Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||||
| 09012003 | 09/01/2003 | 10016481 | Airbag connectors were difficult for the technicians to get apart for the side airbag on some vehicles. *sc | 09/13/2005 | |
| 17 | 03/01/2005 | 10015705 | Srs codes 41 & 42. subaru tech tips. *tt | 08/10/2005 | |
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | |||||
| 08302004 | 08/30/2004 | 10009790 | Availability of harness repair and clip kit for service bulletin 17-07-04 srs side air bag system. *tt | 10/25/2004 | |
| 170704 | 08/05/2004 | 10009789 | Trouble code 41 and 42 in the diagnostic system of the srs side air bag system. *tt | 10/25/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 04/04/2012 | 95000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. the contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they advised that the occupancy sensors needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle was not included in the recall. the failure mileage was 95,000. kmj | |||
| 04/04/2012 | 95000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. the contact stated that while driving, the air bag light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the occupancy sensors needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified and they stated that the vehicle was not included in the recall. the failure mileage was 95,000. ap | |||
| 05/01/2012 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Air bag light remains on. after 3 attempts to repair in the shop, still remains on. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2012 | 90000 | ||
| Air bag light remains on. after 3 attempts to repair in the shop, still remains on. | |||
| 06/21/2012 | 63450 | ||
| 2003 subaru forester. passenger side airbag light on. dealer stated that airbag on passenger side harness wires were corroded and required harness repair. subaru parent company said there is only a 30000 mile warranty on the airbag wires.... this is a design defect and safety issue. should be covered u der 100,000 warranty. | |||
| 05/29/2011 | |||
| I have a 2003 subaru forester and have had an ongoing problem with the air bag light coming on. sometimes it comes on and goes off by itself. most recently, it went off after i changed the passenger seat position. i have been advised that it is due to the airbag sensors under the front seats being jostled or detached either by changing seat positions or sliding something down alongside the seat (like a magazine or newspaper.) i've had the sensor on the passenger side fixed at considerable cost to me. it's annoying and clearly a design problem that should be remedied by the dealer at no charge. | |||
| 11/22/2010 | 101570 | ||
| Frontal impact while striking a deer at this speed should have deployed both air bags. the air bag light sometimes would remain on, but mostly it was off. from what i have found through other complaints is that this year vehicle is known for this issue, but a recall has not been issued. is it going to take a death to force subaru to correct this issue? the other issue found while repairing the vehicle is that both head gaskets are seeping coolant, the drivers side is seeping more just like the recall describes on 1999-2002 models. even though this a 2003 it was purchased in the fall of 2002, subaru failed to contact me and advise me to add the $1.44 coolant additive to save the head gaskets. how is a consumer supposed to know these little details? now the vehicle has too many miles for them to care, sticking me with the estimated $2000 repair. | |||
| 07/23/2009 | 44195 | 1 | |
| My check engine light came on and i brought my car to my local subaru dealer. the service technician examined the car and determined that the engine light had come on because of a problem with my airbag. however, upon examination, he was unable to find anything wrong with the airbag and the engine light went off. i was then told not to worry about it since it was probably nothing. luckily, the manager overheard the conversation and remembered a service bulletin (#17-07-04) that had been issued by subaru regarding this very problem for 2003 subaru foresters. he explained to me that oxidation on the contacts in the wiring harness for the airbag sensor was causing the airbag light to come on and that i needed to have the necessary work completed (per the service bulletin) or else the airbags might not activate in an emergency. since this is a protected part located inside the vehicle i feel that it was not designed appropriately to resist oxidation and that such a factory defect could potentially result in a very serious safety issue to owners of this model subaru car. (we have a 2001 forester with 112,000 miles and have never experienced any problem of this nature.) i looked online and found numerous similar complaints | |||
| 09/06/2008 | 1 | ||
| Airbag warning light illuminates when drivers seat is moved. it appears that the electrical connector beneath the drivers seat is defective. i have found many complaints on the internet of this problem for the 2003 subaru forester. it is an obvious manufacturing defect. why no recall? this is a serious problem with the cars srs. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2007 | 63589 | 15 | 05/01/2003 |
| Air bag light would come on and stay on for a few days and then go off. this condition would occur at random, with no warning. finally the light stayed on long enough for me to get it to the dealer. subaru dealer indicated that the wiring harness under the driver's seat for the airbag sensor had oxidized contacts leading to a failure of the airbag system. dealer could not explain why contacts inside car in a protected area could oxidize, but indicated that they had learned from service bulletins that this was a known problem with cars in the northeast. wiring harness part cost $17.13 but the labor to replace was $207.13 failure of such a critical part due to simple oxidation, especially where the part is protected inside the vehicle suggests that the part was not designed appropriately to resist oxidation/corrosion. this is a safety issue that could result in a failure of the airbag system with possible injury. *tr | |||
| 07/17/2007 | 1 | 07/10/2006 | |
| After pickingthe car up from an oil change i noticed the air bag light was on. i drove the car back to dealership, and technician told me that from adjusting the seat the wires had become bent/loose, and they would have to take out seat and resolder the wires so the airbags could fire properly. are you supposed to be able to adjust your seats? *ak | |||
| 09/14/2006 | 57000 | 1 | 09/01/2002 |
| 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. | |||
| 07/15/2005 | 13611 | 20 | 06/30/2003 |
| 2003 forester for past 2 years the air bag light stays on after starting about once a month. subaru technician found that the air bag connector under drivers seat was loose and he plugged it back in. that fixed it for about a month. since then when light comes on i have to reach under seat from rear foot area and wiggle both plugs, air bag light goes out and works for about a month then i have to repeat the procedure. i do not like the idea of my airbag being disabled by a loose plug. what if i was in an accident after the plug loosened but before i restarted motor (apparently computer only checks air bag circuit each time car is started and light does not come on when connector becomes loose). *jb | |||
| 03/16/2005 | 27000 | 1 | 03/15/2003 |
| 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. the rear shade cover (cargo area) flew out of it's holders now bent is a (v-shape) and hit my wife in her right temple, adding to the head trauma she received when the seat belts failed and the air bags failed. her forehead hit the steering wheel, the left back part of the head was crushed hitting the hinge pillar and right temple was bruised from the rear cargo cover. in seconds, left her bleeding to death in this unit. i called subaru corp. in march to inform them of the accident (just) in case they wanted to investigate. (not interested) (very rude) i still have the unit here if you would like to check it out. it's (suppose) to be the safest unit on the road? *jb | |||
| 09/23/2003 | 27800 | 5 | 08/24/2002 |
| This vehicle posed a serious safety problem because the vehicle only had one key hole, but had five doors, the consumer was able to access the vehicle through the drivers side door/key hole. once the consumer was in the vehicle a lock pad on the door allowed for entry through the other doors, or a key remote. the consumer's lock pad also didn't work temporarily so the consumer couldn't open the hatch. the manufacturer and the dealer had not been notified of the problems. *jb the remote entry device did not work temporarily so the consumer had to gain access with the key to the only hole on the driver's door, but then the power locks failed so the consumer had no way to open the hatchback. there was no release for the vehicle. the air bag light was on and needed a new harness to re-fix the problem and the odometer along with the speedometer failed immediately after the consumer had taken ownership. *scc the consumer also stated there was a problem with the power windows *jb | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer noticed while traveling air bag indicator light stayed on. dealer had been contacted, technician could not duplicate problem. *ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 06/01/2011 | 87300 | ||
| Air bag light has been on for about a month. it went out once for a bit but has been on since. i had one service dept. say the problem was in the passenger side air bag sensor. ths subaru dealership said it was the air bag sensors under front seats.- caused by changing the position of the seats freqently and made the wires break. i have 88.000 miles on my car. i am the only driver so i do not change my seat position often. there was nothing noted at time of purchase about limiting change of seat position. this is actually rediculos. they stated it would cost $370 to fix and they had packet pars available and could easily replace them. they stated this is an uncommon problem - if so uncommon problem why did they have to come up with these replacement packets? i read they reengineered this part for the next year model. i did some checking and found serveral complaints from other owners of 2003 foresters with the same problem but not enought complaints to force a recall. . it is a definite common problem. in the end the dealership charged me $150 and replaced only one sensor which resolved the problem. i've read that such safety parts should be replaced at no cost? is this true? then i think i am owed a refund i am printing out a few of the same complaints and also the statement that this repair should cost nothing as it is a safety issue. could you please advise | |||
| 07/23/2007 | 52000 | 2 | 06/18/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 subaru forester. the contact bought a used car from a subaru dealer, which has a limited warranty for 90 days. she discovered that there are no air bags in the vehicle along with a non-working instrument cluster. the cost to repair or install the air bags is $1,200. she stated that the dealer misrepresented the vehicle regarding the air bags. the current and failure mileages were 52,000. | |||
| 02/26/2006 | 59287 | 1 | 11/27/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 35 mph on a gravel road a deer ran out in front of the vehicle. the contact tapped the brake pedal to miss the deer; this in turn caused the contact to lose control. the vehicle hit a double post head on, then slid down an embankment and stood on its nose. it then flipped onto the driver's side, rolled onto its top and then rested on its wheels. seat belts were in use, but did not restrain the occupant. frontal and side airbags did not deploy, injuries were sustained. the insurance company inspected the vehicle, but they could not determine why the air bags did not deploy. the vehicle was totaled, the manufacturer has been consulted. *ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL - SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | |||
| 11/04/2004 | 37000 | 1 | |
| When the passenger seat is reclined the car seat pinches the cable that connects the voltage that operates the air bags. when the cable is pinched it deactivates the air bags, preventing them from deploying. consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, who was asking $600.00 for repairs of a manufacturer's defect. *ak | |||
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | |||
| 02/26/2006 | 59287 | 1 | 11/27/2004 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 35 mph on a gravel road a deer ran out in front of the vehicle. the contact tapped the brake pedal to miss the deer; this in turn caused the contact to lose control. the vehicle hit a double post head on, then slid down an embankment and stood on its nose. it then flipped onto the driver's side, rolled onto its top and then rested on its wheels. seat belts were in use, but did not restrain the occupant. frontal and side airbags did not deploy, injuries were sustained. the insurance company inspected the vehicle, but they could not determine why the air bags did not deploy. the vehicle was totaled, the manufacturer has been consulted. *ak | |||
| Subaru replaced regular seats with leather after market seats. also, subaru stated that side impact air bags in rear may not deploy properly. please describe details.*ak | |||