**The Importance of Refrigerant Levels in Vehicles**

As I always tell people, all AC compressors that are belt driven like this one require a seal on the shaft to spin the compressor. The shaft spins inside the compressor and that seal on the end is designed to be a perfect seal, but it would burn out in a few hours because it would be dry on metal. It's made deliberately to leak a little AC refrigerant and AC oil to lubricate the seal, so it doesn't run dry. They all leak to some extent, but some are better than others.

For example, my 07 Matrix is an excellent case study. I recently put new refrigerant in it, and it took all those years, but it was still working pretty well. However, I realized that it must have leaked out over time. Evacuating the system and putting in a full load of refrigerant got it back up to speed.

I've seen Subaru's, Hondas, and other vehicles that sometimes require adding refrigerant every five or six years because they leak a little bit more. It's nothing outrageous, but don't get ripped off by guys saying you need a new compressor when the problem is just low refrigerant levels. Having it checked first is a simple and cheap fix.

**A Test Drive of the 2014 Subaru Forester**

I recently took a test drive in this Forester, which is made in Japan. I was impressed with its performance and features. The vehicle has a good view from its high seating position, and the ride is quite smooth. When turning, it handles very well, and it's stable platform makes it easy to handle.

As I drove, I could hear a little bit of noise coming from the tires, which is not as quiet as some other vehicles on the market. However, this is not unusual for mid-size SUVs that are high up in the air. None of them are really quiet, but it's not a deal-breaker.

The Forester has an all-wheel drive system, and I was told by its owner that it makes driving during snowy weather very safe. The tires have aggressive V-patterning, which provides excellent traction on both dry and wet roads.

**A Conversation with the Owner of a 2014 Subaru Forester**

I had the chance to talk to the owner of this Forester, who has been happy with his vehicle for many years. He's had it serviced regularly, including regular oil changes and battery replacements. However, he recently realized that he needed to add refrigerant to the system.

The owner told me that he did a lot of research on all-wheel drive systems and tires before purchasing this Forester. He was impressed with its performance and features, especially during snowy weather conditions.

**Convenience Features in Modern Vehicles**

I also asked the owner about his experience with the trunk-open feature in this Forester. I discovered that it's not just a luxury item but a convenience feature designed by Toyota to make daily life easier.

The system allows you to lock the car while leaving the trunk open, which is very convenient for grocery shopping or other errands. You don't have to unlock and re-lock the door every time you take something out of the trunk, which can be tedious and annoying.

This feature is available in many modern vehicles, including Toyota models like this Forester, as well as some Lexus models. It's a simple yet clever design that has become a standard feature in many modern cars.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the importance of refrigerant levels cannot be overstated when it comes to maintaining your vehicle. Regular checks and maintenance can prevent costly repairs down the road.

Additionally, the Subaru Forester is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a reliable and safe all-wheel drive system. Its features, including its V-patterned tires and trunk-open convenience feature, make it a great option for daily driving and snowy weather conditions.

If you have any questions or concerns about your vehicle, remember to check out our new car repair videos, where we'll cover everything from oil changes to advanced maintenance techniques. And don't forget to ring that bell!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines as usual i'm talking about real cars real people this is the 2015 subaru forester the guy bought it brand new and he's been pretty happy with it the ac has been a little bit odd for him he changed the air filter and the cabin airfield he said it's working better but he's not sure so we're going to check that out but if we look at the car overall now originally for years he got 27.6 miles a gallon it went down but it was a dirty air filter now it's 26.7 it's getting older but you have to comprehend it is an all-wheel drive vehicle almost all their vehicles are all all-wheel drive just a little sports car is only two-wheel drive but you get an all-wheel drive kind of crossover suv you're gonna get lower gas much now of course they lied to when he bought it you can see it's a partial zero emissions car and they said it was 32 miles a gallon which of course is nonsense he's a conservative driver he got 27.6 which is good for one of these vehicles of that size all-wheel drive but don't ever believe any of that crap on suv with all-wheel drive because if you remember a couple years ago when i was in texas lexus gave me one of their brand new suvs it was all-wheel drive it was only a four-cylinder engine this is only a four-cylinder engine they said it was rated at 36 miles a gallon and i got 24 miles a gallon on the highway in eco mode now granted i was going between houston and san antonio and back and the speed limit some of the parts is 75 to 80 miles an hour but still it said on a highway it's rated at that and it was horrible so for what he's getting that's good you know you're not going to get phenomenal gas mileage with all-wheel drive vehicles the only thing that you can get efficiency on that is if you went to an electric vehicle now look under the hood boxer four-cylinder engine two cylinders there two zones of that kind of volkswagen original style it's got all the amenities and electrics air conditioning and he hasn't had a problem with any of that stuff the other thing really had to change was the battery they're only gonna last so long and it's still in excellent shape he hasn't been running into anything it does have a lot of space especially when you go in the back then you got the little hatch in the back you can drop the seats have a lot of room but it better watch it here because we're real close to boston and he's a yankees fan it's cool memory height so everything is set the way you want you can turn the traction control off if you want it's got a big old sunroof moon roof whatever you want to call it i since it's a bit older hey he just put his own garmin stuff on still got the factory radio on it bob showing its age still got a cd player am fm but it does have xm stuck in it the whole vehicle doesn't have what you want yeah just plug it onto the cigarette lighter he's got his own system set up here you can make your own plugs plug them in but it is known enough to have a keyless system there's no key so we'll start her up starts right up it's got that subaru noise the sound that the boxer engines make and he was wondering about the ac system so we'll put the ac on full blast turn it down as low as we can there's low it's got dual controls we'll get all our ac gauges hang them up here now you can't hook them up backwards because they're different ends but it's a good idea this is marked there's a low side says hell for all hook them up now you notice the pressure doesn't say anything because you got to open the gauge up first to get the pressure reading and now you see there's a pressure ring but it's all cold out now it's not running yet so we got a wheel that turns itself on because when it's cold out they don't run all that much it's all ready we'll put the high side so we can read both sides now you can see the high sides working and the high sides ah that's almost 100 pounds and as cold as this outside normal stationary pressure you can see the compressor's not turning it's just sitting there when it turns on the pressure will go up okay now we'll turn it on we'll see if it comes on and you can see now it's coming on the pressure's now gone up and it's about 160 pounds pressure and the low side is only about 20 there we go that's kicking 20 when that's turning off it'll go up and that'll go down which is normal i can tell by the low side pressure it's a little bit low meaning that this system needs a little bit of refrigerant but it's so cold he's going to have to wait until it gets hot outside to add i can look it up my old data but if you look here it tells you right here it takes between 16 and 18 ounces which isn't much i remember back in the 60s some of these things held four or five pounds of refrigerant so what you do in this case is when it gets hot outside you have the entire system evacuated make it to a vacuum for half an hour then you put that amount of ounces in now this one lives on the east coast so i go max on that which is 18 ounces now interestingly enough say you live in the southwest within texas where i used to live in that case you better put in 16 instead of 18 the lower limit and that's because when it's super hot outside you're much better you got a place where it gets to be 100 degrees and 99 efficiency to have it a little bit lower they work better i know guys that lived in phoenix las vegas they always had to put a little bit less because if they filled it the whole way they had a tendency of over pressurizing the system and things would wear out and blow much faster but this is live in a cold climate it lives in connecticut so i would put 18 back in when it's warm outside like i said i wouldn't do it right now now i truly understand why he's got complaints he's got complaints because it's a little low on refrigerant and if you remember what i always tell people all ac compressors that are belt driven like this when the shaft spins there has to be a seal on the shaft that spins the compressor the shaft spin inside the compressor and that seal on the end is a perfect seal it would burn out in a few hours because it would be dry on metal it would burn out it's made deliberately to leak a little ac refrigerant ac oil to lubricate the seal so it doesn't run dry they all leak to some extent now some are better than others my 07 matrix for example i just put some refrigerant in it it took all those years and it was still working pretty good but i realized it must have leaked out so i evacuated and put in a full load but i've seen subaru's hondas that sometimes once every five or six years you've got to add some because they leak a little bit more it's nothing outrageous but don't get ripped off by guys saying oh you need a new compressor have the refrigerant level checked first because if it's low it's simple cheap fix you're not going to be sold a whole bill of goods that you don't need so let's take this thing for a spin now as you can see it's pretty high up vehicle you got a good view and here's our horrible rhode island roads and actually it doesn't ride all that bad now here we go and you can see hey it's not a race car but it's got plenty of get up and go it's going down the road and as you can see when you turn it's a very nice tight turning it's a very stable platform now he's got v-pad and climate tires on this and he doesn't even put snow tires on the winter and it works fine now if you listen you can hear a little bit of noise in the tires and not as quiet as the others but he doesn't care i mean hey just like me when you get older you don't hear things anyways all right so here we go we've got a subaru with 77 000 miles on it guy's been real happy with it it changes the oil and the battery and now he needs a little refrigerant that is it now he's got to take his wife to work in the morning with the all-wheel drive you never get stuck they love these tires because you can see they got the aggressive v pattern and although they're not actual snow tires with the all-wheel drive he has no problems at all they're called michelin cross climate i got to say i'm impressed now he used to race cars so he knows a lot about cars all-wheel drive is all-wheel drive but if you don't have the right tires it's not going to work right he did a lot of research and he's real happy with these tires all year long yeah if you really sign something you listen close you can hear a little bit more road noise not all that much but realize any mid-size suv high up in the air they make noise none of them are really quiet quiet quiet so it doesn't really make all that much difference so now you know the truth about this forester made in japan been a great vehicle for him he's happy with it not much maintenance at all and here's some bonus questions and answers money says i have a 2020 camry hybrid alley with 60 000 miles why can i leave my trunk open and lock the car it's a convenience feature most toyota vehicles have always been made that way my wife's 2002 lexus es 300 is that way you can lock the car but you can have the trunk open and that's so you can lock your car and then get the groceries out without having to turn the alarm on and off again it's just the way that they're set up and to me it makes total sense because what do you want every time you open the trunk you gotta unlock the car turn the alarm off pop the trunk and the alarm will stay on in the car and then when you close you don't have to set it all up over again they made it convenient for people it's a good system and it works totally fine so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell foreign\n"