Faults:

I got less than 35k miles out of the OEM tires.

I have had a rear wheel bearing go bad at 97k miles.

Check Engine light has come on 3 times since I owned it. Once for a bad sensor. Two times I was told it was a loose gas cap. The cap was tight.

General Comments:

I have been very pleased with the overall performance of this car so far. In reading some of the bad reviews from this site, I would have expected a lot more problems than I have seen.

I have kept up with the scheduled maintenance and so far have had only a few problems. Nothing unexpected with over 100k miles on the car. I am hoping to get another 100k out of it.

My last car, 1988 Mazda 626, had 170k miles when I go gave it to a relative. They drove it for 2 years before selling it. I had to replace an alternator and a transmission on this car. The trans was at 94k miles at a cost of $2,400.00 (1994 pricing). So only having one wheel bearing go on the Forester is not so bad.

Faults:

Wheel bearings went out at 4 times between 30,000 and 90,000.

General Comments:

Very dependable car, except for the wheel bearing problem. We will never purchase another Subaru.

Faults:

Tyres 120,000.

Self levelling suspension Strut 125,000.

Water Pump 140,000.

Major Electrical fault 160,000.

New radiator Cap 180,000.

Rear Break Shoes 200,000.

Self Levelling Suspension Strut 205,000.

Cam Belt Tensioner 215,000.

Front Brake Shoes 220,000.

Wheel Bearing Rear RH 225,000.

Tyres 230,000.

Clutch 240,000.

Cam Angle Sensor 245,000.

General Comments:

Great Car, Good on road handling a bit underpowered (XT would be better) but cheap to run, tyres seem to last well. Off road also very good for light stuff, but limited wheel travel & ground clearance means you might have to take a slightly different line than your mate in a big 4x4 for any real heavy work, great on the sand! (don’t go off road without a metal sump plate).

Although the car seems very solid I’ve had my share of expensive repairs & should have sold it yrs ago, but have just put in a clutch, Tyres & lift kit.

I would buy another Forester, I’ve looked at other Soft Roaders & other than the Freelander (which seems even more unreliable than my Forester) nothing comes close.

I've got a few friends with Foresters & mine is the most unreliable, but also at 245,000ks the highest in kilometerage. For driving to work, Towing the boat, extended camping trips it's a great car!

Faults:

Poor paint quality was the first thing I noticed.

Poor tire wear quality even after appropriate rotations, balancing and alignments.

Check engine light constant until I had to change a block sensor in the gas tank. Nobody except Subaru knew what that was, but was a very high-priced item.

Road noises coming from rear after speed balance and rotation. Turns out wheel bearing needs to be replaced at 57,000 miles. Seems I'm the lucky one compared to other posts.

Brakes wear out faster than any car I've ever driven. This is another high-priced item.

General Comments:

I drove a Honda Accord LXI for 11 years and outside of normal wear and tear spent less than 2,000 in maintenance in 11 years. I only purchased the Subaru because I was tired of the color of my Honda and I wanted a mini-SUV. The Forester had great safety reviews, which was a major concern.

Very unusual and high-priced maintenance on this car makes me want to dump it. Every time I take it in to the dealer, I can't get out with less than $500 in repairs. For a 6-year old car with 57,000 miles, I've had it.

The best thing I can say about this car... it handles great in the snow.