Need general Forester info

Oct 09, 2004 2 Replies

My daughter has a 98 Forester and is having some troubles. I haven't seen the car, so I don't know much about it. I would like to know if the Subaru repair manual is the only one around, or is there a Haynes or other manual? Also, I was wondering how trouble codes from the controller are read - are there LED's on the controller, or does it require some extra gadget plugged into it to read codes. Also, if I can get trouble codes, do I need a manual to interpret them, or is there a list on line somewhere? The check engine light came on , and the problem seems associated with the engine or exhaust, which could be O2 sensors, catalytic, or any number of things. I thought the codes would be a good place to start.



Joe from Massachusetts


The codes can be read free at AutoZone and this NG has the code information. I use the Haynes manual for the 1998 Subaru Legacy as the driveline,engine and most other stuff is the same or very similar. I think I paid ~12 dollars at a major autoparts store. ed

All 96 and later (and a few earlier) US market cars use OBD-II diagnostics, and the trouble codes can be read with an OBD-II scanner. I think there are a few different physical interfaces for OBD-II vehicles, but my Forester (and my '95 Nissan) connect directly to my ~$100 OBD-II scanner.

You can look up the codes on the web. For diagnostic procedures for a specific trouble code, your best bet might be the factory service manual.

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