Daskuppler

Hello Everyone, I have a 2014 Forester with 120k on it. A clicking noise has started to develop in the front end while accelerating and turning. The clicking, sounds nearly identical to the traction control system, but is present regardless of traction control activation or not. My initial thought is CV axles as the symptoms seem to mach them the best, but I thought I would get some opinions before I spent $1k on CV axles. Recent work in the last 20k: All 4 wheel bearings have been replaced with OEM bearings. New struts (KYB) New ball ball joints and Tie rod ends (sadly these were Moog) New lower control arms (OEM) OEM CV axles were rebuilt by reputable local shop Short block replacement (by dealership) Front diff fluid changed (I think I used Mobil 1 at specified weight) As I mentioned before, the clicking is only present while turning, though not usually at full lock. It is present turning in either direction, and exacerbated by cold temps (it's currently 0 degrees), though there is slight improvement once the car starts to warm up a little. The noise is almost identical to the traction control noise, though it happens independently of traction control While inspecting under the car and at the front wheels, I did not find anything loose or out of place. There is a very slight bit of play on the inner CV axle joint at the differential, but it is hard to tell if its on the splines or internal to the joint. I can see the assembly move every so slightly when I push on it, but it also feels like there might be a very slight bit of movement inside. There are no tears in the boots or sign of grease loss. The axles were rebuilt about 30k ago by a local reputable shop. I pulled the factory axles off, took them to the shop, and picked them up the next day. I thought I might save some money by having the OEM axles rebuilt, but it seems like maybe that was not $300 well spent. Is there anything else I can check prior to purchasing new axles from Subaru? I know better than to try out the auto parts store axles. There are 3 TPMS codes all related top decrease in pressure and two SRS codes related to a faulty passenger seat occupant detection mat. No lights on the dash. and no VDC/traction control codes. Cheers, Andrew

Have you pulled a plug to check and see how the system is running/burning? https://www.motorweek.org/features/goss_garage/spark-plug-diagnosis/ How old are your plugs? How are the wires?

When you peel back linings and remove panels, look for water trails. There are.almost always visible paths where water as been. Especially if there was dirt anywhere nearby. It can be a tedious process and you have to look very closely, but use common sense in where to start and be methodical. You may want to disconnect the batter while you are searching and drying out.

Sounds like a lot of work to get the LEDs squared away. Maybe I'll just stick with the incandescent bulbs

Good to know, thank you. Is there a reputable brand or is it just kind of a crap shoot? Any idea what size resistor is needed?

Hello Everyone, Has anyone swapped their cluster/dash lights out for LEDs? I have to replace my heater box and figured it might be a good time to swap out the 21 year old incandescents. This is for a 2002 Impreza TS. If you have done it, did you use a different color? I am contemplating red for the night vision, but don't have a preference beyond that. Any recommendations on brand? Google pulls up a gazillion Chinese no name brands but nothing that seems to be a well known brand. I would hate to switch them all out for faulty bulbs. Thanks!

Nothing free that I know of. I use the Innova 5610 scanner, it works best week on Subarus and is available on Amazon.

The brake light flashed in my 14 Forester when brake fluid was low. I don't recall the cel being in though. Any codes?

I would get OEM. I installed the FelPro MLS on my 02 251 about 60k ago and have had no problems, but FelPro supposedly has some issues with Japanese vehicles. I also used FelPro intake, exhaust, and valve cover gaskets. The valve cover gaskets failed, everything else has been solid. Go OEM for the water pump gasket, tubing belt, tensioner, and idler pulleys. I just did the timing kit, it ran me about $500

If this happens to anyone else, you can manually turn the temperature control doohickey with a set of curved hemostats.

Plus one for it leaking somewhere else. You can see oil nr differential all the way to the driveshaft indicating that it's definitely leaking there.

There's calculators online for the calibration difference. It's pretty negligible on how the speedometer reads vs actual speed. Weight and diameter can make a difference in feel though probably negligible going up maybe a centimeter in diameter. Weight will also probably.be negligible, unless going from a street tire to an AT, but they you get stuffer sidewalls so it defeats the no purpose here. I did go from a passenger tire to a load range e duratrac on my.offroading rig when I built it. That was a huge difference. I also added probably 15lbs per corner though so it's expected.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/subaru-ascent-suv-recall-park-outside-fire-risk/507-8690a0ec-2c14-441a-ac33-d6f77616f6d6

That's what I figured, but you never know. Do you have a favorite place to buy non OEM parts that aren't carried at the auto parts store? Everyone defaults to Rock Auto but they don't ship to my address.

Do you know if this shortage BS is across all manufacturers, or is Subaru struggling more because they are a smaller manufacturer? I can't get anything for any of my vehicles, but they are all Japanese...

Is the heater box what I need, or should I get something else? Looks.like ebay has a lot of offerings but I'm not really sure what in I need and what's included

The OEM tires are pretty stiff. The height you will gain by going up a size isn't really going to make a difference. Buy a premium tire and it will. I run Continental TrueContact on all of my Subarus. They perform very well in the snow (if that's an issue for you) and handle pretty well for a touring tire. They are, in my opinion, the best all season tire around. Our Forester spends a lot of time off-road on rocky trails, in the mud, etc. The tires have never failed us (on our third set on that vehicle). They ride very well and are very quiet. Check your tire pressure as well, shops are notorious for over inflating. A couple PSI will make a huge difference.

Subaru did in fact order the wrong seat. The right one is in national backorder with no estimated availability date. Does anyone know if the heated seat element is in fact swappable?

I had one as a loaner. My wife and I put about 3k on it. We loved it. They are huge, but peppy. Expect about 21mpg average. Our dog loved it. I can't comment on the CVT.

So that piece is only available with a heater box assembly?

If you didn't get oem axles, be ready to do them again in a out 15k. Unfortunately, the aftermarket stuff just sucks anymore.

That was my thought, an assembly should have all internal parts installed but you never know. I'll have to call them tomorrow and redo it all haha

The only visible difference is the lack of a plug on the bottom of the new seat. From feeling the seats, it feels like the heating element is right under the upholstery so in theory it's somewhat accessible, but I don't want to pull apart the new portion of the new seat if it was supposed to be in there. Sadly I chose to do this on a Sunday so I couldn't call Subaru to verify.

2014 Forester Premium 2.5. the car came with them so I assumed the replacement seat ordered off the vin would include them. Am I supposed to pull the upholstery off the brand new seat and move over the old wiring harness and heating element or should it have come installed in the seat assembly? Thanks for moving it over, I wasn't sure where to put it.

I went to replace the cable (the old one was very stiff when I removed it), and the actuator arm on the blend door snapped off inside the housing. I tried JB Kwik Weld, but that didn't work. The arm must have moved while I was taking it off as the air coming out of the vents is warm at best. Any chance this little arm can be replaced or do I need the whole blend box assembly doohickey? Is there a write-up anywhere on how to do it? I looked around on the internet and didn't see anything specific to this generation Subaru...Lots of american cars but nothing helpful. A brief search through the Subaru Parts website shows that pretty much everything related to the HVAC is unavailable but I don't really know what I'm looking for so it's hard to check availability.