Used 2004 Subaru Forester Wagon Consumer Reviews
Used Forester for sale
Premature wheel bearing failure
pinging_ej25, 12/04/2009
2004 Subaru Forester X AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I bought the car new and liked it with respect to driving and its AWD feature. What owners should be aware of is that this is a high maintenance vehicle. Parts like the wheel bearing fail prematurely (<60,000 miles) and can go on undetected for months and years and mistaken as just tire noise. Repair cost is >$450 per wheel.
Expensive parts, noisy on highway, worst car I ever had.
whatwhatwhat1, 01/15/2013
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon w/Premium Leather Package (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 4A)
12 of 20 people found this review helpful
I bought this car used in 2009. In three years, I spend $2400 in repairs (rear bearings on both sides, head gasket, rocker bars in the front that were recalled, air conditioner compressor) and when I traded it in today for a 2012 Camry, the turbo was smoking and the transmission was on it's way out too. It had 140K miles. Parts are hard to come by, none of the charging ports worked on it and the check engine light was always coming on, which turned off the cruise control. in three years, I got to use the cruise control once. It was a nightmare to own. It was almost impossible to talk on speakerphone on the highway due to the road noise. and the backseat doesn't have any legroom.
STi in disguse
Foos, 11/19/2007
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Overall, this is the best car I have ever had. You have all the utility of a station wagon/SUV, but the guts of a sports car. With a little bit of tuning, this car competes with a stock STi. Without a doubt this is the wolf in the sheep's clothing.
Near to perfect design
netmate98, 10/12/2010
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon w/Premium Leather Package (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 4A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Gas mileage just plain bad, I got the same mileage, 13 mpg, with a 2006 8 cylinder hemi daytona with 360 hp. This has great hp for a 4 cylinder and is very fun wagon to drive. The leather seating is well done. Tilt wheel would raise the comfort level. Better quality front seat back handle control needed. Near perfect interior-exterior design. Window whistle at 45 mph annoying, need window frames. Sacrificing quality for weight savings don't work for me, the aluminum hood takes a beating on the highway. The expensive to fix cd changer radio is a let down.
The Total Package
Chris & Lisa, 09/13/2003
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 4A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
This past June, my wife and I recently had a baby and we needed a vehicle with space, safety, and reliability being the primary features. Not wanting to relinquish my youthful sports car days I naturally suggested the WRX wagon. She had her eye on the Forester which at the time didnt have the turbo feature. I loved the WRX for being, well a WRX but we could just not compromise the space the Forester had to offer. Enter the Forester XT. This car was actually FASTER (yes faster) then the WRX and had all the space and comfort we needed to go with an all world safety pedigree. The Subaru Forester XT is the complete total package. Congrats Subaru, well done!!
Impressive engine
Leonardo, 07/30/2003
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 4A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Bought very recently, so no comment about reliability valid at this time. Test drove both the XT turbo and non- turbo XS. Liked both actually, but shocked by the goodess and tractability of the turbo 2.5 engine. Tons of torque. No turbo wind-up. None. Motor goes about business effortlessly in day to day driving - much less frenetic than most autos, can get the job done at low rpm easily so it ends up being smooth and quiet. This car has two personalities - the very competent and comfortable daily driver being the main and most useful one. Push the accelerator past half tho'and it just flat flies. No noise or fanfare, just takes off.
04 Forester beats the competition
chruser, 01/14/2004
2004 Subaru Forester XS AWD 4dr Wagon w/Premium Package (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
replaced my 1999 Forester with the 04 model. What a delightful surprise to see what has happen in 5 yrs. Better interior design, a little higher seating, more comfort, better handling. Plush. Loved the 99, had 75,000 miles and never a problem. Quality and value you come to expect from Suburu. Test drove toyota rav4, honda crv, hyundai sante fe and jeep liberty, and tryed the Subura LAST. None of the competitors could stand up, and I really tryed not to buy another Suburu because I wanted to see if there was something better in that class--dont waste your time--try the Suburu Forester 1st. NO NEED to go further.
The Enthusiasts' Family Vehicle
kameojoon, 01/23/2004
2004 Subaru Forester XT AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Amazing power. Subaru must under rate the power/torque on these cars. I've seen dyno results of stock XT's that would support this. The responsiveness is nothing short of amazing for a sub $30k vehicle with ample seating for 4 adults. Great handling and all wheel drive versatility. This is a great performer that will give lots of higher end performance cars a run for their money. Exceptional sleeper.
Very reliable car
subaru enthusiast, 09/23/2009
2004 Subaru Forester XS AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 5M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Great car. Currently at 120,000 miles. The only major problem was leaky head gaskets which I think is an inherent defect in the engine. But easily fixed for less than $1000. Otherwise the best car I have ever owned. On my way to 200,000 miles and beyond.
Subaru put the utility in SUV
John Flynn, 05/01/2017
updated 12/09/2019
2004 Subaru Forester X AWD 4dr Wagon (2.5L 4cyl 4A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
A very practical car. This older, smaller body style is more maneuverable than current upsized Foresters. Make sure previous owners had differentials serviced and engine head gaskets replaced when buying a used one. At 150,000 miles and 13 years of service, the car - in additional to regular maintenance service - required replacement of a rear wheel bearing, alternator and exhaust pipe.
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