Srs airbag system needs to be checked error. Airbag not going on sometimes when passenger is in seat

- Shingletown , CA, USA

The upper dashboard passenger air bag warning light above the steering wheel is going off and on weather there is a passenger in the seat or not. It may stay on after starting the engine and continue during driving. The last 45 minute trip I took it stayed on the entire time. Other times it has come on while a passenger was in the seat in the middle of a trip @ 45mph. The dealer on 2/28/19 says it's a "B1650 occupant detection system malfunction" and that the passenger seat bottom needs replaced but there is no replacement available at this time. Said they would call when it was available, but don't hold my breath. This is a safety issue as the air bag will not deploy in a crash if the light is on. I find many complaints about this issue online but no recalls. Why not. How many people will need to be killed before this safety issue is quickly resolved? this vehicle has 25,437 mile on it.

- Westerville, OH, USA

Passenger air bag switches to "off" despite passenger sitting in seat. Subaru dealership diagnosed faulty sensor, suspected cause being seat covers. Removed seat cover, sensor is still faulty. Air bag light switches to "off" at random times even when passenger is seated in seat. Dealership agreed to replacing sensor but the part has been unavailable since Sept. 2018 (6 months now). We keep being told "it's on order, can't say when it will arrive." Vehicle is unsafe to drive as a result.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

This car has suffered a persistent failure of the passenger seat occupant detection system. It happens at random with or without a passenger in the seat, and there is no specific trigger for it that I can discover. The dealer diagnosed this issue after several failures on January 7, 2019 and on the dealer's advice, we gave the car to the dealer for service on January 9, 2019, and we have been in a loaner since then. The last we have heard from the dealer is that the parts to repair this issue are currently not available and they won't be available until April, 2019. This is not an isolated incident and we have seen on the internet numerous other Subaru owners with this issue

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

Passenger airbag off warning is given in hot weather. Dealer says new sensor is needed. We have been waiting since August 2018 for the part to be received by our dealer so repair can be made.

- Metuchen, NJ, USA

The passenger airbag will stop working while the passenger is seated in the front passenger seat. Two alerts show up in different areas on the dash lights indicating a problem with the passenger air bag advising to have it check immediately by the dealer. When I took the vehicle to the dealer they first advised me that the airbag light was do to the seat being wet, placing a cell phone or lap top on the seat. None of those things have caused the malfunction light to go on in my vehicle. The light would randomly come on advising me that the passenger seat airbag was not on. When this occurred the vehicle was in motion every time. The dealer claimed that my problem was caused by a stain on my seat, they claimed the mechanic cleaned the seat and they were going to release the vehicle to me. I insisted however that my seat was never wet nor stained. The service advisor then spoke to a manager and they then informed me that the problem was the airbag sensor in the seat. They said it would take 2 days to get the part. Two days later they told me it was a national back order on the part. My vehicle has been at the dealer since 09/11/2018 and I am still waiting for the part which they keep calling me and telling me it is on backorder. They have provided me with a loaner. Corporate Subaru personnel have also contacted me concerned about this issue. As of today 10/18/18 Subaru as not corrected the issue.

- Westminster, MD, USA

Less than one year after purchase of a new 2017 Subaru Forester I noted periodically the passenger airbag failure light would turn on and stay on when a passenger was in the passenger seat. This did not occur immediately on seating of the passenger and was sporadic. It occurred both in motion and while the vehicle was not in motion. Once lit it remained so until 2 or 3 new restarts. Taken to dealer they found a code verifying the complaint. Told it was due to a cellphone on the seat. Cellphone removed. Same problem. Took it back to dealer held for a couple of days and told a specialist in codes indicated that it was due to usb cell phone wire. This was not an acceptable explanation. This resulted in their specialist reviewing their code reading again. They indicated a sensor failure and that the part would take about a month to obtain. I could drive the car in the interim including with a passenger.. I therefore requested written certification of the safety of the passenger seat regarding the airbag. This resulted in a rental car which I have had for 7 weeks. Called 2 weeks ago with the response that they were waiting for a new airbag. I want to be certain that the ntsb is aware that there may be a problem with Subaru airbags in the 2017 Forester. How this potential problem is dealt with is also a concern. Is a recall in order? the consumer stated the manufacturer offered a new vehicle as a settlement.

- Crestview Hills, KY, USA

Within the last two months while driving with my wife in the passenger seat the passenger air bag system has disengaged several times and we receive three warning lights. A red SRS light in the lower dash. A white "I" on a red background next to the trip odometer letter, and the SRS indicator in the middle of the dash next to the time indicator comes on sayinf the SRS is off. Took to dealer on 8/24/2018 and they sad they got codes B1650 and B1760 which they reset. They could not duplicate the problem and said water must have gotten on the seat, which has never happened. This weekend, 9/2/2018, we started having the same exact problems while driving. Restarted the car and the lights went off after a short drive and then came back on while driving. The lights only come on when there is a passenger in the front seat.

- Denver, CO, USA

Passenger air bag light remains off when passenger seat is occupied, or turns off after seat has been occupied for several minutes. This results in SRS airbag error light on dash illuminating. Dealer claims "seat was wet" and it will resolve itself when seat is dry. Seat has never been wet - no spills, no wet swimsuits, nothing. Problem started intermittently 1-2 months ago and now occurs nearly every time car is started. Dealer "fixed" before 500 mile interstate trip only to have problem return mid-trip.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

SRS airbag system needs to be checked light is on and passage air bag off indicator shows off. The dealership ordered replacement part which has been on back order since Sept. 9, 2017. Problem started in Sept. 2017, occasionally when a passenger was in the front seat and vehicle hit a bump, the SRS showed warning indicator and passenger airbag turned off. System would reset when vehicle was restarted, but would occasionally duplicate the problem. Took vehicle to dealership on Sept. 9, they said they ordered part and would call me when part arrived. I didn't hear back from dealership, so called them on Oct. 26. they said part would be in and I dropped vehicle off for scheduled service for Oct. 31. on Nov. 3 after not hearing from dealer, I called to see why service not completed yet, and was told part was still on back order, should be in sometime in Dec. The SRS airbag system worked fine and no problem until the end of Feb, 2018. The random SRS warning indicator when passenger was in the front seat and hitting a bump started reoccurring again. I have called the dealership again numerous times, and part is still on backorder. Now the SRS airbag system needs to be check indicator is on all the time, regardless if a passenger is in the seat or not. I called the dealership on April 24 and they were going to escalate the part order and get back to me. As of May 2 I have not heard back, and SRS airbag system is not working.

- Kansas City, MO, USA