Just purchased a 2013 Forester 2.5X

[mostlyinnocuous]

By the way, this is my first post. Thanks for allowing me to join.

This Forester is for my daughter. She finally wrangled the last bit of useful life out of her 2000 Honda Accord with 244,000 miles. This was, in a way, an emergency purchase.

The Forester has 102,000 miles. Quite clean, body is straight, the usual door dings, etc. Interior is fabric, pretty good shape. 4-cylinder, automatic transmission, AWD. This is our first experience with Subaru.

I didn't do any Googling or any type of research on the car until yesterday. I checked some reviews on Edmunds.com and noticed quite a few owners harping about excessive oil consumption, transmission responsiveness, fit & finish, etc. I know this is a two-owner car, and I know it's never been in an accident, and I know that all recall issues have been dealt with.

One question I have regards the automatic transmission: should the fluid be drained and replaced? I believe in being proactive about vehicle maintenance. If we decide to go ahead and have the transmission serviced, should I schedule this with a dealer, or can any reasonably competent garden-grade oil change establishment handle this procedure?

One more question: I haven't had a chance to check out the owners manual, but does this car have a timing chain or is it a belt? And, if a belt, when should it be replaced?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Danceteacher]

That year Forester has a problem with the camshaft carrier seal leaking. I bought a new 2012 and was never told about the service bulletin covering this issue. I now have a little over 100,000 miles and the engine is displaying a P170 code. Won't pass emissons and cruise won't work. Apparently when this code is present the computer goes into "limp in mode". Dealer says problem is camshaft carrier is leaking oil onto O2 sensor causing a lean condition. $3,300 to repair leak, $200 for O2 sensor, probably new catalytic converter and short block.

Do your research and google Subaru camshaft carrier leakage!