There are 6 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2003 Subaru Outback in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 6 of 6 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I RECENTLY HAD MY OUTBACK TOWED BECAUSE MY CAR WOULDN'T SHIFT OUT OF PARK. 1ST I CHECK THE NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH, GOOD TO GO NO PROBLEM. THEN MOVE ON TO MY FUSES, OKAY GREAT. INVESTIGATE SOME MORE TO FIND OUT THE WIRING ON THE OUTBACK HAS SOME DEFAULTS, I LOOK MORE INTO IT AND IT SEEMS IT'S NOT JUST ME WITH THE PROBLEM. MY CAR IS OLD AND CARRIES A LOT OF MILES, KEEP IN MIND THIS CAR IS MADE FOR THAT, BUT PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS ME WITH LOWER MILES. THE CARS LIFTGATE WIRE HARNESS IS A HUGE WEAKNESS ON THIS CAR. I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS WILL LOOK MORE INTO THIS AND RECALL IT. I LOVE MY SUBY AND HAVE GREW UP IN IT AND NOW HAVE THE HONOR OF OWNING IT. WE STILL HAVE MANY MORE YEARS OF DRIVING TOGETHER SO PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS SO I CAN KEEP HER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. TEMP FIX IT TO REMOVE BRAKE #4 HARNESS AND UNPLUG TO KEEP FROM BLOWING AND SMOKING. KEEP IN MIND ONLY LEAVES ME WITH 3 BRAKE LIGHTS. (THE ONE UNPLUGGED IS THE ONE ON THE HATCHBACK RIGHT SIDE) THIS IS VERY UNSAFE TO NOT HAD STABLE WIRING IN THE BRAKE LIGHTS, MY CAR WAS SMOKING. I CURRENTLY DO HAVE A 30 FUSE IN THAT SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO HOLD BETTER.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, A FIRE IGNITED ON THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR NEAR THE CONTROL PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS MOVED OFF THE ROADWAY AND THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED THE DEALER YET THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE AND THE BODY DAMAGE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 152,000.
THE SPEEDOMETER DOESN'T WORK. *TR
I BOUGHT A NEW 2003 SUBARU OUTBACK WAGON APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK AGO FROM SENATOR SUBARU, 3655 FLORIN ROAD, SACRAMENTO, CA 95823, 916-427-1234. I PICKED IT UP ON OCTOBER 27, 2003. ON OCTOBER 31, 2003 I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR BECAUSE IT WAS SHAKING BADLY AND STALLING WHILE DRIVING AND ON STARTUP. I PICKED THE VEHICLE UP ON NOVEMBER 1, 2003, AND THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE COMPUTER HAD TO BE RESET AND THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. I DID NOT RECEIVE A SERVICE REPORT CHECK OUT SLIP. ON NOVEMBER 1, 2003 IT HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND ON NOVEMBER 2, 2003, UPON START UP THE VEHICLE EMITTED A NOXIOUS CLOUD OF SMOKE FROM THE REAR. THE AT OIL TEMP LIGHT CAME ON FOR THE DURATION OF A SHORT DRIVE OF APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES. I TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK IN FOR SERVICE ON NOVEMBER 3, 2003. THE MANAGER, MOE, TOLD ME THAT IT WAS NOT SENATOR SUBARUS PROBLEM; IT WAS SUBARU OF AMERICAS PROBLEM. HE SAID THAT HE WOULD BE UPSET TOO IF THIS HAPPENED TO HIM. THE DEALER FOUND A CODE 11" WHICH WAS A TRANSMISSION CODE NOT ACCOMPANIED BY AN ENGINE CODE. THE MAINTENANCE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT THIS INDICATED THAT THE CAR STALLED WHILE BEING DRIVEN. THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST FOUR OTHER COMPLAINTS REGISTERED WITH THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION OF STALLING WHILE BEING DRIVEN OR ON STARTUP FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL. (SEE ATTACHED COPIES OF COMPLAINTS). ON NOVEMBER 4, 2003, THE DEALERS SERVICE MANAGER ASKED ME TO PICK UP THE CAR BECAUSE THEY CAN NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. ON NOVEMBER 5, 2003, THE DEALERS SERVICE MANAGER AGAIN CALLED ME AND SAID HE COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. HE SAID HE CLEARED THE CODE 11; THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. HE ADVISED ME TO PICK UP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAS A DANGEROUS CONDITION (STALLS WHILE BEING DRIVEN) WHICH HAS BEEN IN THE DEALERSHIP UNSUCCESSFULLY TWICE.*AK
THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURED ON 11/14/2002. CAR WAS NOT MOVING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS DEAD, CAR DID NOT TURN OVER. DT
DEALER SUBSTITUTED CHEAP AFTERMARKET SECURITY SYSTEM FOR REQUESTED SUBARU UPGRADE, TAMPERING WITH FACTORY WIRING IN PROCESS. WHEN CHALLENGED, DEALER REPLACED SYSTEM WITH SUBARU UPGRADE. HOWEVER, I AM CONCERNED THAT THE STRIPPED, SOLDERED AND MOST LIKELY CUT WIRES IN THE FACTORY HARNESS COULD PRODUCE A SHORT OR BACKFEED THAT MAY DAMAGE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS OR LEAD TO FIRE. IN ADDITION, ONE BUNDLE OF WIRES INTERFERES WITH THE MOVEMENT OF MY RIGHT FOOT FROM ACCELERATOR TO BRAKE. DT
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.