Subaru - Forester :: 2003 - Wheels Seized Up / Couldn't Pull Forwards Or Back
Sep 24, 2014
I have a 2003 Subaru Forester, manual transmission, about 117k.Three weeks ago I go to back up and the car feels like the wheels have seized up, wasn't able to budge an inch. I couldn't pull forwards or back. Called the tow truck, brought it to the mechanic and the next day they call and said the rear brakes are almost metal to metal, and that the e-brake pad needs to be replaced as well. So I have that work done and a couple days later the same thing happens. I go to the store and when I go to leave I couldn't pull forward or back. It felt like the brakes were engaged and if I were to give it too much gas something would break.
Called the tow truck again to have it brought back to the mechanic, but this time I couldn't wait to meet the tow there, so I just left the key with the mechanic (mechanic was only a couple blocks from where I was stuck). The next day the mechanic calls to say that the tow truck driver didn't have any problem pulling the car onto the tow, and they didn't have any problem pulling the car into the garage. They put it on the lift and took a look, but couldn't see anything wrong with it.I drove it to work and back the next two days and then it happens again. I try to go in reverse and the wheels have seized up. Went back to the car about an hour later and there was no issue. Drove it a couple more days without a problem, then it happened again this evening. This time it begrudgingly pulled forward a couple feet then stopped. Left it there for about an hour, came back and was able to drive it away without issue. When it seized up I couldn't even push it while in neutral.
What could be causing my car to not want to pull forward or back like this?
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I have a 2001 Subaru Forester which has 165K miles. I had the timing belt changed at 105K per maintenance recommendations. I had the car in for service recently for brake pads, etc., and the dealer recommended replacing the drive belt for the AC.. which I did. 100 miles after this service, the car broke down unexpectedly. The dealer told us the AC compressor seized up... and this caused the drive belt to get caught on it and be shredded ... and with that, the sudden resistance from the drive belt on the crankshaft pulley caused the timing belt to slip out of sync and damage the interference design engine. Can that really happen? I surprised that this happened a few days after replacing a drive belt and wondered if somehow the service work done with the drive belt could have caused the problem. The dealer states the service work did not cause the problem. Is my recent service and damaged engine a coincidence as the dealer said or are they related?
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2003 Subaru Forester with 130,000 miles. We put new tires on two months ago and when I started hearing the wah, wah, wah noise coming from the back of the car (rhythmic - increases with speed of car) I assumed on of the new tires was bad. It isn't. Also pulled the brake drums and cleaned everything there up.... What this might be?
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My 79 year old father put fuel additive in his 2010 Chevy Impala. Don't ask me how much, or for how long... The Check Engine light came on. I never got a clear answer from him on what his mechanic said about it. Five to Ten fill ups later the Check Engine light went out on its own. Engine seems fine. Could this have caused damage to the engine or emissions controls? Would a computer diagnostic from a mechanic pinpoint any problems? Would you recommend a computer diagnostic be performed?
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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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I have a 2003 Subaru forester w/ 148k and manual transmission. Recently I have notice two new symptoms, but am not sure if they are connected. First is some bluish exhaust just at startup. Second is a wining sound out of the front of the engine. It fluctuates in time with the rpm. When I pop the hood it sounds like it may by coming from the generator or AC unit which has a wired red powdery substance on it. The wining seem worse for the first 1/2 hr of driving.
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I recently bought an automatic 2003 Subaru Forester 2.5x. Great car but....... There is an intermittent problem with the automatic shift stick. It locks "Parking" mode. When I put the key in and put my foot on the brake, The dash lights up, radio turns on everything is alight but the car won't start. It locks "Parking" mode. I am forced to over ride the lock system by inserting a key into the slot on the right hand side of the stick, putting it into neutral then I can start the car. Its been to the garage three times and is scheduled for a forth visit. Because its an intermittent problem that never happens when they have it in the garage they are having a devil of a time sorting out the problem.
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I have a 2003 Subaru Forester with 44,000 miles. How will I know when to replace the timing belt? Is it more a question of miles or age?
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2003 Subaru Forester automatic non-turbo. Vehicle stalls out at long red lights. No sputter, shudder, or warning. Idle just drops to zero. May happen twice in one day or once in two or three months. No rhyme or reason. Runs great otherwise. No drivability issues until I am stopped. I replaced the idle air control (IAC) solenoid valve last week and thought I cured the problem. But the vehicle cut out on my wife while she was stopped, waiting to yield into traffic this evening.
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I have a 2003 Subaru Forester. It will cool just fine while not moving. It will also cool just fine if I'm coasting down a hill with my foot off the gas. However, on the highway I have intermittent cooling. It cools for 10-15 seconds and then it blows what feels like straight vent for 10-15 seconds. It has a new compressor, receiver/dryer, and expansion valve and is fully charged.
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With the very cold weather I'm having problems getting my car to start again after it's been running a while--starts okay initially no matter the temp, run it for ~15 minutes then go to my first work stop. One hour later sitting outside in 0F and I can't get it to start, won't turn over. Just got a new battery, had the spark plugs/starter/fuel line checked "looks okay". Starts after it gets really cold again, needs to sit out for a few hours in the single or negative digits. Dealer is 100 miles away and I have not been happy with the service there.
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I have an '03 Subaru Forester and my mechanic recently replace the rear wheel bearings and seals. Afterward, I noticed a high pitch squeak from the rear right wheel at slow speeds. I brought it back for my next oil change and had them look at it. I watched them take off the wheel and brake drum. He hand-turned the wheel mount and it made the squeak sound from the bearing. Then he said that it's no big deal and put it all back together.
So, is it really not an issue? I'd rather not have noises coming from something brand new, but I also like my mechanic and don't want to make him do a lot of extra work if this thing is just going to go away on it's own.
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The other day my 2003 Subaru Forester was getting its oil changed and when it was done the mechanic informed me that my struts were leaking and needed to be replaced. He didn't seem to think it was urgent or anything. He mentioned something about roll overs and the wearing of the tires, but I'm not entirely sure what this means for the car. It has 140K on it, and I drive it a lot on the high way. I'm also planning to go on a trip in Mid July that's about a thousand mile drive. So, how soon should this be done? What do leaking struts mean for a car?
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Engine will start and run but will miss in a pull and die sometimes but will start back, we hooked it to a scanner and it said (intake wiring) it wasn't a dealer hook up just a gas station garage, we have already done plugs and wires.
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I have a 2003 Forester, recently noticed the front brakes locking up, especially on hot days. Completely immobilized car, to get going again I would have to wait for them to cool and/or cool them with water if pads smoking from trying to drive with brakes engaged, and tap on calipers and master cylinder to allow pads to release. Problem got worse as it got hotter out, due to job I rarely drive car and didn't get in for service yet. Last time pads burned a whole lot and braking felt odd (less pressure and uneven like rotors were messed up or pads burned up).
Took it into brake place, they had never seen before. When they inspected, discs were in bad shape with one cracked, but I don't think that was original problem, just caused by driving with them hot. Shop at first said fluid seemed clean but I left and later they said it was contaminated but I don't trust them. Shop solution is replace everything: calipers, pads, hoses, flush system, and replace ABS (the most expensive part I am hoping isn't actually necessary). I don't trust shop for several reasons including because they admitted having never seen this and seemed content to take maximum amount of money just to replace everything without knowing what actual problem was.
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When the weather gets really cold (below 30) I intermittently smell a gas/exhaust smell in the cabin but also on the exterior. I have on two occasions had my mechanic check this and each time he has replaced an "old and cracked" hose.
He has to use the smoke tracer to find where it is leaking and replacing hose. On both occasions he urged me to make the repair immediately as it could be extremely dangerous. (Makes sense if I am smelling gas.)
I am wondering if this could be an exhaust/heating system problem. The car is 11 years old with 120K miles and I want to keep it running a few more years. I am due for front brakes and new tires soon...
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I jacked up both front wheels and I can't move them at all. I was able to get the car into neutral and still they won't move. emergency brake off as well (even though that only stops the rear wheel) Could the disc brakes be too tight or could they just be on all the time somehow? I had noticed that when driving, it felt like the brakes were on. This feeling was especially evident when taking my foot off the gas pedal to glide on flat ground, and the car would slow down faster than I thought it should. Also notice a huge drop in MPGs. I know the car is FWD, so maybe there is supposed to be resistance but I can barely get either wheel to turn more than an inch or two.
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I bought my 2003 Forester a year ago from a friend with 90,000. I love this car, I put a new timing belt on it and off we went. The car worked fantastically from January to August 2011. One night I was driving to watch a show and rather then shifting into gear, it jolted. Pulled over, checked fluids and so on, car worked normally for a while. It started doing this more frequently. It has a hard time shifting into 2nd and when it does, (at about 40MPH) it jolts and same thing for third and so on. I took it to my mechanic but it never misbehaved for him sop I took it back and drove some more and dropped it off at a transmission shops. They get it to do what it does, ran many tests, decided it was the throttle sensor, replaced it, car worked great for two weeks and then reverted back to this behavior. Took it in again three times but they can't seem to figure it out. Anyway, I have taken the car to five different mechanics and no one can quite figure it out. So my car, the Diva, as I like to refer to her, continues to jolt to shift gears. If I put it into reverse it will shift normally until I stop again or slow way down. I am stumped and sad because I love my car. It now has 101,000 and I want it to be kind to me.
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My car is hesitating when I shift and accelerate, and revving up the tach after I shift into 5th but the speed doesn't match.Also, in order to start the car I have to press the clutch practically all the way to the floor.
It has 53,000 miles on it. I took it to the dealer, and they said I need the clutch and possibly flywheel replaced.
This seems low mileage to me. I have driven a stick for over 31 years. My previous car was a Honda CRXsi and it was over 110,000 miles before I needed a new clutch.
Is a clutch replacement this early normal for this car? Or is it me? I don't think I ride the clutch.
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I have a 2003 Subaru Forester with 240K miles on it. When I start the engine in the morning, there's a squealing noise under the hood that lasts for a few seconds. (Usually goes away as soon as I pop the hood and look at the engine.) I think it's one of three things: AC compressor, alternator, or power steering pump, but I haven't been able to isolate the noise to one of the three. I don't want to wind up replacing all three.
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I have a 10 year old 2003 Subaru Forester in "very good" condition....except that the transfer clutch assembly is starting to make noise and the repair shop (at the dealer) says, housing has to be replaced also. The car has 130K miles and has had all its regular maintenance for 10 years. The only major mechanical problem we've had are the head gaskets (which on this year's model were NOT part of the recall). Those were fixed 2 years ago. Some of what I see in the online chatter about transfer clutches suggests that this is a slippery slope and the next thing you know there's the "next thing" that needs to be worked on. We were hoping that the 2014 Forester would get really good mileage (this one got 30 when it was younger) but we hear it will only be 32 mpg so we're inclined to "keep waiting" if this car can be kept happy. Is a transfer clutch repair a big deal?
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