In my 2001 Forester,(AT) and the same year LegacyI drove once at times the

from a stop forward engagement is a little late, so when it does it is with a jolt.

This thing is still under warrenty, should I get it back to the dealer ? Is this common?

My '91 does it a little, but it's not a new car like yours. I've learned to let it pump-up before accerating. I can dig up the spec time on a '91 later this week if it helps.

Is it common? I guess, so are Subaru head gasket problems. If it's under warranty I would make sure it's noted and fixed. Subaru will probably "tell" you is normal, but it is an issue covered in the factory manuals. I believe there are some fixes posted on this board for some of the causes in older transmissions.

Hooray for warranties.

Apparently this is something new to your car, yes? In that case it is a matter of wear and the drive train is covered against these things at least until the day after the warranty expires.

The dealer will probably check to make sure the tranny fluid has been changed at the proper interval (tell them you did it yourself if you haven't already, otherwise, they'll first bill you for a trany service as recommended in the manual $80?) and hope the symptoms and you go away. Then after a while, when you notice that it isn't 100% better and after some more wrangling you may need to meet with the regional rep and then they'll get you a reman transmission. Been there, done that... so much fun I even bought the t-shirt... twice on my 2000GT Legacy.