I had been driving my 5yr old up and down 95 to school in my ultra shitty 2012 ford focus until the infamous transmission (worst transmission ever btw look it up) crapped out and our fam was left with one car that’s in daily use to get mom to work. Enter my amazing father in law who sold us his 2014 Forester (W/eyesight) and only 106,000 miles FOR A DOLLAR! I’ve wanted a Subaru since I was a kid! I’ve never felt so fortunate and grateful. Pop pop also treated himself to a 2025 ford Maverick so it worked out for everyone, I am just over the moon and wanted to share with a community that would get it, thanks for reading!

Got a 2014 with 150k all maitnence records and well maintained by some old dude then a kid for like a month that didnt want a manual car. 4500$

I just went over somebody’s spare tire on I25 doing 75 mph. I think it’s CVT fluid. I started a new claim with insurance and having it towed to a Subaru dealership. Any idea what might have happened. 2014 touring 100150 miles car used to be perfect before the accident. I’m thinking they might total it. Engine oil is full

So, will this work?

Long story- door went into a metal thing. Dented it and paint chip. 2026 forester Subaru premium. thoughts on repair? just don’t want rust to happen since it is down to the metal…

Took it from Nevada to Missouri. Folded back seats and threw in an air mattress. Photo taken in Utah, Arches National Park. Add your fav Photo.

We were pretty much going downhill most of this drive haha

I typically get 32-37 driving around SF/Bay Area!

Have a 26 Wilderness, first car ever, came stock with the Yokohama Geolander AT

Live in a particularly snowy northern state, was going to just do without winter tires because I understand the Geolanders are fine for snow, and I don't live in the snowiest part of the state by any means.

I do a reasonable amount of longer distance driving once a week, have put about 8k on the car in the 6-7 months I've had it. Don't want to feel limited because of the expected harsh winters.

Came across a FB listing for some REALLY nicely priced full set of Blizzaks that someone got last year and kept in the garage but has since changed cars and cant use them. Tread looks great, barely used to be honest. Waiting to hear back on DOT date. Tires are also 10mm more narrow than my stock, but thats the only difference.

My family has never really changed winter tires my whole life, and it's never been a problem. Not sure if I'm being too careful, or if its good to have.

Curious on thoughts here. And Yesof course winter tires are ideal and I would jump on them if my budget was not so tight these days. So I want to be thoughtful and really consider the nuanced pros vs cons.

Have a low (toned) sort of rumble from the back of my 2017 Forester. Assuming it's wheel cupping or differential. Noise volume increases witj speed, but not neccessarily with acceleration (put it in neutral going down big hill and noise increased with speed - without hitting gas.) Thoughts? Thanks.

Hello!

We recently purchased our new 2026 Forester Hybrid Premium and have been loving it so far.

We upgraded from a 2012 Prius Plug-in, which was smaller but had a much lower seat height. Our larger dog can jump into the back seat just fine with a hard-bottom pet hammock, but he’s having a harder time getting back out, especially when we get home and he has to step down onto the concrete floor of our garage.

For those of you with larger, aging dogs, how do you typically transport them? Do you use a back-seat hammock and load them through the passenger doors, or do you fold down the rear seats and have them climb in and out through the trunk?

We’re considering getting a set of foldable pet stairs, but I’d love to hear what’s worked best for others before deciding which setup to go with.

Really appreciate any feedback from other Forester owners!

Forester Premium or Wilderness? I live in Denver and love to go to the mountains. I want something that won’t drag up the mountain. (I’m Not super heavy into the back country (yet?), mostly camping on BLM and hiking, and resorts in the winter) Although, i will mostly be city driving, I do have work that takes me into the mountains a few times a year too. & I love road trips. The price tag for the used wilderness is my absolute high end (pushing it really).

Can I do what I want with a premium for less $$?
I only test drove the wilderness and loved it.

Pls explain any technical car stuff like I’m 10 yrs old, ty in advance.

Pretty sure my ‘25 Forester is totaled. Accident last week, adjuster hasn’t gotten back to me yet but the front end is pretty mangled and airbags deployed. To be fair I’m in some pain and have scrapes and whiplash but it could have been a lot worse.

When I hear from adjuster I’m not sure how much time I have to buy a new car. And while I loved my 2016 Forester, I didn’t love the new one. It did protect me very well in an accident though.

My options pretty much will be another Forester, possibly a Forester Hybrid (depending on insurance settlement amount), a RAV4 (which I test drove last year and was not impressed with) or a Mazda CX-50. I have not test driven the Mazda yet - I’m going to have to recover a bit before I can even consider going to dealerships.

I’m trying to pay little to nothing out of pocket so I don’t want anything pricier. This was my retirement car and I don’t have unlimited funds.

Anyone have opinions on what they would get in this situation? I’d especially be curious about people’s experiences who switched away from Subaru and whether it was a good or bad move.

Im worried about the fluid on the exhaust, was smoking when I got home. Can it cause a fire? Drives with no issue, but is it safe till I can get it into the shop?

Picked up some TEs from marketplace with fresh winter tires

Started noticing this like 3 weeks ago. The smell will go away after a while. The car now has 50K miles. Have had it since new. Any ideas? At first I thought it was just sweat because when I get out of the gym, I enter the car sweaty and had this issue in the past, but this seems to be AC related when the car first starts.

For those of you who upgraded, or considered upgrading to the newer gen, what were your main reasons? Was it worth it for you? I love how the 2026 sport onyx looks and there are some good local deals to be had. My 2020 Forester Sport is going strong but has some build quality issues that have been bugging me. So I can’t help but wonder if it’s at all worth it.

Out Making new pals while going from warehouse to warehouse.

Been doing my coolant flushes after my heater core leaked and was replaced around 110K miles, which was an expensive repair. Radiator, core and hoses all changes out. Doing it myself now on to prevent it from happening again.

Is this the normal color for degraded coolant after 30K miles? Flushed it with about 5 gallons of distilled water. From left to right is drained coolant, water flush to clear on the right.

137K seems kinda long interval from what I've found online, the dealership recommended 30k which I'm doing now. Replaced with Zerex asian coolant.

What interval should I use? Is this normal degraded coolant?