NHTSA Safety Recalls
2003 Subaru Forester Recalls
The 2003 Subaru Forester has 3 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on September 6, 2011.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2003 Subaru Forester. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 3
- Owner complaints
- 189
- Crashes reported
- 17
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
in complaints
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2003 Subaru Forester, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
3 recalls on the 2003 Subaru Forester
Suspension: front: control arm: lower arm
- Campaign
- 11V464000
- Reported
- September 6, 2011
- Vehicles affected
- up to 318,215
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2008 Forester, 2 other models
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- Campaign
- 03V047000
- Reported
- February 20, 2003
- Vehicles affected
- up to 326
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Federal standard
- FMVSS 209, seat belt assemblies
- Same campaign
- only the 2003 Subaru Forester
Power train: automatic transmission
- Campaign
- 02V282000
- Reported
- October 30, 2002
- Vehicles affected
- up to 172,564
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2002 Forester, 4 other models
2003 Subaru Forester complaints by year
NHTSA has received 189 owner complaints about the 2003 Subaru Forester, the newest on August 23, 2025. Of these, 17 describe a crash (9%); owners reported 9 injuries and 2 deaths.
In complaints about the 2003 Subaru Forester, the component group named most often is the fuel system, gasoline (16%), followed by the fuel/propulsion system (14%) and the air bags (13%).
None of the 2003 Subaru Forester's 3 recalls concerns the fuel system, gasoline.
Where 2003 Subaru Forester owners gave the mileage (151 complaints), the median was 90,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Fuel System, Gasoline31
- Fuel/Propulsion System26
- Air Bags25
- Suspension22
- Engine And Engine Cooling19
- Structure19
Complaints received, by year
| 2002 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 18 | |
| 2004 | 10 | |
| 2005 | 6 | |
| 2006 | 8 | |
| 2007 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 8 | |
| 2009 | 7 | |
| 2010 | 8 | |
| 2011 | 6 | |
| 2012 | 9 | |
| 2013 | 16 | |
| 2014 | 33 | |
| 2015 | 16 | |
| 2016 | 6 | |
| 2017 | 6 | |
| 2018 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 2 |
Complaints about the 2003 Subaru Forester peaked in 2014, when NHTSA received 33. 24% arrived between 2002 and 2006, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2003 vehicles, the 2003 Subaru Forester drew 0.7× the complaints of the median Subaru Forester year in the same window: 13th highest of the 23 ranked years.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 3/5
The 189 complaints about the 2003 Subaru Forester are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Subaru Forester by model year
Other 2003 Subaru models
Newest record on this page: August 23, 2025. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted