K before I leave. It will be a hard trip on the car, loaded down with my stuff, and my parrot (She only weighs a pound or so) I may have to jettison her to climb the hills. Ha ha. I've had her 26 years, but I do threaten her if she is bad. What do ya'll really think about changing the diff. fluid (front and rear) at 30K. I checked it, and it looks and smells just fine. FOr 10 bucks for synthetic it is cheap piece of mind. What is the capacity of the diffs???

SOmetimes too much advice, well intentioned can make a mountain out of a molehill. I always fear when I post a concern about my car on this, the best of all Subaru sites. I leave feeling more afraid than when I was praying to make it home. That said, all the above advice is right on. I had the same problem in my old Honda and it was the water pump. The cue was the temp gauge would rise, hover for a brief time, and fall back to normal. In the beginning it would be sporadic, then happening more and more. In a sube loyale, it would just leak tiny amounts of coolant out of the weep hole on the bottom side. I would look to the thermostat, then the water pump. If you do any of these, replace ALL of your hoses. It is money well spent, as they're probably old and gummed up. that way the car, cooling system is disassembled and everything will have new fluid. You break a hose down the line, you just bought disassembly and new coolant.

No, but that don't mean it cain't happen. While I've not heard of this, I assume that if it is a filter, than once the filtering reaches it's capacity of junk that it's supposed to filter, any future debris would bypass it and then clog the works on the engine side of the filter. Just a thought.

Actually Subaru rcommends 7500 mile oil changes (unless extreme conditions, towing, etc) That's just bs fed to us by Jifffy Lube (owned by Pennzoil) to make billions in profits. I've never changed mine prior to 5K, I just cant bear to squeeze out 2500 miles more. I do change my atf and diff fluids at the recommended 30K and use full synthetic. Also, unless you have the stuff at home, rotating tires at 3k is a pain in the bu**. I've never done this, and get great mileage out of my tires. DO follow scheduled maintenance re: the timing belt, plugs, etc...

If you go to Mysubaru.com and fill out some silly info so they can send you crap in the mail, it gives you access to owners manuals,as well as maintenance schedules. I just found this out last night. Subie recommends 7500 mile oil changes (unless extreme driving) and 30K tune ups, which I did last night. Pretty easy actually. Plus I did the whole tune up with fluids for under 100 bucks. Its 450 at the dealership, and I used all Mobil 1 synthetic fluid. Good luck!!!

I've seen the Yakima racks that I believe attach to the elliptical or flat roof rails. Other than that, if you haul stuff, you can get a "basket" type thingy that also attaches to the stock roof rack. Thule and Yakima are by far the best, lasting years and years. You do pay out the b*** for them. My forester, an 03 has the side rails, no tie down areas, and nothing on the roof to protect the finish. Anything I'd put up there would ruin my paint. Not good planning. I have the XS fwiw, I think the other models have the roof bumper things. Look in the paper, at bike shops, ski shops, etc., for used ones.

You know I heard from a (probably unreliable source, the news radio) that if we drop the speed limit either to 65 or 55, I forget which, we'd save around 25 million barrels of oil daily!! Even if that is terribly exaggerated, I'd gladly do it for the sake of our resources, and to lower gas to where it's reasonable. I also heard that a gallon of gas in Norway is $ 6.35. Holy crap. Regarding the amazing 35 mpg post, I live at 7500 feet, and commonly drove up to 9000 in Northern New Mexico. My average mpg is no greater than when I drive home to Mississippi, elevation 2. You do lose an avg. of 3% of your horsepower per 1000 ft. of elevation gain on a non turbo car. It feels like I have a WRX when I go to sea level!!! without the extra insurance payment. Buddy the dog enjoys the trips though. Especially with the big a** sunroof I have in my Forester:D

I know that this is way basic stuff for most of ya'll out there, but compared to my former 97 Outback, what a marvelous difference in the time and frustration factor in tuning up my 03 Forester (30K miles). First off, the factory plugs were Champion! I think it has to do with using a certain % of US parts in import cars. They were very worn, but nothing alarming, ie., oil, etc. The tip I'd like to share, due to the cant of the heads, the plugs don't just fall out, not can they be plucked out by hand. I used a (clean) small piece of rubber brake line hose I had. Shoved it in there, and it stuck to the tip of the plug, came right out. Put em in the same way, it is easier to notice cross threading that way, there's more feel than using a socket w/ extension. I also used Mobil 1 synthetic ATF and gearbox fluid. I'm skeptical, but I did notice an immediate difference with shifting and driveability. I won't doubt you synthetic advocates anymore. I use the syn. motor oil as well. Cheap investment for an expensive piece of machinery. Have a nice evening.

Hate to be the bearer of potentially bad news, but mine did the same thing, same code that is, in my former 97 Outback. Did the plugs, wires, even the injectors. Turned out it was a burnt exhaust valve that exhausted my bank account for around 1600 bucks. The car drove for months on the bad valve, which eventually got bad enough to have to fix. A compression test will tell you if it's bad. Those stage I engines are known for that too, I'm told.

I'm not a dummy, but when I purchased (recently) my 03 FOrester XS, no owners manual could be located. I have 30K on it, and was wondering what is the manual's stance on when to change: plugs, AT fluid, etc... This car is new to me, but I've had Outback and Loyale wagons in the past. Thanks...

My reply is that I'm an idiot. I was using the calculator on my Windows program.

Thanks for your reply, but if you really read my post, I stated that the car did not come with an owners manual. I asked them for one, and it will be 2 weeks or so to get it to me!!!

If you drive 20K per year, an extra 15 mpg will save you approx. 3000$$. If you have the car 5 years, that's 15K just in fuel savings. Maint. costs are higher in a diesel, but not that much.. FTW