3.0

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
46,000 miles

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problem #2

Sep 042010

Forester

  • 72,000 miles
We purchased a 2005 Subaru Forester from a Subaru dealer in August 2008 at 60,000 miles. Since August 2008, we had four episodes of engine stalling with check engine lamp coming on. We had to have our car towed four times to the Subaru dealership. The first and third towing resulted in replacement of ignition coil. The second towing resulted in no repair since the problem could not be diagnosed. Before the fourth towing, we just got on a freeway and started to accelerate when engine lost power so we quickly got off the freeway and managed to park Forester in an empty parking lot. The car would not start so we had it towed to the Subaru dealership. We were told that the Forester now needs an engine rebuild since lower engine main bearing had failed, causing residual scoring damage to the cylinder block and both cylinder heads. The dealership has asked for $7000 in rebuilding the engine. The vehicle had 72000 miles at the time of incident. Luckily, there were no injuries but the vehicle lost power all of a sudden and it could have resulted in a serious accident had we been driving at the speed limit instead of slowly accelerating to get on the freeway. All scheduled maintenance and repairs have been performed at the Subaru dealership.

- Arlington, MA, USA

problem #1

Jun 012005

Forester

  • 20,000 miles
My 2005 Subaru Forester, has been serviced regularly at dwyer and sons Subaru dealership in commerce, Michigan. During all scheduled maintenance, I've always discussed with their service department that I have a potential problem with the engine. The engine would downshift very hard or seemed like something was "banging." Or running very rough. The RPM would also seem to run lower than normal. Every time I made them aware of the problem, while the vehicle was under warranty, the dealership was never able to diagnose the problem. So, every time I brought the car in thereafter, I told them to make note of the issue and that it hasn't gone away. Again, they would road test the car and always state that they found nothing wrong. Now, the vehicle is just out of warranty and the dealership stated they found the problem. This problem would require an entire engine rebuild on a engine that is meticulously taken care of and only has 75,000 miles on it. This repair they were just able to diagnose is going to cost $5,900. They indicated the dealership would only pay $1,500 toward the repair. I told them I am not responsible for this, especially since they've acknowledged the problem existed before and I made them aware multiple times. This engine problem had pre-existed right from the factory, and their are potentially other Subaru Foresters with the same problem. I should not be held financially responsible for this engine repair and feel Subaru should be held accountable for allowing this vehicle to be sold and be responsible for the repair or, a new engine all together.

- Keego Harbor, MI, USA