stivvy39

Hi ! My Forester was manufactured in 2007 so it seems there could be a faulty batch issue. At first I tried jamming the unit with made-up wedge which worked ok for a while but when the n/s mirror did the same thing I made several techie enquiries with no result. So high bucks (short of £1100 !) sorted with two new units. Sorry I have no better news.

Hi James! I like the premise of your study. So many remedies could be avoided if the basic spec. and design were thought through. A good example is the failure of a component on our 2008 Forester 2.5 XT. A lovely car and one which we have thoroughly enjoyed. That is, and this I think, is appropriate to your research, the "secondary air valve" needed replacing at a hefty price over £1200, at a modest mileage of 50k. Because of condensation at start-up the metal components corroded, setting off the Blackpool illuminations on the dash. So my contention is that the material used should have been anti-corrosive or was this not even considered at the design stage ? There has been significant numbers with this fault, especially in USA due to the greater sales volume. Trust this is of interest and if there is anything further I can add please contact me. All the best with your project. My email: [email protected]

Has anyone else had problems with folding mirrors ? Last year the o/s mirror swung forward each time engine fired up. Had it replaced and now have exactly the same happening with the n/s unit ! Be interested to hear if there is an explanation as so far neither dealership or concessionaire have come up with answers.

Recent discussion with SUBARU UK there is no record of any issues with the secondary air valves so would appreciate confirmation of statement from BITMAN a few weeks ago that "this is a known issue for vehicles produced 2007 and earlier ".

Having had costly replacement of secondary air valves and pump ( south of £1800) on my 2008 FORESTER XT 50k (reg. Dec. 2008) one poster suggested there had been a mod. after 2007 to avoid this condensation damage. Local dealer reckoned car manufactured early 2008 so why the fault ? Nor could he confirm that the replacement units were "modified" . Checking with SUBARU UK HO it turns out the car was manufactured in 2007 and they are not aware of any mods.

Dealership confirmed 2008 as date of manufacture but couldn't explain why these valves had been used nor could they confirm that the replacement units were the modified type ! I've tried contacting UK HO by email but not even had an acknowledgement.

Very interesting, thank you. Could be worth checking date of manufacture ? Not an issue when we made enquiries before buying as it was our first Subaru. Other than this latest episode we are very pleased with the car, absolute joy to drive.

I've just paid out £2000, to replace two secondary air valves and pump, corroded thro' condensation, apparently and a replacement o/s mirror which decided to locate itself fore and aft each time on start up. I'm a tad miffed as the car has only done 50k. Be interested to hear if other Forester owners have experienced similar faults.