Subaru Forester Woes - Keep or Sell? Advice from Subaru Owners

Can you lock the center diff in any Subaru other than an STI?

 

Funny enough, their biggest limiting factor is the CVT transmission once again. Limits wheel spin and often can’t provide enough power to the proper wheel for traction. Sad really considering Subaru has a great AWD system but a transmission that hinders it. Wish they’d go with a proper automatic to resolve this, but I guess that’s what happens when the try and eek out every last MPG possible in their vehicles.

 

Sell it, not a long term vehicle.

 

Yessir, very true. I had an '07 VW GTI, one of the first modern gasoline DI engines on the US market. Carbon build up was due to PCV vapors running across hot intake valves and stems, had little to do with fuel. I swore off European and turbo vehicles after owning that POS.

 

^Subaru's DI technology was provided by Toyota (Toyota's contribution to the 86 program) and, well... https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lexus-is250-carbon-buildup.582648/

It's interesting Subaru hasn't adopted the dual injection architecture on later Toyota models.

 

Ive experienced this in snow where the car will just cut power. Ive also seen a TFL video where the subaru cuts power trying to get up gold mine hill or whatever. AWD and 250 HP doesnt do you much good if the transmission cant even make use of it. To me that tells me that the CVT is undersized and a weak point in the drivetrain.

 

Was traction control on? That'll cut power too.

 

Exactly. Even with traction control off, the CVT cuts power and wheelspin. I’ve experienced it firsthand in snowy and rocky inclines. Made it seem as though I didn’t have enough power even though I had over 250hp.

 

Many dealer service depts are part-changers incapable of rebuilding anything at the component level (diffs, CV shafts, transmissions, stereo head units, instrument clusters...). Aamco, for example, seem to welcome CVT repairs: https://www.aamco.com/Transmission-Services/CVT-Transmission-Service

@wyant to keep things in perspective, find your nearest Aamco shop (see https://www.aamco.com/Auto-Repair-Center ), tell them the year of your Forester, and ask how much it costs to swap in a rebuilt CVT transmission. This will give you a realistic expectation of running costs.

 

Very tiny percentage of Subaru CVTs are “rebuilt”, because that just isn’t a thing. Subaru swaps them out for fresh CVTs and sends the bad ones to engineers. Subaru purchased the rights to this CVT making it exclusive, also meaning that there are no aftermarket parts available. Little bit different than the horrible Nissan CVTs that have numerous fixes available outside of the dealership. I’m willing to bet AAMCO has probably never fixed a Subaru CVT. Fluid swaps I can understand. But repairs from a third party are extremely unlikely.

 

Thanks for everyone’s input. Thought I would give an update. My wife and I spent the last two weeks car shopping/test driving. Drove the Hyundai Elantra gt, Kia Soul, Toyota Corolla hatch, Mazda 3, Lexus ct 200h, Hyundai Kona, Mazda cx3. Ultimately my wife liked the Mazda 3 the best and we decided our 65 lb Aussie would still fit in the back. Initially we were looking at used but they were having really good deals on new 18’s since the redesigned 19s just started hitting the lots.

We ended up with a new 18 touring hatch, auto, 2.5 SkyActiv for $17400 and $11000 on our trade in. Essentially it was $5585 off MSRP ($22985), which I thought was pretty dang good. If anyone is looking for an 18 Mazda 3, the incentives end this month.

We have only had the car a few days but so far I’m impressed. Out of all the cars we drove this one by far felt the most solid and refined, not that the others were bad. Overall best driving though... heavy direct steering, quiet cabin, quick shifting transmission and decent power that comes on instantly. Plus the inside is all soft touch, leather, heated seats, power everything, apple car play.

It’s really hard these days to find a newer hatchback car with a standard reliable automatic, and natural aspiration or just a solid drivetrain in general. So far my wife has been averaging 35mpg on her work commute. Hopefully it proves reliable.

Here she is after a wash, clay bar, meguiars hybrid ceramic, and meguiars ultimate quick wax on top.



Gonna miss the old subaru though.

 

That’s a great looking car! Ive Been impressed with Mazda’s designs and performances over the past few year.

 

@Kolunatic

 

I’m leaning towards the crosstrek myself

 

I read through this whole thread , and was surprised to notice how NO ONE brought up the fact that Toyota OWNS 16-17% of Subaru. I would find it hard to believe one of the best (and largest) manufacturers in the world would own that large of a percentage of a "lousy" brand.
BTW besides my 17 Taco we also own a 2015 4cyl Outback limited with eyesight. Granted we only have 43K on it , but it has been trouble free.

 

Toyota owns a percentage of Subaru's parent company Fuji Heavy (FHI), which is also involved in shipbuilding and other industries. Toyota's stake in FHI may have been financially driven (as in FHI may be consistently profitable).

 

Did you just get this?

 

Yes
And we love it

 

Looks Awesome!