Subaru Forester 2010 Problems

Noises like this can be hard to trace, but you're obviously on the right track and will ultimately establish the cause. Taking the shaft out seems like a good course of action having worked out that it is possibly at the heart of the problem. Good luck.

No, the transmission can be used the way you use it without suffering because it's changed more than it might if it were left in auto mode.

Definitely not a Chery but a Subaru Forester would be an excellent choice with five-star safety for you, good reliability and a wagon tail for travel.

This is a bit of a known problem in the six-speed manual (which I assume is the transmission you’re talking about) in this model Forester. Some examples of this model were manufactured with a missing oil passageway. Over time, this can lead to poor lubrication of the third and fourth gears, leading to failure.

The noise and clunk that you’re hearing now might be the start of this failure. The good news is that Subaru actually recalled affected vehicles to fix this problem, so you need to contact a Subaru dealership to see if your car was one of the affected ones and what can be done about it now.

It’s worth remembering that this recall was issued back in the day (2010) but if the problem is the one identified in the recall, that shouldn’t matter as Australian vehicle recalls don’t have an expiry date.

My choice would definitely be the Golf, for comfort and the range and economy on the highway. The XV is all right but not great, with a tiny boot, so the VW gets The Tick.

Switching the transmission and ECU clearly hasn’t fixed the problem, so look at sensors in the system, the wiring harness, and connections. I would suggest you take it to a Subaru dealer or an auto transmission and have them check it for you.

The dealer could refuse to do it. He’s got the oil on hand and he wants to make a dollar out of supplying it, that’s how he makes his living. If he doesn’t want to do it, then that’s his prerogative. Yours is to take it somewhere else, or change the oil yourself.

As the car is running normally, with no other signs of a problem it’s most likely to be condensation in the exhaust system. If so it’s nothing to worry about. Changing the fuel won’t make any difference.