forester2002s

I used one of those cylindrically shaped bottle-brushes to clean inside my coolant overflow tank. It did the trick nicely. Now I can actually see the coolant level through the plastic.

A happy ending is always nice! Now you'll be ready for that final blast of winter !!??!!

I have Wiring Diags for my 2002 Forester. Not the same year as yours, but the wiring may be similar. So, on the 2002, the heated side-mirrors DO have a 'Mirror Heater Relay': There is a connector in the bulkhead area, under the dash (the wiring diags show the location on the right-side, but I haven't actually looked for it on my vehicle). The relay appears to just plug in to the connector (and keeps the heater on after the heater button is pressed). The connector is shown as: - Black; - 4-wires: (Black/Yellow, Black, Red/Blue, Black) (actually there may only be 3 wires going to the connector with the two Blacks internally connected). (the Red/Blue is 12V; the Black/Yellow is connected to the 2 side mirror heaters; the Black is grounded). So if you find this connector under the dash, and nothing is plugged in to it, then you may need to buy a relay.

I agree 100%

Partial Zero? That's like being 'a little bit pregnant'.

I suspect that the OP didn't want to mess with the 3-position switch on the OE dome-light: - ON - OFF - AUTO

I guess he wanted your repeat business...

This happened to me once (a long time ago, when I was a student). Rather than tow the wreck from my driveway, the insurance company offered to sell it to me. So I bought it, fixed it up (mostly with parts from a junkyard), and drove it again. In those days, that was legal. I don't know about now.

Wise words. I agree.

I sure hope that someone from Subaru has been reading this thread. And that they take some appropriate action.

Bump. Any answers out there. My son has the same cold-start symptoms on his 2004 Impresa.

Exactly what I was thinking!

Am I missing something? Why not just remove the fuse?

Do an oil change on the Gearbox. And strain the old oil to see if there are any unusual bits of metal in the oil. And then take it from there...

I see that you're tri-lingual.

Yes. And taking photos with a digital camera costs nothing. So mark the pulleys, and take loads of close-up photos of the t-belt, tensioner, pulleys and idlers BEFORE disassembling anything. This is good insurance, and has saved my bacon more than once.

Here is one thread from 2007. The suggestion is that Subarus newer than 1995 have a lifetime warranty on seat-belts. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=71939&highlight=seat+belt+warranty

As an aside, I try to always wipe the blades clean each time I fill up with fuel. One swipe with a wet paper-towel will reveal all: A black gooey slime that comes off the rubber blade. Get rid of it, and the wipers will work better.

If replacing studs is your plan, you may want to consider replacing all 5 studs. I wonder how the 2 studs failed. Was the wheel subject to an excessive sideways force, e.g. by hitting a kerb? And did this cause damage to one or more of the remaining 3 studs? A visual inspection won't tell you enough; there may be hidden cracks in the studs.

My 2002 Forester has 3 tethers: left: centre; & right. But it's tight getting 3 children in the back. Right now I have 2 child-seats, left and right. And a booster-seat in the centre (no tether needed). That takes up all of the space (from side-door to side-door).

If this is an automatic, then don't add 80W90 oil to the transmission. An automatic needs an ATF such as Dexron. Check your documentation to see which type of Dexron ATF you should be using.

And not just snow, ice and slush either. The softer rubber in snow tires has a higher coefficient-of-friction than all-seasons (especially at low-temperatures). That means a shorter braking distance on dry pavement too. As for handling, I do notice a deterioration in handling with my snow-tires fitted. I find that at freeway speeds, the car doesn't track as well when fitted with snows. Instead of the usual rock-steady straight-line handling, the car will drift a little to the left and right. It's not much, my wife doesn't notice it. Maybe I need a front-end alignment, but I'm not sure because the handling is fine with the all-seasons.

Ditto

I agree. And, if the drain plug has a magnet, make sure to clean off all the furry stuff from the magnet. And, for new car owners: My practice is to change the transmission and diff oils soon after the gears have been run-in (within a few 1000 km), and after that at the recommended intervals. From my industrial experience with gears, I know how important clean oil is to the longevity of gears.

My 2002 Forester's OEM spare-wheel (steel-rim) has a 48 mm offset, and a bore of 56.1 mm (BTW anything with a smaller bore would not fit on the hub). A year ago, I bought 4 new steel-rims with 42 mm offset and 57.2 mm bore. They fit just fine, and the car handles well, even with the slightly non-standard 42 mm offset.