This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Passenger Airbag occupancy light stays in off position when seat is occupied. When this occurs the airbag system warning light comes on. Took it to the dealership and they said the problem is the seat sensor, which they say is not covered by the earlier wiring harness for the sensor recall. Cost of part is 1,200 and with labor is 2,000. Part is on back order minimum 3 months. Dealer indicated they had three other people waiting for the same part. So basically I can't have anyone in the front passenger seat. Subaru forums are filled with similar stories. How is this not a recall?
I backed out of a parking space, put my foot on the brake and shifted into Drive to finish maneuvering out of the space. Although I didn't remove my foot from the brake, my Forester immediately accelerated at extremely high speed, striking the two cars parked next to me, and seriously damaging both. Rather than slowing down after hitting the other two vehicles, my car continued to speed up, only coming to a stop when it hit, head-on, a cement barrier surrounding the lot. My car hit with such force that every airbag in it deployed, and its front end was totally destroyed. No one was in the other two cars; I suffered minor injuries.
Issue with the Front Passenger Seat Airbag Sensor. The Airbag Warning Light, indicating an issue with the passenger side airbag, has been illuminated recently. Passenger seat is also occasionally registering as occupied even when no one is sitting in it. Previous recall on the same seat's wiring harness was completed previously. Took the vehicle to the dealer and they told me that the seat must have gotten wet to cause the issue. The seat has not been wet. Dealer said a new seat is needed at a price of roughly $1500. This is a safety issue, as I am uncertain whether the airbag will deploy if needed. Googling "2016 Subaru Forester Passenger Seat Airbag Sensor Issues" indicates that this is a systematic issue across Foresters of this model year and not isolated to my car.
ODS failure on passenger side impacting air bag. Cost to repair is prohibitive, $1922.97. Complete seat needs to be replaced. There was never any damage to the seat.
- Fullerton , CA, USA
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While driving, the passenger airbag system would initiate an alert that it needed service, at which time the passenger airbag would turn off with somebody sitting in the seat. My, and my passengers', safety was at risk by the airbag turning off with a full-grown adult sitting in the seat. A Subaru dealership confirmed the alerts and reset them. The code they captured was 'occupant detection sensor malfunction'. The alerts persisted, as did the airbag turning off. There is a previous recall related to this issue - the dealership made it clear that they would do nothing beyond the NHTSA required 'solution', which had already been done and did not solve the problem. They said the only way to positively fix it would be to replace the seat, and quoted me $1500 to do so. I contacted Subaru of America multiple times regarding this issue. They agreed to cover the cost of the seat replacement.
Occupant Detection Sensor Mat faulty. Intermittent ODS warning while passenger is seated. DTS B1760 and B1650. Seat has never experienced water damage, but shows staining due to age (7 years at this point). This is an obvious safety concern while driving with my loved ones.
I took my vehicle in for one of the recalls to replace the sensor mat for the passenger airbags. About a year went by and a warning came on and said problem with the SRS System Airbag and to get the issue checked out. This happens when a passenger is in the front passenger seat and the airbag is turned off when this alert comes on. I brought it back to the dealership, only for them to say that it wasn-??t the recall and the mat go wet. The mat has not gotten wet. However, the recall is for the same issue the sensor is having. The dealership said it would be $1300 to replace. I feel this is an issue that should have been resolved in the recall. Maybe if I didn-??t take it in then I wouldn-??t have this issue.
There was a recall for an airbag problem which would cause the front passenger airbag to not deploy because it did not sense there was a person in the passenger seat. The problem supposedly was repaired in 2021. Recently, the airbag light came on again and I brought it in to the Subaru dealer, who diagnosed an improper sensor under the passenger seat. They said that the airbag could not be fixed presently as a necessary part was on back order. They have no estimate for when it can be completed. Until the repair can be made, the front passenger has no airbag protection at all! When completed, the repair will cost me over $1300. Subaru of America has told me that I have to pay for this because the airbag system, supposedly fixed on the 2021 recall, is not on warranty. This is a hardship for us, retired senior citizens relying on Social Security. Even worse, until the part becomes available, the airbag system cannot be repaired! Subaru actually told me that no one should sit in the front passenger seat until this back ordered part becomes available at some unknown time in the future! It just is not possible in our family situation to have no one sit in the front passenger seat, as we frequently take our daughter and her two small children on outings and doctor visits. The man who told me this is named Grant and can be reached at 1-800-subaru3 with the case number 230314-1300095. Incidentally, I earlier spoke with "Sam" at that phone number and extension 119839, who told me that there is no expiration on this airbag recall and that he would recommend that I be given a loaner car until Subaru can finally fix the problem and make the car safe again. Apparently, Grant overruled Sam and Subaru is now taking a much more dangerous position.
The vehicle constantly shows a warning that passenger seat air bag is OFF while I am sitting in the car riding in that passenger seat. The issue was brought to manufacturer attention multiple times. Videos and pictures of the issue have been recorded for years. The manufacturer refuses to fix the issue and continues to ignore it which places my life at risk every time I drive in that passenger seat of the vehicle.
My Subaru Forester is equipped with Airbags and Subaru's Eye Sight anti-collision braking system. On Aug 5th my wife met with an accident while trying to avoid a head-on collision side swiped a vehicle on the right lane which hit the car on the rear side and the impact further changed the direction of her car and she went and hit the steel fence stone pillar on the right side. The frontal collision with the stone pillar damaged the bumper and car engine is dislocated from its position as the frame is deformed and the front tires jammed. The car's famed anti-collision system did not prevent the collision and the Air bags failed to deploy. I suspect that there is a serious manufacturing defect that all the safety systems failed in the car, hence I request you to conduct an enquiry while the car is being sent to the repair center to ascertain the right cause of failure.
I-??m 2016 Subaru Forester owner [XXX]. I know there was a recall for airbag. My passenger seat has Defective airbag sensor. The SRS lights comes ON even when the passenger is sitting on the seat. Hopefully there is a repair for the problem. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The front passenger airbag sensor is faulty. It is a known issue and can be found in the owners manual to not have any electronics or clothing on the seat. Subaru wants to charge over a grand to replace the entire seat bottom whenever this issue.
In March 2020, I took my 2016 Subaru Forester to the dealership to fix the issues associated with the Subaru Safety Recall WUM-98 / NHTSA Recall 19V-701 (unstable electrical connections causing issues with the occupant detection system in determining the correct status of the right front seat occupant, which would prevent the front passenger-side airbag from deploying in the event of a crash). Service was performed and the ODS harness was replaced. In August of 2021, I took my Forester back into the Subaru dealership (where previous service was performed) because the -??airbag warning-?? light and the -??Passenger airbag off-?? indicator began to illuminate, however this occurred somewhat inconsistently. Sometimes both warning lights illuminate when someone sits in the front passenger seat, sometimes they do not illuminate at all and everything seems fine. Other times, the lights illuminate when no one is sitting in the front passenger seat. Additionally, sometimes the seatbelt alarm sounds when no one is sitting in the front passenger seat. However, this is also inconsistent. In August 2021, the Subaru dealership told me that the issue is likely caused by water damage (a spill) on the front passenger seat that has caused the sensors within the seat to malfunction. I told them that I did not recall spilling any liquids on the front passenger seat. Now the dealership is telling me to replace the passenger seat bottom assembly sensor for $1,211 USD.
While returning home from a trip in our 2016 Subaru Forester the driver-??s side airbag warning light remained on; additionally, a SRS warning appeared briefly on the screen indicating that the airbag/seatbelt safety system could not be relied upon.This all occurred after restarting the Forester following a brief rest stop. Adhering to the Subaru owner-??s manual guidance we went to our Hendricks Southpoint dealership. The dealership scheduled an appointment for one week later. The occurrence of this problem without a timely resolution by Subaru creates a unnecessary safety situation for owners.
On November 7, 2020 around 630pm, I was driving on city street going nw on sunset in fair oaks, ca in a far right lane. I was driving about 35 to 40 mph with one other cars infront or besides me. Certainly while I was driving, I heard a loud boom. Immediately after the loud boom, I could not see and realized my steering wheel airbag deployed. Then I looked to my right I saw a deer limping. So I immediately knew I just hit a deer from my front left corner bumper after I pulled over to the side street. After I pulled over to the side street I notice all airbags in the car deployed including the seats, dashboard, roof and side airbags. I took my car to get estimate for the repair. I was told that base on the damage of the vehicle hit by the deer, there is no way that the entire airbags in the car shouldn't be deployed. So I comaint to Subaru. It is still under investigation. I believe hitting the deer should have not made the airbags to deployed especially the entire airbags system. The estimate came out to be over $15000 to fix. More than the value of the car.
Involved in accident to rh door and fende. Curtain air bag deployed, seat belt triggered, no other airbag system issues. After repair including curtain air bag replacement and module reset as well as all sensors replaced, air bag light still on. Issue traced to rh seat back air bag. Apparently while it was triggered but it did not deploy. Question is this an issue that should be taken up with the manufacturer since the air bag was triggered but did not deploy but never the less it needs to be replaced. Cannot tell if vehicle was in motion as it was purchased at an auction.
2016 Subaru Forester. Consumer writes in regards to passenger side airbag safety recall. The consumer stated shortly after receiving the recall notice, the vehicle was involved in a head on collision with a tree. The airbag did not deploy. The vehicle was totaled.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Francisco, CA, USA