(partial copy of message I sent to Subaru earlier this week.) [my] Forester is old, but I wouldn't be replacing it if I didn't need another head gasket. You surely are aware of the problem your 4 cyl. Engines have had with failing head gaskets. Unfortunately, this is the second one experiencing such failure. I replaced the original one several years back at my own expense. Let me state my unqualified case that I should not have had to pay for this replacement, as you--Subaru--knew well that gasket failure was in this car's future. How do I make this claim? well, when I bought the car, it came with an additive in the radiator. Something you call "coolant conditioner." Nobody told me why this was necessary. I found out one day when my temperature gauge red-lined and my radiator ran dry. I quickly made my way to the nearest Subaru dealership so, recognizing the problem, the mechanic there told me about this coolant conditioner and how it would have been installed in my Forester the day I drove it from the dealership. He sold me another bottleand advised me to pour it into the radiator immediately. I thought that would be the end of the problem, and I drove another, say 30,000 or so care-free miles, until the gasket again broke down. Time for a replacement, my personal mechanic advised me. I relented and drove about 40,000 miles on the new gasket...until experiencing failure again. As I indicated before, from a legal standpoint, you--Subaru--must have known it had a big problem on its hands. Why you failed to initiate a recall and were never called to task for it is a mystery to me. Recall what happened to Volkswagen only a few years back. They knew about their "problem" as well. Let me add that I know of scores of other Subaru owners more recent than 1999 that feel the same way.

- St. Paul, MN, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Subaru Forester. On several occasions, while driving, the engine overheated and seized. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 170,000.

- Terry, MS, USA

Note: Below is an extract from a message I sent to an attorney in Wisconsin in 2011 regarding the problems I was having with my vehicle. I have since had the cooling system problem repaired at my own expense. Note also: I see where there has been a recent entry for pending dealer repairs on a Honda civic (I think) pertaining to "coolant loss". at least Honda company will live up to and correct its manufacturing mistakes. I and others have had issues with their Subaru vehicles circa 1997-2004. The most important issue has to do with the cooling system losing coolant at an unacceptable rate. This is the result of functional design flaws of using different metals in the engine compartment. This allows larger than normal gaps to open up in the cylinder walls as the two metals expand differently when the engine heats up. Coupled with cheap gaskets, this formula has led to many engine seizures in these cars across the country due to overheating. (I've caught mine barely in time as the thermostat hit red-line twice now without warning.) meanwhile, Subaru knew about this problem from the onset, since dealers treated the coolant system with so-called coolant "conditioner" before selling these cars. And they didn't advise the purchaser that they were doing this and why. Problems is...the conditioner will not work indefinitely and may even accelerate the breakdown of the cheap gasket. I've got 81,400 miles now on my car and I'm on my second can of conditioner. But the coolant level keeps dropping and it's burning away in the hot engine. I can smell it when I leave the car in the garage overnight. (it smells sweet but I'm not too pleased with it.). Subaru has since had the forethought to change its gaskets to much sturdier ones. But, of course, that means I'd have to shell out thousands of dollars to replace mine.

- St. Paul, MN, USA