Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Subaru Forester owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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.
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. …
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.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH and attempting to avoid hitting an animal he lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over three times and crashed. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact was transported to a hospital. The details of the injuries were unknown. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage were 126.000.
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 was driving at 55 MPH when my right front control arm snapped. I looked to ensure no vehicles were coming, and made the decision to turn left to get back on the road with all four tires as I could only turn left. I could not control the vehicle, and the vehicle turned side ways and then rolled three consecutive times landing on its wheels facing south. I was transported to the hospital . On the way to the hospital in the ambulance the driver had to stop, because I was throwing up convulsively while being strapped to a backboard and I thought I was going to die of not being able to breath due to my airway being filled with vomit. …
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. 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. …
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. …
2013 Subaru. Consumer writes in regards to brake problems. The consumer stated almost from the moment, he purchased the vehicle, he and his wife experienced problems with the brakes. The consumer stated on two occasions, his wife experienced a slow brake response. The consumer stated the first time the incident happened, his wife was driving downhill and when she attempted to apply the brake, the vehicle would not stop, which resulted in an accident. His wife suffered a back injury. The second time the incident happened, his wife was driving again, and the brakes did not respond. Consequently, his wife had another accident. The consumer also stated the air bags did not deploy in either accident. Updated 04/04/14
Airbag complaints in other Forester years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2003 Subaru Forester?
NHTSA has 25 complaints about the air bags of the 2003 Subaru Forester, 13% of the model year's 189 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Subaru Forester airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2003 Subaru Forester, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Subaru Forester airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 59,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 0 fires and 6 injuries and 2 deaths to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.