To give a brief introduction to the problem, I own an R registration forester, 2litre AWD. Ever since the beginning, I have suffered a really notchy transmission, which makes the vehicle regularly stall.

Subaru admitted there was a fault and tried fixing it by replacing the engine management chip, then by trying to replace a flywheel? and have had it in around 30 times to try and get rid of the problem. They tried to get parts to solve the problem, but were not successful. They have now turned round and said that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle, however there is, nothing has changed, it is still really poor to drive.

I have all the paperwork and intend to pursue the matter further, but I wanted to know if anyone else has encountered similar problems.

Many Thanks

 

I've got an S-turbo, and had a GLS. Neither have 'bad' transmissions, but I often find a reluctance to go into reverse or first, but it would appear to be a trait of the forester gearbox. I had bad clutch judder on my GLS and they replaced the clutch which did the trick.
Look at the subaru forums on edmunds.com, SUV.com, and i-club to see if anyone else has had the same issue.
Sorry I can't help you any more!
Toerag

 

Never heard of this problem, so it can't be put down to Subarus "they all do it sir".
I find the gearbox notchy on mine, especially as the clutch has all but gone now, but I have never had stalling problems.
You must have the patient of a saint to let them sort it out so many times - but it is a bit late to reject it as unfit.

I take it that you are looking for legal ways of sorting the problem, rather than getting the thing to work?
Have IM been approached to sort this problem?

Nick

 

Sounds like a problem with the clutch or clutch operating mechanism and not the gearbox. The gearbox is the same as an Impreza. Reverse and 1st can be tricky at times I have found on both my Impreza and Forester STb. I am now pushing alot more power through the Forester gearbox (hehe!) and have no real problems with it or the clutch, apart from the usual cold start clutch judder.