2004 Subaru Forester — Known Issues & Recalls

The rubber fuel injector lines under your intake manifold can develop dangerous gasoline leaks as the rubber deteriorates or factory clamps loosen over time. Fuel pooling on the hot engine block creates a serious fire hazard. This is a known design issue on similar Subaru models that affects your Forester. The fix typically involves replacing the rubber fuel lines and clamps with more reliable components.

Your fuel lines under the turbo in the engine compartment leak when it's cold outside. This appears to be a cold weather-specific issue that requires inspection and repair of the fuel system components in that area.

A neoprene hose connected to the right fuel rail at the top of your engine started leaking, causing raw fuel to spill onto the engine. While driving, the fuel smell was drawn into your cabin through the air intake system. When you stopped, fuel was actively dripping from the high-pressure hose.

Your car has a fuel leak under the front of the vehicle, which you'll notice as a strong fuel smell inside the car when you start it up. This is a safety concern that needs immediate attention. The repair will likely involve locating and fixing or replacing the leaking fuel line or fuel system component.

Your car has a persistent gasoline smell that you can't locate, especially when you fill up the gas tank. You've already had a gas pressure line behind the rear seat repaired after it burst, but the smell continues. Since you've noticed many similar complaints for this year and model, a fuel system inspection may be needed to identify the source of the leak.

During cold weather, you may notice a strong fuel smell inside your car while driving or stopped. The problem is in the fuel line fittings in the engine bay—when it gets cold, these fittings or hoses contract and cause fuel to leak near hot engine components. A mechanic will need to inspect and likely replace the fuel line fittings to stop the leak.

You noticed a strong fuel smell coming from under the front passenger side of your car when trying to start it in cold weather. The smell appeared at around 160,000 miles. A fuel leak or damaged fuel line in that area may need to be inspected and repaired.

Your car has fuel leaks in the low and high pressure fuel hoses that allow a strong fuel smell to enter the cabin through the climate control system. The odor is most noticeable on cold days and typically fades once the engine warms up, but it may be strong enough to require driving with windows down. Fixing this will likely involve inspecting the fuel hoses for cracks or damage and replacing any that are leaking.

While reversing your 2004 Subaru Forester in the driveway, you heard an unusual noise and noticed the front driver's side tire pointing outward, causing you to lose steering control. Your vehicle became undrivable. You replaced the axle shaft, lower control arm, and bolt joint yourself to fix the problem, which may have been related to a previous suspension recall your vehicle had undergone in 2012.

While driving at 40 mph on a highway, your right control arm snapped, causing your right tire to bounce and almost making you lose control of the car. The dealer found that the right control arm was broken and separated, the front axle assembly was damaged, the stabilizer link was damaged, and the left control arm was severely rusted. Subaru covered the parts but you had to pay labor costs, even though a previous recall in 2012 involved rust-proofing this same area. A repair might involve replacing the control arms, stabilizer link, and inspecting or replacing the front axle assembly.

Your car's right front lower control arm broke in half due to rust and corrosion while being driven in reverse out of your driveway. The left control arm was also severely rusted. Your Forester had a recall completed in 2011 for this exact issue where the control arms received rust prevention treatment, but this treatment only lasted about 7 years before the arm failed. Replacing both front lower control arms will be necessary to restore safe steering control.

While driving at 35 mph, your front passenger-side lower control arm fractured and jammed into the wheel, causing the wheel to seize and your vehicle to slide to a stop. A mechanic found the lower control arm was severely damaged due to corrosion and rust, and the CV axle and rotor were also damaged. This happened even though a related recall repair had been performed previously on the vehicle. Fixing this will require replacing the lower control arm, CV axle, and rotor.

During a routine safety check, you learned that your lower control arm was completely rusted. While Subaru offers special coverage for this issue under a recall campaign, your vehicle isn't eligible because it wasn't registered in one of the covered states. Subaru confirmed your vehicle isn't included in the recall (Campaign 11V464000), so the repair isn't covered for free. Repairing a rusted lower control arm typically involves replacing the part and may require wheel alignment afterward.

Your front control arms are rusting and deteriorating, and the front crash bars are also rotting due to AC refrigerant leaking onto them. This is an expensive repair, as control arms cost around $200 each plus labor, and finding replacement crash bars can be difficult since they're prone to the same rust problem. The issue stems from AC fluid dripping directly onto these suspension components.

Your brake pedal went all the way to the floor when you tried to brake, causing your car to take much longer to stop. The dealer found that your brake hoses had failed due to rust and corrosion on the brake lines, and also discovered extensive rust damage to your vehicle's subframe. The repair wasn't completed at the time of this report.

Your lower control arm broke while you were driving, which caused you to crash and damage other suspension and body parts including the fender. Even though a recall repair was previously done on this part, the repair apparently wasn't done correctly. You'll need to have the suspension system thoroughly inspected and repaired, likely including replacement of the lower control arms, suspension components, and any damaged body panels.

While using a parking gate machine, you shifted into Neutral and the engine surged slightly before settling. When you shifted back into Drive and gently pressed the gas pedal, the engine suddenly surged to full throttle and the car rapidly accelerated on its own for several seconds. You were unable to brake hard enough to stop the vehicle, and it collided with a granite post, injuring you.

Your airbag warning light is on due to a faulty solder connection in the airbag system, which may disable some or all of your airbags. This is a known issue affecting 2003-2004 Subaru Foresters. The fix will likely involve inspecting and repairing the solder connections in the airbag control circuit.

The bracket that holds your sway bar bushing has fallen off. This component helps keep your car stable during turns, so losing it could affect how your vehicle handles on the road. You should have this bracket and bushing inspected and reattached or replaced as soon as possible.

Your engine has a leak coming from the head gasket or head cover gasket, which was diagnosed by a Subaru dealer at 161,000 miles. The dealer said this part needs to be replaced, but it's not covered under warranty and you'd have to pay for the repair yourself. Replacing the head gasket typically involves removing the cylinder head and installing a new gasket seal.