2001 Forester S - Need a Kick down please

1540 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Amber Foresty, Mar 18, 2014

Real Life

Discussion Starter · Mar 11, 2014

I have been getting horrid gas milage. for sure under 20 miles to the gallon. Im burning a quarter tank almost in about 30 miles of city driving. 4 miles here 2.5 miles there maybe 8 again an back to 2.5 or so. By then I have almost killed a quarter tank. it is seriously a problem. I have read many threads an feel like it is the O2 Sensor which I havent changed ever an had the car about 2 years now... well I dont have much money as I can't find a job right now an I need this car to get me to an fro till i get one. I looked up O2 Sensors an they are about $100 bucks which is about all I have for the time being. I just cant do that as I need it for gas... lol

Is there anyone who has done a routine change of there O2 Sensor jus because they want a tip top car that can kick me down an old used one that might have a few more miles left on it. Please. This is a tough thing to deal with in my current situation and it would be a great help.

Are there any other serious loss of MPG key items like the O2 Sensor i should look at?

Many Thanks and Blessings to all you Subaru Forester Owners. I love mine, thing is built like a tank.... 250,000 + miles an still running strong.

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Real Life

Discussion Starter · #2 · Mar 17, 2014

Well thanks for at least reading my post. But i honestly cant afford to replace this im going to try to torch it an knock loose any build up an see if that helps other wise i have no choice but to just park it. might end up selling it to help with my money issue and use a friends car for a bit. Anyone out there please if you have an O2 Sensor i need it bad.

I drove to the store today (2.5 miles) and it took an entire segment off the fuel gauge. One line to the next. Then another back home. Im getting about 20-30 miles per quarter tank.

Feel free to PM.
Bryan-

Sitting at idle the gas seems to burn slow or normal still, let it idle for almost an hour an the gauge didn't even move. Is the oxygen sensor the only thing that would cause this fuel burning catastrophe?

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pleiad7

· #3 · Mar 17, 2014

Real Life said:
Im burning a quarter tank almost in about 30 miles of city driving. 4 miles here 2.5 miles there maybe 8 again an back to 2.5 or so.

There's your problem... lots of short trips and stop-and-go type traffic will kill mileage on any car. It's tough on the engine; in the cold season it's probably never reaching full operating temperature under those conditions, which will lead to other problems like carbon deposits, fuel dilution in the oil, etc. Throw winter gasoline into the mix, and bad mileage is pretty much assured. Try throwing in some extended highway trips and you will notice an improvement. You may also want to apply some Seafoam or similar engine cleaner from time to time.

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Amber Foresty

· #4 · Mar 18, 2014

Oh hahaha I feel your pain. Filling up my Forester was always ludicrously expensive, especially because I had to fill it up so OFTEN. :shrug: But any car with a lot of miles, dunno how many yours has, has a lot of worn out parts (the faulty O2 sensor was just one of many problems I had as well), so... Also, like pleiad7 said, winter gasoline isn't exactly awesome. When was the last time you did an oil change? I think that helped me slightly when I did mine, because the oil hadn't been changed in mooonths (it was black and horrible).

Uh... the rear diff on mine was screwed, but that maybe isn't your problem. But mostly it was just that the car was REALLY worn out and had not been taken care of too well in the past (we were the third owners). So just look at the maintenance history, because that could be a big thing.

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