JOEK39

You're correct, the warranty extension was 100K miles or 8 years. I purchased car in 10/00, so I missed the 8-years by many months - but was within the 100K miles. Can't tell how many hours they billed SOA on warranty work, but I did have timing belt, water pump, and T-stat replaced at same time - charged me for $237 parts + $125 labor, for a total to get my car back home of $390. I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Just got my'01 Forester with 93K on the odometer back from the Suby dealer, with head gasket job completely covered under warranty. I was very surprised , but the service manager tells me he is able to get from 50%-100% covered on failed head gaskets on most subys with leaking head gaskets, provided they were brought in under warranty several years ago for the cooling "conditioner" additive. The stated deal at that time was an extension of the head gasket warranty to 80K, so I'm definitely happy they covered this at 93K. Might be worth a shot for others.

many fuel system cleaners, sprayed directly into the air intake can cause failure - also, silicone sprayed anywhere near the air intake can also fry an O2 sensor most O2 sensors are warranteed - could be a bad one and no sense paying another $80 for another new one. Also, other component failures could trigger this particular O2 sensor error code thats triggering the CEL - only way to know for sure is to read the voltage signal coming off the O2 sensor and see if it is actually varying with different fuel/air conditions - many scan tools will allow you to read the data in a real-time mode. hope this helps. good luck

I need to have the axle replaced on my '01 Forester - boot cracked on the passenger side - looks like a bad design in relation to exhaust system. Question: does a wheel alignment need to be done after an axle replacement? or asked another way, does replacing a front axle, alter the alignment of a previously prefectly aligned Forester ? Thanks in advance!

OE tires on my '01 Forester were the Yokohama Geolanders - went through those in 24K miles. Went with a set of fairly inexpensive Uniroyal's, got about 35K on those and are now on a set of Kumho's KH16. Very happy with those, have about 15K on those and looks like I'll get a total of 35-40K. It seems that Forester's are not ones to get 60-70K on tires, despite the tire manufacturer's mileage claims!

just checked several places online - the correct model for me is a Bosch 13469 (4-wire heated). It goes for $90-$107 at various places. A generic is a 3-wire "universal" for $55-$70. Interestingly, the Bosch front sensor, a 5-wire, wideband heated model can be purchased for $72 !! Go figure. I think I'll stick with the Bosch 4-wire, but think I will remove the existing first and make sure its a 4-wire model. Thanks again. - Joe

Thanks Nipper. that was the answer I was hoping for. You've helped me many times. - Joe

Hi: '01 Forester with 90K miles, non-turbo. Had drivability issues about 6 months ago, with no codes, finally got around to changing the front O2 sensor (thanks to several posts here) and that immediately solved the problem. CEL now on and throwing P0136 (rear O2 sensor?) codes. Have reset codes several times and it comes back within 2 days. No other codes (like P0420) present. No drivability issues, no change in mileage, in fact she's running as good as she ever did. Thoughts on this ?? I'm thinking rear O2 sensor, except I have seen very few posts from others. I'm hoping its not the cat converter. Thanks in advance. - Joe

I purchased the filters (takes 2), popped them in and they fit perfectly. Can't believe this was (i think) a $150 option. Cost me < $40 for the filters. If it helps keep the air coming in cleaner, maybe less dust ? I'll let you know in about 12 months when I replace them! Thanks for everyone's replies.

2001 Forester purchased new, didn't go for the cabin air filter option. While poking around under the dash and doing some research online, found directions on how to replace cabin air filters in Foresters. Looked under my dash and found the housing for them. Can it really be as simple as buying the filters and popping them in ? Any idea where to get them and what they might cost ? Thanks for the thoughts!

its referred to as an "offset" sensor socket. I got mine off EBay for $15 about a year ago. do a google on "offset sensor socket" and you'll get all kinds of hits. If you can get to it with an open-end wrenceh - thats another way

I posted last week with engine problems, turned out it was the front O2 sensor. Had replaced it 11 months earlier, it was an OEM part from Bosch, purchased at NAPA and they replaced it under a 12-month warranty Interestingly, the price on the exact same new sensor dropped from $132 in December 2005 to $78 last week . Anyway, there were no codes thrown, no CEL, just running bad when warmed up, especially at idle. Removed O2 sensor didn't look bad at all, no obvious visual things wrong - guy at NAPA smelled it and pronounced it didn't seem fried. Any ideas what could cause this? Original sensor lasted 60K miles and threw all kinds of codes when it crapped out. This last one lasted 10K miles without triggering anything. THANKS in advance. - Joe 2001 Forester, non-turbo

skizix - thanks for the post. Thats one idea i would never have come up with. I will certainly look into it, but could you explain how that failure can cause the issues I have, especially only after the engine is warm? Where is the switch located? Is this the one on the transmission ? Thanks!

this is the wrench that works for me on my '01 Forester (see attachment)

Hope someone can help me. 2001 Forester, non-turbo, 80K miles. Started right after a bad tank of gas a couple months ago. Bucking and surging and poor idle. No error codes, but changed the fuel filter and ran some injector cleaner through the system and got immediate improvement. Two weeks ago, started with issues once its warmed up. Runs perfect when cold. Gets to operating temperature and the surging under engine load starts up. Also really bad at idle when stopped - engine will almost die, have to put in neutral to keep it running. No error codes set, no CEL. I've changed the plugs and wires, and reset the ECU a few times. The front O2 sensor was changed out about 11 months ago when it failed at 68K miles. I'm prepared to change out the front O2 sensor again, but the whole business about it running fine until its warmed up got me thinking about the coolant temperature sensor. I have a diagram from the Suby shop manual that shows it just behind the ignition coil/pack and just below the intake manifold on the left center of the engine. I'll be darned if I can see it or find it however. Any thoughts on what the issues could be ?? And where is that darn coolant temperature sensor ? Thanks in advance. - Joe 88 GL-10 (deceased) 01 Forester

Thanks for the replies. Not sure if the AT isa ctually downshifting or if tits the torque converter locking up, the rpms do not raise up like they would on a downshift. The other thing I am noticing since this started is a slight performance (acceleration) decrease. I can live with all this as long as I keep getting the improved mileage! Thanks again.

2001 Forester w/ AT - 60K miles Got a bad tank of gas and the car drove like crap (surging, stalling, backfiring, missing, pinging) until i could run the gas through - much better, but not great like it was before the bad gas so i changed the fuel filter AND reset the ECU. All bad gas symptoms gone, except now I have this new issue - a slight but annoying "bucking" problem that occurs if going downhill at 35 mph, coasting - just like you would get in an MT vehicle if you let the clutch out at too low an RPM - I'm guessing the torque converter is locking-up incorrectly. I am convinced it was the ECU reset that is causing this bucking. I could do another reset, except I am now getting the best mileage EVER since I purchased this car new 6 years ago. Getting 24-26 mpg every tankful, versus 20-23 previously. I think I'll live with the bucking for a awhile - the 3-4 mpg increase is worth over $200 per year! Any other thoughts ? Thanks!

2001 Forester w/ AT - 60K miles Got a bad tank of gas and the car drove like crap (surging, stalling, backfiring, missing, pinging) until i could run the gas through - much better, but not great like it was before the bad gas so i changed the fuel filter AND reset the ECU. All bad gas symptoms gone, except now I have this slight but annoying "bucking" problem that occurs just as described in this thread - reproducible if going downhill at 35 mph coasting. I am convinced it was the ECU reset that caused this. I could do another reset, except I am now getting the best mileage EVER since I purchased this car new 6 years ago. Getting 24-26 mpg every tankful, versus 20-23 previously. I think I'll live with the bucking for a awhile - the 3-4 mpg increase is worth over $200 per year!

If an electrical-induced noise, Why only on the highway? I'm guessing wind related noise. Chief culprits are roof rack cross bars, rear window dust deflectors, side-view mirrors, and general leaking around window gaskets at high speeds that cause large air pressure differences between the inside and outside of the car. Try opening the windows a crack, bending your sideview mirrors in, etc. to see if these might be it. If it IS the speakers, you could certainly hear the noise through the speakers - have someone in the rear seat stick their ear next to it when it starts to occur. Good Luck, let us know what you find. - Joe '01 Forester Premium '88 GL-10 (retired)

At the risk of going even lower-brow in the humor department, I think fish oil capsules are best used as a suppository, making the proper option to administer via the oil sump. However, the exhaust pipe is also a possibility, but the size of the "pill" must be larger in order to fit properly.:-p

Don't know if any manufacturer's are installing them, but one way they are marketed is for rental car agencies as well as parents with teenage drivers. The device also appears to be a pretty nifty OBDII reader as well. They brand name is "carchip" and here's a link: http://www.thecarchip.com/ JC Whitney sells them for $140 Good Luck, - Joe

The one way to check with certainty is to look for an emissions label under the hood - if compliant it will reference "OBDII". It is possible that even though it was made in Japan, it was made OBDII compliant, so it could be sold in the US. Good Luck, - Joe

Purchased my 2001 S Premium new - other than lousy OEM tires, no issues at all to date. Mileage is consistently 22-24 mpg, seats are supportive, all the goodies I got are excellent (sunroof, heated seats, auto-dimming mirror), and the safety features are considered the best. Mine is now at 45K miles, and I'm getting ready to do a brake job all-around. I like your idea of buying one a couple years old - the only warranty recalls I've had were for a computer chip replacement and a cooling system additive - there's posts on boith of these on this BB. Good Luck!

I put one on my Forester last year after 2 years of driving without one. Made a HUGE difference in keeping the rear window clean, and NO real difference in mileage. Purchased an OEM one off of EBay for about 1/2 of dealer retail. Easy to install, just got to get over drilling a few holes in the back deck lid. I had mine painted at the dealer before I installed it, to match the body color (arctic white) - I always thought the stock black was ugly. I did remove the crossbars from the roof rack since I rarely ever carry anything up there. That did make a BIG difference in wind noise, so I assume it makes a difference in mileage, although I can't really measure it.

Back in AWD mode for the last 2 tankfuls of gas, averaged 23 mpg. For me, and this vehicle I'm getting a 2-3 mpg improvement in 2WD mode (25-26 mpg). For me, that equates to a savings of about $100 per year. I'm not sure if thats worth it from a safety and handling standpoint, and there's still no clear concensus on whether I'm doing any damage to the tranny. So unless gas goes to $5 a gallon, I think I'll stick with AWD. Thanks for EVERYONES informed opinions - this was an interesting discussion.