2003 Subaru Forester Problems, complaints & recalls

I bought a used vehicle and looked at it and they erased the codes I saw then erased it then I confronted them and was told nothing is wrong with the vehicle after telling them there is a recall on the suspension. Went to go get a alignment and was told it's severely unsafe to drive and the subframe is about to snap! The mechanic gave me photos and a report to return it imatelt but the used car lot said well u had every chance and I did it the mechanical stuff checked but the car place said everything is in good condition!

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2003 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while investigating the vehicle mileage at [[redacted]] , it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 21,084; however, the contact later discovered that on July 20, 2022, the mileage was 220,251. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2003 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the front of the vehicle and the contact became aware that the power steering was not functioning properly. After a visual inspection of the exterior of the vehicle, the contact observed that the passenger's side wheel appeared to have detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the frame rail, stabilizer, and...

The contact owns a 2003 Subaru Forester. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V464000 (Suspension). The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where an inspection was performed but nothing was replaced. The contact stated that while driving at unknown speed, the lower control arm cracked. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the lower control arm was rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.

The 2003 Subaru Forester Sub Frame is rusted. I live in Illinois.

Safety Recall: WVX34 NHTSA Campaign: 11V464000 The front lower passenger side control arm completely rusted in half. It occurred while parking vehicle, fortunately not driving at high speed. The recall was previously completed by Subaru dealership in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2011. According to service records, they had been treated with anti-corrosion coating... I purchased the vehicle from a family member of the original owner, weeks ago, December 2021. It had been serviced regularly by the dealership and now has...

I bought the 2003 Forrester off Craig's list While driving the car the steering is very loose and sways on the road . I noticed a small it was funny I could not identify it. I woke latter that night with a headache at the base of my skull and was extremely dizzy and nausea. I felt that way. Through out. The day. I drove it a short. distance the next day with the windows down. I begin hearing a grinding. Thumping noise in the rear . tites or brakes .bur it sounded like it was going to fall apart. The inside of the...

The head gasket failed in a manner which caused engine oil to leak onto the hot exhaust manifold. A strong burning odor is present after the engine warms up completely.

When ambient air temperature is cold (below about 20-30 f), the vehicle gives off a strong gasoline smell. This is caused by the fuel rail contracting to the point that some fuel is sprayed onto the engine compartment. Obviously, this is a fire risk.

I have a complaint about the proposed recall remedy for nhtsa id: 21e002000 . The notice says, "ningbo will notify distributors, and owners, and will replace the bulb with halogen bulbs, free of charge." This offered replacement of their defective led bulb with a halogen bulb is not an acceptable recall remedy because led bulbs are far superior to halogen bulbs. Especially led bulbs last much longer and drain much less power from the car's electrical system than halogen bulbs. I originally bought their led bulbs because of these advantages and replacing them with inferior halogen bulbs defeats the purpose of having bought led bulbs to begin with.

Tl* the contact's daughter owns a 2003 subaru forester. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 30 mph, the vehicle began to sway from side to side without warning while making an abnormal metallic grinding sound. His daughter pulled over and called him for assistance upon arrival, he noticed that the passenger's side front tire was not facing forward. The contact then inspected the vehicle and discovered that the front passenger's side tire was detached from the control arm. The contact also...

My mother was pulling her car out of the garage when it suddenly accelerated & shot down the driveway, across the street, thru the neighbor's house and landed in their backyard. The car just missed my father in the driveway and the neighbors in their house. The insurance adjuster said the car was airborne when it went thru the front door based on the damage to the front door & the skid marks on the tile in the hallway. The air bags didn't deploy. The car is a total loss. A few months prior to this my mother was...

Front subframe on the driver and passenger side rusts away causing failure. Could result in loss of control of vehicle and could injure passengers. Turning or hitting bumps could cause it to snap due to extra force.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at 65 mph, there was an abnormal noise which emitted from the passenger's side front suspension of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle became uncontrollable, going from the right lane to the extreme left lane, down an embankment into oncoming traffic. The contact stated that there was no other vehicle involved. No injuries were sustained. The contact stated on inspecting the vehicle, the contact became...

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. The contact noticed extensive rust, corrosion, and holes around the front frame of the vehicle. An independent mechanic replaced the front frame, and the passenger and driver side control arms. In addition, the rear frame and driver and passenger side control arms were also inspected with the expectation that those parts had also deteriorated and may need to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer. The contact was uncertain if the vehicle was included or...

The passenger side front lower control arm separated at the weld seam while my daughter was driving the car. The passenger side front tire swung rearward and outward because the front portion of the lower control arm separated from the rest of the control arm. This pulled the car off the road but luckily she was traveling at a slow speed on a side road on her way to get on the interstate and was able to get the car stopped before crashing. Had this happened at any normal road speed she would likely have died from a...

Fuel leaks from the fuel lines around the engine when it's cold.

Fuel line leaking under 20 degree temps, smells strongly of gas inside and outside of the vehicle while idoling as well as driving

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle during cold weather, an odor of fuel was present inside the vehicle. The failure would only occur in temperatures below 25 degrees. The vehicle was taken to neil huffman subaru dealer located at 4916 dixie hwy, louisville, ky 40216 who tighten and re-clamped the fuel lines but the failures continued to occurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 114,000. *Tt *tr

Vehicle was originally recalled in 2011/2012 for nhtsa campaign id number: 11v464000 nhtsa action number: pe11011. At time, dealer conducted punch test and determined lower control arm to "pass" and used some type of anti-corrosion spray. Fast forward to 2017 and lower control arms have "failed" punch test with significant corrosion. I only detected this failed, and potentially life threatening condition of vehicle, by personally inspecting under carriage prior to giving vehicle to 16 year-old son as first car. I...

Driving down the road and left front wheel locked up car went out of control and ended up in a ditch. Lucky was only driving 35 mph and not out on the freeway. This happened on a rural road with limited traffic. Left front lower control arm broke and wheel came up against the inner fender and causing loss of control. This broke the cv axle in half and also broke the tie rod ends. Both wheels pointed outward found a recall 11464000 and it was never completed on the car. Just bought the car in pa 2 weeks ago.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. While driving at a low speed, a loud noise was heard coming from the front of the vehicle. Upon exiting the vehicle, the contact found no damage. Upon re-entering the vehicle and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to move. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front lower control arm was fractured. In addition, the front passenger side lower control arm and sway bar link were severely rusted. The vehicle was...

When the weather turns cold there the smell of gasoline in the cabin it happens when the car is in idle mode when driving the smell dissipates but you can still smell it faintly I noticed it last year I went to the dealership in september 2016 and they noticed a pooling of gasoline but they notice anything because the weather was warm so they tightened they tightened the engine to the chassis

Three years ago, we started to notice a fuel smell when driving our 2003 subaru forester on very cold days (below 20 degrees). We took it to the local subaru dealer for service. They couldn't find a specific leak, but they tightened the clamps around the fuel lines. We continued to notice the smell and took the car to other service centers to see if another mechanic could find the source of the odor. We recently took the dark back to the subaru dealer and were informed that the fuel lines need to be replaced at...

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. While the vehicle was undergoing a routine oil change, the contact was informed that the subframe was completely rusted. The dealer diagnosed that the subframe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 119,000.