I'm in need of a liitle help, on my way back from yet another long London drive my windscreen misted up so I turned on the heater to clear it but this only made it worse. I noticed smoke coming in through the vents and a sweet smell which I figured out was the coolant smell. If I turn the heater to cold it stops the smoke and smell but if it's turned to any heat it mists and doesn't clear. I believe the issue could be the heater matrix.

Would this be correct and if it is, is it an expensive fix or can I do it myself.

 

I had exactly the same symptoms on my MY99 UK Turbo.

It was a leaking heater matrix and to replace meant removing the complete dashboard.
My local garage did the job and if I remember correctly I was charged about six hours labour.
I had to buy a new part from Subaru at a cost of around £250, and that was five years ago. Maybe you could source one from a breaker, but you always risk having to remove the dashboard again if that one goes wrong.
I remember being shown the removed heater matrix and the only damage was a pin ***** hole in one of the corner welds.

The annoying thing was when I bought the car around seven years ago it came with paperwork for a replacement heater matrix. That invoice was for over £700 but was done at a Subaru dealer.

There have been threads on here before about this problem. I'm not sure if somebody has ever replaced the heater matrix without a full dashboard removal.

 

Perfect, thanks for your help. Gotta get it done, it's the last thing that needs doing before setting to work on the body