Forrester - Lemon or typical??

[murphsubaru]

My 99 Forrester with 86,000 miles has had the following repairs:

 

Head gaskets replaced

Rear wheel bearings replaced

Master cylinder replaced

Knock sensor replaced

Air intake sensor replaced

Front cv unit replaced

 

Currently has a leaky transmission, needs inner seal replaced.

 

Is my Forrester a lemon or is this typical for a Subaru?

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

My 99 Forrester with 86,000 miles has had the following repairs:

 

Head gaskets replaced

Rear wheel bearings replaced

Master cylinder replaced

Knock sensor replaced

Air intake sensor replaced

Front cv unit replaced

 

Currently has a leaky transmission, needs inner seal replaced.

 

Is my Forrester a lemon or is this typical for a Subaru?

 

the headgasket falls under the EJ25 headgasket issue i believe

the foresters are notorious for rear wheel bearings. if they lasted you that long, you're luckier than some.

master cylinder sounds odd.

knock sensors go bad. it's just what they do.

your air intake sensor (i assume you mean mass airflow sensor) shouldn't normally go bad, but sometimes it happens.

CVs go bad, like the the knock sensor or wheel bearings, it's just what they do.

 

i don't think that any of that stuff is lemon-worthy. as far as i've gathered, a lemon is a car that a problem, no matter how many time's it's fixed keeps coming back. that's not what any of those are, they're all just wear and tear stuff.

 

your forester's getting to the age where stuff is going to start going bad. once they do and you replace them, you're good for another 100k miles.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

oh, and the tranny fluid leaking, seals get old, loose their hold, and start leaking. it's not a hard fix, but like i've said...it happens.

[The Dude]

My 99 Forrester with 86,000 miles has had the following repairs:

 

Head gaskets replaced

Rear wheel bearings replaced

Master cylinder replaced

Knock sensor replaced

Air intake sensor replaced

Front cv unit replaced

 

Currently has a leaky transmission, needs inner seal replaced.

 

Is my Forrester a lemon or is this typical for a Subaru?

 

People don't like it when you make fun of their names. Probably your car is pissed that you've called it a Forrester for the 86,000 miles. Start calling your car a Forester, and it might start acting nice for you.

BESIDES, your post appears to be somewhat misleading. Master cylinder-replaced under recall, no charge to you. Air intake sensor-replaced under recall, again no charge to you. I am curious, were the head gasket replaced under warranty? Same question on the rear wheel bearings, were they replaced under warrainty? My 99 Forester went 200,000 miles with a grand total of $175 for out of warranty repairs. I'm not all that unhappy.

[murphsubaru]

I think it is ridiculous that a car that is suposed to be so reliable has had so many repairs before 100,000 miles. I have spent $1000.00 on repairs. Yes, many of the repairs were recalls, but my time spent taking it in for repairs is worth something. I have a Cougar with 174,000 miles that has been much more reliable! I don't think I will buy another Subaru.

[Kostamojen]

$1000 in repairs is nothing...

[tailgatewagon]

if it were an american car i would say you must have gotten the car they put extra enering into sould like an american dream

 

if it was a jap car(non subaru) i would say well it must be a mazda or a mitsu,,

 

but being a Subaru,,, i would say. YES Every subaru ive come acrost produced after 98 or so and non ej20 has seamed like a lemon,,,,,,,,,,

 

any car that needs headgaskets befor a timing belt is a POS

 

good luck sounds like your luck has been better then some and worse then others so count yourself half lucky.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

I don't think I will buy another Subaru.

 

i don't think you should join another Subaru forum either.

 

i don't say that because of your comments about the forester, you just need to do more research to find out what common problems a car has before buying it and then weigh the pros and cons.

 

by the way...cougars are chick cars.

[Setright]

Head gasket and rear bearings are normal failures. Only in the sense that they are not rare. A properly serviced EJ25 won't bust a headgasket, just because it's an EJ25.

 

"Properly serviced" also means driven with the right amount of circumspection that any car deserves. Never more than 4000rpm or half throttle when the engine is cold. Letting the engine cool down before shutting off after a "fast" run.

 

I think more than a few HG failures stem from unqualified maintenance - and some of that does rest with the owner. Coolant and oil levels need to be check weekly. On any car!

[The Dude]

Head gasket and rear bearings are normal failures. Only in the sense that they are not rare. A properly serviced EJ25 won't bust a headgasket, just because it's an EJ25.

 

"Properly serviced" also means driven with the right amount of circumspection that any car deserves. Never more than 4000rpm or half throttle when the engine is cold. Letting the engine cool down before shutting off after a "fast" run.

 

I think more than a few HG failures stem from unqualified maintenance - and some of that does rest with the owner. Coolant and oil levels need to be check weekly. On any car!

 

 

Setright, I have have to say that the head gasket failure rate of the Phase I 2.5L DOHC engine was abysmal. There were just way too many Phase I failures to blame operator abuse. I owned a 99 Forester and I have just purchased a 2006 Forester. Obviously I like the car, but I do have two criticisms for Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru). First, Subaru is way too slow in rectifying known problems with their cars. The wheel bearing, clutch, and head gasket problems with the early Foresters went on for YEARS before they were finally fixed. Want to bet that in couple of years I'm posting that the fuel level sensor in my 2006 isn't working? Second, a far more serious problem is that Subaru "runs away" from serious product defects instead of standing up to the plate and taking care of their customers. Subaru basically screwed 2.5L Phase 1 owners once they were out of warranty.

[idosubaru]

Setright, I have have to say that the head gasket failure rate of the Phase I 2.5L DOHC engine was abysmal.

 

i don't think 2.5 liter owners happen to be more likely to maintain their car any less than any other car purchaser so the HG failures can't be blamed on habits of owners.

 

you're unlucky. you accumulated all the possible failures. while not likely, they are small percentages after all. most people (not every car, still small percentage) have just the head gasket or just the wheel bearings, seems you've gotten them all. or you have a bad/dishonest mechanic. knock sensors and master cylinders do not typically go bad. i've got many 100's of thousands of miles on subaru snad the only failure i've ever seen is a dirty connector for the knock sensor. nice guy charges nothing to fix it, bad guy charges lots, replaces sensor and makes a big deal out if. i've never had a failed master cylinder or knock sensor on the dozen or so subaru's i've owned (and they are mostly really old high mileage ones).

 

not sure why all this cost $1,000, but maybe you need a new mechanic if it didnt' all happen at the same time, right after the warranty ran out.

 

your personal experience, while regrettable, is one of millions. one car does not make a majority or by any means indicate a "trend". your luck ran out, 174,000 on an american car? if it's all stock that is quite remarkable, i'm sure there are a few disappointed cougar owners out there, i highly doubt (read, i know for a fact!!) they've all made it to 174,000 miles without incident. you feel it's rediculous and you should, you've gotten a worse car than most. not sure what to do in situations like that, you're kind of hosed. i'd be pissed too, but i refuse to buy new cars to avoid the bad attitude i'd know i'd get if i were in your shoes. i put 125,000 miles on a subaru XT6 i bought with 75,000 already on it. awesome freaking car, i treated it like dirt while in college (used tires, whatever i could get away with cheap) and never an issue. had a clutch go out, but that's acceptable with 200,000 miles and off road playing. i love the old soobs, thousands of trouble free miles for the cost of two car payments! woo hoo!

[otis]

I have a Cougar with 174,000 miles that has been much more reliable! I don't think I will buy another Subaru.

You can name just about any brand with a good reputation for quality and find a dud in the bunch- just as you can find a brand with a poor reputation and find a star.

 

If you base your decision on one sample point of a population, then you are assuming that your case is representative of all cars in that population. so by this logic, you should be able to buy a new cougar (or at least a slightly used one) and have few/no problems. I've even heard odd statements like, "I've bought 5 BRAND X cars in the past 20 years. But this last one was a piece of junk. I'll never buy a brand X car again!!"

 

THe question I have is this- Does 1 data point equal a trend?

 

If you want to buy a different car, go ahead. I guarantee you'll think the next car you buy will be superior because a) cars today are quite reliable with notable exceptions. Odds are heavily in your favor that you'll buy a car with reasonably good reliablity (even if you buy another forester!). pychologically you have to justify your decision so you'll have a tendency to overlook some problems when they arise in your new purchase. "my new taurus is PERFECT compared to that peice of junk subaru I had before.... leak... what leak... oh that, that's nothing...."

[tailgatewagon]

i don't think you should join another Subaru forum either.

 

i don't say that because of your comments about the forester, you just need to do more research to find out what common problems a car has before buying it and then weigh the pros and cons.

 

by the way...cougars are chick cars.

 

 

hum seams like a prime reason to join a fourm........

 

dont give up on subarus. pluse ive heard that lots of people are making it 100k after the hg deal with no more problems....

[zyewdall]

Sounds a little atypical for subarus. I've never bought one with less than 180k on it, and while one of them did seem to have an inordinant amount of problems, you can't really call it a lemon for that when it's had 8 owners and 220k miles, and you don't have any maintenance history. My first one had all kinds of things fall off, but it still ran fine, and considering I bought it for $50, the value per dollar was still really high. My current one has 206k on it, and since I've owned it the non-scheduled maintenance has been a new headlight bulb and a radiator hose.

[cookie]

Lets see if this chart comes through.

 

Service from March 03 to Sept 05 on 99 Forester89,941oil pump reseal,exaust pipe, crank seals, thermostat, oil seperatorclutch, head gaskets, tensioner, belts322390,000 mile service92,991 rear brakes and new brake fluid29293,978oil changeclutch master slave23894000CD player 21797857 oil change serviceair filter etc.16399678struts new brakes alignment800100938oil change421134400oil change to synthetic65103932smog78105537complete service fuel injector clean374107389new pilot bearing 580117,992oil change synthetic 79Total service6151I'm over 122,000 now and have done a couple other thigs not on here.

[cookie]

It does not look like I did a very good job with the Excel spreadsheet, but I have spent over 6gs and am happier with the car all the time. I do maintain a car more than the average Joe, but the reliability I get is the tradeoff. At about 100,000 miles the question is to do major maintence and get several more years or a new car. Every month I figure I am saving a couple hundred bucks in payment and insurance right now.If you don't want a small decent handling 4wd or don't need one there are better options for you out there. No car is perfect.