2001 Forester TIMING BELTS

[katman]

I have a 2001 Forester, which I bought in May 2000, with 176,000
miles. In June I took it to the Dealer for a new clutch and new timing
belt, and some other work, totaling about $2,000. I’ve had the car
back for about one week in the last two months, while the Dealer has
donated about 50 hours of labor and hundreds of dollars in parts to
fix things they missed the first, second , third and fourth times. The
last time I got my car back, I was on an outing with my dog at the
coast when I suddenly lost power. I didn’t think it could be the
timing belt because I only had 300 miles on the new one. I tried to
start my car and whew!!!!!! The tow truck driver had me try and start
my car and double whew!!!!! The Dealer claims the "Pre-Tensioner"
busted off and caused the timing belt to "jump off" and now there is
valve damage. Any thoughts?

 

[Todd H.]

I have a 2001 Forester, which I bought in May 2000, with 176,000
miles. In June I took it to the Dealer for a new clutch and new timing
belt, and some other work, totaling about $2,000. I’ve had the car
back for about one week in the last two months, while the Dealer has
donated about 50 hours of labor and hundreds of dollars in parts to
fix things they missed the first, second , third and fourth times. The
last time I got my car back, I was on an outing with my dog at the
coast when I suddenly lost power. I didn’t think it could be the
timing belt because I only had 300 miles on the new one. I tried to
start my car and whew!!!!!! The tow truck driver had me try and start
my car and double whew!!!!! The Dealer claims the "Pre-Tensioner"
busted off and caused the timing belt to "jump off" and now there is
valve damage. Any thoughts?

Oy. That totally stinks.

The district service manager for your dealer's area is the guy you
wanna talk to methinks.

Best Regards,

 

[Edward Hayes]

Yes; First talk to the district manager and go up the line if you
don't get satisfaction. It may be a difficult sell because of the
year and mileage.