2003 Subaru Forester: recalls and complaints
NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for the 2003 Subaru Forester. The newest campaign is 11V464000. NHTSA received the report on 6 Sep 2011. The NHTSA record gives the component Suspension / Front / Control Arm / Lower Arm. NHTSA has 176 complaints on file for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation names this model year.
The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on these campaigns.
This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.
Remedy of the newest campaign, 11V464000, in the NHTSA record
Subaru will handle their vehicles and saab will handle theirs. Dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during december 2011. Owners may contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on . Complaint file through . Recall file through .
Since the last update
No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks
Recall campaigns
3 campaigns, newest first. 491,105 units in total.
11V464000Received . 318,215 units.
Suspension / Front / Control Arm / Lower Arm
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 impreza, model year 2003-2008 forester, and model year 2005-2006 saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured from september 5, 2000 through november 26, 2007 originally sold, or currently registered in, massachusetts, maryland, michigan, new hampshire, new york, pennsylvania, vermont, wisconsin, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, maine, minnesota, missouri, new jersey, ohio, rhode island, west virginia and the district of columbia. The front lower control arms may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion if the hanger bracket is exposed to salty and humid environments such as roads containing snow melting agent.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Subaru will handle their vehicles and saab will handle theirs. Dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during december 2011. Owners may contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Report filed by SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number WVX-34. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
03V047000Received . 326 units.
Seat Belts / Front / Buckle Assembly
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain passenger vehicles fail to comply with requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." the left and right front seat belt buckle/latch assemblies were improperly manufactured.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
In the event of a crash, the front seat belts could unlatch, which could result in personal injury to the seat occupant.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the left and right front seat belt buckle/latch assemblies. Owner notification began february 19, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
Report filed by SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number WWL-95.
02V282000Received . 172,564 units.
Power Train / Automatic Transmission
- Defect, in the NHTSA record
Certain sport utility and passenger vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions were produced with an improperly manufactured transmission parking rod. When the transmission selector lever is placed in the "p" (park) position, the transmission park mechanism, that is intended to hold your vehicle, may not engage.
- Consequence, in the NHTSA record
The vehicle could then move/roll without prior warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will replace the automatic transmission parking rod assembly. Owner notification january 8, 2003. An interim owner notification will be sent during november 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
Report filed by SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.. Manufacturer campaign number WWK-94. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: .
The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.
Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.
Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.
Complaints by component
176 complaints, 220 component mentions.
A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.
- 2003 Subaru Forester
- All 2003 vehicles
| Component | 2003 Forester | All 2003 vehicles | Forester, all years | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 140.9 | 36.5 | 46.9 | 31 |
| Air Bags | 113.6 | 82.2 | 111.8 | 25 |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 109.1 | 14.3 | 53.4 | 24 |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 86.4 | 77.7 | 56.8 | 19 |
| Structure | 86.4 | 62 | 32.4 | 19 |
| Suspension | 77.3 | 57.2 | 61.7 | 17 |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 63.6 | 42 | 98.5 | 14 |
| Power Train | 50 | 121 | 90.2 | 11 |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 50 | 58.7 | 30.3 | 11 |
| Engine | 45.5 | 27.3 | 95.4 | 10 |
The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 23.
- Complaints that report a crash
- 16
- Complaints that report a fire
- 0
- Injuries in the complaints
- 8
- Deaths in the complaints
- 2
- Date of the newest complaint
- 1 Nov 2018
These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.
Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.
Investigations
| Number | Type | Subject | Component | Opened | Closed | Campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PE11011 | Preliminary evaluation | Front suspension control arm failure | Suspension / Front / Control Arm | 7 Apr 2011 | 23 Sep 2011 | 11V464000 |
Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.
Other model years
The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.
Official channels
- NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
- NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
- NHTSA page of the 2003 Subaru ForesterThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.
Cite this page
Recall Register. 2003 Subaru Forester: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/subaru/forester/2003/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through .
Sources
- Source
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
- Licence
- US government work, public domain
- Recall file through
- 29 Sep 2026
- Complaint file through
- 15 May 2019
- First complaint in the file
- 1 Jan 1995
- Manufacturer in the recall file
- SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.
The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.
Questions
- How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2003 Subaru Forester?
- 491,105 units in 3 campaigns. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
- How many recall campaigns does the Subaru Forester have for all model years?
- NHTSA lists 43 recall campaigns for the Subaru Forester, model years 1998 to 2026. 3 of them name the 2003 model year.
- Which component do the complaints about the 2003 Subaru Forester name most often?
- Fuel System, Gasoline: 31 of 220 component mentions, or 140.9 per 1,000. For all 2003 vehicles the figure is 36.5 per 1,000.
- Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2003 Subaru Forester open?
- No. The 1 investigation that names this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.