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4th Gen - Things you wished you knew about your forester before you purchased it

32K views 83 replies 36 participants last post by  neall_v 
#1 ·
I may be in the market for a new current generation forester (non-XT). I was wondering, what are some of the things that you found out about the current generation forester that you wished you knew about before your purchased it?

For example, i recently heard (correctly or incorrectly) that the XV requires synthetic oil. I would not have expected that.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
There is more than enough information out there to not be surprised by anything you might encounter. The current model has been out for two years; it's a known quantity and many of us talk about it incessantly.

It just takes research and some hands-on time. Do you have anything particular in mind?
 
#4 ·
Yeah, the current non-XT Forester also requires synthetic oil.

The biggest thing I wish I knew before buying my base 2014 2.5i manual is that it totally would have been worth stepping up to the 2.5i Premium manual but the way Subaru specs the Premium is very confusing.

See, the Premium gets alloy wheels, tinted windows, power seats, reclining rear seats, more speakers, better stereo, rear view camera, etc.

If you get it with a CVT you get a panoramic sunroof.

However, if you get it with a manual you get the All Weather package with heated seats, heated mirrors and windshield wiper de-icer instead of the sunroof.

So, at the end of the day I would much rather have a 2.5i Premium manual than the base 2.5i I ended up with, all because I didn't think it was possible to get heated seats with a manual transmission.
 
#5 ·
I wish I had known the moon roof does not tilt up in a vent position. It would have saved me 20 minutes trying to figure out why it only open and not tilt up.

At least now I have an excuse to ride with it fully open more often. :banana:
 
#8 ·
For me, the biggest surprise was rusting issues. Had I known that my Subaru would rust so fast and so much, I would spend a little extra money for an aftermarket rustproofing.
Also, I get annoyed by hill start assist (I have a manual). Did not feel that way, when I test drove it.
Also, carpet. My dogs' fur is part of the carpet forever. Never have I seen such a cheap carpet in a modern car.
Sorry, my car is 2012, so applies to the previous generation.
 
#9 ·
I did months of research, I was familiar with the brand and I was buying 2nd years model so I thought that I knew it all...
But I still missed (at least) 2 things:
1) Cost of regular maintenance surprised me considering Subaru's value brand reputation. From what I see, 1st service is like $200+ dollars at the dealer. I know, many will say do it on you own or find good independent but that is different topic. It is not deal breaker, I still plan to do 3000 miles or 6 months. It ironic that I was convincing my wife against BMW citing higher maintenance cost down the road and they offer free maintaince for few years :)
2) This is not only for Forester but for Subaru in general. Dealers and their service department really don't care, and I was reading relatively good reviews for dealers in my area. They are probably doing good right now, and they show it. After placing my order, I was surprised that they didn't look interested in my business even when it was obvious that I didn't care that much about final price and I was ready to spend more money on specific accessories.
I called my dealer's service department over 2 issues (one being hard start). They were "busy" both times and took my info to call me back but they never did. I don't have time to go after them but I will schedule my 1st service and address it then.
 
#10 ·
.2) This is not only for Forester but for Subaru in general. Dealers and their service department really don't care, and I was reading relatively good reviews for dealers in my area. They are probably doing good right now, and they show it. After placing my order, I was surprised that they didn't look interested in my business even when it was obvious that I didn't care that much about final price and I was ready to spend more money on specific accessories.
I called my dealer's service department over 2 issues (one being hard start). They were "busy" both times and took my info to call me back but they never did. I don't have time to go after them but I will schedule my 1st service and address it then.
WOW, I am surprised. Not. Other brands' dealers are no better. There are a few decent Subaru dealers. I like some (very few), but hate others.
 
#12 ·
The biggest 'surprise' to me was that the XT Premium cars given to media for test drives and reported on widely in lots of publications were actually 'frankenstein' versions. i.e. a normal XT Premium does not have climate control or nav, but every single photo/video online (aside from cars101) show them as having it. This was a huge disappointment to me since I ordered an XT Premium without seeing one locally - no one has them in stock around here.

So I do blame Subaru for a bit of deceptive practices. In the three months between placing my order and taking delivery, I did discover all the details and knew exactly what I was getting, with many times having a though of switching to a Touring which does have these features (actually I just wanted the climate control). Decided to stick with Premium, but this experience left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
 
#13 ·
I wish I knew more about the CVT transmission and it's behaviors especially on semi-cold mornings. It has a tendency to bog down like a carbureted engine when the car is still warming up or until the blue dash light goes out. I also wish I had taken it out to freeway traffic and tried to pass someone as if I was overtaking on a two lane highway road. Had I done that, I would be in an XT without a doubt.

Test drive ALL variations, and do your research.
 
#15 ·
The torque converter is programmed not to lock up until the transmission oil reaches a certain temperature, so that the car is more efficient overall. This makes the car feel sluggish until that temperature is reached.

Now we've left freezing temperatures behind here in the UK, the car warms up much more quickly.
 
#14 ·
When I opened the hood of my new 2015 Premier Forester to check that everything was OK, I looked at the windshield washer tank, brake fluid tank, oil level, and ..........where's the power steering fluid tank? I also have a 2011 Premier and see the power steering tank to the left of the air conditioner unit. No tank in the 2015. I planned to ask at the dealership on my next trip to town, but looked power steering up in the manual first. There is no tank, it's electric now. Next I have to find the dip stick for the transmission fluid.
 
#16 ·
Pretty much all new cars with modern engines will call for synthetic oil. Note that I say "call for" and not "require". Technically, any old oil will be fine, but you'll suffer in terms of oil change interval and fuel consumption.

I.e., if you want to use a conventional oil, you will want to step from 0w20 to 5w30, and down to 3500 mile / 5000 km OCI from 6000-7000 mile.

**ALL** Subaru vehicles call for synthetic.
I think all Toyota vehicles also do, I know for sure my TACOMA PICKUP does, and its a cast iron block 4-cyl. The part that is really telling about the oil requirements, is that when they first STARTED shipping this particular engine, it called for 5w30, but they changed it in, I think 2009. Mine is MY2011. No changes to the engine at all, just calling for a different oil for fuel consumption / emissions purposes.
 
#21 ·
Squeaks and rattles is what comes to mind.

I may be a little more anal than most, but I refuse to accept squeaks and rattles on a $25k+ new car. I fixed some on my own, and had the dealer address the rest.

My last two cars were an Xterra and a Tacoma, each with 100k+ miles on them, and didn't require much more than a little felt tape in the dash. The Forester has had its headboard, defrost vent cover, MFD, dash speaker grills, A-pillar covers, and rear passenger-side cargo panel taken down and insulated.

That's a lot for a car with less than 25k miles on it.

I'm also finding out that, at least according to my alignment shop, that there is "no adjustment whatsoever in the rear." Just put $900 worth of tires on it, and I'm being told to expect uneven wear. Still trying to get to the bottom of that...

Surprisingly, despite all that, I'm happy with my purchase. Did I mention I'm anal?
 
#27 ·
east according to my alignment shop, that there is "no adjustment whatsoever in the rear." Just put $900 worth of tires on it, and I'm being told to expect uneven wear. Still trying to get to the bottom of that...
There is toe adjustment in the rear. Make sure it's at 0 for best tire wear. Other than that just rotate your tires, I see no reason for uneven wear.
 
#28 ·
I think the degraded ride quality over the SH was for me what I wish I knew. The ride and handling of the SH was much better (lower grav, hydraulic steering, low torque). I knew it; but I didn't know I'd still be bugged by it 2 years in. There's a lot I like about the SJ, the interior quality is miles above the SH; the seats while not comfortable can now be moved far enough back that I'm not cramped; the low end stereo is a huge step up over the low end stereo/speakers of the SH. But it's not a comfortable ride; it's not particularly fun; and doesn't feel particularly stable to me (relative to SH).
 
#29 ·
I wish I knew that my commute would go from 50 miles roundtrip (before getting on a vanpool) to 10 miles round trip (longer vanpool), as that may have been enough to justify getting an XT. I couldn't justify the additional cost (premium, original cost) when driving 90+% interstate while commuting to work.

The N/A still has plenty of power for everything I "need" it to do, even in the mountains, just would be more fun with an XT around town, although, then my wife would probably drive it more and I would be stuck with her car.
 
#37 ·
Thank you all so much for all these replies. These are exactly the sort of things i was looking for. I am surprised by the rust issue. The high maintenance costs is good to know.

Does the interior ride have that many rattles? that would bug me.

Are there any known issues with this generation's engine, CVT, AWD system, or anything else?

Btw, many of you speak of the XT. I know reliability is supposed to be pretty good with the N/A engine. I thought the turbo 4 is supposed to be not as good. Are they a problem?
 
#38 · (Edited)
The high maintenance costs is good to know.
It's more than a Civic, but no more than I used to pay for my Ford or Fiat in the UK. The bigger hassle is having to get the oil changed twice a year, rather than once.

Does the interior ride have that many rattles? that would bug me.
People keep saying it does, but I've yet to notice any. Maybe it's because I have the stereo turned up to block out the noise from the studded tires :).

Are there any known issues with this generation's engine, CVT, AWD system, or anything else?
Up to the mid-late 2014s, the 2.5 engine could burn significant amounts of oil if you got a bad one. That's far less common on the 2015s, and only seems to have affected manual cars so far.

Only Subaru CVT failures I'm aware of are due to manufacturing faults (one), or people putting normal transmission fluid in there, instead of CVT fluid (two or three).

Btw, many of you speak of the XT. I know reliability is supposed to be pretty good with the N/A engine. I thought the turbo 4 is supposed to be not as good. Are they a problem?
The XT doesn't burn oil like some 2.5s, but there have been a few people finding significant amounts of fuel in the oil. There have also been several ECU firmware changes, and the perennial question of whether the turbo hoses are attached properly (see the long thread in the FA20DIT forum).

Things that mildly bug me:

1. The peculiar operation of the dashboard button for the power tailgate: it doesn't work unless you unlock driver and passenger doors first, even though the button on the key does. Just to make it more confusing, it does work if the passenger door is locked but you've previously used the button on the key to open it.
2. Having to manually lock the car with the key if you want to leave it locked with the engine running. Though our Civic is the same.
3. Doors don't auto-lock when you drive.
4. Erratic operation of the power tailgate. Some days it just doesn't feel like opening or closing, probably due to ice somewhere in the mechanism.
5. Lack of a coolant temperature display.
6. Highway fuel consumption. In the summer, we basically get 30-35 (Canadian) mpg everywhere, whether city or highway. We can get up to 40 on the highway, but only if we drive slow. Though, to be honest, I wouldn't be complaining about 35 on the highway if it only got 20 in town, so it's partly due to the impressive city fuel economy.
7. Having to use secret codes to get decent sound out of the stereo.
8. Having two different ways to set up Bluetooth to a phone, one of which doesn't actually work.
9. Speech interface doesn't understand an English accent. Or, at least, it doesn't understand mine.
 
#39 ·
The turbo engine is more complicated, but reliability reports have been good to date. Problems are few and far between. The engine is de-tuned vs. the JDM models and the WRX, so it shouldn't be too stressed. At said, it has only been out for a couple of years, so time will tell!

I've had rattles (very common for Subarus), but they were remedied easily.

The AWD is proven over several generations of vehicles but of course, there's more going on than a FWD system. It's probably the most compelling reason to get a Forester over other options.

The G1 CVT (used in the XT) has been used in cars since 2009. The G2 CVT (used in the 2.5i) showed up around 2012. It's similar in design, but packaged differently to fit in smaller vehicles. They both seem to hold up well. Reports of problems are rare.
 
#41 ·
It does depend a lot on temperature, and the amount of time idling at stop lights. In the colder parts of the winter, I was down around 20, for example.

(Also, while I don't remember the exact conversion, I believe my 30 Canadian is around 25 US mpg)
 
#45 ·
Two things that bug me, and I knew it when I bought it are:
1. The ride compared to my 2010 Forester is not nearly as smooth and is very bumpy
2. The seat is very short on the thighs.

Again I knew this and still bought it. I do like it and will be getting a comformax seat cushion and from what I hear, it adds some length to the seat and makes it more comfortable as well.

Also, after a long thought process as to whether have the dealer do my oil changes or doing it myself, I decided I will do it myself.
 
#52 ·
There have been some posters that owned both vehicles. Do a search. I haven't owned both (I own a 2.5i Forester, with CVT), but I have driven the Mazda. The 2.5 DI, 6 speed transmission version, is, IMO, a lot more fun and more responsive than the Forester, and it doesn't have a CVT, which is a big plus in my camp. On the other hand, the visibility in the Mazda out is poor, and good visibility is a real asset in the Forester. The poor visibility was a deal breaker when compared.

It's worth a test drive if you are looking for a more responsive engine than the 2.5i Forester, and a good step transmission, but don't want a turbo. The gas mileage is very similar, and you can get it either FWD or AWD. Seems to me the Mazda is a bit more expensive, similarly equipped.

EJ
 
#51 ·
That everything you touch seems to REQUIRE a tune :rolleyes: .....hmmm....oh crap....I just changed out the tires yesterday.....I forgot to get a tune.....I guess I will just have to tear down the engine now and rebuild to thwart the impending failure to come.........

I know the title is 4th gen....but it seems that requiring a tune for anything in a Subaru has no boundaries....
 
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