31 messages,
Last post on Sep 05, 2012 at 4:32 PM
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Subaru Forester Maintenance & Repair Forum.
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Subaru Forester, SUV
#12 of 31 Re: 2010 Forrester bought yesterday-Check Engine Light Seriously? [foxewolf]
by paisan
Jan 28, 2011 (3:32 pm)
I actually just experienced this same issue. I had just gotten my 2011 forester yesterday. I drive up a hill and the Transmission seems to slam out of gear and rev high. Next thing I see is the "AT Oil Temp" Light beginning to blink, followed by a solid "ABS" light. I pull over to the side of the road and shut off the engine. After about 10 minutes I restart the car and I receive a "Check Engine" light, a "Vehicle Dynamics Control" light, and a Flashing "Cruise" Light. I try to toggle the VDC and Cruise control, and nothing happens. I have only put 20-30 miles on this car.
I would bring the car back to the dealer and have them check out the transmission. If the AT Temp light came on there may be an internal issue with the transmission.
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
#13 of 31 CEL's on Newer Subies
by paisan
Jan 28, 2011 (3:33 pm)
Whenever an engine related CEL comes on for newer subarus the VDC and Cruise Control are disabled until the CEL is reset by a dealer or an OBDII code reader. That is how the system works, my guess is so that people don't just ignore the CEL and continue to drive with a problem.
-mike
Subaru Guru and Track Instructor
#14 of 31 Re: 2010 Forrester bought yesterday-Check Engine Light Seriously? [paisan]
by foxewolf
Jan 28, 2011 (9:23 pm)
I took it back this morning and they were doing all their diagnostic checks. An hour later, I took a test-drive with the mechanic and it did the same thing all over again. The current status of the vehicle is that it is an issue with the transmission. They did explain the CEL causing the VDC and Cruise to disable themselves, but they notice that the transmission seems to trigger a problem within the ECU. My car is being worked on while I have a complementary service loaner. The loaner is also a 2011 Forester; however, it lacks what I loved the most about my 2011: Fog Lights, Pan Sun-Roof, Navigation w/ Backup cam, Leather seats etc. I am really satisfied with Subaru despite this experience. This is my 3rd Subaru. It started with a 1992 Legacy, then 2002 Forester, and this 2011 model Forester.
#15 of 31 Re: Check Engine, Dynamics & Cruise Light on 2010 Subaru Forrester [ateixeira]
by aatherton
Jan 29, 2011 (7:14 am)
"... in these temps my fuel lines would freeze up!"
And worse. After being towed to the shop for barely running, our car had to have its gas tank removed for dewatering. We were showed a gallon milk jug half full of water, as just part of the water that was found in the tank. Fortunately it was in warm weather. In winter, there would have been a layer of ice in the bottom of the tank, maybe damaging the fuel pickup, pump and filter in there.
#16 of 31 Re: Check Engine, Dynamics & Cruise Light on 2010 Subaru Forrester [sube2010]
by sube2010
Jan 31, 2011 (6:33 am)
Hi All, guess what.. I got my car back from the dealer about five days ago..and the lights are back on again. The dealer found nothing wrong with the vehicle this time, so, once again, simply reset the codes. What may be of interest to fellow Forrester owners is that my dealer has admitted that this problem is common to ALL the 2010 Forresters and that they have no idea what's going on!!!! The cold starts that I mentioned previously would occur maybe once everytime in four, now, the car is exactly two years old, and EVERY time I start, I experience a 'cold start' ...The sad thing is that prior to these problems, I was very satisfied with the handling of the car and was hoping to get the 2011 Forrester by the end of this year.. I think that Subaru owes us an explanation!!
#17 of 31 Re: Check Engine, Dynamics & Cruise Light on 2010 Subaru Forrester [sube2010]
by xwesx
Jan 31, 2011 (10:12 am)
Unless you are getting a readout of the codes that pop up, it is really hard to say.
We recently clicked over 22,000 on our 2010 Forester and have yet to get a CEL. Ours has a manual transmission, but I don't know that it would make a difference... ?
#18 of 31 Re: Check Engine, Dynamics & Cruise Light on 2010 Subaru Forrester [xwesx]
by sube2010
Jan 31, 2011 (10:32 am)
Not sure either.. But my car was perfect for the first 40,000 Km and then simply went haywire.. Other owners that I know personally experienced similar problems earlier than this though ..I'm wondering if this defect is specific to a certain batch/batches of these vehicles?? I will try to contact Subaru directly and post any findings on this website..
#19 of 31 Re: Check Engine, Dynamics & Cruise Light on 2010 Subaru Forrester [sube2010]
by ateixeira
Feb 01, 2011 (9:49 am)
800-SUBARU3. Give them as much info as you know, including the error codes if you have them.
Our 2009 is trouble-free, knock on wood.
#20 of 31 Re: 2010 Forrester bought yesterday-Check Engine Light Seriously? [paisan]
by tomdav
Jun 01, 2011 (3:16 pm)
My parents 2011 did about the same thing. Has about 200 miles on it and with engine running you could not shift to park or reverse. Check engine light, hot tranny fluid light TPMS, ECT ECT ECT.
Its being towed back to the dealer as we speak.
#21 of 31 Clunking transmission followed by AT oil temp warning light and check engin
by deedee59
Jun 15, 2011 (7:03 am)
I have a 2010 Subaru Forester with automatic transmission with 20,000 miles on it. Recently we were in slow freeway traffic for about an hour and a half and the transmission started to clunk alarmingly. Soon after this the AT oil temp warning light came on with a check engine light. We got off the expressway and put it in neutral and after the lights went off we proceeded to where we were going without incident. All weekend no further problem but we stopped at our dealer on the way home and they put the car on their machines to evaluate. Though they saw the event on the history they found nothing wrong with the auto. On the next long trip (about 5 hours) the car was cruising along at 55 miles/hour and again severe clunk followed by the AT oil temp warning light, check engine light and the sport light. A dealer has our auto and we have a loaner. They are driving it around the chicago area to see if it will do it again because they see the event on the history but can't find anything wrong. We will go to pick it up this weekend (6 hour drive) but they don't know what to do for it. Is this common problem?