Subaru - Forester :: 2010 - AC Works Sporadically
Jul 22, 2014
I have a 2010 Subaru Forester 2.5x, and I've been struggling with the air conditioner for over a year.
The AC works amazingly when the car has been shaded / in a garage (even if the garage is not air conditioned - so the garage temp is probably still 90 degrees). The problem is when I've parked the car outside in a sunny area. Then, it takes about 25 minutes for the AC to blow cold air consistently. In this case, the fan w blow hot air with tiny spurts of cool-ish air, but nothing that meaningfully cools my car. I live in Texas, so the car is HOT; I'm not expecting instantaneous cooling, but after 3-5 minutes of driving, I would hope it would be getting cooler in the car.
I park in full sun at work, and then drive to pick my kids up from daycare. The car is hot and stays hot until we are home. Of course, I roll down the windows, but I'm always pulling the kids out of the car sweaty and overheated. Lately, it's turned super-warm, so this is getting more miserable and dangerous for the kids.
Coolant was replaced seven months ago with little effect. What could be causing this, although I suspect it's something related to overheating / a sensor or thermostat since it only happens when the car has been parked in the sun. Internet sleuthing reveals everything from o-rings, compressor, compressor clutch, oiling the bearings or clutch plate, cylinder head gasket, etc.
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I have a 2010 Subaru Forester past warranty. I remove the key from the ignition switch and open the door I get the chime and the doors will not lock with the remote. If I pull the key out rapidly it usually works okay. The Subaru garage wants to replace all locks to fix the problem. That seems excessive to me.
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My AC seems to function quietly and normally. The compressor kicks on and off like it should, the low side pressure is normal and the cores are clean. It all seems to work just fine. But, on a hot day (80+), the air being forced out inside just doesn't feel very cool, unless I'm sitting in a shaded place, when it's noticeably cooler (about like it should -normally- be). I starting noticing this difference about a month ago when the temperature started getting near 90 and seems to have gotten slowly worse. I bought the SUV 20 months ago as a Subaru Certified Used Vehicle and it's now out of warranty with 62K miles on it and is otherwise in overall excellent condition. Why it's not blowing snow, well maybe not snow, but COOL air?
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With a cold engine in my 2010 Forester (29,000 miles), the coolant level has dropped from "full" to "low" in the overflow reservoir over the last 8 months or so. The level was down at that time (8 mos. back) and I topped it off. There is no obvious coolant puddle on the driveway. There is a gurgling sound at tailpipes and the exhaust is very wet. I'm worried there is a cooling system leak into the engine. Overall I have not been happy with the service dept. at my dealer (bought the car used from him) and wondering if this is the type of diagnosis and repair that an independent shop could handle.
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My 2010 Forester will randomly lock/make the armed confirmation sound after I park, remove my keys and exit the vehicle. I have a head light out (right hand) and have seen that is a common factor in similar problems. Could this be the source of my issue? I have unhooked the battery and it stopped after I hooked it back up. The problem returns days later. I couldn't find ant blown fuses.
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OK, so I have a 2010 Subee, 36K miles. Three events here, added in car monitoring from State Farm for Ins Discount, had a nail in back tire which I had repaired, it's been pretty cold at night here in GA. When I start the car, both the cold engine and the brake light are lit. Cold engine normal, takes it a few minutes then it goes out. Brake light is staying on until the car drives a bit (maybe 10 minutes?). No odd brake noises, brakes feel fine, emergency brake fully released. Recently had fluids checked and oil changed at Jiffy Lube. Have had the car for 3 years, this is new. It didn't do it last winter. So - do I need to go to the dealership? A brake place? Check the brake fluid.
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I have a 2010 Subaru Forester that looses pressure in the front left tire much more quickly than the other 3 tires. For example, I just filled up all 4 tires to 33PSI, and when I checked it a week or two later, the front left was at 26PSI, while the other 3 were still at 32-33PSI. In the past, the tire pressure light has come on because the front left tire managed to get as low as 16PSI, while the other 3 tires were still at ~26PSI. Is it possible to have a small leak that leaks a couple PSI per week?
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My Volvo is having some ac issues and I am trying to figure out what is happening. The compressor works sporadically while driving. When it is on it blows cold, but then all of a sudden it shuts off. I had a friend check the refrigerant levels he said they were fine. He said the high side pressure is at 350, which is high.
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In my 2000 V6 Passat...I noticed that my temp gauge sporadically works...more often not. Is there a fuse or something that controls it?
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My high mount break light works sporadically. When I break, sometimes you can see it as bright as it can be, other times it is dim, and then sometimes no light comes on. The dealership could not even figure out how to get to the led unit.
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I was thinking about checking out the above vehicle at my local dealer (Chevrolet). They're asking 15.9k and it has 57k miles. I need to know if it has a timing belt or a timing chain and how reliable is the engine/transmission.
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Just picked my 2010 Subaru Forester up from getting an oil change. Drove about 3 miles. Car began smoking at a busy red light. Smoke in driver compartment and coming from engine compartment; oil light came on. Luckily, I was less than a block from my mechanic's garage and drove straight there. He said the oil filter "didn't seat" (did they put a little oil on the gasket??). At least 1/2 quart of oil leaked out after I stopped vehicle. What should I expect in terms of damage?
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I jumped in my car, started her up, and drove the 10 miles or so to meet up with her on the other side of town. And hour and a half later, I jumped back in my car and tried to turn her over....and nothing happened. I got the normal lights on the dash but no sounds at all - not even the usual "click".
I tried a couple more times before I went back inside and retrieved my brother-in-law, who is a retired truck mechanic, and asked him to take a look at it. He found nothing wrong and even he couldn't get it to start up.
I finally relented and called AAA to tow me to my fav mechanic. Before the dispatcher sent someone out, she offered to run through some troubleshooting stuff with me. She tells me, "Jump in, make sure the car is in park and your foot is on the brake, and give it one more try." And guess what? YES! THE CAR STARTED! It wasn't the normal start - it was silent for about three seconds before it finally roared to life - but at least it started.
So, I rush to my mechanic's place and ask them to give it a check over and make sure everything is okay. (I'm heading up to the high desert tomorrow and don't want to get stuck out there.) They came back a couple hours later saying everything looked fine - the battery, starter, and alternator were all fine. The advised me to keep an eye on it and come back when it "finally dies".
In the past year, I've replaced the fuel pump, battery, tie rods, and a boot. The alternator was replaced about 5 years ago and I've never had the starter worked on.
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I have a 2004 Subaru Forester xs and the a/c goes out intermittently. I was told I need a new compressor clutch and that the whole compressor assembly will have to be replaced. I contacted another mechanic and he said that he would fix just the clutch but I should replace the whole thing. So, what do I HAVE to do? Are these prices in line? Can I get used parts or discounted parts?
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I have an '06 Forester XT 2.5 turbo that has, what I can only describe as a stumble around 2500 rpm. The car's maintenance is always up-to-date, and never has anything under 91 octane run in it.This started out when you had the cruise set and now does it all the time whether or not the cruise is used. I've had it to 2 shops including a Subaru dealer that had it for a month and couldn't find the issue. We've been through injectors, coils, maf sensor, etc. to no avail. The trouble code that we're given is a misfire in cylinder 1. We discovered, while trying to find the issue, that there was only 30psi in that #1 cylinder and the valve guides were the issue. So the motor was pulled, heads planed, etc. and new guides installed. Also, put in a new timing belt, and so on, that is usually done when the motor is out.They have done a leak down test and compression tests as well. This is my wife's car and she absolutely love it, so I need to get this figured out.
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I just bought this car for my daughter. It's in very good shape; runs like a top. But the gas mileage is a lousy 20 mpg. All of my trips are local (no stop and go stuff as we live in the country). A buddy of mine with the same car and similar driving habits says she gets 25-28 mpg. So far I have changed the oil, oil filter and air filter.This can't be the best I can expect, can it?!
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At 56,000+ miles on my 2006 Forester, I was horribly shocked to learn while having 60,000 maintenance done that my head gasket was leaking. inclusive of timing belt replacement required. I have read some discussions in this vein, but none regarding a car with this few miles on it. It does not seem right. I have had other issues with this car, my 2nd forester. I do not know what I should do.
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I have a 2015 forester & the seats are not wide enough so my right leg rests on the front corner of the seat & after driving 70 miles my legs & back are hurting. I think the outback has seats 2 inches wider , that could work.
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Sometimes when the AC is on automatic control it will kick out of auto control into manual control and the fan will speed up. All this happens without touching anything. Dealer said it's working fine.
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I have a 2003 Forester that has low air flow thru the vents if you try to use the AC or heater.
If you turn the speed from 1-4 you can hear the blower fan turning faster but the air coming out of the vents is very low. YOu can hardly feel it. I checked to see if there was a cabin filter and there was none.
Even though you can barely feel the air coming out, when on AC the air feels cold and when on heat it feels hot.
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Sometimes the Subaru standard transmission just does not want to go into reverse. I don't see a pattern here, but when it happens I have to double clutch it, or hold the clutch peddle down and move from first to reverse.
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