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Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru Forester 2009 Subaru Forester
3658 messages, Last post on Nov 28, 2009 at 9:37 PM
You are in the Subaru Forester Forum. Your Host is kcram
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The cold and snowy Wisconsin winter has finally hit! I had actually been looking forward to the snow so I could test out the fabled AWD system the way it was meant to be used, and I have to say, it blew me away! This is the first AWD vehicle I have driven in Winter and the difference is night and day. However, I have noticed that even on a 10 minute drive to work through 4 inches the accumulation of packed snow and ice in all four wheel wells is just unbelievable! To be expected I suppose and normally wouldn't bother me, but I got the rugged package and if I try and kick the ice off, the flimsy splash guards and wheel arch moldings feel like they're going to come away with the ice even with the lightest tap. It was to the point where I could hear and feel the packed ice rubbing on all four wheels, and when braking the noise was awful. Unfortunately I haven't got a heated garage, so it's going to be spending the majority of the Winter outside. Anyone else finding the same with the splash guards? Any tips or suggestions?
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Replying to: mwasnidge (Dec 06, 2008 10:57 am) |
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Replying to: mwasnidge (Dec 06, 2008 10:57 am) Jim
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Replying to: w8ifi (Dec 06, 2008 6:19 pm)  Happily, sticky snow is the exception here rather than the rule. It is mostly too cold for the snow to stick in appreciable quantities. |
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Replying to: mwasnidge (Dec 06, 2008 10:57 am) I expect the splash guards will be worthless(or gone) after one season as they made them so that there is a "hole" that the snow is pushed up into on the tire side. I expect after a few freeze thaw cycles with the build up in there, they will break and start to fall apart. Bad design!!! I don't understand the hole. Any comments? In the past, I have kicked a bunch of the build up off, but with this car it takes some work. Not like the old rubber flaps.  To say the least, I am very disappointed with this issue. Still like the car though... Also, my last Subaru was a 2WD. This Forester with AWD is fishtailing on all corners, even when going slow from a start-up. And not in what I would typically consider icy conditions. My 2WD didn't do that. Is this normal for AWD? Or should I have something checked? 
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Replying to: sgloon (Dec 09, 2008 1:11 am) |
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Replying to: xwesx (Dec 09, 2008 9:29 am) But xwesx has good point wrt tires. Most of Subaru's new tire choices don't seem to work well on ice. Old tires without sipes or flexible tread compound will perform badly on snow as well as ice.
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Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Dec 09, 2008 9:45 am) Sadly, even though the car has studded tires, they are cheap ones and the studs do little to make up for the hard (in cold) tread compound. I may end up replacing them for next winter. 14" tires are dirt cheap compared to 16" or 17", and good tires make for a more enjoyable driving experience.... even in a crappy car like mine! 
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I was considering trading in my old Forester and moving up to a new one. Test drove an 09 XT LTD with NAV today. This is how it compares to my 04 XT: - Interior is slightly more roomy. Biggest improvement is in the rear seat leg room. - Ride is softer, not as sporty as the 04. A bit more body roll than I like. - Seats are just slightly more comfortable than the 04, maybe because I don't have leather on mine. - Acceleration - much slower than the 04. Of course, there is the fact that mine is a stick shift, but the car felt heavier and the engine/transmission not very responsive. - Steering and braking are on par with the 04. - Interior SCREAMS CHEAP!!! - I have not seen such a lousy dash layout in a long time. No temp gauge, stupid blue arcs on the instruments, nothing in the center console. By comparison, my 04 dash looks and feels luxurious. - Automatic climate control - much worse than even the 04 garbage - this thing has absolutely no idea what it is doing - the cabin was like a pressure cooker after a few minutes, even on the lowest setting. Also, you don't know what speed the fan is on unless you set it yourself. The 04 has indicators telling you what speed the fan is on. - Visibility - almost as good as the 04, with the exception of side mirrors - they are plain strange, both shape, size, and location (far away from the door glass). - NAV system is so-so, washes out in bright light, no text-to-speech. - Sound system - not as good as the 04, sounds flat and tinny, but I didn't fool around with adjusting it, so could be the settings. - MPG during the test drive, about 6 miles long, 16.2 MPG according to the meter. Pretty scary, considering I reset the meter as the car was idling and already partially warmed up. My 04 has averaged around 21 during 53,000 miles. In summary, I think I will be keeping my 04 for a while longer.
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Replying to: samiam_68 (Dec 10, 2008 12:34 pm) |
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