2004 Subaru Forester Suspension Problems

“My daughter (driver) and a passenger pulled slowly out of our driveway in reverse, heading off to college (100 miles away) but just after pulling out in the street, the right front lower control arm of her 2004 Subaru Forester broke in half due to rust/corrosion. I was able to inch the car back into my garage and on jacks only to find the right lower control arm broke in half. I checked the other lower left control arm and it was very rusted. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest Subaru dealer. …”

“Driving appr. 35mph on state highway 6 in eastham, ma when steering wheel was jerked out of my hands, car abruptly moved to the right and into granite curb before coming to a stop. Upon exiting car I found right front tire turned to the right while other tires were facing forward. Right lower control arm was broken causing cv axle to break at inner joint. This was a crowded highway on a summer weekend in a resort area. I am extremely fortunate to not have been injured or caused injury to others. Repairs totaled $929.95”

“The control arm fell off. The body of the vehicle fell to the ground. The other one is almost completely rusted through. The recall on this part allowed the dealer to use their discretion to either replace the control arms, or spray rust proofing over corrosion, which they did. This obviously does not stop the rusting, and it eventually rusted through. I luckily was not injured. I am questioning the adequacy of the existing safety recall. To allow the dealer to decide if the corrosion is light enough to simply spray rust proofing over it seems ludicrous. …”

“While driving down a state highway(rte. 195), I experienced a severe vibration at normal highway speed limit in the left front drivers side wheel. I pulled over to a breakdown lane and got out to visually inspect the wheel and surrounding area for any sign of trouble and did not notice any. The following day while driving the same highway the vibration again occurred but on a more frequent basis. I arrived at my destination and did my business. While reversing and turning the vibration happened again but more intensely at this time. I proceeded to drive down a smaller state highway(rte. …”

“Failed recall on 2004 Subaru Forester xt front lower control arms. The front lower control arm on the passenger side of my Forester rusted in half. When backing out of a flat concrete driveway onto a city street, as I began to turn the wheel I heard/felt a pop in the front end. As I began to straighten the wheel it started making a grinding noise and I noticed the steering felt funny/loose. Before foing any further I pulled the car strait back into the driveway to inspect the problem. While I was jacking the car up I noticed immediately the front passenger wheel appear to go limp and sloppy. …”