2005 Forester

[mn]

Hello everyone-

I am contemplating buying a 2005 Forester LL Bean edition but know nothing
about Subaru other than they are AWD. Can anyone out there give me some
advice or tell me of their experience with either a Forester or Subaru in
general? I know that MSN cites engine and pollution control problems up to
2002, but I can find nother past that short of buying a copy of Lemonaid.
If you prefer to contact me via email, please write (e-mail address removed).
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Mark

 

[Jim]

They are extremely reliable and rate high in owner satisfaction. You can be
assured you will be making a wise purchase decision. It is not as if you
are buying a General Motors vehicle that will depreciate quickly and more
than likely have a host of reliability problems. They have the relibility
and typical design expected from a good Japanese manufacturer.

 

[KLS]

I am contemplating buying a 2005 Forester LL Bean edition but know nothing
about Subaru other than they are AWD. Can anyone out there give me some
advice or tell me of their experience with either a Forester or Subaru in
general? I know that MSN cites engine and pollution control problems up to
2002, but I can find nother past that short of buying a copy of Lemonaid.
If you prefer to contact me via email, please write (e-mail address removed).
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

The other thing to consider is whether you want the 6-cyl turbo engine
or just the regular 4-cyl; the turbo requires premium gas, but the
4-cyl runs fine on regular octane.

 

[DR. FAFOOFNlK]

Hello everyone-

I am contemplating buying a 2005 Forester LL Bean edition but know nothing
about Subaru other than they are AWD. Can anyone out there give me some
advice or tell me of their experience with either a Forester or Subaru in
general? I know that MSN cites engine and pollution control problems up to
2002, but I can find nother past that short of buying a copy of Lemonaid.
If you prefer to contact me via email, please write (e-mail address removed).
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Mark

Mark...read ALL the posts in here....ALL of them..good and bad. *I*
personally HATE Subaru for making such a poorly designed automobile (and i
get flamed in here for speaking my piece).

If you read on you will find that they are NOT reliable in the long run,
however..there are a few owners that really pile on the miles with no
problems at all.
Read the post from people with head gasket failures, how Subaru does back
their product at times, but they fail quite a bit on a lot of people.The
failures you read about in here come from OWNERS. I DO NOT own one Mark, i
speak from hearing it from people that I know who have them, from articles I
see in print.
I work in the public service arena, I travel the streets in the Los Angeles
area A LOT. All I see are dead ones, ones with engine fires, ones that have
been abandoned on the freeways.I see very few running around on the streets.
Before you buy, see if your bank will finance one. You might be surprised to
see they won't. (I wonder why that is
Once again....READ READ AND READ. Don't take my word only, but it's an
indicator that there IS problems with thier product line. ALL cars will have
some "Quirky" issues, but Subaru has a shitload of them. A lot of them that
should never happen and continue to occur.
Let Google be your investigative friend. A lot of the guys in here are
EXTREMELY brand defensive, they don't like people like me warning others or
speaking the truth about Subaru in general......
So here come the missiles but you have been advised (for what it's
worth).

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I'm sure the car buying public appreciates your efforts. Can you direct
me to your warnings about other makes? Say, Jaguar, or Fiat, or
Sterling, or 90s Mercedes or Kia or 80s GM or maybe the mid 90s Ford
Windstars with the turning radius of an oil tanker and tranny troubles,
or the mid 90's Nissan/Q45 V6s with the 3 dollar O-ring that leaks oil
and is a 19.2 hour labor charge to replace or the Toyota V6 sludge
problems or...or...or....

Carl

 

[DR. FAFOOFNlK]

I'm sure the car buying public appreciates your efforts. Can you direct
me to your warnings about other makes? Say, Jaguar, or Fiat, or
Sterling, or 90s Mercedes or Kia or 80s GM or maybe the mid 90s Ford
Windstars with the turning radius of an oil tanker and tranny troubles,
or the mid 90's Nissan/Q45 V6s with the 3 dollar O-ring that leaks oil
and is a 19.2 hour labor charge to replace or the Toyota V6 sludge
problems or...or...or....

Carl

Yes Carl..I can! and your right.....
Ford Taurus...bad transmission pump resulting in input shaft lockups
Ford Taurus...Head gasket failure, resulting in oil leaks
Ford Trucks...Cruise Control switch causing underhood fires
Ford Truck (early 90's) Ignition switch fires
Pontiac Fiero 6 Cyl..engine fires (remember those)
VW Beetles (new ones) electrical fires.
I will be happy to post more if you like, but it has nothing to do with
Subaru....

 

[H]

Ah the good doctor spews his crap once again. I don't know where you got
your negative bias from but clearly it is from somewhere other than
experience.

What the sane world has to say is very different. Look at Consumer Reports
auto issues. The latest one rates SUBARU as the MOST RELIABLE brand overall
for 2004. The FORESTER is TOP PICK for car-based SUVs for 2004 and 2005.
Even Phil Edmunstons Lemon Aid Guide has many good things to say about them.
Try finding a used Forester for sale, their rare because people tend to keep
them. All of the industry mags (Car&Driver etal) seem to like them, but take
anything an industry mag says with a huge grain of salt.

Personally, I tend to go absolutely over-the-top when it comes to
researching big purchases such as cars, appliances etc. I did all the
research I could before buying my 04 Forester XS last May. It wasn't
originally one of the vehicles in my sites, the Legacy was. But after more
research I ended up with the Forester. Here's one tip though, get rid of the
Yokahama tires the Forester comes with, they are bad. Oh, and if you are
wondering what other vehicles I seriously considered (but eliminated after
research and test drives), VW Jetta TDI, Mazda 6 Sportwgaon, Malibu Maxx,
Legacy wagon, Nissan X-Trail, Honda SRV, Toyota RAV4 along with cursory
looks at Saturns Large wagon, Hyundai, Kia and others.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I think if you want some good statistics good to Consumer Reports and
see what most owners have to say. Subaru reliability has been topnotch
for many years. I think CR uses a minimum 500 vehicle owners responses
to validate their ratings.

 

[Polish Boy]

When I entered the car business oh so many years ago, one of the first
statistics that impressed me the most was"if an automobile were 99 and
44/100% pure like Ivory Soap (I'm dating myself here) it would only
have 146 things wrong with it. Today, with the complications and
sophistication of the current models, I hesitate to guess at how great
the number would be. To state that the end result of billions of
dollars of money, hours and hours of intelligent analysis by many
thousands of people, and more third party endorsement than any car in
it's class has resulted in abject failure, would lead a reasonable man
to question the accuser and his agenda or perhaps to discount it in
total.

If we compare man made machines to perfection, we are doomed to be
disappointed. Man is too often fallible so the outcome of his efforts
are never perfect, not even his criticism.

A pleasant good day to all....

 

[B-Rad]

Just throwing in my input... Check out statistics and reports for yourself,
don't just go by what people tell you. When I bought my 96 Plymouth Neon,
all I heard was: "They're junk, you'll hate it, its a piece of shit" Well
for some, that is true, but I had it for a little over a year, put well over
40k miles on it, and never had any major problems with it. (Wheel bearing
was the biggest problem). Since then I had another Neon, another good car,
and now I have a 1993 Subaru Impreza L, which I have had for maybe just over
a month, have put 3k miles on it, and haven't even changed the oil in it
yet. It is a very sturdy car for being over 12 years old. I know many people
with Subaru's, and they have all told me they wouldn't trade them for
anything.

Good luck!

 

[Byron]

As well, as far as I know, the 2006 redesign (slightly) is out in a couple
of months, July where I am... wait for that one as well...

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hello everyone-

I am contemplating buying a 2005 Forester LL Bean edition but know nothing
about Subaru other than they are AWD. Can anyone out there give me some
advice or tell me of their experience with either a Forester or Subaru in
general? I know that MSN cites engine and pollution control problems up to
2002, but I can find nother past that short of buying a copy of Lemonaid.
If you prefer to contact me via email, please write (e-mail address removed).
Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Personal experience:

Better quality, comfort, performance
and reliability than Ford, VW, Nissan
and Mitsubishi.

 

[MattB]

The other thing to consider is whether you want the 6-cyl turbo engine
or just the regular 4-cyl; the turbo requires premium gas, but the
4-cyl runs fine on regular octane.

The turbo is a 4 cylinder too. I have an '04 XT and it's great!

Matt

 

[Hallan Blaggit]

I'm always amazed by your posts. I wonder what happens in LA that
makes so many Subarus die there. Here in Atlantic Canada, I see them
every day running all over the place. I used to have a Toyota Camry;
my 98 Subaru wagon is every bit as reliable as the old Camry was.

I personally really like my car, and it has worked very well for the
last 260,000 km. Maybe I'm just lucky. I will admit there are two
things about my car that my wife hates: the driver's seat is too low
(and since I got a Brighton edition, there is no height adjustment),
and when you lock the front doors, you have to lift up on the handle
as you close it (I could have spent more money and bought electric
locks, then this wouldn't be an issue anyway).

So maybe Dr Fafoofnik is right; it must be a horrible piece of poorly
engineered crap.

 

[Rick Courtright]

So maybe Dr Fafoofnik is right; it must be a horrible piece of poorly
engineered crap.

Nah, the only poorly engineered crap here is the stuff Dr. Rasty-ass is
constantly trying to spread. I'm sure HIS car has NEVER had a SINGLE
problem: as well-versed about the automotive community as he claims to
be, I'm sure he knows just exactly how to pick a make and model that's
trouble free.

The fact he doesn't even own a Subaru yet insists upon spreading hearsay
says something to me, if not to the rest of the world. Personally, I put
on 150-200 miles a day throughout much of SoCal and haven't seen these
piles of dead Subies he's always alluding to. Maybe he found a Subie
junkyard to drive by every day?

I won't try to say Subaru is trouble free, nor would I assert that of
ANY make. I'll even give Dr. Rasty-ass some fuel for his anti-Subaru
fires: mine blew up a week ago! But before he gets started, let me note
the car has just over 360k miles, original engine, and probably would
still be going had I bought it new instead of used AND abused at 209k
miles.

Have at it, Dr. Rasty!

Rick

 

[Dr. Rastis Fafoofnik]

Nah, the only poorly engineered crap here is the stuff Dr. Rasty-ass is
constantly trying to spread. I'm sure HIS car has NEVER had a SINGLE
problem: as well-versed about the automotive community as he claims to
be, I'm sure he knows just exactly how to pick a make and model that's
trouble free.

The fact he doesn't even own a Subaru yet insists upon spreading hearsay
says something to me, if not to the rest of the world. Personally, I put
on 150-200 miles a day throughout much of SoCal and haven't seen these
piles of dead Subies he's always alluding to. Maybe he found a Subie
junkyard to drive by every day?

I won't try to say Subaru is trouble free, nor would I assert that of
ANY make. I'll even give Dr. Rasty-ass some fuel for his anti-Subaru
fires: mine blew up a week ago! But before he gets started, let me note
the car has just over 360k miles, original engine, and probably would
still be going had I bought it new instead of used AND abused at 209k
miles.

Have at it, Dr. Rasty!

Rick

Well...360K out of any engine (except Cummins,Catapiller or Detroit Diesel)
is very good, ESPECIALLY if it's turbocharged. I suspect a lot of the
failures we see in the Los ANgeles area can be attributed to the high
underhood temps experianced in Socal......

 

[Kurt C. Hack]

Also keep in mind that this comes from someone who drives a 2002 Ford
Explorer. Needless to say, an authority on vehicle quality he is not.

-Kurt

 

[DR. FAFOOFNlK]

Also keep in mind that this comes from someone who drives a 2002 Ford
Explorer. Needless to say, an authority on vehicle quality he is not.

Gee..thats pretty funny there Kurt! Lets see......owned and driven daily for
over 3 years, a lot of it on the highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
In that amount of time NOTHING...I mean NOTHING has failed. It still has the
factory tires on it. It gets the oil changed every 3500 miles, gets new
coolant every March. On the other hand I see OWNERS bitching about Subarus
less than 4 years old with.......
Raw Fuel Leaks( how hard can this be to fix????)
Oil Leaks (even my mid 60's Chrysler doesnt leak)
Overheating
HEAD GASKETS (Just plain stupid/unacceptable)
Noisy valves (2003 Baja)
Having to reset the ECU (04 Forester)Why ??? it's SUPPOSED to know whats its
doing!
Bad/Failed O2 Sensors
POOR fuel economy for the size of car (16-20MPG get real, my 4.0L V-6 does
that. )
"antifreeze smell" inside car
"Auto Climate Control" (04 Outback)..poorly designed, changes settings on
its own Floor/Dash vents
Clutch Shudder
"Check Engine light" usually means nothing, reveals no codes and dealer cant
fix it
Rough Idle(04 WRX,05 baja) dealer says thats normal???
Engine rattle (03 Impreza) when cold
WheelBearing failure
Stereo system audio power amplifier catching fire
A/C that wont work in traffic, alternator that can't keep up with electrical
demands.
Windows that whistle,squeak and rattle (WRX many model years)
Paint chips and dings all over (ALL of Subaru)(many complaints from Forester
owners)Honda/Toyota/Nissan paint is MUCH better.
Tranny failures/problems at 3000 miles (like a NEW forester)
Wimpy horn
Electric lock problems(2000 Forester)
Shitty Brakes (Consumer Report on 2001 Outbacks)
"Clunking Noises" (05 Outback with 5,000 Miles on it)
Cracking windshields (05 Outback with wiper blade heater)
REPEATED visits to the dealer to get anything fixed right
Shitty dealer network, poor customer support, "NO CAN DO" outlook unless
pressured
***READ THIS*** ALL THESE COMMENTS CAME FROM THIS GROUP, FROM OWNERS. This
is not made up, not my opinion All of these have been bitched about right
here in this forum.
While the Explorer is NOT a "rally car" it sure is good at it's job.I know I
can turn the key and point it in any direction and GET THERE and BACK
without calling for a hook or Ford to come back up my
warranty."Warranty"..while they are good to have is NOT the answer.Fact
is..there are a LOT more Ford Explorers on the roads in the U.S.A. than
Subaru's anyday. There must be a reason for it.
There is NO EXCUSE for all these problems in a new or recently purchased
car. A lot of this crap should NEVER happen.I expect this kind of crap from
a Korean rustbucket (see KIA,DAEWOO, HYUNDAI) but NOT a Japanese car.
Subaru's quality and they way they handle it's customers is PISS-POOR at
best. Look at it from the standpoint of the owner that can't turn his own
wrenches. Those people don't need a "MG" or a Fiat,Triumph..truly a fix/tune
up daily.
Your daily commuter doesnt need to deal with worthless "Check Engine" lights
or the rest of the problems listed here.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I think your list reflects well the range of problems though you tend to
exagerate the rate at which they occur.
I admit I don't hang out at the Ford Explorer newsgroup so, please tell
me, are there NO COMPLAINTS there?

Carl

 

[DR. FAFOOFNlK]

I think your list reflects well the range of problems though you tend to
exagerate the rate at which they occur.
I admit I don't hang out at the Ford Explorer newsgroup so, please tell
me, are there NO COMPLAINTS there?

Carl

Oh yeah, there are complaints in the Ford forum too, however..VERY few of
them are vehicles less than 5 years old. I am pointing out the problem cars
that come out NEW with defects, correctable ones (like the leaking fuel
lines).
Ford is not without "problem" vehicles either. Part of this is due to them
sleeping with Kia (they have for years).
Fords problem(Ford/Lincoln Navigator and some "F" Series trucks) with cruise
control switch fires (caused by brake fluid seeping into the switch) was a
poor design.
Aerostar (now THIS is a real piece of shit) ignition switch fires.
The Ford "Fuckus" (Focus) is a turd, had one as a rental car in hawaii for
30 minutes and took it back for a Honda
Ford Work trucks and "E" series vans......bulletproof

I look at the postings as a "Crosscut" of Subaru customers..many of which
dont post (or even know it exists).Some do post they like their cars (a lot)
others tell of high miles, but way too many mention problems with **NEW**
ones, less than 5 years old, less than 50,000 miles and this is simply not
acceptable by todays standards. Quality control, good design CAN be done. I
mention the fuel leak incident because it's EASY to design around that. many
other cars out there have HIGH-PRESSURE fuel injection and they dont leak in
cold weather. It's CHEAPO parts, Subaru saves a few cents on each car AT
YOUR EXPENSE. I expect this on a $5995 new KIA Rio, not a $15,000+++ car.

Look at Daewoo...they are dying/dead. Besides the ugly styling, they were
falling apart on the lot. They are CHEAP...low priced, but even that didn't
save them. No one wants to sit on the side of the road, 150 miles from a
town thinking...I am SO damn glad that I have a 10 year, 100,000 mile
warranty on this car. Even tho I am stuck out in the middle of nowhere, will
miss work, will have to rent another car i feel warm and fuzzy all over
because i know my dealer will fix it AGAIN.
The ONLY way to prevent the car companies from putting out shitty
workmanship is DONT BY IT. Stopped Daewoo cold in the U.S.A.!!
Kia cant sell much here, Hyundai is pretty much shut down here. So what do
they do?? They ship these turkeys to 3rd world countries hahaha
Thats the ticket. Sell them to the poor people. They will buy ANY running
"Hooptie"