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.
The airbag light on the dashboard illuminates (comes on) randomly when driving. The problem is intermittent. Occasionally, turning off the vehicle & restarting causes the light to turn off. I have heard of other owners with the same issue.
Problem 1: experienced rear wiper (station wagon) not working. Car still under warranty, took it to the dealer and was told the wiring harness that goes through the hinge area was broken. It was repaired. Now the car has 72,000 miles and I am having rear wiper problems again as well as the rear door not locking. Wires frayed and broken again. This is a known issue both with Subaru and on the forums on the web. This is a poor design and possibly dangerous as it can cause the rear lights to fail. Failure time frame was almost double mileage from the previous failure. (35,251 - 72,000). Problem 2: air bag light keeps coming on. Have had it to the mechanic several times to be checked out and reset. This is also a known problem with Subaru and on the web forums. This is a serious safety issue as the air bags could fail to deploy. Subaru may say the airbags are a "secondary" safety feature, but to me they are extremely important. Airbag deployment can be the difference between life and death in an accident. Please investigate!
"air bag" warning light in the instrument panel (combination meter) is on. The airbag light has come on since it has been cold out. It keeps on every cold day. It is a safety issue and if possibly not deploying the SRS to protect driver and passenger in a collision. This problem was reported by many drivers of Subaru, but Subaru company is still no response.
The airbag failure indicator in the instrument panel is coming on intermittently while driving. After turning off the engine, the problem goes away for some time and days or weeks later comes on again. I am concerned that should there be a collision while the condition describe above exist, airbag deployment may fail. There seems to be thousands of these incidents while searching internet databases and it appears all Subaru dealers know of the problem and presumably Subaru as well. Should not be a recall for this potentially serious safety issue?
The driver airbag in multiple models of Subaru are disabled because of an apparent fault in the passenger airbag indicator light in the overhead console.this requires replacement of the part. I have researched the topic in multiple auto websites and it appears to affect a lot of model years of all makes of the Subaru.the problem is also intermittent and occurs while driving. I think that disabling the airbag is a serious safety issue and that Subaru has not fessed up about this or fixed the problem.
- Fairfax, VA, USA
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The airbag light on the dash would intermittently turn on. If I turned the car off and then right back on the light would go out. Eventually the light would come back on, so I took the car to the dealer who had a technician check the computer codes. It listed (code 26-right front seat belt error). The technician reset the computer and the computer error code was cleared. The tech told me that eventually it was going to happen again, as he had seen the problem several times before in the 2008/2009 year range of Outbacks & legacy's and told me that when the dash light was lit, "none of the airbags would work in a collision". all was well for a few weeks and the light did come back on, so the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired. The problem seems to be the map light/passenger seatbelt lamp assembly (part # 84621ag53A) that is located on the interior roof directly next to the rear view mirror. I was informed that this part is not covered by any warranties, as the airbags are a "supplemental system", unlike seatbelts which "are covered" as the primary restraint system. It seems to me that Subaru must obviously be aware of this defective part as it is an instock item at their dealerships (at least it is at my dealer). The bottom line is that I had to pay (almost $200) to fix a problem that will allow my vehicle's airbags to work in the event of a collision because the airbags are considered a "supplemental system". "love" (pun intended) to know when the recall is going to occur.
My seat belt warning light on the dashboard was coming on intermittently but usually went off if I turned the engine off and restarted it. But now it's on constantly. The dealer says it's a malfunction involving the passenger seat belt apparatus and it's not cover under the extended warranty. The cost of the repair is estimate to be over $350. I see online that many people have this problem with the 2005-2009 Outbacks. The mechanism is obviously defective and should be recalled.
The contact owns a 2009 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the brakes were depressed, the vehicle accelerated forward unexpectedly and then in reverse before crashing into two other vehicles and a brick wall. The vehicle was destroyed. The police and fire department were contacted and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and the current mileage was 22,000. Updated 10/31/12 the consumer stated as she pulled into a vacant spot, with her foot on the brake, the vehicle emitted a roar and surged over a curb upwards and crashed into a tree, with her foot still on the brake. The vehicle went backwards and hit an SUV parked illegally behind her car. The vehicle then continued backwards, hit another car and finally crashed into the outside wall of a library and stopped. The air bag did not deploy. Updated 10/31/12
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- Vancouver, WA, USA