vic

Except for the cruise control not working the car is running well with no other problems apparent.

Vehicle is a 2010 Forester. On the way home tonight I turned on the cruise control. Right after I turned it on the check engine light and the ABS light came on and the cruise control light started flashing constantly. As I drove the check engine light and the ABS light stayed on constantly. The cruise control light was flashing the whole time I was driving. The cruise control would not work. I tried stopping the car and turned the ignition switch to lock and then turned it to the on position as stated in the manual. It made no difference. When I started driving again the check engine light and the ABS light stayed on constantly and the cruise control light kept flashing. The cruise control does not work at all now. Would appreciate any ideas about what is going on. Is the car safe to drive? I will call the dealer for an appointment tomorrow.

Had similar problem in my 2010 Forester. Instrument cluster lights worked but no other dashboard or radio lights worked. It turned out that mice chewed up the main rear electrical harness and nested in there under and in the back of the arm rest/storage compartment between the two front seats. The dealer found it. It cost about $1,000 to fix.

Well, it's not such a good place now after everyone reads this post:)

I had a 99 Forester that started making a clicking noise in the engine compartment and was losing power while doing 75 on the interstate while loaded with gear and a canoe. I downshifted from 5th to 4th. It stopped clicking and regained power so I shifted to 5th again. About 15 minutes later it started clicking and losing power again. More gas or downshifting had no impact. I barely made it to an exit ramp. No warning lights were on. I Shut it off and opened the hood. No sign of leaks or anything in the engine compartment or under the car. Tried to start it up but it wouldn't turn over. Had it towed to Subaru dealer in Kansas City. Since they were closed (it was a Sunday early evening) I left it in their lot and took a motel. Next morning I went over there. It started but it was making a loud banging noise in the engine. Turned out it blew a rod. RIP old 99 Forester. It had 238,000 miles on it at its demise.

I had a 1999 Forester five speed manual. Head gaskets replaced at about 150,000 miles after unexplained overheating. Had no further head gasket problems when it was laid to rest after breaking a rod on the interstate at about 230,000 miles. Based on grossgary's comments about overheating's effect on engine life that may have been a contributing factor to its demise.

I don't have the means to take video of the problem. But I googled rod knock and found this on youtube. It sounds just like mine, but mine sounds louder to me. More like hammering than knocking.

Mine makes the banging noise when idling. When put in gear the banging noise got more frequent and the car would not move.

Banging noise from right side of engine. Second timing belt was done at about 200,000 miles.

99 Forester 243,000 miles. Was driving on Interstate got a click noise from engine compartment and car lost power. Downshifted to 4 gear (manual transmission) then back to 5 gear and all was OK. About 10 minutes later consistent clicking noise from engine and car lost power. Didn’t stall, but more gas didn’t give more power and car was gradually going slower. Managed to get to exit ramp. When I came to complete stop engine oil light came on. Shut off engine, checked oil, and it was at proper fill. Tried to start it but would not start. Had it towed. Now when I start car it makes a banging noise from engine compartment. Is this engine toast?

Just bought a 2010 Forester 2.5X Premium. It has no engine temperature gauge, just idiot lights. I would really like to get a real temperature gauge for it. Anyone have suggestions on what to get and how to install it.

Third time at the dealer may have been the charm. I had been researching Iowa's Lemon Law, and asked the dealer for copies of all service records and diagnosis of the problems in order to start compiling my record. They did a "wiggle" test of all the connections in the dimmer unit, tail/illumination relay, and integrated unit. They found that the inner blue connector of the integrated unit had not been locked into the unit and it was intermittently open resulting precisely in the problems I had described. They reattached the unit and it seems to have solved the problem.

Well the problem does not seem to be related to rain. Yesterday I started up and the red dashboard backlights and the green headlight indicator worked. There was no rain the night before, but there was condensation on the car from the high humidity we've been having. After driving for about 20 minutes I turned on the headlights to test the dashboard backlights. While the headlights came on, the red dashboard backlights and the headlights indicator light did not come on. I got to work and tested again and the backlights and headlight indicator lights still did not work. When I went left work about six hours later the dashboard backlights and headlight indicator lights worked, and I turned them off. When I got home about 45 minutes later I turned on the headlights to check the dashboard lights and the headlight indicator light and they did not work. I've thought of every variable I could remember related to the problem showing up (rain, car washes, dew, driving time, etc.) and nothing seems to present a cause and effect. It seems totally a random occurrence. The dealer heard back from SOA who said they never heard of such a problem, but told the dealer a series of tests to run. I have it scheduled for Tuesday. Somehow I do not have any confidence in their ability to diagnose or fix the problem. I am starting to research Iowa's lemon law. I am at a loss about what to do to diagnose the problem. Any other suggestions?

The red dashboard backlights (radio controls, temperature, fan, vent controls, cabin dimmer controls, gear shift controls, and that little blue LED above the rear view mirror) do not come on when I turn the headlights on. The little green headlight indicator also does not come on. The blue high beam indicator does come on. However the headlights do come on, and all the indicators on the instrument panel (speedometer, tach, etc.) do come on. The car is a 2010 Forester 2.5X Premium with the all weather package. It has just turned 1,900 miles. I plan on keeping this car for at least 10 years (my ’99 Forester lasted just over 11 years and 228,400 miles.) I told them that surely over that time I will be driving at night and in the rain. I also told them that this situation is unacceptable in any car, let alone one with less than 2,000 miles. I first noticed this the last two mornings when I turned on the headlights. The car had been sitting out in the rain during thunderstorms both nights. Yesterday after letting the car sit in the garage at work for two hours all the dashboard backlights and the green headlight indicator came on as they are supposed to. The rain had stopped that morning and throughout the day all the internal lights worked as they should. This morning after another thunderstorm last night the same problem with the dashboard backlighting happened again. I took the car into the dealership with the backlights still not working. They said they had never seen nor heard of this problem and that they could find no tech bulleting on it. After about an hour and half the manager came out and said they tested the everything and found no problems. He also said that the backlights had just started to work again. They called SOA for technical assistance and as of this evening we are waiting to hear back from SOA. Has anyone experienced this problem. Does anyone have a suggested fix or diagnosis. I’ll even consider a WAG, as the dealership has no idea of what the problem or fix may be.

I am replacing my 1999 Forester and am considering the 2010 Forester but also considering the 6 cylinder Toyota RAV. Leaning toward the normally aspirated Forester primarily because of better performance in deep snow and mud, and also because of lower price. Some of my concerns about the Forester are based on my experience with the 99 Forester. I would prefer the Forester with manual transmission but was not happy with the clutch in the 99. Had to replace it twice before the car died at 228,400 miles, and had clutch judder with every clutch. Has Subaru improved their clutch with the 2010 model? I would appreciate any comments on performance of the 2010 Forester with the manual vs. automatic transmission Had head gasket problems with the 99 Forester. Has that issue been resolved with the 2010 model? Had to replace rear wheel bearings many times on the 99, has this been resolved with the 2010 model? I would also appreciate any comments from those with experience regarding the performance and handling of the new 2009/2010 design compared to the 1999-2008 models. Thanks for any guidance you can offer