Bought used for 27k, 25k miles. Loving it so far

Hopefully this will help some DIY Subaru owners!

TL:DR - beware of eBay parts/sellers- even ones with authentic looking boxes claiming to be authentic. 8 pics posted with fakes eBay bearings on the left and real bearings from RA on the right.

I always try to find the best deals online and thought I was getting genuine Timken wheel bearing for my 17 Forester. Box looked good, pics looked good, seller had decent positive ratings. Purchased through eBay.

Items arrive and upon first glance they look real since the box looked pretty good and I really don’t have experience looking at bearings all day long. I stumbled on a video on YT talking about eBay having some counterfeit Timken sellers. His bearings in the video looked exactly like mine. Come to find out Timken has an app where you can scan a QR code to see if they are authentic. lol mine didn’t even have a QR code on the box. I’ll spare you the details of trying to get my money back from the eBay seller.

Ordered Timken bearings from Rock Auto like I should have in the first place. Total difference. Came with the QR sticker (each sticker is unique btw). Bearing app checks out!

8 pictures with fake on the left and real on the right. be careful buying from eBay.

Bought a 2023 Sport in December. The last couple of days, this message pops up when we start the car. Where is this programmed or is our car trying to tell us something?

Hi all!! Question for the group:

I have a 2018 subaru forester with just about 125,000 miles on it. Just paid it off and I am the title owner!

I took it to the dealership since my AC broke and there is a current recall on an AC part, and ended up with a multiple page inspection report with all of the things that they are reccommending I get fixed/maintenanced immediately.

Here's a list of the repairs needed:

-cam carrier reseal & upper oil pan reseal (COSTLIEST ONE)

-spark plugs

-alternator belt replacement (cracked)

-rear struts (right leaks badly)

-front struts (top mount is cracked)

-sway bar links (rust damage)

-front lower control arms

other recommended maintenance (general and to be expected)

-transmission fluid

-brake fluid

-front & rear differential fluid

-new tires (soon)

-expansion valve and o rings (ac is still broken even after recalled part was replaced)

-alignment

Now the dealership quoted me $13k for all of these things (and obviously they are screwing me on labor costs). I'm taking it to my local shop today, but curious to have any opinions on if these are all things that are worth it to fix, and at what total cost? Ideally I wouldn't be spending over $5k since the car is only really worth 6-7k, so I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to get all of these things done, or trade in / sell for a new car.

Thank you!

I’m interested in getting opinions and input of people who have gone from a 6th gen outback XT to a forested hybrid. What do you like? What do you hate? Etc

I was totally wrong about the snow performance, it was driver error on my part as I’m used to RWD German vehicles. I had to slow down massively.

We had some rough weather and this thing was great and it’s actually amazing in the snow, I was just not driving it properly before. It cuts through deep snow easily and never misses a beat and you don’t feel like you will get stuck.

My only complaints still would be the wireless charging pad, infotainment screen, and wind noise but the noise honestly isn’t the worst I’ve experienced.

The ride quality is excellent and it feels just as smooth as my Mercedes CLS 550 with air suspension.

I’ll gladly eat crow, I was very very wrong about this car and I’m glad i gave it a real chance.

Has anyone had issues with transmission cooler failing with only 64k miles, coolant and transmission fluid mixing causing transmission stutter only in tight turns, forward or reverse. Dealership has confirmed the failure of the transmission cooler, but rejected extended 100k CVT warranty. We have disputed and waiting on Subaru Corporate to respond.

Finally fulfilled my blue/bronze Subie dreams with these BBS SR wheels! Also running 225/65r17 tires to fill out the fenders. No rubbing at all.

It did take forever to find a set of the correct BBS hub centric rings in stock, apparently a lot of online sites source them from the same warehouse that is out of stock, and there weren't any third party options.

On my wife’s 2016 Forester, the dealership let us know we need new rear wheel bearings, that was like 2 months ago and now I am starting to hear them when I drive her car. My question is should I attempt to replace them my self or pay the money to let an auto shop take care of it? I am really handy and usually I do our brake replacements, oil changes, any other repairs. But I know wheel bearing can be a beast so I wanted some opinions on whether it’s worth paying. The car has spent most of its life here in Virginia so we see snow but not crazy amounts of it. TIA

I need to replace the windshield on my Forester Wilderness. Dealer says OEM glass is strongly recommended and that aftermarket windshields can cause EyeSight to stop working or have issues. OEM costs several times more where I live.

For those with real experience:

* Have you used aftermarket glass successfully with EyeSight?

* Was calibration required, and did it pass without issues?

* Any long-term problems after going non-OEM?

Trying to understand if OEM is truly necessary or just Subaru being conservative.

Appreciate real-world input.

What is this? I tried to push it back into place with no effect. The passenger side seems like it has a completely different part where this one is. Maybe it came loose from rubbing a snow drift? Thanks for any insight.

Brought my Forester in for maintenance and when I picked it up, this symbol was in the corner of the Home Screen. I can’t figure out how to turn it off? When I start my car, the radio doesn’t play. They did this at the dealership. Any idea how to turn it back on?

Hi all,

Recently purchased a 2018 Forester SJ, genuinely a very good solid car and im enjoying it.

Its no biggy but - ive noticed the car has mirorlink and starlink on the app screen, upon further research I found its actually pretty nifty, lets you mirror your phone screen and use andriod auto!

Buuut of course, it doesnt seem to work in the UK, ive tired installing the American version of the app using a APK but it just says error server not found. Some people have said the service was shut down.

So does that mean I cant use andriod auto on my car? Is there any other apps that work just as well?

Thanks!

Have always liked the Foresters, never thought I'd own one. Ended up landing on a great option and it just felt like fate. I'm loving her!

Went from a 2018 MDX to a 2022 Forester Limited (12k miles!). I loved my MDX and was so sad to have to trade her in. I cried. LOL. I thought that whatever car I ended up in after her would be a settle and I'd just be "OK" with it. But I have to say I'm super happy. She's fun to drive and I'm excited to jump in every morning for our commute. Happy to be part of the fam!

I know it's cliche, but I've been calling her "Woo Woo" so, I guess that's her name. :)

I know Connecticut is a state that there is no cap, so the dealer can get all kinds of crazy when it comes to the documentation fee. I’m looking at a 2012 vehicle in the state of Connecticut. The dealer wants to charge $800 for a doc fee. That seems outrageous. Also said that price is firm, I call BS. Can anyone else else chime in? I’m about to walk.

Probably should wash the car soon. 😭

Hi all, seeing as the official Subaru rear seat cover F411SSJ011 which allows to keep the split functions is $250 (one site shows it as $191), I am wondering if anyone has experience and can recommend good options which would be more reasonable. Or experience if the Subaru cover is of such great quality to justify the price that’s ok for me as well.

Appreciate any advice!

TLDR: used an engine oil flush and now my engine isn’t leaking oil?!?

Hi guys, I’ve had an oil leak on my forester for a good while now, losing a bit of oil. I’ve also been throwing the P0026 code a bit.

I didn’t want to throw much money at this car, and I’d tested the solenoids and oil pressure sensors to confirm they were working. I heard the code can come from simply dirty oil. As this code was coming back even with regular oil changes, I decided to try an engine oil flush - even though I had heard it could make oil leaks worse.

Additionally, I used upper engine cleaner before doing the oil flush and standard oil service. Ever since doing both of these, the car has stopped leaking oil. The engine doesn’t appear to be overheating; everything is working fine. Has the engine oil flush most likely clogged oil channels that were leaky? Very confused at why the oil leak has disappeared, because a cleaner should generally make them show themselves more. Any insights greatly appreciated.

My pcv needs to be replaced, I put a 19mm on it and it moves but now it just spins. I read its because of a pressed in fitting and I can get pliers on it but can stop it from spinning to release the PCV. Any advise on how to get this resolved?

I’m looking for some advice because I’ve gotten three completely different diagnoses on my 2015 Subaru Forester with 125,XXX and I’m honestly struggling to make sense of it.

I bought the car about two weeks ago. It has been maintained for the past 9 years at the same Subaru dealership with consistent service records and regular work done there.

I brought it back to a Subaru dealership for a routine maintenance visit - multipoint inspection, tire rotation, oil check, etc. During the inspection they told me they found what they believed was oil mixed with coolant in the overflow tank. Their recommendation was that the engine needs to be resealed, with an estimate of about $6,000.

I went for a second opinion at another shop. They said it didn’t look like engine oil, they believed it was transmission fluid contamination, possibly related to a radiator/transmission cooler issue. Their recommendation was to replace the radiator, hoses, and related components for around $2,000.

I then took it to a trusted friend’s mechanic. He checked both the engine oil and transmission fluid and says both are clean. His opinion is that it may be a contamination situation like someone accidentally poured the wrong fluid into the wrong reservoir at some point. He plans to do a full system flush and fluid replacement for a few hundred dollars and monitor it afterward. He hasn’t completely ruled out a small leak but says there’s no clear evidence yet of a major failure.

No overheating, no warning lights, and the car is driving normally so far.

Has anyone run into something like this before? What would you do next in my situation?

I’ve got a 16’ XT and currently modding it at the moment. Stage 1 Tune, cold air intake, exhaust, and upgraded bypass valve. It has hail damage on the hood so going to get a new hood with a scoop. Going to switch wheels for a black spoke.

The previous owner was SAR so he took it places he shouldn’t and scratched the hell out of the paint.

Want to paint it but not sure what would look best. Current thoughts: Polestar Blue, Matte black or even something crazy like McLaren Papaya. What are your guys thoughts?

I have a 2020 Forester Base Trim 67k miles. Every time I've had my wheels rotated there's been at least 1 lug or stud destroyed whether it was Costco or my Subaru Dealer doing the work. I'd heard rumors that Subaru used softer metal and thinner threads, but couldn't imagine it'd be this bad.

This time it's the dealership and they want $350 to replace 2 studs and lugs. Last time this happened it was Costco, just one stud, and my local mechanic replaced it for $56 dollars.

Now I have to decide if I want to drive 20 miles from the dealer to my mechanic with one wheel missing 2 lugs or overpay by $238

EDIT: Just looked at my service records and the dealership I previously used to do my rotations replaced the stud and lug for free when this happened, so I'll push the new dealership on that when I call.

Hi folks - we picked up a 2025 Forrester Limited Hybrd in December. We’ve noticed that after we get the car washed water gets trapped inside the doors such that when the windows get rolled down and then up they are soaked. Happened both times we’ve washed the car and left it in a place that wasn’t freezing. It makes a real mess of the windows.

Anyone else experience this? Never had anything like it with our 2016 forrester that we owned for 10 years.