Front Air Bag Sensor Control problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester

The passenger airbag sensor cannot detect if there is a passenger in the seat or not. There is an active recall, wum-98, which outlines the exact issue and fits my vehicle description (2015 Subaru Forester with heated seats), however, my VIN does not show it being affected by wum-98. I believe this is a severe safety issue and it needs to be included in the recall and resolved by Subaru. I called the dealer and they said there is no recall. But there is a recall and my car should be in it.

Passenger air bag will intermittently disable with a passenger seated in the front passenger seat. There is a current recall for this situation for 2015 -2018 Foresters with heated seats. Somehow the recall does not affect my vehicle because it was manufactured in 2014 yet still uses the exact same defective sensor mat in the recalled vehicles. The recall should extend to all Foresters using this defective sensor mat. Subaru corporate refuses to accept responsibility.

Been having repeated issues with the passenger air bag sensor thinking someone is in the passenger seat when unoccupied and the seatbelt light and tone beeps. Then the airbag srs light illuminates on the dashboard showing passenger airbag off. My vehicle has heated seats but is not included in the current recall.

Passenger airbag disabled due to sri code in seat. Passenger seat sensor defective.

The passenger airbag seat sensor intermittently fails to detect the passenger causing the passenger airbag not to arm. This is also accompanied by the srs dash light to turn on as well.

In may 2019 the airbag sensor warning went on unexpectedly and for no apparent reason while driver and a front seat passenger were in it and the car was in motion going approximately 30-40 mph on a town road. Adding extreme danger to this situation is the fact that the sensor turning on made the passenger 'airbag off' warning immediately light up even though a person was in the seat when it happened, the airbag had previously been on with them in the seat, and the car was moving. It was checked by the dealer who simply cleared a code and suggested a cell phone could, perhaps, have interfered and caused the sensor light to go on. Dealer also alternatively suggested that if someone spilled something this could have caused it. (nobody spilled anything and dealer verified in writing that no stain was found on the seat to suggest otherwise. ) over the course of the next month the airbag sensor randomly went on (dangerously causing the airbag to turn off again, often despite someone being in the seat!) in this same manner several times. Sometimes the car is in motion when it happens, which is particularly dangerous and has caused us to stop allowing a human to be in the front seat because we cannot rely on the airbag at this point. Other times, the car had been parked and when I turn it on the airbag sensor turns on. Taking it back to the dealer 7/11/19 here is what they stated under 'cause' and 'correction' on our invoice: ". . . Code b1760 stored in system inspected seat found no stains on seat inspected wiring found wiring to be good rec replacement of seat bottom" and "customer has been advised that due to no electronics being on the seat when the light and faults keep returning replacement of seat bottom (occupant detection sensor) is the next step. . . " they estimate $1032. 45. The car is just under 90k miles and thus, according to Subaru, out of warranty for this problem.

Passenger seat airbag sensors malfunctioned. This caused the airbag to be turned off. This happened while the vehicle was stationary. Dealer indicated the seat has to be replaced. The part is on back order. This indicates to me there is a wide spread problem.

For the past year, the passenger airbag has been intermittently turning off and a warning message would appear: "srs airbag system needs to be checked". My car has never been in any kind of accident and is barely 4 years old. Lately, it just doesn't really work at all. I took it to the dealership and they told me that the airbag sensor is not working correctly and needs replacement. It is part of the passenger seat. It's a $1200 repair but with my extended warranty, I have to pay $100 deductable. I am floored that the airbag sensor can't last more than 4 years. This was supposed to be a highly rated car for safety! I'm very dissatisfied with Subaru right now.

I would like to make all prospective Subaru forrester owners aware that the front passenger airbag does work if you sit on an additional cushion. These sensors do not work on weight but on some sort of electrostatic sensor that is blocked by any cushion or pillow. This if a dangerous problem for back patients and also for short prople who sit on cushions to elevate themselves. Needless to say that, although this is a documented problem the dealer who sold me the car did not notify of this situation although I mentioned that I always sit on a pad because of a fused back. With all the saftey notices posted in cars today, this is one problem that needs to be made obvious. Needless to say I have a $35,000 useless vehicle being used as a spare car. I cannot take this car on the road.