Strong fuel odor inside cabin developed when operating on cold mornings; fuel odor typically went away within 15 minutes of starting the car. Inspection of fuel lines, filter, etc. Revealed no obvious leaks above the intake manifold. Dealer quoted approximately $800 to remove intake manifold and inspect. I have had two independent shops attempt to fix this issue over the past 3 years with varying degrees of success; the most recent (2011) removed the intake manifold and replaced all rubber fuel lines under the manifold, but the problem has recurred this fall and winter and at increasingly warm temperatures. Now, there is a visible and obvious leak from a fuel line just as it goes under the manifold--inaccessible without removing the manifold. Clearly, the problem is with the design of the metal fuel rail to rubber line interface, since this is a common problem in Forester xts across several model years. Subaru of America issued a recall for this problem on the WRX, but so far has not acknowledged the problem for the Forester or Forester xt. This is a costly repair and a huge safety issue: The leaking fuel drips directly onto the engine cylinder heads and in some cases (on passenger-side fuel line leaks) is in close proximity to the turbocharger--representing a significant risk of engine fire. The fuel fumes in the cabin are also a health and safety risk which should be dealt with by Subaru.

- Faifax, VA, USA

The engine overheated and seized while on a freeway without a single warning light regarding high temp or check engine. No coolant was visible in the radiator during inspection after the incident. Shouldn't a 21st century driver/owner be notified by some indicator that they are on the verge of heating an engine to the point of failure" and where did the coolant go? does this vehicle have a history of bad thermostats I'm not aware of" it would have been a lot safer if there were some warning light for high temp so we can pull over to allow the car to cool down in order to prevent an accident and save the engine.

- Dublin, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Subaru Forester. The contact stated there was a slight leak of oil coming from the engine that was dripping into the catylitic converter. The vehicle was taken to dealer after learning of NHTSA recall campaign id number: 04V473000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was 78,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

- New York, NY, USA