KnownCarProblemsHome › Subaru › Forester › 2004
2004 Subaru Forester Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 219 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Subaru Forester, most often about the fuel system (57% of complaints, typically around 107,000 miles). It is 9th of 27 Forester model years by number of complaints and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2004 Subaru Forester problems
Fuel system
124 complaints · 57%Half of these problems showed up before 107,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, delivery.
The contact owns a 2004 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that he could smell gasoline inside the cabin of the vehicle when driving at various speeds. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 107,000.
Tl contact owns a 2004 Subaru Forester xt. The contact stated that during cold weather he would smell gasoline fumes inside of the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed stated that he had a leak in his fuel line from the hose on the fuel rail. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was…
Engine
39 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system.
During the recent cold snap here in tennessee I got a report from a friend that his 2004 Forester xt was leaking fuel into his engine bay. I went out to start my car the next day and mine is doing the same thing. The fuel is slowly leaking onto the engine block. This is an extremely dangerous situation. I did some…
On very cold days while car is warming up, a strong smell of fuel is coming from under the intake manifold. A closer inspection reveals a small fuel leak from the fuel supply lines near the turbo. A Subaru impreza enthusiast forum has a "raw fuel smell" log of more than 131 pages and 3,000 posts…
Suspension
25 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 133,000 miles. Parts named most often: front, rear.
Control arms rotten out with front crash bars... Should be a recall on them as the control arms are about 200 each plus labor... And to find someone who has the front crash bars cause they rot out do to the AC leaking on them and rotten them out....
12-2017; driving , straight at 40mph, state highway, right control arm snapped , almost lost control, right tire was bouncing but was able to stop. Towed car to Subaru dealer , carbone, utica, ny. Contacted Subaru of america case # 1-28524133057. Was directed to have dealer inspect damage. Dealer inspected damage rt.…
Air bags
21 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 68,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
The contact owns a 2004 Subaru Forester. The contact stated the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where he was advised that one of the air bag plugs that was connected to the air bag wiring was not contacting. The contact was concerned with the possibility of…
The airbag light randomly goes on and off for periods of days at a time. This has been happening for many years. I brought it in to the Subaru dealer but they claimed it did not light up for them during their inspection. It then lit up for me on the way home and when I called the dealer from the road they would not…
Transmission
12 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 93,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission.
There has been a continuous oil leak from my 2004 Subaru Forester xs. My mechanic diagnosed the problem as a leak in the main seal between the transmission and the engine. This is not normal and it will cost me $1,000 to fix because the transmission will have to be removed. There are other complaints registered about…
In very cold weather (less than 10 f) the rubber gas lines leak very significant amounts of gas onto the engine and verynear the hot turbocharger. Another Subaru just caught fire in the o'neill tunnel. Http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/01/27/car-fire-causes-backup-in-oneill-tunnel/
Speed control
12 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 50,500 miles. Parts named most often: accelerator pedal.
Vehicle abruptly accelerated while stopped with foot on brake in a residential neighborhood. Vehicle jumped a curb and clipped a tree at high speed cutting across two home lawns. Driver had no control of car and brakes did not work. Vehicle finally came to a rest after brake pedal had been pushed all the way to the…
While parking my car in a museum parking area on a slope, I shifted the automatic gear shift from reverse to drive and the car suddenly accelerated and took off down a crowded parking lot driveway at very high speed. The car was at a standstill at the time of the gear shifting. I could not slow or stop the rapidly…
Other or unspecified
9 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 106,000 miles.
Had timing belt replaced on 2004 Forester turbo as recommended on maintenance,schedule, next day on highway, loud screeching noise and lose of power. Stopped driving towed to mechanic. Said it was blown turbo. Never notified of banjo bolt issue, Subaru should recall or remedy situation at their cost.
In very cold weather, there is a strong gasoline smell inside the car that remains as the car warms up. This only occurs when temperatures are well below freezing.
Wheels and tires
5 complaints · 2%Half of these problems showed up before 56,000 miles.
Driver was pulling onto route 66 when her right rear wheel almost came off. Turns out the wheel bearing failed, which apparently caused the brakes to go out. The car went off the right shoulder of the on ramp, then skidded to the left completely across route 66, and ended up almost at the jersey wall in the median…
Noise from left rear wheel grew louder for weeks on a 2004 Subaru Forester xt turbo with 87,800 miles. Tires plus in cooper city, fl, replaced the left rear wheel bearing. It seemed unusually soon for normal wear, and I found similar online complaints about Subaru wheel bearings.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2004 Subaru Forester recalls
Suspension: lower arm
Risk: A broken control arm can result in the loss of control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Subaru will handle their vehicles and saab will handle theirs. Dealers will inspect the degree of corrosion of the front lower control arms, and will either rustproof or replace them. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during december 2011. Owners may contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Owners may contact saab at 1-800-955-9007.
Full defect summary
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2002-2007 impreza, model year 2003-2008 forester, and model year 2005-2006 saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured from september 5, 2000 through november 26, 2007 originally sold, or currently registered in, massachusetts, maryland, michigan, new hampshire, new york, pennsylvania, vermont, wisconsin, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, maine, minnesota, missouri, new jersey, ohio, rhode island, west virginia and the district of columbia. The front lower control arms may break at the hanger brackets due to corrosion if the hanger bracket is exposed to salty and humid environments such as roads containing snow melting agent.
Engine: engine and engine cooling
Risk: If leaking oil contacts components operating at high temperatures, a fire could result in the engine compartment.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and retighten the oil-flow control valve cover bolts. The recall began on october 8, 2004. Owners should contact subaru at 1-800-782-2783.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, the cover bolts for the engine oil control valve may not be sufficiently tightened, allowing oil to leak from around the cover gasket.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Front suspension control arm failure
Summary
On september 6, 2011, fuji heavy industries USA, inc, on behalf of subaru of america, inc notified the office of defects investigation (odi) it would be conducting a safety recall of certain model year (my) 2002 through 2007 subaru impreza, my 2003 through 2008 subaru forester, and my 2005 through 2006 saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or currently registered in one the salt belt states including the district of columbia (dc). For the purpose of this investigation, salt belt states include connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia
Questions about the 2004 Subaru Forester
- What are the most common problems with the 2004 Subaru Forester?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: fuel system (124 complaints, typically around 107,000 miles); engine (39 complaints, typically around 91,500 miles); suspension (25 complaints, typically around 133,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2004 Subaru Forester have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 6, 2011 (suspension). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2004 a bad year for the Subaru Forester?
- It is 9th of 27 Forester model years by number of complaints, with 219 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.