NHTSA Complaint #10219746 — 2001 SUBARU FORESTER

BOUGHT MY 2001 FORESTER USED WITH APPROXIMATELY 64,000 MILES ON IT. AFTER OWNING IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOTICED HESITANCY WHEN TRYING TO PULL OUT. SLOWLY STARTED GETTING WORSE. CAR WOULD SIT FOR ABOUT 10 TO 15 SECONDS AFTER BEING PUT INTO DRIVE BEFORE ENGAGING AND IF FOOT IS NOT ON BRAKE, HAS A HARSH ENGAGEMENT (WHIPLASH TYPE THING WHERE IT THROWS YOU FORWARD). SO, AFTER MUCH RESEARCH AND FINDING OUT THAT THERE ARE PROBABLY 1000S OF OTHER FORESTER OWNERS WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM, I CONTACTED SUBARU OF AMERICA WHO OF COURSE TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND IF THEY FOUND ANYTHING WRONG, SUBARU MIGHT GIVE ME SOME GOODWILL ASSISTANCE. WELL AS THEY FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION FILTER WAS NOT A SUBARU BRAND AND NOR WAS THE FLUID, THEY WANTED TO CHANGE IT AND THEN RUN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST, SAYING THAT MAYBE THAT OTHER FILTER CAUSED THE PROBLEM. I TRIED EXPLAINING THAT THE REASON WE CHANGED IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEM, NOT WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM. WE CHANGED IT TO SEE IF THAT WOULD HELP AND OF COURSE IT DIDN'T. THEN, OF COURSE, SUBARU WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING AS I DID NOT WANT TO HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM TO CHANGE THE FILTER AND FLUID ONLY TO CHARGE ME FOR THAT AND THEN TELL ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. I POINTED OUT ALL THE OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE EXACT SAME PROBLEMS, BUT THEY INSIST IT IS NOT A DEFECT, WHEN APPARENTLY THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THESE TRANSMISSIONS. *TR