2002 Subaru Forester Engine Problems

In very cold conditions, your car produces a strong gasoline smell around the engine and inside the cabin when idling or running. The fuel line hose that connects to the clamp may contract in severe cold and expand when warm, causing a temporary seal issue. Inspecting and potentially replacing the fuel line hose and clamp assembly may resolve the odor problem.

INTERMITTENT ENGINE SURGING AND/LOSS OF POWER. *TR

DEFECTIVE HEAD GASKET. *TR

IN THE LAST WEEK, MY HEATER STARTED WORKING SPORADICALLY, PUTTING OUT COOL AIR AND HOT AIR INTERMITTENTLY. THEN MY TEMPERATURE GAUGE STARTED CLIMBING QUICKLY TO THE HOT END. I TURNED MY HEATER ON FULL-BLAST TO COOL DOWN THE ENGINE AND THIS WORKED FOR ABOUT A MILE, THEN THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP IN THE RED. I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY, LET THE ENGINE COOL, AND ADDED COOLANT (IT WAS SLIGHTLY LOW, BUT NOT THAT LOW). THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE WHEN THE HEATER WAS ON ALL THE WAY, SO WE LOOKED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND SAW THERE WAS A LEAK. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS AN "EXTERNAL COOLANT LEAK FROM THE HEAD GASKET" JUST LIKE IN THE COURTESY RECALL OF THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL OF MY CAR. HOWEVER, WHEN I CALLED SUBARU, IT WAS FOR "PHASE 1" ENGINES ONLY, AND MINE WAS A "PHASE 2" ENGINE, THEREFORE MY CAR IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE SAME RECALL. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THE VEHICLE AND HAVE HAD MY CAR SERVICED EVERY 3,000 TO 5,000 MILES. THE PREVIOUS OWNER KEPT A LOG OF ALL THE WORK ON THE CAR IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL, AND HE TOO, HAD IT SERVICED REGULARLY. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS TOO MUCH OF A COINCIDENCE FOR IT NOT TO BE A FAULTY PART, LIKE IN THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL OF MY CAR WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT WITH THE PHASE 1 ENGINE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF OTHER 2002 SUBARU FORRESTERS, WITH A PHASE 2 ENGINE, HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND IF SO, WHAT SUBARU IS GOING TO DO TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM? MY CAR IS FIVE YEARS OLD WITH LESS THAN 85,000 MILES ON IT, AND IT HAS BEEN SERVICED AT THE RECOMMENDED TIMES. IT SHOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM THIS MAJOR ($2,500 TO FIX!) GIVEN THESE FACTS UNLESS IT WAS A FAULTY SYSTEM TO BEGIN WITH! *JB

EXTERNAL COOLANT LEAK DUE TO FAILURE OF HEAD GASKETS IN ENGINE ON A 2002 SUBARU FORESTER WITH 50,000 MILES. RESULTS IN COOLANT DRIPPING ONTO EXHAUST SYSTEM AND OTHER COMPONENTS RESULTING IN STRONG ODOR. ALSO CREATES POSSIBILITY OF LOW COOLANT CAUSING OVERHEATING, ENGINE DAMAGE AND POSSIBLE ENGINE FIRE DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT. THIS PROBLEM IS KNOWN TO SUBARU HOWEVER, THE ONLY RECOMMENDATION OFFERED IS TO ADD A SEALER TO THE RADIATOR COOLANT. ACCORDING TO SEVERAL MECHANICS I HAVE CONSULTED, THIS WILL RESULT IN CLOGGING OF THE RADIATOR AND HEATER CORE PASSAGES FURTHER CAUSING OVERHEATING PROBLEMS. THE ONLY FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM IS REPLACEMENT OF THE HEAD GASKETS SOMETHING SUBARU REFUSES TO DO. *TR

SOA IS NOT BEING FORTHCOMING ABOUT A MAJOR DEFECT AFFECTING MANY OF ITS VEHICLES. ON WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2007 I SPOKE TO SOA AND EXPLAINED MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE CHRONIC LEAKING HEAD GASKET PROBLEMS ON MANY OF YOUR VEHICLES. I OWN A 2002 SUBARU FORESTER WHICH WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A LEAKING HEAD GASKET IN DECEMBER 2006 AND 68000 MILES BY A TEAPE SUBARU TECHNICIAN IN ARLINGTON TX. THIS REPAIR WOULD COST $1900.00. AS I HAD TO SAVE UP THE MONEY I DID NOT GET THE WORK DONE UNTIL 07/10/07 AT 75,000 MILES. I CONSIDERED THIS A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM. HAD SOA BROUGHT ME IN FOR A REPAIR I MIGHT HAVE AVOIDED THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR. MY CAR COULD EASILY HAVE OVERHEATED, RESULTING IN AN INJURY TO MYSELF AND OTHERS. RESEARCH REVEALED THAT THIS WAS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THEIR VEHICLES THAT FREQUENTLY OCCURRED AGAIN AFTER BEING REPAIRED/REPLACED. SOA'S REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT NOT ONLY WAS MY VEHICLE OUT OF WARRANTY FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR IT. HE DID, HOWEVER, GIVE ME A CASE #1017178. SUBARU NEEDED TO STEP UP AND HANDLE THIS PROBLEM. I AM ENCOURAGING YOU TO MAKE THEM DO THAT. THE FINAL COST FOR MY GASKET REPLACEMENT WORK WAS 1725.42. I AM MAILING SOA AN ITEMIZED LIST OF PARTS AND LABOR ALONG WITH MY PAID RECEIPT, AND I WANT A FULL REFUND FOR THIS WORK WHICH INCLUDED THE LABOR. *AK

2002 SUBARU FORESTER HESITATES AND LURCHES DANGEROUSLY AS IF FUEL IS NOT GETTING TO THE ENGINE. WHEN PULLING ON TO A STREET OR HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE WON'T PICK UP SPEED AND CREATES A SAFELY HAZARD AND POTENTIAL REAR END ACCIDENTS. *JB

ON THREE OCCASIONS WHEN PLACING MY 2002 SUBARU FORESTER IN REVERSE, THE ENGINE HAS BEGUN TO RACE UNCONTROLLABLY. IN EACH INSTANCE, BECAUSE I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND WAS ABLE TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL, I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND AVOID A CRASH. *JB

ON MARCH 4, 2004, WHILE DRIVING MY 2002 SUBARU FORRESTER, I SMELLED AN AWFUL SMELL AND THE EMISSION LIGHT CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME. CAR WAS TOWED TO PALM SUBARU, GAINESVILLE FLORIDA, @ 4:30 PM. PALM HAS PERFOMED ALL PRIOR SERVICES ON THIS CAR INCLUDING OIL CHANGES. PALM COULD NOT DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM THAT DAY AND DIRECTED ME TO GATRO LEASING, WITHIN THEIR BUILDING, FOR A RENTAL. I DID NOT PROVIDE A CREDIT CARD FOR THE RENTAL WHICH I HAD FOR ABOUT 16 HOURS AND DROVE ABOUT 20 MILES. ON MARCH 5, I WAS TOLD THAT THE OIL FILTER WAS FAULTY I HAD NOT TIGHTENED THE GAS CAP AND THAT IS WHY THE EMISSION LIGHT WAS ON. NOW I AM BEING ASKED TO PAY THE $22.00 FOR THE RENTAL. I DON'T THINK THIS IS FAR SINCE PALM INSTALLED THE FAULTY OIL FILTER.*AK

WHEN THE CONSUMER DEPRESSES THE FUEL PEDAL THE VEHICLE HESITATES AND SOMETIMES STALL, THE DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM SEVERAL TIME BUT NO REMEDY HAS BEEN FOUND. NLM

CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE STARTED HESITATING DURING ACCELERATION FROM A COMPLETE STOP, HESITATION OCCURS ONE SECOND TO A FEW SECONDS AFTER ACCELERATION AND CAN LAT APPROXIMATELY THREE SECONDS. SINCE THE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING WITH THE HESITATION, THE TRANSMISSION NOW SHIFTS WITH A SLIGHT THUMP TO A LOUD BANG, DURING ACCELERATION THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION MISSES A SHIFT AND GOES INTO NEUTRAL CAUSING THE ENGINE TO INSTANTLY OVER SPEED TO 2,000 RPM'S THE TRANSMISSION SEARCHES FOR DIFFERENT GEARS WHILE GENTLY ACCELERATING, ON 2 OCCASIONS THE DEALER HAS REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER MODIFICATIONS WHICH HAS MADE THE PROBLEMS LESS INTENSE, BUT STILL EXISTS. *JB *SCC

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35MPH AND NO WARNING THE VEHICLE WILL STALL AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED. NLM THE CONSUMER IS EXPERIENCING THE FOLLOWING; HESITATED(SEVERE) ON ACCELERATION (ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD/EVEN AFTER WARMED UP), THERE'S A WIND NOISE COMING FROM THE ROOF/ROOF RACK-AND HAPPENS AT SPEEDS OVER 20 MPH/VERY NOISY, A CREAKING NOISE COMING FROM THE LEFT FRONT OF THE VEHICLE-MOSTLY WHEN MAKING TURNS, BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY(MAYBE THE STRUT), STALLING, AND WOULD SIT FOR1-2 HOURS, THEN WOULD START WITH DIFFICULTY, RUNS ROUGH FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN IS FINE. THE DEALER SUGGESTS THAT THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING WITHIN THE SPECIFICATIONS. (THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS OCCURRENCES) SCC

CONSUMER EXPERIENCES VEHICLE STALLING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *MR

ONCE WARMED UP, THE VECHICLE IDLES VERY LOW AT 300-400 RPM'S AND STALLS OUT. *MJ

INTERMITENT BACKFIRE AFTER SHIFTING ON MANUAL TRANSMISSION FORESTERS. MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED, CONFIRMED THAT ENGINE BACKFIRES BUT SAID BACKFIRING WAS NOT A PROBLEM, HENCE NO FIX WAS NECCESSARY AND NON WOULD BE PROVIDED. HOW MANY OF YOU OUT THERE CONSIDER BA. *AK

VEHICLE DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY START UP. DEALER HAS REPLACED ECM BOX, HOWEVER PROBLEM STILL EXISTS.*AK. CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAS OVERHEATED AND SEIZED UP.*MJ

VEHICLE STALLS WHILES DRIVING AND DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY RESTART. DEALER CAN NOT IDENTIFY PROBLEM WITH CAR. THE CAR HAS STALLED REPEATEDLY, AT LEAST 3 TIMES IN OUR POSSESSION, AND SEVERAL TIMES WHILE IN THE DEALER'S POSSESSION.