Strider

Hi, I have just bought a 2017 Subaru Forester XT. I was looking to get a full sized spare wheel to replace the space saver spare wheel. However, the Subaru dealer has told me that it will not fit in the wheel well in the boot, even partly. I have posted on the American Subaru forum and someone with a 2014 Subaru Forester XT has confirmed that a full sized spare tyre will not fit in the boot. They have fitted a swing out tyre carrier to their car. They have said that you will need a trailer hitch which the Subaru dealer should be able to install and then a swing out tyre carrier. Trailer hitch is American English for towbar. A detachable towbar from a Subaru dealer costs £645.00, including fitting. The Hitchgate Solo swing out tyre carrier from Wilco off road in the U.S. costs £1,150.00 plus however much delivery and import taxes would be. So this is not a cheap option. Plus the cost of the full sized spare wheel. Has anyone in the UK fitted a swing out tyre carrier to a Subaru Forester? I presume the number plate would need to be put in a different location? I guess someone with one of the new e-boxer Subaru Foresters may have done this, as there is no room to fit any kind of spare wheel in the boot? In a way I would quite like to do this, despite the expense. For quite a few years I had a Suzuki Grand Vitara from 2004, which I have just sold. This had a spare wheel attached to the rear door. David

So it turns out that the full sized spare wheel does not fit in to the wheel well at all, and sticks up from the boot floor around six inches. This is more boot space than I am prepared to give up. Also, the Subaru dealer said that they were unable to find a bolt long enough to secure it to what the space saver spare wheel was bolted to. So I will give up on this idea for now and keep the space saver spare wheel. I will have the money I paid for the full sized wheel refunded. What I don't understand is that the space saver spare wheel must be the same diameter as the wheels on the car, only slimmer? So why won't a full sized spare wheel go some of the way in to the spare wheel well? I was prepared to make something out of wood to raise the boot floor around 2 inches, but 6 inches is too much. The Subaru dealer said that it might be possible to get a steel spare wheel that would fit. That he thought would be better than the space saver. However, there would still be the 50 mile an hour speed restriction for this wheel. The XT has 18 inch diameter wheels, but I don't see why this would make any difference.

I have bought a 2017 Subaru Forester XT. The car will be delivered on Monday next week. I have also bought a rather expensive full sized spare wheel. It is aluminium, exactly the same as the other wheels on the car. The Subaru dealer told me that it would fit in the well for the spare wheel. However, it turns out that it won't fit and will stick up a few inches. Has anyone made a raised boot floor to accommodate a full sized spare wheel in a Subaru Forester? I have seen that someone has done this on line, using some pieces of wood so the wheel sits level. The other alternative is that they may possibly be able to get a steel spare wheel, which is bigger than a space saver but not full sized, and will fit in the wheel well. I could just keep the space saver, but I really want a full sized spare wheel. As i will be driving to some fairy remote places sometimes. David

It is AWD. The tyres on the car are new, and I am going to buy a new full sized spare wheel, so there should not be any wear on the tyres yet. I am buying the car from a Subaru dealer, and they fitted new tyres.

Hi, I have just bought a 2017 Subaru Forester XT, it will be delivered next week on Monday. A long time ago I had a Subaru Forester, but I have done more research this time, so I have a lot of questions! I has no idea when I had the previous Forester that it might be a good idea to rotate the tyres. I am planning to get a full sized spare wheel, to replace the space saver spare wheel that comes with the car. I wanted to ask, do any Forester owners rotate the wheels? I am planning to rotate all 5, including the spare. If you have this done at a Subaru dealer, how much did they charge? I am not sure if I will bother to do this, if it has to be done by myself. The car will be parked in the courtyard of the building where I live, I don't have a garage or a drive. Also, how often should the tyres be rotated? Taking in to account that I am going to put the spare tyre in to the rotation. I have read that they should be rotated every 6,000 miles. I drive less than 4,000 miles a year, so maybe I could wait until I do the service at the end of the second year (at 8,000 miles or less)? I could change one of the tyres for the spare tyre before that? So that it got some wear to match the other tyres. I don't have a problem changing one tyre at a time, I just don't want to do all 4 at once. David

Hi, I have bought a Subaru Forester XT from 2017, which will be delivered next week on Modnay. The Subaru dealer had told me that the car is fitted with vredestein ultrac plus tyres. I have read that these are 'summer' tyres. I live in London, so snow is rare. I will be driving to Yorkshire and Wales for holidays, but not in Winter. So I don't think I need to worry too much about the performance in snow. If anyone has these tyres, how good are they in winter, when it is cold and there is possibly ice? Also, I sometimes drive in the countryside up rutted tracks, with lots of potholes, but no serious off roading. WIll the tyres be OK for this?

So, the Subaru dealer has told me that the tyres are vredestein ultrac plus The XT has 18”x7” wheels. Tyres are 225/55R18. I have never bought a full sized spare tyre. The car I have at the moment, a Suzuki Grand Vitara, has a full sized spare on the back door of the car. How do I go about getting a wheel and tyre that are identical to the ones I have on the car? Without paying £700 to a Subaru dealer? I have looked at the price of aluminium wheels on line, and there are plenty of them that cost £500 or more, without a tyre. So maybe the Subaru price is not so bad. If I get a steel wheel with the correct tyre and then changed the wheel because of a puncture, would it matter that one wheel was steel and the other 3 aluminium.?

Another update. The Subaru dealer says that a full sized spare wheel should fit in the wheel well in the boot. However, a full sized spare from Subaru would cost £700! Once I have the car I will investigate getting a much cheaper full sized spare from somewhere.

The Subaru dealer has now sent the email confirming that the alarm and immoboliser are working. I have now bought the car. It will be delivered on Monday to central London, where I live, from Swindon. Forester XTs are quite rare, this was the lowest mileage one on sale in the UK recently. I had a 2013 Forester which I bought second hand quite a long time ago. But unfortunately I managed to write it off trying to drive through a flooded ford at night in Essex. I got most of the cost of the car back from the insurance and bought a very cheap, old Suzuki Grand Vitara from 2004. Which I actually like a lot, but it is on it's last legs and it is not really worth to spend a lot fixing all the faults on such an old car. I always wanted another Subaru, and decided to get an XT, as it is something a bit different to my last Subaru. It was very comfortable to drive on the test drive, but also has very quick acceleration when this is wanted. It also has a sun roof, which I had on the last Subaru and wanted again.

Actually, the alarm and immoboliser is the factory fitted one, Thatcham category one, as specified in the advert for the car. I have spoken to the Subaru dealer, and they have promised to send me an email confirming that the alarm and immoboliser are working. Which they say that they are. They said that they did not understand why the sales agreement stated that they were not responsible for this, as anyone buying the car would expect the alarm and immoboliser to be working, if the advert for the car says that there is one. Obviously it is important that they are working. As I have read that sometimes insurance companies can say that a car is not insured against theft, if there is no alarm. I feel very silly that I did not check that they were working when I looked at the car, as I then would not need to worry. I agree that it is unlikely that they are not working.

Just an update. The Subaru dealer has told me that a full sized aluminium spare wheel from them would cost around £600! He told me that I could get full sized steel spare wheel a lot cheaper from somewhere else (not Subaru). David

I am planning on buying a 2017 Subaru Forester XT. From a Subaru dealer. I went to look at the car yesterday and had a test drive, I liked it a lot and am going to buy it. However, I am a bit concerned by something. I signed the sales agreement without reading it carefully. It says that Subaru take no responsibility for the alarm and immobiliser (it is Thatcham category 1). Stupidly, I did not check that these were working when I looked at the car. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is this usually a part of the sales agreement when buying a used car from Subaru? The car is not Subaru approved (they said that it is too old), but has a 3 month's RAC guarantee. I am going to ring the dealer tomorrow and ask them to confirm that the alarm and immoboliser are working now. As when I ring my insurance company to arrange insurance they will ask about this. I accept that if it stops working in the future I would have to pay to fix it myself. Hopefully it is unlikely that it would not be working now. David

I planning to buy a 2017 Subaru Forester XT. I have been told that it has a space saver spare wheel. Has anyone fitted a full sized spare in the XT? I am planning to drive to some fairly remote places sometimes and would feel more secure with a full sized spare. I think I might have to raise the floor of the boot a bit, which I wouldn't mind doing. I think the wheels on the XT are a bit bigger than on a normal Forester? Also, does anyone rotate the tyres on their forester? Do you do this at home or take it to a Forester dealer? David

I got a Ring Smart charger from Halfords which seems pretty good. It works fine. I didn't read the instructions carefully enough, it says the negative battery clip should be attached to a bolt or bracket on the engine block (earth). I attached it to the negative terminal of the battery. Does this matter? Obviously it has already been jump started by the RAC and the leads were connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery. If I should attach the negative battery clip from the charger to earth in future are there any particular places I should connect it to on the engine block on a 2013 Forester?

So the battery is OK. The RAC guy jump started it. Everything seems fine,so I am hoping I do not need to get the ECU reprogrammed. The RAC guy advised me to turn off the stop start technology as it drains the engine quicker. I will probably do this. I am on the edge of London,but am usually heading out of London so it's not like I am stuck in traffic that much anyway. If anyone has any experience of using solar or trickle chargers I would be grateful if you would let me know if they are a good idea and which ones to buy. Or maybe I will just drive more often! David

I have had a 2013 Subaru Forester XE petrol, which I bought second hand from a Subaru dealer, for a few months. It is an automatic (CVT) with stop start technology. I didn't drive it for around a month and it appears that the battery in the car has gone flat as it will not start and the remote key will not work. The car is in my drive at home. I am assuming it is not the battery in my car keys, as I have two and it seems unlikely that both batteries have gone flat at the same time! Luckily I joined the RAC through my insurance and have cover at home if I breakdown. My main question is, if the battery needs replacing, do I have to get the ECU reprogrammed at a Subaru garage? As I read with AGM batteries this may be necessary. AGM batteries are quite expensive, I would prefer to avoid having to pay to have the ECU reprogrammed as well! I also read that you should not jump start AGM batteries. I know little about cars. I past my driving test a few months ago (I am 56). I just want the Subaru for driving out to the countryside and shopping. So far I really like it, apart from the battery problem. I may get either a solar charger or an intelligent trickle charger, as I have read that the battery is likely to go flat if left for any length of time. Is it safe to use a trickle charger from the mains to my car outside? I am waiting for the RAC to arrive, maybe I will be lucky and the battery won't need replacing! David

Hi, I have just bought a 2013 Subaru Forester from a Subaru dealer It is a petrol model (non-turbo). It has an alarm and immobilizer. I would also like to buy a steering wheel lock for added security. Can anyone recommend a strong one that will fit and not damage the steering wheel? I am getting the car tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it! Best wishes David