Four problems related to clutch have been reported for the 1998 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Clutch chatters badly and clutch does not engage until the pedal is almost fully depressed when vehicle sits overnight. Problem seems more pronounced in colder weather, but occurs in all weather conditions. In addition to causing an unsafe driving situation, the condition may cause first and reverse gears to grind when selecting these gears from a stop. After driving a few miles the problem goes away and the clutch operates normally. The problem has been reported to Subaru repair shops numerous times, including at 33,220; 59,451; 74,213; and 92,380 miles. The Subaru repair shops can usually duplicate the chatter, but they have never been able to duplicate the clutch engaging only after being almost completely depressed. At 92,380 miles the vehicle was driven only 1. 5 miles in the morning to the Subaru repair shop with the poor clutch engagement still occurring, and the Subaru repair shop said they still could not duplicate the problem. The entire clutch assembly was removed and repaired shortly after the 33,220 mile service complaint at Subarus expense, but the problem returned within a few thousand miles. This appears to be a common problem for Subaru Foresters, and possibly other manual transmission Subarus (for ple, ://forums. Vmag. Com/suvsubaru0200/messages/5197. Html).
No summary. Dt.
Clutch cannot handle engine torque. Clutch chatters on engagement when cold, resulting in vehicle not starting up and accelerating as expected. This could cause accident if vehicle cannot move out of way of other traffic. Clutch vibration on hard acceleration first noted at 8653 miles and reported to dealer. Noticeable chatter when cold (under 40 degrees outside temp) until used several times. Chatter continues to become worse and occur at higher temperatures as mileage increases. Reported to delaer at 30,110 miles and dealer could not duplicate. Reported again at 35,913 miles and dealer noted but siad did not require repair. Reported again at 48,000 miles and dealer wants to repair at customer expense. Problem would have been covered under warranty if repaired at original report (8653 miles).
The clutch does not engage properly when the engine is cold and for extended periods in cold weather. Clutch "chatters" making it difficult to start up from rest without hesitation and/or stalling. Potentially dangerous in traffic. Clutch seems not strong enough to handle the torque of the engine.