2000 Subaru Forester Problems, complaints & recalls

The contact owns a 2000 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle began to shake and suddenly veered into the left lane into oncoming traffic. The contact stated that the vehicle had stopped in the middle of the road. The contact was unaware of any warning light being illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had to be pushed off the roadway. The contact stated that the passenger's side front tire was at a 90-degree angle to the wheel well. The contact stated that he...

Tl-the contact owns a 2000 subaru forrester. The contact stated while driving 50 mph the vehicle started over heating. He pull to the side of the road and notice coolant coming from underneath of the vehicle. He notices the vehicle has a blown head gasket and leaking radiator coolant. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop who repaired the vehicle. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 85,000...Mw

On september 12, 2010, our 2000 subaru forrester went into unintended acceleration while backing out of a parking space causing the car to be totaled, damage to a ford f350 truck and injury to the owner of the truck. Similar incident occurred in 2008 when going forward and coming to a stop before entering a highway. Car accelerated and had to press both feet on the brake until the brake met the floor. The car was taken to our regular mechanic, who examined it and could not diagnose the problem. He advised...

Had 2000 subaru forester (83,000 mi) at dealer for inspection. Dealer notified us that car failed due to external head gasket leak. Dealer says there is oil dripping on the exhaust system and it is a fire hazard so unless we replace head gasket the car fails. Subaru previously acknowledged a defect with this 2.5L engine and had a campaign where the "fix" was adding a conditioner to the coolant. Obviously the "fix" didn't do the job and others out there are a risk of a catastrophic fire. *Tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 subaru forester. While driving between 35-55 mph the manual transmission slipped out of gear. He was able to continue vehicle operation. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle has not been inspected at this time. The failure mileage was 95,000. The current mileage was 101,000. Updated 1/14/10 *cn updated 01/15/10.*Jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 subaru forester. While driving 55 to 65 mph the engine began to over heat. A local mechanic stated that the head gasket cracked. The engine was replaced; however, the transmission has also failed. The contact is aware of the safety risk. The current mileage was 170,000 and the failure mileage was 169,000.

200 Subaru forester blows head gasket for third time. Fixed twice under manufacturer's recall. Third time, subaru reports they will assist with half of payment because recall was discontinued in 2008. "Repair" completed under recall, but wasn't really repaired. This consumer feels that I should not be responsible for any of this. Repair needs to be completed and stay repair at manufacturer's cost. *Tr

In early 2008 my subaru began popping out of fifth gear. This is very inconvenient and unsafe as it causes an immediate loss of speed. On a freeway grade for example I have almost been rammed from behind by vehicles following too closely even though I was traveling at the speed limit in the right lane. Upon investigation I learned that this is a common defect in this model of subaru and is covered by technical bulletin 17 01/01/2002. My mechanic removed the rear of the transmission and tightened the loose...

I have an ongoing problem with my 2000 subaru forester. Off and on, since 2007, the car will not immediately engage when shifting into drive. I first noticed the problem when I would shift from reverse to drive. While in drive, with my foot on the accelerator, the car would not move. At first the delay was only a couple of seconds. And it would occur only after I had driven a few feet in reverse and then shifted into drive. Now, however, the delay is much longer and it can happen even when I have not driven in...

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 subaru forester. While driving between 35-40 mph, the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that there was an evaporation leak in the fuel filler pipe. The pipe and the valve were replaced at the cost of $315. The failure mileage was 46,792.

If I place my 2000 subaru forrester into drive it will not move, it will sit there for several minutes until suddenly it jerks forward into gear. Place into reverse it works well, moves in reverse. Visit several reputable car repair forums online you will literally see hundreds of customers with these same problems posting from 2004-present. *Tr

Gas leak on fuel line of the engine on the passenger side of the engine. *Tr

I have had to replace rear wheel bearing on my 2000 subaru forester 3 times right and left rear over the last four years. I see through online reading that this is a common complaint with the subaru and they have done nothing to fix the problem. Pressure needs to be put on them to remedy the situation. *Tr

Fuel filler pipe and associated mounting and emissions hardware are rusted out. Check engine light is on and code retrieved is 0440. Danger of leaking fuel during fill up. *Tr

2000 Subaru forester with fuel problems. Customer states that the dealer said the rust was not covered under warranty. Dealer also told him that rust is a common problem. He would like to be reimbursed and believes subaru needs to put out a recall. *Kb the consumer stated the engine light first activated due to a vacuum/pressure problem within the fuel system. The gas cap was replaced; however the problem continued. A further inspection revealed that the gas filler pipe had completely rusted through. In addition,...

Engine and engine cooling problem car was overheating at 117000 miles. Thermostat replaced by dealer, but four weeks later, same problem recurred. Problem is blown head gaskets, which are very expensive to fix. Looked on internet, and found all sorts of complaints from consumers, saying they'd had the same problem with their subaru's also. "Conditioner' was apparently put into the engine in 2004, by dealer, because of known problems with head gaskets on subaru. It seems this conditioner just held the problem off...

10/19/04 Right rear wheel bearing replaced on my 2000 subaru forester at 56,886 miles (previous maint performed on 3/2/04) at a cost of $324.40. Right rear wheel bearing replaced again on 4/2/07 at 88,569 miles at a cost of $331.86 (Previous maint performed on 6/20/06). Replacing the rear wheel bearing 3 times in less than 100,000 miles? *Tr

2000 Subaru forester with a slipping transmission. When in drive, I depress the gas pedal and go nowhere. Just hear a shrieking. Its been coming on for a month now and now has gotten so bad I dare not drive it. It is in the shop now and will be between 1500-2500 to fix. Their estimate is that there is a loss of pressure somewhere. They also have another 2000 forester in the shop with a similar problem, similar miles etc. Unacceptable on a car with less than 80k miles. And very scary when you are on a slope and go to go and find yourself rolling backwards. Why is there no recall on this problem? There seems to be reports all over the internet with the exact same problem!! *Nm

Steering locked up twice while driving, both times shortly after making sharp right turn out of home driveway. The first time, the driver was unable to turn the steering wheel at all after making the hard right turn out of the driveway. Then the steering returned to normal after wiggling the steering wheel. The second time, the driver made a hard right turn out of the driveway and then straightened out and proceed about twenty yards to an intersection at which point the driver was unable to turn the steering wheel for a right turn while driving at approximately 10 mph. The steering wheel simply would not turn. Then after several seconds the steering returned to normal. *Nm

Left wheel bearing went out may 2004. Paid approx. $1300 To repair it at a subaru dealership. Right wheel bearing went out sept 2005. Paid approx $450 to replace it at a subaru certified repair shop. Now may 2006, left wheel bearing has gone out again, less than 2 years after it was replaced. The subaru dealer now wants $500-800 to replace it again as they say repairs are only under warranty for 12 mos. I have spent close to $2,000 on repairs for something that is defective and obviously cannot be fixed. It does...

If I place my 2000 subaru forrester into drive it will not move, it will sit there for several minutes until suddenly it jerks forward into gear. Place into reverse it works well, moves in reverse. Place into drive, lightly press the accelerator pedal, it will jump forward into gear! Place into drive wait for it to move: if I am on an incline it will roll backwards or forwards depending on the slope, otherwise I can sit there for a few minutes before it will jerk forward. Subaru states that they are not aware...

Dt*: the contact stated mechanical vibration noise at frequency of wheel rotation, persisting after complete wheel change when changing from all-weather to winter tires. Repair shop continued diagnosis. Problem solved upon replacement of wheel bearings in left-rear wheel. *Ak

Letter received from subaru march 2004 stating that a cooling system conditioner needs to be added to the cooling system to prevent an external coolant leak at the vehicle's engine cylinder head gaskets. Went to subaru as required by letter march 9, 2004, they add cooling system conditioner and I am told this will prevent leaks at the engine cylinder head gaskets and this is stated in the letter too. Note that the first time, I receive this notice is 4 years after purchase. The most recent service, I had done by...

This complaint is regarding goodyear assurance comfort tires. I purchased these tires for my 2000 forester on may 5, 2005. Since that time one tire has developed a lump on the sidewall. This tire was replaced, and the replacement tire blew out 500 miles later while traveling on i-25 at 55 miles per hour. *Nm

The 2000 subaru forester, when shifted to "d", "3", "2, or "1" will not go forward. It will always go when in reverse! We have been told by several dealers that the transmission must be replaced (at the time the car had 70k miles and was 5+ years old - just out of warranty). This problem appears to be well known to subaru dealers. To mitigate this problem, I must tap the accelerator, and wait and wait 1 second to 30 seconds before the transmission will engage. A year ago, the transmission was drained, flushed...