Subaru Forester Problems

YES, you can use it with confidence. It won't cause your car grief.

SUBARU told us it is not necessary to replace the water pump every time the cam belt is changed. The company says current spare parts sales for cam belts are more than six times those of water pumps for the Forester. But they say some workshops recommend checking the water pump when replacing the cam belt because replacing the pump requires the cam belt to be removed. It is suspected some workshops replace the water pump unnecessarily because of small signs of seepage from the breather hole. Slight seepage is normal as this is designed to drain water pump seal seepage. Subaru Australia issued a bulletin to dealers in July 2006 to inform them of this.

YOU can bet all cars give falsely optimistic higher speedo readings -- not because the companies are trying to rip owners off, but to be sure they don't give falsely low readings. If they did there would be a huge outcry from owners booked for speeding through no fault of their own.

THE error falls within the tolerance allowed under the law and that's what Subaru is telling your brother, and their advice is to do what most people do and that's adjust to the reality of the car's speedo reading. You would think with the technology we have today that carmakers could develop a more accurate speedo.

YOU have the wrong information about converting your car to gas, as there are kits available. Phone the Australian LPG Warehouse for more info on 9770 2287. You can also use E10 blends. They have an octane rating the same as PULP.

WINDOW aerials aren't as effective as the old type and it seems the reception is always worse on the AM band. I'm not aware of any solution to the problem.

IT'S best to phone the suppliers to find a system for your car, and then ask for their recommended installer, someone with experience with the system on the same model as yours. The Australian LPG Warehouse has a kit available for the 2002-2007 Forester.

BASICALLY, the H point is the spot where your hip is located when you are sitting in the driver's seat. It can be raised by lifting the base of the seat, the height of the floor or even the whole vehicle. So cars such as the Toyota Camry have a high seat position, but a Subaru Forester has a high H point because of gravel-road suspension settings. You really need to walk around a few showrooms to see the difference.

I ASSUME you are concerned about your car losing value when it hits the 100,000km mark. There does seem to be a perception that once a car has done 100,000km it is on the slippery slide in terms of reliability etc. But if you like your car and it is in good condition, then why sell it? The reality is that 100,000km is still a low mileage in today's terms when cars are better built and more reliable than ever before. If, on the other hand, you want to swap to a newer car to keep pace with the market, then sell it.

SERVICING is usually done on the basis of kilometres travelled, but to catch those cars that don't travel as many kilometres carmakers also specify time intervals, which applies in your case. Though it may seem like over-servicing it's best to keep it up because fluids and so on deteriorate with time.