Engine Major
Engine rebuild or replacement, cylinder head, head gasket, turbo or supercharger, timing chain or timing belt.
What Owners Say
"Needed new head gaskets at 175000 km. I knew this was a problem with these cars and it was quite expensive. 2.5L non-turbo version"
Meg G., ON (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The engine was burning excessive amounts of oil and the head gaskets were leaking oil. It was replaced with a low milage engine"
Anonymous, CA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"I replaced my engine after it had overheated after a failed thermostat"
Anonymous, KS (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Lose of power"
Thomas L., MN (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"head gasket leaking"
Anonymous, MN (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"External head gasket leak required new gasket (whole engine removal to gain access). Water pump and timing belt were also replaced at that time"
Peter F., BC (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"This vehicle is notorious for head gasket issues. We had the head gasket replaced. It was an expensive procedure"
Anonymous, RI (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The head gaskets leak"
Anonymous, WA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"gasket started leaking about 12 months ago, not yet fixed due to limited current use of car and estimated repair cost of about $2000. Gasket previously failed before, about 2009 and was repaired then"
Anonymous, IL (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"leaking, was replaced and head was rebuilt"
Bob R., WA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Pulled engine due to rear main leak along with both head gaskets leaking oil and coolant, water pump, timing belt and all drive belts replaced, also replaced the radiator"
Anonymous, NE (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"leaking and replaced"
Anonymous, MO (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Minor leak leading to minor loss of oil"
Anonymous, CA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"car started leaking oil early on. apparently there had been a recall either before I owned it or after that I was never aware of. the dealer kept saying it was ok to drive til it got worse. I finally took it to a shop to be fixed, spent a lot of m"
Anonymous, CA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Head gasket replaced due to leak. No additional engine problems occurred as a result of the head gasket issue"
Tim S., MN (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Replaced at 80,000 out again at 105,000. Poor design!"
Terry M., WA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Leaking oil. Engine will need a complete reseal soon"
Robert M., MN (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Needed to replace head gaskets"
Anonymous, AK (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Guy said I need to replace the head gasket soon. 2000 fix! Yikes!"
Pamilyn H., WI (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The head gasket on a subarau is buried in the middle of the engine. In order to repair it, the top half of the engine must be disassembled and removed. Then the gasket is replaced, then the engine is rebuilt . About 16 hours labor charged"
Anonymous, IL (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"This is the third time I have had to replace head gaskets, which I think is a little much"
Robert F., ID (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Head gasket needed to be replaced within 100,000 miles of the last head gasket replacement"
William N., CA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"$4000 to replace head gasket at Subaru dealership, absolutely unacceptable"
Brian H., VA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Warped, needed to be replaced. Common for this model at 100000"
Anonymous, NV (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Head gasket is "going" - leaking oil at a fairly regular rate and is also 'pulling in' anti-freeze"
Pam B., WI (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"head gasket failure during cold weather resulting in overheating gasket, machine head, replace radiator about $2000.00. Mechanic said common problem.. did many that month"
Anonymous, VA (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Was leaking oil. Needed replacement. Was quite expensive"
Anonymous, NV (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Head gaskets replaced about 4 years ago, they are leaking again. Mechanic said it is a chronic problem with H4 Subaru engines"
Anonymous, MD (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Headgasket started leaking oil at about 145,000 miles"
Anonymous, CO (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Have had to replace the head gasket twice in 150000 miles"
Russell T., WA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Second time head gaskets had to be replaced"
Anonymous, WA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Replaced qt 90000 miles, also with a slightly older Subaru Legacy, it all felt like part of a plan by Subaru or the dealer -- I didn't address the issue"
W S., NC (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Dealer and independent mechanics tell me that this is consistently a problem with Subaru horizontal engines"
Anonymous, VA (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The head gasket went after 130000k. The dealer told us there was a problem with the manufacturer's gasket. We were able to drive it while we were waiting for the appointment"
Anonymous, BC (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"1600 repair bill"
B D., IN (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Used sealer per Subaru instructions when they said "there seem to be some problems", drained radiator as instructed, used proper sealer, etc, occurred around 135K miles.Enough fluid leakage to destroy rack/pinion rubber shroud, very little to engine"
James P., VA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Subaru system for replacing head gaskets involves pulling the engine and cost over $2000 and tqakes up to 3 days to do the job"
Charlie B., WA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Based on my research of other 2002 Subaru Forester owners, this model year had a significant problem with leaky head gaskets. I had mine replaced once about 9 years ago, and it's leaking again."
Anonymous, WI (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Second head gasket replacement with less than 90000 miles."
Anonymous, VA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"I have been told that there is an issue- not sure it is-car still drives very well."
Anonymous, NM (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"During the recommended milage replacement for the timing belt, a leak in the head gasket was discovered and repaired. Also, replacing the water pump was part ot the timing belt replacement/"
R R., AZ (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Second time replacing the timing belt which is expensive. Both times I had it done at the same time as the head gasket, saving $300"
William N., CA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Timing belt was not due for replacement, but apparently the water pump belt broke and there was a chain reaction (?). Plus, I was in a hurry and ignored a suspicious noise, probably the water pump, and kept driving until the timing belt broke and disaster struck. This car could have lasted some more years if not for me"
Sandra P., HI (2002 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The car was rarely driven and only had 54000 miles on it and needed the timing belt changed"
Charlie B., WA (2002 Subaru Forester S 2.5-L 4 Cyl)
"head gasket leak"
Scott A., GA (2002 Subaru Forester L 2.5-L 4 Cyl)