Car Mechanics (UK)

Engine choice

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Mechanical­ly, Foresters are pretty tough, like all Subarus. A common issue on the 2.0-litre units is an illuminate­d engine management light (EML), accompanie­d by a flashing cruise control warning. If the car drives fine, the most likely cause of this is that the EML has taken a signal from the catalyst or EGR valve suggesting that emissions are running too rich. Quite often the problem can be solved by simply giving the car a bit of a thrashing to clear any carbon deposits and resetting the service light, which is possible with any OBD-II code reader.

If the EML reappears, the problem is more than likely related to the EGR valve, which may need replacing. The flashing cruise control light, incidental­ly, is simply to tell you that cruise isn’t working – a standard procedure if the EML comes on at all, in order to protect the engine.

There’s also quite a bit of ambiguity about cambelt changes. On non-turbo cars, Subaru initially advised belt changes every eight years or 105,000 miles, which is quite an interval. However, this was later revised to six years and 60,000 miles, though the engine was little different. We’d favour the shorter interval, and also recommend changing the alternator drivebelt at the same time, as it’s much easier to access at the same time.

With turbocharg­ed cars, the belt change was always five years and 50,000

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