vic

Considering a new 2007 or 2006 Forester or Outback. Would appreciate your experiences or comments about these cars. Any problems with these models I should be aware of?

I know this is somewhat long but I want to accurately describe the situation. I have a 1999 Subaru Forester with 165,000 miles and am having a problem with the temp gauge going into the red. This problem started today. Have not heard any strange noised or change in the car's operation. Just some hot coolant smell. The heater works. Here is the situation. Last Thursday my repair shop replaced the timing belt, water pump, some tensioners etc. I did my 30 commute home that day and the next morning, most at highway speeds, with no problem. Friday afternoon after driving another 40 miles the upper hose from the radiator burst. This was the original hose. Finding no parts in the small town I was in, I had it towed to my regular repair shop. On Monday they replaced the upper and lower radiator hose. No problem on my daily 30 mile each way commute until Thursday morning. About an hour after getting to work I had to leave for a meeting. When I went to the car I noticed a small amount of coolant under the car beneath the radiator. As I was parking the car after driving about 2 miles I noticed the temp gauge was almost into the red. After my meeting I drove it about a mile to the repair shop and the temp gauge was normal. The repair shop said it looked like there was some air in the system and that it blew out through the hose into the overflow tank. They said they ran the car for a few hours after topping off the coolant and the temp stayed normal. I started to drive home but after driving about three miles it went into the red. I pulled over, waited for it to cool down then drove back to the repair shop. On the way there the temp gauge went up almost into the red, but while stopped at a light came back down to normal. By the time I drove through the intersection it went back up almost to the red. About a block from the repair shop it dropped back to normal. The mechanic said it looks like air is getting into the system somewhere but he didn’t know where. He did check the coolant reservoir for combustibles which came up negative so he doesn’t think it is a head gasket. Would appreciate any suggestions on what this might be. I tried to do a search of the board but didn’t find anything that fit.

Check out the dealer locator tab on the Nokian website: nokiantires.com there seems to be more options in your area than mine. I am now considering the Nokian WRs

I am about to replace my tires on my 1999 Forester (205/70 15). I live in rural central Iowa. My commute is about 30 miles each way, five days a week. At least 10 miles per day is on poorly maintained gravel roads that get very muddy whenever it rains. We usually have cold winters with snow and ice, but not yet this year. Most of my driving is at speeds of 60+ mph. I don't do any real off road travel, but the "roads" to some of my canoeing accesses can be pretty rough. I am looking for all season tires. I don't want to run snows all the time, and my traction problems on wet poorly maintained gravel are similar to the problems on snow covered roads. Based on my TireRack research so far, it seems that the Goodyear Assurance Triple Thread is rated the highest as an all season tire. However, I have heard about "cupping" problems with directional tires. Does anyone have experience with these tires? With Goodyear's strike and the backorder on the Assurance Triple Threads, I am also considering the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenzas. They are rated second behind the Goodyear Assurance Triple Threads. Does anyone have experience with these tires? I would appreciate your experiences and suggestions about these two tires and any alternatives that would fit my needs

Thanks grossgary. For the last 30 years I have been buying new cars and running them until they die or my needs considerably change. I plan on keeping this car for at least another 100,000 miles. My 82 Saab Turbo lasted just over 300,000 miles when the timing chain broke and trashed the engine. I sold my 86 Honda Accord to a friend when it had 260,000 miles and needed a new set of tires and a distributor. If I had not moved out to the country and needed more ground clearance and 4WD or AWD, thus the 99 Forester, I might still have that Honda - my friend still does

I have a 1999 Forester with 164,000 miles and it's time to change the timing belt again. I was wondering what else to have the independent garage check or replace while they're in there. These are some pretty tough miles: at least 10 miles a day on gravel 5 days a week, and muddy whenever it rains. Cold winters with snow and ice. Well not this year ... yet. Mostly higher speed miles (60+) very little stop and go traffic or long idles. I appreciate your advice

I have a similar problem with a cylinder 4 misfire but no P0420 catalyst inefficiency code. Have done the plugs, wires, coil stuff but no help. Also tried the Sea Foam routine I read about here. It only helped for about a month. Engine seems to run well. Do not notice physical signs of misfire. No loss of power nor MPG. Does not seem to run at higher than normal RPMs for known speeds and conditions. Dealer can't figure it out. Wants to replace all sorts of expensive stuff.

I have an aftermarket CD player in my 99 Forester and have the same problem. I travel about 10 miles per day on a gravel road with plenty of limestone dust. It seems the dust builds up inside the player and prevents it from properly spinning the disc. When mine spits out the disk the label is in exactly the same place as when I put it in the player indicating it is not spinning. CD cleaning discs don't help, neither does spraying the inside of the unit with canned air. I have opened it up and cleaned the disc mechanisim a few times but that only helps for a month or two. I am now considering buying and I-Pod, transferring my mixed CDs to the I-Pod and playing it through my car stereo with an FM transmitter. I am in the process of researching this method. Would appreciate any advice either on a fix for the CD player, or using and I-Pod through the car stereo

The rear window washer check valve on my 99 Forester keeps blocking up. Anyone know of a source for just the check valve. My dealer says I have to buy a new washer and can't buy just a check valve

I am in similar situation regarding living in rural area and snow. I had considered a Honda mini van but the lack of ground clearance was a major problem. In my experience with rural snow, lack of ground clearance has been more of a problem than FWD. Never had much problem with my 1982 Saab Turbo, but many problems with my 1986 Honda Accord.

The check engine light came on. I had the codes read and they said that cylinder 4 was missfiring. I had the ignition coil, spark plugs, and spark plug wires replaced within the last 10,000 miles. The car has about 133,000 miles on it. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Occasionally have similar problem with my 99 Forester. Living on a gravel road I sometimes get mud built up inside the wheels knocking them off balance. Usually just taking the wheels off and scraping the mud off the inside solves the problem

I am currently running Pirellii Scorpions but am getting ready to replace them and am looking for recommendations. I live in the snow belt and travel about 10 miles per day on gravel roads. I am looking for an all season tire that can combine gravel road and snow travel with good handling at interstate speeds (70-80 mph). Would appreciate your experiences and recommendations