I currently live in the Los Angeles area but am moving back up to the Seattle area (went to school there for 4 years) next May. I need new tires and all of the recommendations I’ve been getting down here don’t seem great for wet weather or are super expensive/super high-range. I was hoping to get a tire with around a 40-50k mile range that’s also good for wet weather. Anyone have any recommendations?

What’s causing this? Ceramic coating was applied at time of purchase <2 months ago

Hey everyone! Just got my beauty and I’m super excited to get some things done. She’s in great shape so more about comfort and convenience. Biggest question (and I know there’s only so much I can do given the door style with the unframed window) is there anything I can do to lessen the wind noise coming from the windows and windshield?
TIA!

First time Subaru owner. My previous CRV was totaled (luckily without me in it) and I decided to try out a Subaru. I live in the Midwest and never was a fan of Honda’s AWD.

Anyways, when I was shopping I hated the 2025/2026 Foresters with the huge screen, incessant notifications, invasive cabin camera and decided to go for a 2024 (SK) Forester Premium. I had to buy used which I’ve never done before and found a low milage (14000 miles) CPO and decided to purchase after reviewing the CarFax, Subaru inspection report, and looking through the car (one previous owner, purchased Dec 2023, only leased, had consistent routine maintenance, low milage over ~2 1/2 years). I’m not super car-knowledgeable (but also not a dolt), so was a little hesitant to purchase a used car when I’ve only purchased new in the past. Before purchase, I had a mechanic look at it and said everything looked great.

So far it sounds good! I’m getting used to some of the Subaru sounds (like engine clicks when turned off/cooling down, the engine is a bit louder/jerky when turning on compared to CRV, a bit more road noise/feel) but enjoy driving it every day. The aux cord is especially nice.

Having said all that, my paranoia is kicking in after reading how others got screwed on a CPO before. It’s obviously too early for me to tell rn but I am concerned. I plan to keep this car till it runs into the ground and will be vigilant on any maintenance.

What’s your experience with CPOs? What are your thoughts on the 2024 Forester? Any tips/recommendations? Anything to look out for in this year? Any accessories/add ons?

Thanks for any help! Very happy to own a Subaru!

I recently got a Subaru that came with what I think is a bike rack ?? I want to get it taken off because I honestly have no use for it, however I would like to sell/or get rid of it to someone who could it . Does anyone know exactly what this is ?

Up at Crisp Pt Lighthouse in UP MI. Extremely sandy at times. Any thoughts so I don't get stuck? Ty. ✌️

Yesterday I figured I would change out my vvt solenoid on driver side and lo and behold there is a shoulder perfectly blocking access to said solenoid.
Question is, in theory to avoid several hours of painstaking work, why couldn’t I take a die grinder and chew off some of said should so I can have proper access to change out my driver side vvt solenoid. Yes the solenoid is bad, no I do not realistically have time, space, or funds to disassemble the front of my engine to access the solenoid or pay a shop to do the work.

For reference, I am 18, graduated in the class of 26, taking a year off before going to college for auto mechanics. I’m fairly new to cars but am trying to learn as much as I can as I have been enjoying them a lot. I have done a few projects such as changing a starter and oil changes.

I have a 2007 Subaru Forester with about 265,000 miles on it, and the head gaskets are starting to go bad I believe. There may also be some other issues that need to be addressed, so I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth putting money into fixing it up or if I’d be better off buying a different car. With the high mileage and the possibility of more repairs coming up, I’m not sure if investing in it makes sense or if I should cut my losses and put that money toward something newer and more reliable. What would you recommend doing in my situation? The body and chassis are in pretty good condition with very little rust. Would it be worth an engine swap? If I were to buy a new car this would most likely end up being a project car as I love wagons.

I need a reality check on my current car situation. I don't really have anyone in my corner who is knowledgeable about cars or finance to bounce this off of, so I'm hoping to get some honest advice here.

I currently drive a 2022 Subaru Outback Touring with almost 78,000 miles on it (I just bought it in July of 2026). To be completely honest, I hate the way I feel driving it—the seating position and overall driving dynamics just don't work for me, and I dread being behind the wheel. Recently, I test-drove a 2026 Subaru Forester and completely fell in love with the seating position and visibility.

However, my anxiety about keeping the Outback is through the roof right now:

The Repair Fears: I just had to replace the TCV (Thermal Control Valve), which is a known headache on these newer Subarus, and now I'm constantly terrified that something else expensive is about to go wrong. To make matters worse, a family member with a 2019 Forester just had their catalytic converter blow right around 80,000 miles, so I feel like a ticking time bomb driving a car with similar mileage.

The Negative Equity: Because of the mileage and depreciation on my Outback, I am sitting on about $12,000 in negative equity.

The Goal: I want to trade it in for a 2026 Subaru Forester Sport (with the StarTex interior).

The Long-Term Plan: Whichever car I get next, I plan on keeping it for the next 15+ years.

My internal conflict:
On one hand, rolling $12k of negative equity into a brand-new car loan sounds like financial suicide. On the other hand, my Outback is at 78k miles, out of warranty, and I'm paranoid about more repair bills piling up. I feel like if I don't trade out of it now, the depreciation will keep compounding, the mileage will get higher, and I’ll end up permanently "stuck" in a car I both hate driving and am afraid to keep maintaining.

Is it a terrible financial decision to buy new right now and roll that much negative equity over, or does the "drive it for 15 years" plan and the peace of mind of a brand-new warranty cushion the blow? Would love to hear your thoughts.

I have an old set of 2020 outback winter tires on wheels and was wondering if anyone has tried them on the Forester Hybrid. The offset is 55 on the outback wheels vs 48 on the forester. And the wheel width is 7 inches on the outback vs 7.5 on the forester. Anyone provide some advice?

Thanks in advance!

As the title states, the brake light on the dash, isn't going out, there's no battery light to go with it, the E-Brake switch works as the DRL's turn off when slightly pulled off the button, and I just had the brakes serviced and bled, and Google is not exactly helping, some helpful hints would be great, thank you!

Great products, terrible customer service. Director refused to offer any resolution over a $12 adapter.

I recently placed an approximately $150 CAD order with We Are Likewise, including a Bally Boi shift knob, shift boot retainer, and an M10x1.25 thread adapter.

During checkout, their website suggested changing my adapter to M12x1.25 based on a manual Subaru Forester that had been added to my garage, despite my vehicle being an automatic. I specifically chose to keep the M10x1.25 adapter.

After completing the purchase, my confirmation email showed an M12x1.25 adapter instead.

When I contacted customer service, they explained that their website had automatically applied the M12 adapter because of the vehicle associated with my account.

I explained that I had deliberately declined that substitution. I then went back through their website and reproduced the checkout process.

I made a full screen recording documenting the entire checkout process, right up to the final payment stage. The recording demonstrates that even with the manual Forester selected, the website allows me to retain the M10x1.25 adapter despite its compatibility warning. The M10 adapter remains clearly listed in the order summary immediately above the payment button.

I provided the company with photographic evidence of this behaviour.

Rather than investigate the discrepancy or offer a solution, the company repeatedly insisted that I had simply ordered the wrong part.

Eventually, the company director became involved. He provided screenshots showing that the order hadn't been manually edited after purchase, which wasn't what I was disputing in the first place.

He then told me to place another order to test their website and concluded by stating that they would not respond to any further emails regarding the issue.

At no point did anyone offer an exchange, replacement, store credit, discount, or any other resolution.

I wasn't asking for a refund on the entire order. I wasn't unhappy with the shift knob. I simply wanted the correct $12 adapter so I could use the product I purchased.

I'm going to buy the correct adapter myself because resolving this through the company has become more trouble than it's worth.

It's disappointing because I genuinely like their products. But based on my experience, I would caution prospective customers that if something goes wrong with an order, you may find yourself dealing with an extremely rigid and dismissive customer-service process.

A company can make excellent products and still provide terrible customer service. Unfortunately, that has been my experience with We Are Likewise.

Where do I find best floor mats for 2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited

Anyone have issues with car play? My fiancee’s phone connects just fine.

Ive messed with settings, we seem to have the same settings. My phone is newer.

Anyone have any tips?

If you need more info im happy to give additional info to help figure out the issue! 2020 subaru forester touring.

I'm purchasing a used 2023 Certified Pre-Owned Subaru Forester Sport from a nearby dealer (see image). I find it very weird how few documents I've gotten before they expect me to send a wire for the price of the car (I can't do a cashier's check for stupid reasons). All I have is this purchase agreement.

Should the agreement actually say somewhere in it that it's Certified Pre-Owned and has a 7 year / 100k mile warranty? I haven't seen the CPO warranty documents yet or anything else. Are there any other documents I should review before I buy? I had a pre-purchase inspection on the car and the actual car is fine, I just don't want to get screwed. Everything seems so sloppy in this whole used car purchase process so I don't know if they're trying to scam me or if this is just how this industry operates for used cars.

Any thoughts? Thank you

My favorite radar app previously only had a CarPlay widget which was useless and difficult to access.

Last week I noticed there was now an app icon. Now I can see the radar on the big tablet and it shows up on the driver display. Now I can dodge tornadoes and hail easier!
(25 Forester Hybrid)

I have a 2014 Forester 2.5 l 4-cylinder automatic for about 6 months. We have been plagued with a series of warning lights all tracing back to emissions codes, 0240 if memory serves. Two date we have replaced the mass air flow sensor, the O2 sensors upstream and downstream. We have replaced the catalytic converter again upstream and downstream. Recently we put in a new battery. I am guessing that the time unplugged allowed the computer to reset all of the codes. So for a while after replacing the battery there was no code but beginning last night and on into today and we have the emissions control system needs to be checked. Mileage has cratered And cruise control is inoperative.

I feel like we're running out of things to replace. If there's something else that I can try?

I have the 2020 model with 6.5” screen. The front USB connection used with smart phones stopped working, both plugs. The rear plug is fine but isn’t designed to connect with multi media system.

Suggestions welcome. I did a hard restart which didn’t work. Thanks.

2015 Forester. It’s a faint whine when slowing down to a stop. Sounds like something winding down. Can’t hear it when revving up or going normal speed. Can’t replicate it when it’s in Park position. This started happening a little over a month ago. Also around the same time, the belt slipped and squealed couple of times, but it hasn’t since then.

Planning on taking it to a mechanic to take a look, but I was curious what anyone thinks. I really hope it’s not the transmission. I’m 10k and 1 year over the recall warranty extension.

The 26 Fangorn Forester hybrid looks good in its home at camp.

Drove to dinner last night with no issues. Got into 2020 Sport, started it up and the dashboard lit up. Check engine, parking brake light on, all the eyesight off, traction control indicator.

By luck, the same complex had an O’Reilly’s and got a free error code scan. Cylinder 3 misfiring. Able to drive home still with no cruise control, auto headlights and all the safety features Eyesight gives.

Get into a local Subaru service center. Thankfully, I just needed an ECM update and was out in less than an hour. And as I had less than 80K miles still under warranty so no out of pocket cost.

Just a heads up to anyone else who may have a similar issue.

Had just replaced the Spark plugs around 75K service

Was in a 2016 Subaru forester, it was my baby. I loved it so much and would always keep it maintained. So when I hit the deer the other night I basically broke down. I'm happy to be alive if I was I sedan I'd probably would be dead today.

They want to give me 14k for my car. Should I get another forester?

How can I fix this? I hate having to inch it up for it to close. Clearly there is nothing stopping it from fully closing.