6.7
fairly significant- Typical Repair Cost:
- $120
- Average Mileage:
- 34,900 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 11 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace condenser (6 reports)
- recharge system (2 reports)
- new compressor (1 reports)
- not sure (1 reports)
- o-ring was not put on and freon leaked out (1 reports)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Subaru dealer.
The ac went off blowing hot air, so I took it to Subaru, and they immediately knew what it was - a bad system. I was told Subaru knows about problem but have not recalled the cars. It's ANNOYING and how unprofessional for a car dealer.
This is July, almost August, and it has not been resolved.
- fordogs, Media, US
It's so annoying that they would not check the o-ring, and they had to add more freon... oh, guess what? Apparently it didn't solve the problem because it worked for one day and is out again!!! This is a weekend and they are not in, so I have to wait until Monday to call and take my car in for service. I'm going back to work this week and I do not have time for back and forth for an ac that should last at least a long as the car, I had a car with over 130k miles and the ac still worked great. What is the problem with Subaru?
- fordogs, Media, US
The Subaru delete ship fixed it as a “good will†because it wouldn’t be fixed under standard or extended warranty. I also heard them mention that “another forester with AC problems is hereâ€, so sounds pretty common.
- Melody H., Pittsburgh, US
Dealership fixed this under extended warranty. The AC had stopped working.
- Troy H., Portsmouth, VA, US
AC is currently blowing hot air. Need to take it in to see what the cause is.
- danton6006, Port Washington, US
From what I have read there was a certain amount of Foresters that left the factory with bad AC condensers and my car was one of them. Too bad I found out after my warranty ran out. On the other hand, recharging the system works for a little while.
- suebee, Parksville, US
This is a known problem that should be a factory recall. Instead Subaru is choosing to solve each problem on a case by case basis to lower their costs. Honda had a similar problem and issued a recall on their own covering all repairs for 6 years and 100K miles I think.
This is our first Subaru. My wife and I bought it for her because of the safety features and the higher ground clearance. Consumer Reports labeled this model and year as reliable and I paid the dealer almost asking price for this used car. I have been sorely disappointed with its reliability. The battery failed at less than 2 years, and 41,000 miles just outside the warranty period. Now the AC condenser has failed.
I spoke with Subaru who acknowledged the problem and offered me a goodwill adjustment of $750 toward the $1061 cost of repair. The TSB on this problem, 15-223-18, lists the labor at 1.4 hours to replace the condenser and drain and re-pressurize the system. If you look at RockAuto, an after-market condenser is $93.79. The cost of the Subaru condenser is $431.95, 2 o-rings for $6.75, refrigerant R134A for $19.32 and labor 487.88 (includes diagnostic fee of $169.00) so labor on this is not inexpensive. All in all, I am thankful Subaru offered the adjustment, and I appreciate it, but I am disinclined to repeat the same mistake twice. One more major issue, and I will eliminate Subaru from consideration in future car purchases.
Update from Jul 13, 2020: Problem cost $1025 to fix Subaru gave $750 'courtesy' reimbursement and dealership ate the remaining $250 out of pocket cost was 0, but would have been $275 if dealer didn't want to retain me as a customer Ganley Subaru in Wickliffe, OH was the dealer.
- Ron E., Beachwood, OH, US
Bought Subaru Forester 2.0XT almost 3 years ago. Two months ago noticed the A/C not blowing cold air at all. Brought to the dealer, they checked and told me that the system is not leaking, but the refrigerant needs to recharge. Charge me $200. The car is still under warranty, but the refrigerant only warrant under 1 year and 20,000 km. I have a Cavalier, already drove 300,000 km. The A/C is still working fine. Just annoying if I need to recharge refrigerant every two or three years for my SUBARU.
- Joseph W., Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
This was my second time taking in my Forester because the A/C stopped working. The first time they just replaced an O-ring on the condensor, but it stopped working again after a few months. 2nd trip they replaced the condensor. I am seeing a lot of this issue with other who bought the new refresh model in 2017 right when they started taking orders... Vehicle only has 20k miles
- Jon P., Rochester, US
Beginning of summer and AC was blowing warm air. My mechanic said it's a common problem on Subaru's where some liquid has been sitting around all winter and gels up. Dealer fixed it.
- Raj R., Somerville, US
This was 2nd time in for the ac to not be working, so they put in a new compressor after they had in May replaced the condenser. It worked for one day and overnight. But when I got into the car in the morning, the ac was warm again. Temps have been above normal and close to 100. I am not happy.
- fordogs, Media, US