forester2002s

Low on refrigerant? If so, clutch won't engage until the refrigerant pressure is higher.

Check your spare tire! And check that the wheel lug-nuts are not on so tight, that you cannot remove them using the Subaru-supplied wheel-wrench.

I replaced my original 2002 Forester radiator about a year ago. It had a hairline crack in the plastic header near to the upper hose. I had been losing coolant very slowly for several months, but there was no obvious leak to be seen. The coolant loss gradually increased until one day, when I lifted the hood, I could see steam coming from the header. My replacement radiator was a TYC from Amazon. Good price and delivered quickly. One year later and all is fine, with no more coolant loss.

I agree that axles are probably the main problem. But you should check the 3 engine mounts: - 2 lower-mounts between the engine and cross-member; - 1 upper-mount (dog-bone) between engine and fire-wall. If any of these mounts have failed (delaminated rubber?), this could be either the cause of the vibration, or else collateral damage from another source (e.g. axles).

It goes almost without saying, that the car should not be driven (nor even the engine started). There's a real risk of fire or explosion with a leaking gas-tank.

Just to be sure: Does the CEL lamp light up during the test-mode on starting up? All warning-lamps should light up briefly when starting the car. If the CEL lamp is not working, then no CEL problem will show up during driving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EJ_engine

Are these USPS cars manuals? Or automatics? I would guess that the stop-start nature of a mail route would be hard on an MT-clutch, no matter how skilled/careful is the driver. But I suspect that an AT would last longer with that kind of service.

My two wheel-bearing failures were both hard to diagnose. I bought an Infra-Red temperature gun, but I could not detect any temperature difference on the bearing hubs, even after a longish test-drive. Nor was there any looseness on the wheels. Neither with the wheels loaded on the ground, nor with the wheels unloaded up in the air. In both cases, it was only after the audible rumble got very annoying that I could feel a very-slight 'click' on the jacked-up wheel with the failed bearing.

Exhaust Heat-shields loose?

Read my lips: H-E-A-D G-A-S-K-E-T

If it's any help, most of the air-bag wiring-connectors are Yellow

Yes, the 'fog' lights are a waste of time. And yes, the panel-mounted cup-holders are prone to failure (I've broken them twice on my 2002 Forester), and they are expensive to replace. So hang on to them!

I have that symptom too. I find that it goes away after a while. Coffee usually helps!

AFAIK, this upside-down filter came in on the FB series of Subaru engines around 2011-2012 (in North America at least).

Try a slight tightening of the oil filter. Just turn it by hand (clockwise). Don't force it. But if you can turn it a little, it may reseal.

All good advice. Two suggestions: 1. After you've exposed the old timing belt, and before taking it off: make marks on the belt and on the pulleys (use a yellow wax crayon or something similar). Then take PHOTOS! They'll help you to get the new belt on correctly. 2. It only takes a few bolts to remove the radiator. Well worth doing to get it out of the way. Only takes a few minutes.

I had the same (leaky-diode) problem on another car (Suzuki) several years ago. I fixed it temporarily by wiring a 12V relay into the alternator circuit. The relay contacts were Normally-Open, so that the alternator-diodes were disconnected when the ignition was off (0V), and the contacts changed to Closed when the ignition was activated (12V). I ran with this temporary-relay for several months, until I eventually found a good used alternator.

Vehicle: 2017 Subaru Forester - with 7" Subaru Multimedia Plus system I've had this car since new, and it has a nuisance problem: the system won't automatically connect with whichever cell-phone is in the car. I have two phones paired using Bluetooth: my phone and my wife's phone. So no problem there, both phones show as being paired on the screen. If I drive the car (on my own) the Bluetooth system will connect to my phone, and the hands-free features works fine. The next day my wife drives the car (on her own), and the Bluetooth system won't automatically connect to her phone, even though it is correctly paired. But if I get in the car, with or without my wife, the system automatically connects again to my phone. There seems to be no way to get the system to automatically connect to another (already paired) phone. The only way I can make this happen is to manually change to the second paired phone. This is a real nuisance, as it means that every time one of us gets in the car to drive on our own, we have to go into the phone system to force a change to the 'other phone'. The problem is not with the 'pairing' which works fine; the two phones stay paired, but the system only tries to connect to the last-seen phone. I can't find anything about this in the Owner's Manual, nor on the on-screen prompts. Has anyone else seen this problem? And is it fixable?

The link above just goes around in a circle and ends up back here on the forum. Try this one: http://www.subarupartsdeal.com EDIT: FYI, when I google SubaruPartsDeal, it appears that they are owned by Genuine Parts Giant, Inc., which supplies parts for all types of cars.

Isn't that the drain valve for the radiator? I would expect that a bleed (for air) screw to be on top of the radiator, but this might be manufacturer-dependent.

He came to your house uninvited, and without prior warning? That's bizarre (and suspicious).

1408 means that the tire was made in the 14th week of 2008. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

Gotta love these YouTube videos! Not only is that guy (MrSubaru1387) a good mechanic, but he also knows how to use a video-camera.

Enjoy your car! Just do basic maintenance, especially for safety-related items, brakes, tires, lights etc. And stay safe! Above all else, don't drink and drive! Just say No. Your friends will respect you for it. Know that your age and gender could put you at high risk of an accident. Don't be a statistic. https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html EDIT: Sorry if this sounds like preaching. But I had 3 boys, and they all had accidents soon after getting their first cars. Fortunately nothing serious.