muse

Please let me know what you find out, I have the same "condition" on my 01 Forester. Thought I was going nuts!

Yes, that sensor failure can make the car seem as if fuel supply is being cut off.

Yeppers, you get a gold star!!!

Hey Cookie, what kind of stereo did you get to replace it? I still haven't done anything with mine and it's been a year and a half.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Subaru cd players. Mine went out doing the same thing. Dealer told me to replace it at Circuit City, etc. It seems that quite a few people had the same problem with their cd players (per dealer). Good luck with it.

Amen to that!

Okay, it's been a while since my last post on this subject, but I thought I'd give a heads up for anyone else going through this. Over the summer, the car would hesitate/cut out while making the end of the climb up to my home in the mountains. This would happen intermittently, some days it would drive fine, other times it would do the herky jerky dance. (Car would be fine as long as the terrain was flat.) Took the car to the dealer. At first they drove it up the mountain (of course the problem would not duplicate), checked connections, etc. and was told without a check engine light, there was nothing they could do, (I actually really like them, they are definitely not parts throwers over here.) So now it's December, and the car starts doing it consistently- four days in a row. I call the dealer- no check engine light/ no help. Four days after this, guess what, the stinking light comes on. I was estactic because now I would have closure. The problem happened to be the front O2 sensor. Fancy that. I think that my problems over the summer and until now were the result of the sensor starting to fail, and when it finally failed, voila- check engine light. I had been researching the problem with my car all the while and it all pointed to the O2 sensor. I should have gone with my gut on this one and had it replaced earlier. What a difference!

Amen to that! I went from an Exploder to a Forester five years ago. Tried driving down the hill during the first big snow (me and the monster truck 4WD's) and it was fabulous. I have never felt so safe. My mountain has turned into a big Subaru town. (The only problem is now I have no real excuse not to call in to work...Hmm...)

Peter-let us know what finally happens. I will be curious to hear the end result.

Had the same problem with my CD player in my 01 Forester. Was told by the dealer that it happens a lot and to go to my local car stereo place and get a new one. Haven't done it yet, and like you, tape player and radio work well.

Thanks for the hypothesis. No, I don't think you're nuts. "I" just don't want to sound nuts when I'm discussing this with the mechanic. I will check out what the heater is blowing out on the way down today. (BTW, I live in the San Bernardino mountains.)

If the thermostat was stuck open, wouldn't it affect the temperature gauge readings all of the time? It is probably acting weird, but how do you check weirdness? (Not tongue in cheek, but a real question.)

So the temperature gauge problems continues... Earlier this year I was the victim of a bad fuel incident. Well, at the same time I had a weird "event" with my temperature gauge. I live in the mountains and when I'd start going down the temp gauge would slowly move up to about a 1/4 , go down a bit, go up to half, and by the time I was at the bottom of the mountain, the temp gauge would be at C. (Approximately 14 miles) As soon as I turned the corner and drove a couple of blocks, the temp gauge would move to its normal position of one mark past the middle. This is where it stays for the rest of the time I drive, and I do not have the problem heading up the mountain. Had the temperature sensor replaced, that did not solve the problem. Then had the temp gauge replaced, (which the dealer assured me was the problem). This happens every day, except if I tool around town for 5-10 minutes before heading down. The service writer is bamboozled, said he would talk the mechanics and give me a call back. (That was a couple of days ago.) He said they have never seen this problem before. The gauge has never moved above its one mark past middle location, (never overheated). But then again I am afraid that I wouldn't know if it is, due to the fluctuating temperature gauge. Anyone have a similiar problem or any words of wisdom??? I have spent some bucks on this problem without it getting fixed and I'm worried and frustrated.

I was at the dealer today for the 60,000 mile service on my Forester and I asked about hybrids. (BTW, the Tribeca is better looking in person.) Anyway, they said that "eventually" Subaru would "probably" make a hybrid, but that Subaru takes longer to research, develop, and make new additions to their line than other carmakers. How's that for a straight forward answer?

Change your fuel filter if you think you been a victim of questionable gas. Also reset your ECU (engine control unit) because the car learns "bad habits" when it goes through that "trauma".

When I had bad gas I didn't get a CEL. Car ran horribly. Get the code checked.

Hmmm... so has the ECU been checked to see if it is bad? Have they reprogrammed the ECU? Why in the heck do they not want to troubleshoot it? I'd be giving a ring a ling to SOA about this issue. What you are going through is ridiculous! So sorry you have to go through this, let us know what happens.

Fuel filter? When I went through the "bad gas" incident, the dealer changed the fuel filter, put in gas drier AND ended up reprogramming the ECU. It did the trick for the conditions that you listed above.( BTW, I had no codes also.) Keep us updated.

If you read the other threads, you'll see that for a lot of owners, the 02 sensor has caused some major problems with idle, rough running, etc. (It might be worth a look to research this in the threads.) Let us know what happens with your car and good luck.

Thanks for the answer. Ah, the wonderful world of computers!

It's interesting that the code was for leaky exhaust and that the O2 sensor ended up being the problem. What did they want to do instead of replacing the O2 sensor? Is there an exhaust leak at all?

Well, temp gauge was back to normal this morning, (no drops). I too was surprised by the lack of code throwing. I thought that the ECU was possibly defective but the computer reader showed it was not. I was also worried that it might not have been registering proper temps at all. Car is running fine. Hope it continues.

Well, for the most part it did. Temperature gauge still goes down after driving in the morning when I drive it down the hill and then goes back to normal when I get to the bottom, (14 miles down). (I just got it back yesterday for the "supposed" fix on this. Still no codes. Need to give the dealer a ring a ling.) Basically, the car's ECU freaks out when it learns a driving condition like "driving with bad gas in the tank". They had not reset the ECU after the filter change, so that's why the car was driving erratically. I have logged about 1,000 miles since the reprogramming. It's interesting to note that the LA Times had an article in the business section yesterday about the various problems with car computers and the many sensors that rely on it. I am hoping that this was an isolated event. The explanation in the article was that a car computer is not unlike a PC, sometimes it just needs to be rebooted. This was especially the case with my car, as it was not receiving any codes from the various sensors, therefore supposedly there were no "problems". Hope this helps. I am still continuing to research this subject.

Here's what I got off of :http://www.alldata.com/TSB/55/0355AU58.html Bulletins for 2003 Subaru Forester F4-2457cc 2.5L SOHC MFI Safety Recalls TSB Number Issue Date TSB Title 1. WWK-94 DEC 02 Recall - A/T Parking Pawl Component Replacement Service Bulletins TSB Number Issue Date TSB Title 1. 06-33-04 JAN 04 Brakes - Premature/Uneven Disc Brake Pad Wear 2. 18-74-04 JAN 04 Vehicle - Service Manual Updates/Revisions/Corrections 3. 18-73-03 DEC 03 Engine, A/T, M/T - Service Manual Revisions 4. 12-77-03 NOV 03 Interior - Front/rear Door Panel Clip Application 5. 06-32-03 NOV 03 Brakes - Vibration Diagnostics 6. 18-72-03 AUG 03 Engine Controls/Electrical/ABS - Manual Revisions 7. 06-31-03 JUL 03 Brakes - ABS ECU Applications/Service 8. 03-52-03R JUL 03 M/T - Clutch Pedal Sticking 9. 03-51-02R MAY 03 M/T - Cold Clutch Judder 10. 03-50-02 DEC 02 Drivetrain - Revised Rear Wheel Bearing Installation 11. 15-105-01 JAN 02 Electrochromic Compass/Mirror - Troubleshooting Guide Hope it helps! 2001 Forester S Automatic 56K Former Brat Owner (drove her 'til she blew up)

Let us know the outcome! I'm always curious for the end result.