Forester transmission problems?

[niceman]

I have 99 Forester mine has AC problems and my car have difficulties in starting.The clutch gear doesn't engage, my trusted mechanic pointed out the master cylinder has to be replaced.Good thing I found some good quality of the parts so I bought also a good quality Subaru aftermaket parts to get out of the stalling issue.

[vyrgrl1]

Okay, I KNEW I'd find information about that problem somewhere. I, too, have a '99 Subaru Forester automatic with problems with the gear engaging when I put it into drive. I have tried to see if it was related to 'warming' up.. and sometimes, yes and sometimes, no. Sometimes, I put it in a lower gear and bypass the issue, but that doesn't always work. So. the suggestions (OTHER than a transmission replacement at a mint price) are get a transmission flush, seals done, and fluid replaced? But I am reading that works for about 6 months, then it's back to the same issue, right? Great..... well, no more Subaru's for me. I will ride this out, til I can't ride it anymore. ONE More year is all I ask of this vehicle which just turned 100K.

[jg09]

Wow...seems like the '99 had issues. Sounds like a torque converter issue.

[Mechanic44023]

Here is a possible solution:

For the Forrester Transmission in the US they use Castrol Dexron III Mercon (a black bottle) as the automatic transmission fluid. It will take 4 quarts.

For the filter for the transmission you need to use:
FRAM PH7317

Every time you see that the car won't switch gears properly you will have to change the transmission fluid (see above) and the filter. After changing the fluids and filter, start the car, hold the brake petal with your foot and shift from Parking, to Neutral, to Drive, and do this to the rest of the gears up and down a few times.

In general, I noticed that going in reverse works fine most of the time. But when you switch to the drive, it takes a few seconds for it to "engage" the gears.

YOU MUST BE PATIENT! When you switch gears, keep your foot on the brake and wait for the car to grasp the selected gear. ie: Drive. You'll feel the car doing this. In time doing this procedure the car will stop jerking but you'll still have to count to 10 to make sure the car had time to engage the correct gears. DO NOT remove your foot off the brake until the gears grab! THEN when you feel it go into the proper gear can you take your foot off the break and give it gas to go.

When you do this over time I've notice the car responds better and works better.

If your car still does not work you'll have to redo the above procedure of emptying out all the transmission fluid and changing the filter. Then doing that engaging of all gears a few times. That should do the trick.

But in time I"ve learned that if you do all of the above it should resolve this perplexing problem!

Happy driving!

[ShaneParker]

I,m a 99 forester owner same problems had new fluid and filter changed and nothing changed . replaced trans with used trans with less miles on it and it has the same exact problem. There is something wrong with this model of transmisson what I do not Know? Hopefully someone will come up with some explanation of course most dealers or trans shops will tell you the same thing rebuild or replace.....$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ we want your money!!!

[jg09]

It might be possible to swap in a 2nd gen. tranny. It should bolt right up, but if not, you can probably get an adapter plate from a company like Advance Adapters.

[delladay1]

I too just bought a 1999 Forester S auto transmission :-( Drove it for about 2 weeks before the infamous transmission problems started. I too can drive all day in reverse, but forward is hit & miss. At first, it was a hesitation, then I had to start putting it into a lower gear to get it to go forward, and finally it stopped going forward. For about 5 days I would try to get it to go into drive with no luck. Then dad comes over jumps in & presto it moves. Now back to the same problem. What do we need to do to get SOA to acknowledge this problem. Obviously, I'm not the only one, contrary to what the dealership told me. I'm outraged after seeing ALL of these same stories!

[skoob2]

NOT to be an echo, but I too have a worthless 2000. As for my head check, it has two leaks too! All the fluid flushs and filter changes did not help. I have old chevy and it has never had a tranny flush and works great. My thought is this is just a through away, and you may be better off never changing anything, just add gas until it stops, then donate to your favorite mechanic that over charges for the rebuild or R&R.

[jg09]

I won't beat around the bush, early Subaru heads suck. I wouldn't call the entire Subie a throw away, though. Run it till it dies, then swap in a new motor?

[madpunster]

sweet i had a feeling i was not the only with this problem..... i have a 99 gt forester automatic got it from a dealer and just after the six month warranty ran out it starts having problems engaging......at the moment im just having to deal with this dangerous/embarassing/costly dillema as i know th outcome from a mechanic would be to replace the whole AT....Well Fu#K that! i just spent everything i had buying this car and now i gotta come up with another 4000 to fix it when it seems like this problem should have been re called in the first place....im sure subaru are now fully aware of this i have an AT service kit and am going to replace the filter and give it a flush.....if this does not help me from looking like a hoon everywhere i go because im revving my car like a bogan trying to get it into gear....Well Fark me! 4000 dollars is a great chunk of income whilst i pay my high interest loan as i wanted to spend a bit more to get a supposedly reliable car! Its a vicious Cycle....looks like more slaving for me! wow i have written alot......guess i must be really pissed off!

[jwrickert]

I've got a '99 Outback with the same problem. Of course at 256,000 miles with a transmission swap by a previous owner I can't complain much. I wonder if he stuck in a Forester tranny. No prob. with Reverse. Sometimes it goes into Drive easily; sometimes it takes 2-5 minutes. My Mechanic put in some 'magic' transmission additive which cleared the problem up for nearly 6 months. I'll try it again and post the name when I get it. Any more thoughts on the knock sensor or other cheaper repairs?
Thanks - jwrickert@aol.com

[videoterry]

My 2000 Forester S automatic has 175K on it, love the car. However since the car was about 2yrs old it has been missing shifts from 2nd ->3rd whenever its very cold. Other than that no tranny problems until now. First there started a low level buzz that followed road speed. Thought I'd picked up a stick or some trash that was rubbing on a tire. Nope. Couple days later pulled out from a stop sign and CLANK! GRIND! JERK! Fortunately I was able to coast across the intersection out of traffic to call AAA. My mechanic says the box is so far gone it's not worth trying to rebuild. Looking for a used one, but now after reading this thread I'm worried I'll wind up with another bad one.

[jwrickert]

FIXED!! I browsed the forums for solutions and put a few together. I tried this:
pulled the pan, totally drained the ATF, replaced filter and refilled with Amsoil synthetic ATF and a can of Trans-X AT slip-stop & leak fix. Absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. Thanks to all previous posters and good luck to anybody with the same problem. Note: I have a 99 Outback with 256K. As far as I know, this us NOT a universal fix: applies only to Subarus of a particular vintage.

[wjtuck]

I have a 2008 forester that I bought with 16000 miles on it. A few days before my 30000 mile check up I felt the transmission slip. I mentioned it to the dealer to have it checked. They didn't. I took it back the next Monday for warranty work and asked them if they had checked the transmission because it had slipped again the previous Saturday. They said I didn't mention anything about it before. Since then I have contacted them and SOA without any response. It slipped again this past week and jerked harder than it had previously. I am noting when and where it happens. Have informed SOA and dealership they wont have a returning customer for lack of good resonable service.

[RahX]

The newer Foresters (previous bodystyle and the current one) don't have any trans problems that I have seen. If yours is having a problem wjtuck, it is something unusual.