Subaru Forester 2003

• Recall 70618 [USA]: A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
  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.
  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.
  this is subaru's safety recall number wvx-34.Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.Safercar.Gov .

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• Recall 52529 [USA]: In the event of a crash, the front seat belts could unlatch, which could result in personal injury to the seat occupant.
  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.
  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.
  customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).

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• Recall 1663 [USA]: The vehicle could then move/roll without prior warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
  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.
  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.
  customers can also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236).

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• Recall R/2011/146 [UK]: Lower control arms may fail
  The front transverse links (lower control arms) may corrode leading to possible breakage if left without treatment.
  either additional rust proofing or replacement of the transverse links will be performed according to the degree of corrosion.

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• Recall 2011344 [Canada]: Suspension
  On certain vehicles, the front lower control arms could corrode due to exposure to humid environments and road de-icing chemicals. Over time, corrosion could progress causing thinning and perforation of the steel, which could allow the control arm to fracture near the forward pivot attachment to the chassis. Lower control arm failure could result in a loss of vehicle control and a crash causing property damage and/or personal injury. Correction: dealers will inspect the front lower control arms and, depending on the degree of corrosion exhibited, will either rustproof or replace them.

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• Recall 2003054 [Canada]: Seats and restraints
  On certain vehicles, the seat belt tongue plate may become disengaged with the seat belt buckle latch with a force less than the value specified in cmvss 209. This condition is caused by a slight lack of parallelism between the latch and the buckle body stamped section. Correction: dealer will replace the front seat belt buckles.

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• Recall 2002200 [Canada]: Powertrain
  On certain vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions, the parking pawl actuating rod ("parking rod") spring retainer may be defective. The parking pawl may not engage the parking gear fully and could cause the vehicle to move if the parking brake is not applied. Correction: dealers will replace the automatic transmission parking rod assembly. Replacement parts will not be available until january 2003.

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To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

• Front suspension control arm failure investigation # PE11011

  On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries usa, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the "salt belt" states including the district of columbia (dc). For the purpose of this investigation, "salt belt" states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin and dc.Odis analysis of consumer complaint data identified 11 reports alleging failure of either the right or left lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All of these complaints were associated with vehicles currently registered or originally sold in a "salt belt" state. Through a similar analysis of complaint and warranty data submitted to odi by subaru, odi identified 18 consumer complaints and 6 warranty claims associated with failure of the left or right front lower control arm due to excessive corrosion. All of these consumer complaints associated with vehicles either currently registered of originally sold in a "salt belt" state.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
  

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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 car had a oily dust all over it. And the funny smell. I looked. At exhaust. Pipe to see. How it looked and i put my finger in what was coming. Our. And it was dark oil. I have not driven the car since. I found out the name on the tittle is not who sold me the car. He lied to me about every thing. He said buyers remorse. I believe the car unsafe to drive i could have bern killed.

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.

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 discovered that the cv shaft was also detached from the transmission, which resulted in oil leaking onto the cross member. Due to the failure, the contact slowly drove the vehicle to his residence. Upon investigation, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the recall remedy was already performed on the vehicle. The contact was referred to a local dealer and no further assistance was offered. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.*dt*jb*dt the consumer provided photos and documents. *tr*dt

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 discovered that the cv shaft was also detached from the transmission, which resulted in oil leaking onto the cross member. Due to the failure, the contact slowly drove the vehicle to his residence. Upon investigation, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension) which he linked to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the recall remedy was already performed on the vehicle. The contact was referred to a local dealer and no further assistance was offered. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 190,000.*dt*jb*dt the consumer provided photos and documents. *tr*dt

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 parking the car when it suddenly accelerated. It crossed the sidewalk at the store & hit another car. At the time she thought that her foot must have slipped off the brake. My father drove it a few weeks after that & said it wanted to accelerate while he was stopped at a red light with his foot on the brake. The failure mileage was approx. 72,000.

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 aware that the passenger's side front lower control arm fractured which caused the separation of the wheel from the suspension. The fracture caused damage to the inside wheel well of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence. Miller subaru (1592 nj-38, lumberton, nj 08048, (609) 267-4000) was contacted and notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign number: 11v464000 (suspension). The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired but was not given proof that the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.

Common OBD-II Error Codes

• P0606 [1] PCM Processor Fault