2003 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 238 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Subaru Forester. Fuel system is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. After that come engine (13%) and air bags (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 238 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 28 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 190 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 30 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 20 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 21 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 27 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 11 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 6 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 190 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 85,000 miles. For fuel system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 102,000 miles (53 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 28 complaints mention a crash; 19 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 80% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Subaru Forester with enough data (85 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
March 16th 2006. 5:00 pm. It had snowed earlier that day. Witness claims the 2003 subaru forester slid in a curve into an on coming lane. Unit spun around and was hit in the left rear corner(tail light section) shoving the rear body panel and quarter panel inside the unit behind the rear passenger seat. Left rear tire was torn from the unit.
(all) the air bags failed. The passenger side rear, (fell) out of the carrier. The drivers auto lock on the seatbelt failed, the rear storage cover popped (out) of its holders, flew to the front (v'ed), hitting her in the rt temple, as she (bounced) backed and forth hitting the dash and center post drivers doors. Geico (gave) me the car incase subaru wanted to send an investor. Called them at their corp. #. Threatened to sue me if I went public. Had to hire a lawyer in fairbank.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. The contact stated that his vehicle is experiencing the same wiring harness failure as stated in the recall for the 2006 models. The dealer offered to repair it at the contact's expense. The NHTSA campaign id number was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 72,000.
2003 - subaru - forester - body hardware, fender, structural components & rails, lower frame left is completely rotted through. There was a recall on the support strut beside it but none on this. This is a major crash protection component as it connects the bumper to the frame. I talked to the dealer about it and they said there is no recall so it is my problem.