Air Bag Problems of Subaru Crosstrek

The car had a front collision and the air bags did not deploy.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The contact owns a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the contact's vehicle crashed into another vehicle while having the right of way. The contact stated that the other vehicle was making a left turn when the crash occurred. The contact's vehicle t-boned the other vehicle. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy, and the front driver's side seat belt did not tighten as intended. In addition, the contact stated that none of the vehicle safety features were activated such as calling 911. The vehicle sustained damage to the front driver's side and the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. A police report was filed. The contact was transported to the local medical center. The contact sustained bruising and pain to the chest and stomach area from the seat belt, and neck pain. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,656.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

I was t-boned on 11/7 on the driver side door of the car. My car is totaled and the airbags, knee and curtain did not deploy and I was hit almost dead on on the b pillar. Unknown if the problem has been reproduced by the dealer. My knee is still hurting from the accident and my head smacked the frame. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, but has by police, insurance, and others. All said the airbags should have deployed. There were no warning lights or otherwise to notify me that the airbags would not work.

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Driving down highway in center lane, at or under speed limit, rainy conditions. Unexpectedly hydroplaned when transitioning from asphalt to bridge. Collided head-on with guardrail on right-hand side of road. Car then rotated and driver side rear collided with guardrail again. Airbags did not deploy, and during initial head on collision with barrier, driver seatbelt came unlatched from locking mechanism. No inspections at this time. No warning lights prior to crash. Potential for significant harm. Vehicle has been towed to iaa by insurance and will be temporarily available for inspection if requested. Presumed totaled, which will be confirmed within the week, after which the vehicle will most likely no longer be available to inspect.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

We were rear ended on the interstate. Cars in front of us stopped and we also came to a complete stop and a few moments later we were hit. During the collision, none of the airbags were deployed. Both our front seats fully reclined backwards. None of our seatbelts locked. Only the two seats that no one was in locked. Also, my headrest completely broke off. Our car was later determined by the insurance to be totaled.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

My wife was almost killed yesterday in a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek. She was hit by a side impact at over 35 mph through the driver's door, and the airbags didn't work. The side doors locked and buckled from the impact. Firefighters pulled my wife out of the car through the passenger door. What a piece of junk. Don't trust that junk.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot at 20 mph and upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the contact to crash the front of the vehicle into the concrete wall. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local autobody center. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact seated in the driver's seat was injured. No body outside of the vehicle reported an injury, however, a bystander was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The contact sustained internal bruising to her abdomen and chest, and medical treatment was needed for her injuries. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.

When my wife is in the front passenger seat the air bag does not go on. I am told it is activated by weight. My wife weights 95 lbs. I was initially told that 80 lbs or more should activate the air bag. The air bag does not turn on when she is sitting in the passenger seat. No one at the dealership or the service center knows what to do to correct the significant safety issue. A customer advocate suggested that my wife should put on some weight. The mgr at customer advocate told me to have my wife sit in the back seat. We have tried this in other Crosstreks and foresters, one was even a 2019 Crosstrek and the same thing happens. It isn't only my car, it's all the Subarus we tried. No one seems to know what to do about the issue and they seem to feel it's my problem and no theirs. My wife is not safe while riding in this car because she doesn't weigh enough! I'm surprised that there hasn't been a recall because if this situation. I am at a loss as to what to do??? we have this car since Feb 2025. It's brand new. No one told me that my wife wasn't heavy enough to activate the passenger air bag when we were purchasing the car. What are the requirements for the air bag for the front passenger seat? what recourse do I have? are they responsible for correcting this safety issue? they won't even acknowledge that it's a problem. There are millions of people driving with this issue. Some may not even be aware of the problem until there's an accident. I have a case # 250813-1700995 which obviously means nothing. And Subaru has a 5 star safety rating. People should know. . .

The front passenger side air bag indicator does not indicate the air bags are functional when my husband is driving and I am siting in the front passenger side seat. This is un acceptable. The condition has existed since the car was new. The car now has 380 miles on it.

The passenger front airbag does not always activate when my wife (who weighs under 100 pounds) sits in the seat. Car has been brought to the selling dealer (lester glenn Subaru, toms river, NJ). They state that the weight sensor under the front seat is calibrated correctly and there is nothing they can do about this issue. When I sit in the front passenger seat (I weigh 197 pounds) the airbag indicator light is always in the on position. I also own a 2024 Subaru legacy and the same issue is evident with this vehicle. I will file a separate incident report on that vehicle. This is very frightening as we fear that if we get into an accident my wife will be severely injured or killed because her airbag will not deploy. We bought the car in June 2023; but did not notice this indicator light issue until after we bought the legacy in September 2024.

The dashboard light says that the airbag is off, while it is occupied by a large teenager (over 100lbs) in the right front passenger seat. Teenager was buckled into moving vehicle when this concern was observed. Front right passenger airbag has never been deactivated by owner/driver. Took car to be inspected at a Subaru dealer on 13aug24, but Subaru techs unable to replicate problem at time of visit and reported no known recall notice for this problem. Since inspection, problem has reoccurred randomly.

Airbag shows off even when passenger is seated.

Airbag deployed for no reason, while pulling forward slowly from a parking spot. An airbag that deploys when there is no impact or collision is a clear risk to the safety of the driver, passengers and other drivers on the road.

Passenger airbag does not turn on when someone who weighs 100 pounds or less occupies the front passenger seat. This issue also occurs on my 2024 Subaru legacy VIN # [xxx] . It also occurred on the loaner car the dealer gave me which was a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek. I asked two Subaru dealers, pinebelt in lakewood, NJ and lester glenn in toms river, NJ to fix the problem; but they stated that they could not adjust the passenger airbag sensor. I told Subaru of America about the problem and they have not responded or tried to address the issue. This is a serious issue that should be addressed by the NHTSA. Additional information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On 3/30 my steering column started to make a grinding sound when I turned my steering wheel over 90 degrees to make a turn. On 3/31 the airbag light went on and I made an appointment to bring it in to get looked at by my nearest Subaru dealership (tacoma Subaru). I was told the light meant the airbags would not deploy if I got into a car accident so I didn’t drive my car until I needed to pick up grocery order on 4/2. On 4/2 I was making a slow right hand turn into the parking lot and my airbag deployed as I turned and hit/burned my forearm through a heavy sweatshirt. I didn’t bump it, experience an impact or accident of any kind. It simply deployed while I was turning without any warning.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Car caught fire from what seemed to be an electrical issue. Car became engulfed in flames within a few seconds. Fire department was called to extinguish the fire. I was lucky myself to make it out in time. The fire became so big, so quickly, I was concerned for the safety of the surrounding property. Luckily, no one was injured and no property damage took place. Car was inspected and totaled by insurance. The headlights were constantly needing to be changed. Otherwise the car was fine. I had just replaced the battery and just a few hours later the fire happened. The fire appeared to start somewhere under the hood on the passenger side.

I have a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek. Unfortunately I have had a couple of issues. The main thing being the horn. The location of the problem is affecting my air bag, and my rear window defroster. I don’t know if Subaru has a faulty clockspring and relays, that malfunction after a certain amount of time. But for everyone’s safety, it would seem that the Subaru corporation would implement a recall. As a result of the horn not working, I was involved in a fender bender accident, I was unable to alert a driver that they were merging into my lane of traffic. I’ve searched mechanics and auto parts stores, the cost is exorbitant, especially for a senior on a fixed income. I don’t know to whom these reports are or if they are forwarded, but I certainly hope someone in a decision making capacity will help the loyal owners of Subarus. I still, because I have no other option, drive, however I am so very cautious. And I limit my “outings” to as few as possible. It’s a hindrance, a rather very often at inopportune times. Hopefully there will be a chance for Subaru to do the correct thing.

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 15mph, they pulled up to a red light and stopped, when the light turned green the contact was making a right turn when another vehicle ran thru the light and hit the contact in front driver side off the vehicle. The air bag did not deployed . There was no warning lights illuminated on the vehicle. The contact injured their neck and had bruises and a muscle tear in their left side of their chest. There was medical treatment at the scene where the ambulance did come out and take the contact to the hospital by the ambulance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard where the contact insurance company inspected the vehicle and deemed the vehicle as a total loss. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure the failure mileage was approximate 55,000.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

This is a suspected problem with the side airbags located in the driver/front passenger seats. The seat upholstery has two straps that guide the airbag into the upholstery seam when the airbag deploys. Over time, the straps chafe on the sharp edges of the seat frame and wear through. As a result, there is a risk that the seat airbag will not deploy correctly. I discovered this problem when I was performing the following procedure https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2018/mc-10140486-9999. Pdf. To be clear, my airbag has not deployed and I do not know what would happen had the airbag deployed. I'm attaching some photos. The photos show the two straps, one of which is mostly worn through. They also show the straps in their intended install location. There is a photo with some arrows and comments. Another thing to note is that I have seen multiple seats with this problem from cars with much lower mileage. I have another set of seats from a Subaru wrx that also has this issue. Subaru seats share a common architecture and the airbags are the same on Crosstrek/impreza/wrx/forester. In addition, a fix seems rather simple. This would involve applying some strong tape to the sharp edges of the seat frame to cover the sharp edges.

Since the car was new (currently 55,000 miles on it) the air bag red malfunction light has intermittently come on when I have a passenger in the passenger seat. Also, at times, the dashboard will register that the airbag is off when there is a passenger. I mentioned this to dealer early on, but was told because the light was not on when I brought the car in, there was nothing they could do. It has continued, and I noticed that seems to happen after or during heavy rains. Most recently I took a video of the light on and panned to the passenger to show there was a passenger in the seat. I took it to the dealer this week (of course the light had gone off) and was told that there does seem to be a problem with moisture in the air that they are seeing with other cars as well. But, was again told since there was no light, they could not check to see what was wrong. I called and spoke with customer service at Subaru headquarters, david at 856 356-1190. He spoke with dealer and was going to suggest an engineer look at vehicle, but just got back to me and since there is no history of failed attempts to fix this, and the light is not currently on, was told they could do nothing, and that I should bring the car back in when the light is on. I am furious. I am driving around with a passenger who is occasionally not protected by an airbag. They admit there is an issue and even have a procedure on what to do to reset the light. But, I work during the day, and when I have passengers in the car, it is in the evening or on the weekend. So, even if a light comes on, the dealer is not open at those times, and by the time I get there when they are open, the light is off. There will never be a history of failed attempts to repair as they never see the light on, despite me showing them the video I took. My passengers are in danger, and this is unacceptable.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Hit a rather large bump, no damage to car. Side curtain air bags deployed and scratched my neck pretty bad. I feel that the impact of the bump did not even close to justify a deployment. I was driving at about 40mph.

Some times the passenger airbag light comes on and off. This is a reoccurring problem and I don’t see any recalls on this.