2003 Subaru Forester electrical system problems

May 23, 2025 · failed May 23, 2023 · 220,251 miles · MO

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2003 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while investigating the vehicle mileage at [XXX] , 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)

Oct 28, 2008 · failed Oct 6, 2008 · 72,000 miles · CO

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.

Oct 7, 2006 · failed Oct 5, 2006 · 31,000 miles · FL

I recently had an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous incident with my 2003 forester, at, of all places, the local toyota dealership. I had stopped to discuss a service appointment. Upon leaving, my forester would not start, but exhibited symptoms of initially fuel starvation, and then poor ignition; it ran for 1/2-1 minute, missing frequently and then would die; within a few minutes, it would not run at all, suggesting either complete fuel or ignition failure. The toyota service department closed at 6, and their suggestion was to tow the forester to the nearly subaru dealership, one block away. And suggest that next time I get a rav4. The subaru service department closed at 5:30, of course, and there were only salespeople present. Their suggestion was to also tow the car to the service department. Finally, the sales manager suggested that it might be the security system. Of course, my forester did not have that option, but he said that he understood most of the circuitry existed, and that certain combinations of locking/unlocking the door with the key, or the door switch, could activate the ignition cutoff. He told me to shut all the doors and then lock/unlock the doors twice with the remote. I walked back, did that, and the forester started. After driving back and thanking him, I carefully read both the owner's manual and the separate manual for the remote/security system. There is no mention of this potential problem. Luckily, this happened in daylight, within walking distance of the subaru dealer, and there also happened to be someone there who could suggest a cure. 1) is this a known fault in the system? 2) if known (and the manager said he had heard of several cases) why is there not some description of the problem and the simple solution. *jb

Oct 7, 2006 · failed Oct 5, 2006 · 31,000 miles · FL

I recently had an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous incident with my 2003 forester, at, of all places, the local toyota dealership. I had stopped to discuss a service appointment. Upon leaving, my forester would not start, but exhibited symptoms of initially fuel starvation, and then poor ignition; it ran for 1/2-1 minute, missing frequently and then would die; within a few minutes, it would not run at all, suggesting either complete fuel or ignition failure. The toyota service department closed at 6, and their suggestion was to tow the forester to the nearly subaru dealership, one block away. And suggest that next time I get a rav4. The subaru service department closed at 5:30, of course, and there were only salespeople present. Their suggestion was to also tow the car to the service department. Finally, the sales manager suggested that it might be the security system. Of course, my forester did not have that option, but he said that he understood most of the circuitry existed, and that certain combinations of locking/unlocking the door with the key, or the door switch, could activate the ignition cutoff. He told me to shut all the doors and then lock/unlock the doors twice with the remote. I walked back, did that, and the forester started. After driving back and thanking him, I carefully read both the owner's manual and the separate manual for the remote/security system. There is no mention of this potential problem. Luckily, this happened in daylight, within walking distance of the subaru dealer, and there also happened to be someone there who could suggest a cure. 1) is this a known fault in the system? 2) if known (and the manager said he had heard of several cases) why is there not some description of the problem and the simple solution. *jb

Sep 14, 2006 · failed Sep 14, 2006 · 57,000 miles · MO

Dt*: the contact stated the air bag light illuminated. The dealership determined the harness assembly underneath the floor board was not long enough to maintain a connection and recommended a kit be installed. After the kit was installed, the air bag light went off.