My 2002 Subaru Forester is making this weird clicking noise and unlocking as I drive. It seems to get worse at night, and especially when turning left, or braking. My mechanic can't figure it out.
View 10 RepliesMy mechanic told me that the burning smell I've been getting in my '02 Forester when I'm idling is a leaking head gasket. It seems to be a slow oil leak. If I keep an eye on my oil level can I continue to drive the car without doing further damage or having to worry about breaking down?
View 4 Repliesmy girlfriend has a 2002 forester and it is making a very loud noise while driving, sounds like a helicopter coming from the front/right. when you let off the accelerator it changes pitch and sounds like more towards the middle...checked for axle play or anything rubbing and things look ok...very confused, i'm a former VW tech and i've never heard this noise before
View 7 RepliesMy son has a 2001 Subaru Forester that has a 5 speed manual transmission (transaxle) that is leaking from the drive axles . The question is how difficult is it to change these seals?
View 2 RepliesI'm having a problem with my 2009 Subaru Forester.
When I start the car from "cold" (i.e., it hasn't run in several hours, regardless of the actual temperature), the automatic transmission cannot engage drive for several minutes. I can shift the car, and reverse functions normally. When shifting, I can feel the car engage reverse, and feel it shift into neutral, but when I shift from neutral to drive, I can't feel it engage. I can rev the engine, and it will just act as if it is still in neutral. I also cannot use sport mode to manually get the car into gear. After a few minutes (3-4), the car will engage drive. However, at least initially, it still seems to be pretty rough, with a few times where it will rev as if it's half in neutral, and then jump a little. Once it does get going, it settles down and is fine.
I took it to the dealer, but wasn't able to leave it over-night, so they couldn't get the problem to re-engage. They inspected the car, thought that the shift cable was a little stiff, so they took it off, lubed it, and put it back (they recommended replacement, but didn't have the part in stock). The next morning, the problem repeated itself, so it certainly appears that the cable is not the issue. The dealer checked the transmission fluid and said that was all fine.
I recently moved to Pittsburgh where I constantly use my parking brake from Rochester, NY where I rarely ever used it. After I've moved to Pittsburgh (7 months after I've owned this 2004 Subaru Forester). After I drive for a significant amount of time (30+ minutes) and come off the freeway and stop or even slow down, the cabin of the car has a distinct, but faint burning smell. I am wondering if this could be the parking brake rubbing just slightly and when I slow down the smell stays in the cabin or if it is possible that the brakes are smelling (or something entirely different). Keep in mind that the smell doesn't happen when I only take a short drive, which is often. And of course, no I haven't taken this into an auto mechanic yet.
View 9 RepliesI have a 2002 f150 4.6L triton. I've been having problems with it making a clicking noise. It only does it when its in gear. I put it in park or natural I hear nothing. But as soon as I put it in drive or reverse and put a little pressure on throttle it starts to tick pretty loudly.
View 4 RepliesOn my 2002 Subaru Forester (137,000 m), the check engine light came on. They diagnosed and repaired O2 sensor. About 300 miles later it came on again, this time they said the catalytic converter was cooked, and they blamed whatever caused the O2 sensor to fail (or the O2 sensor failure itself). After the repair (about $1300 and 30 miles later), I discovered that the engine oil was so low that it was not showing up on the dipstick (tho the oil light was not yet on). The shop (after admitting that they did not check the oil while it was in there) said it was related to catalytic converter failure. Does this make sense? I have only gone another 60 miles since the oil was refilled, but so far it looks OK. Should I be on the look-out for anything else?
View 16 RepliesEngine light came on two weeks ago. Had the code read at Advance Auto Parts. Code = P0420. The only performance issue was that it stalled when I started it the other day for the first time since I bought it last fall. Are there any other clues to tell what it could mean (catalytic converter vs. 02 sensor vs. anything else)? Is it really worth trying some kind of catalytic converter cleaner product?
View 1 RepliesI have a 2002 subaru forester that will stutter and backfire without throwing a code, but not all the time. i have had it hooked up to a computer to check the O2 sensors and they are fine, it has a new Throttle position sensor, knock sensor, plugs, and catalytic converters (all put on in the last month). I have called a dealership and they have not heard of this happening, so this is my last resort.
View 15 RepliesI've a 2002 Subaru Forester, manual transmission. The gear shifter is very loose. While in any gear, the shifter can move to anywhere. For example, when in second gear making a left turn, the gear shifter will flop to the right side near where third or fourth gear are. This doesn't change the gear of operation that the car is in. It just makes it a bit of a challenge to find where the gears are. Sometimes it is a challenge to find reverse.
We've had the shifter bushings replaced and that tightened things somewhat. But it is still very loose.
Mechanics have said that there is nothing wrong with the motion or the way the linkage operates the transmission. So the problem seems to be in the gear shifter.
Is this common on this car?Is it a sign of a bigger problem?What can be done about it?
Out of the blue, our Headlights and Parking Lights would not switch on. Checked the fuses--OK. Tested the Relays--OK. Tried a used switch from my mechanic--no change. In the course of doing that, the Parking Lights came on and would not turn off. Tried disconnecting battery, locking/unlocking with the remote and starting it with the remote--no effect. Had to remove lightswitch 20A fuse to turn the P-lights off. Signals still work ok--with either switch. The car does have a HarmonKardon satellite radio which I've never used but have to turn off every time I start the car. I believe it has some sort of security system which annoyingly flashes a red button which sticks out of the dash.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2002 Subaru Forester L with 178,000 miles on it. I just had the valves adjusted. I have replaced the coil pack, #2 injector, plugs, wires, and throttle position sensor. I have also cleaned the idle air controller. The car only shows sign of a miss when it idles. It gets great gas mileage otherwise. I am at a loss on what to do next as the car doesn't have a MAF sensor, I can't do anything with it.
View 19 RepliesI have an 02 Forester that has 413,000 miles. It needs appox 2 qts of oil @ 4500 mile intervals. Is that too much? Is it going to start needing more oil sooner? I guess I am asking if the end is near?
View 19 RepliesMy Forester was dead one morning and when I went to jump it off my pick-up in a hurry I did the age old palm to forehead and didn't pay close attention to the posts on my pick-up battery. Crossed the posts.So I began working through the common known issues.Replaced the main fuse. Didn't Start.Replaced the battery. Started... Car shut off while driving. Did not sputter out, simply cut out like turning the key off.Started right back up.Positive battery cable was loose. Replaced it.Grounds are good.Alternator output is good.So here are some more details on the car shutting off.
This last time as I was coming home from the store and the car shut off on the main road through town. I had enough momentum to get off to the side of the road. I tried to start it and it would turn over. Normal turn over sound but the car wouldn't start. I took a minute to check other electrical things in the car with key in the "on" position. Radio worked. Dome/interior lights worked. But then I noticed something strange. None of the dash lights came on (Car is not started but key is in "on" position). The windows did not work either.It started after about 5 minutes time and I made it home, forgot to roll the windows back up. Turned key to "on" again and couldn't roll the windows up. Got out of the car and came back after about 5 minutes, turned key to "on" and the dash lights came on the windows rolled up.
My subaru forester, 2002, with low mileage (40K) had routine maintenance 2 mos ago. Now sounds like it revs when in idle, and today began hesitating when I accelerate (a few seconds or so). I plan to take it in but wonder if there's insight before I go in cold (I know nothing about cars). Read on forums could be 02 sensor.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2002 Forester I have take it to 4 shops and each shop tells me something different. First 2 say to take it to the dealer and have them flash the computer. The dealer says that it is a faulty drain valve and the fourth states he has never heard of a drain valve. Hook up to a scanner and can not clear light. Unhooked battery for 30 minutes light was off for a minute but came back on. Getting extremely frustrated!
View 11 RepliesMy car is about 140K miles. It is a 2002 Subaru Forester. For about one month now, my car has this loud metal grinding sound from the rear of the car when I try to climb a pretty big hill. (The grinding sound is rhythmic, it is more like Click Click Click, but loud and metallic). After the climbing, the noise will slowly goes away. The noise never more than 10-15 seconds. The car functioned normally during all other driving but climbing this big hill. ( which I need go to through it at least 3 times a week). What could cause this?
View 2 Replies2002 Subaru Forester I took my car to the Auto Zone to read a check engine code. It came back as being a "knock sensor". Besides that I needed a battery, and when the guy was putting it in he said my engine was moving too much and that I probably needed motor mounts.
I was looking at a discussion back in 2010 and the Subaru specialist told the person needing motor mounts is rare for a Subaru, is that true? I'm taking it to a mechanic, what should I expect? how many motor mounts does a subaru have?
I have about 200k on my forester. Friday when I was leaving work I cranked it up and it made a loud knocking sort of sound. I drove it home (about 15 miles) and on the way the sound lessened. It was louder when the car was idling but she made it home ok. Next day, started the car and it happened again. Not more than 50 feet up the road we stopped at a stop sign and it sounded like a semi was starting up around the corner. Much to my dismay it was not a semi but my own car. Engine shut off. We pushed it back to the house and tried to check it out the next day. This time, we started it, didn't go anywhere, and within 30 seconds it turned off. Same loud knocking sort of sound. The confusing part is that all of this happened within two days. There was no gentle sound leading up to it for a few weeks or even a few days. Knocked on Friday, shut off on Saturday. What could be going on?
View 19 RepliesI have a 2006 Subaru Forester with a little over 119,000 miles.
For the past several weeks, maybe a month, it has been making a weird noise... it comes from the 'engine' area... my husband thinks it might be a belt or something. Sometimes there is a burning smell, especially if we're on a long trip, going uphill... but the smell isn't always.
The sound sounds like... a remote control car that you push with your hands, instead of using the remote control. So it's kind of like a winding/whining sound... the sound happens when it is in park, and drive, whether I'm driving or at a stop.