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Subaru Crew Problems & Solutions

19283 messages,  Last post on May 01, 2013 at 9:15 AM

You are in the Subaru Crew Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Impreza, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, Subaru Legacy, Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, SUV


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Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

Messages Page 1855 of 1929

#18535 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [fibber2] by jbur1

Jan 24, 2010 (11:14 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jan 23, 2010 5:28 pm)
Thanks for the confirmation of my suspicion. Or should I say thanks -not! Since my vehicle (2003 Forester) was not included in the Subaru extended warranty I guess I need to make a decision since I have about 81,000 miles on the vehicle. Whether or not to purchase a new vehicle or to invest in this repair along with other service needs in the near future (i.e. timing belt, water pump, etc.). The other unknown is how long the head gasket repair would last since this seems to be an ongoing issue with this engine.

#18536 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [jbur1] by hammerhead

Jan 24, 2010 (12:53 pm)

Replying to: jbur1 (Jan 24, 2010 11:14 am)
My 99 LGT wagon had both head gaskets replaced at about 119K (before I bought it, per the paperwork that came with the car). IIRC, the bill was about $2K. Car has 176K miles now, with absolutely no sign of HG issues.
 
Cheers!
Paul

#18537 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [hammerhead] by lucien2

Jan 24, 2010 (5:51 pm)

Replying to: hammerhead (Jan 24, 2010 12:53 pm)
had to do ours at 130k, but the car only has 140ish on it now. So yea, no probs

#18538 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [jbur1] by fibber2

Jan 24, 2010 (7:11 pm)

Replying to: jbur1 (Jan 24, 2010 11:14 am)
Sorry to have been the bearer of bad news... Nice pixs, by the way.
 
Unfortunately, I am on the unlucky end of the spectrum, and have had two failures - first at 15k, then again at 63k. Even though my car is an '02, my VIN was exempted from the extended warranty. Only '00 & '01 were covered in full, '02 partially, yet SOA picked up the full tab. I have a friend with a '99 that was also taken care of as a courtesy.
 
My suggestion is that you call 1-800-Subaru3 and open a case prior to bringing it in for service. When you take it in, give the service mgr the case number, and ask them to call SOA and go to bat for you. If you have any kind of positive relationship at all with the dealer, you might get at least some of it covered.
 
While mine was apart, I had them do the timing & accessory belts, paying only for these extra parts. It all has to come off anyhow, so it's the time to do it. Labor was already covered.
 
See if you can turn your 'lemons' into lemonade and get to drive the car a while longer.

#18539 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [fibber2] by canddmeyer

Jan 25, 2010 (2:44 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jan 24, 2010 7:11 pm)
The other option is hose it down well, then drive it to the dealer on a rainy day and purchase a new vehicle without wheeling and dealing too much. You get a new vehicle; they get to fix or auction your old one. Save the hassle and go new if you can afford it. At the price they want for repairs, I'd prefer to put that into a new vehicle and knock on wood, hopefully be problem free.

#18540 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [fibber2] by johnmcc

Jan 25, 2010 (3:17 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jan 23, 2010 5:28 pm)
Sorry to hear about your problem.I had my head gasket go at 63,000 just after warranty even after had it there earlier to check it out but of course they found nothing until had that nice over heating problems.I found every site I could find talking about bad head gasket on their 2.5 L which seem to be the case from 1999-2009.Oh make sure you copy all links to complaints about head gasket failure and send them too Subaru head quarters it's what I did and finally got them to cough up some money but still cost me a lot to fix it.A Subaru mechanic I know said they just finally change the head gaskets in the 2010 models.If you get the head fix then do rear end seal,serpentine belt,timing chain,water pump but these depend on if your over 60,000 if you are they have to take most of these off to get to them anyway so replace them so 10,000 down road don't have to pay for labor again.Oh yeah make sure change coolant sensor it's $15 and I had all kinds of problems still with temp gauge turns out the sensor wide open easy fix.Oh do not do not do not let them put any of their coolant conditioner in your coolant system.It's just Holts leak seal with their sticker from what I found out from talking to more them a few EX-Subaru mechanics.That stuff over time clogs the radiator and causes much of the over heating down the road.I learned the hard way.Get something called RMI25 that's the letter i not a one in the RMI25.It's a coolant system cleaner that removes all the build gunk over the years and puts it in your overflow which you have to empty out a lot until all gone.This stuff been around for about 30 years it causes the water to become akaline gets rid of electrolysis.My heater always took forever to warm up now it could cook eggs.

#18541 of 19283 Re: Reverse gear pops out [oneduckstwo] by ateixeira

Jan 25, 2010 (8:40 am)

Replying to: oneduckstwo (Jan 23, 2010 12:00 pm)
It was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure early Foresters had an issue with popping out of gear, not many of them but a few.
 
Search for a TSB on that, though I don't think it was as recent as model year 2002.

#18542 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [fibber2] by jbur1

Jan 25, 2010 (12:19 pm)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jan 24, 2010 7:11 pm)
I doubt that the dealer would go to bat for me because I only had it serviced there once since purchasing the vehicle. Also, I have done most of the maintenance myself (i.e oil changes, coolant changes, brakes, plugs, etc.). I keep good records of when I performed these services but I don't think that would help much. I even added the Subaru coolant additive when changing the coolant at 30,000 and 60,000 miles. I am currently thinking about putting more of the coolant additive to see if that will help me get through the winter and then make a decision as to repair or buy new. Anyway, thanks to everyone for your comments.

#18543 of 19283 tuning the Forester by kurtamaxxxguy

Jan 25, 2010 (2:31 pm)

Just curious if anyone here has or knows someone who has had their '09 XT engine tuned by COBB ?
  
If so, how did the tune work out (I'm considering stage 1, as stage 2 requires an exhaust pipe/cat converter swap that will void the XT's engine warranty.).

#18544 of 19283 Re: Losing Coolant [johnmcc] by phil2000

Jan 25, 2010 (6:26 pm)

Replying to: johnmcc (Jan 25, 2010 3:17 am)
About two months ago my radiator starting leaking. Up to then I have had no coolant leaks with my 2000 Forester, now with 312,607 miles. I replaced the top hose over a year ago and will do the bottom when I replace the radiator. I am looking at:
REPLACEMENT Radiator - Aluminum Core, Plastic Endtanks
or
CSF Radiator
 
From Car Parts Wholesale.com, unless someone has a better alternative source.

Messages Page 1855 of 1929

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