general problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester - part 1

Currently getting a reoccurring warning, "srs airbag system needs to be checked" which disables the front passenger airbag. This means if I have a passenger sit in the front seat of my vehicle, they don't have the protection of an airbag in the event of a car accident. In 2021, I had this exact same issue and the Subaru dealership diagnosed the airbag needing to be replaced. I had to pay for this replacement, but it did fix the issue. Now that it is back, I am now working with Subaru of America with case #251030-2001271 and they are refusing to acknowledge that this second air bag replacement should be covered by them because my car is over 10 years old and over 100k miles. There is no telling how long this new air bag will last since the one replaced in 2021 is already bad.

My recalled ods sensor went out.

Multiple times over the last 4 months the passenger airbag has turned off when there is a passenger occupying the seat and the srs light turns on. The related code is b1650. This seems to be the same issue as a recall from about 5 years ago that was “fixed” and now has come back. The same code and srs light sometimes comes on when there is no one in the passenger seat as well. It makes it unsafe to have a passenger in the seat as the airbag is turned off and it is very unpredictable.

The passenger ods is not working right causing an error state of the airbags which is a safety hazard as they will not deploy in the event of a car accident.

My 2016 Subaru Forester has issue with the passenger side front airbag ods and the. Srs light go on even if my car had been fixed on 2020 after recall. The airbag has a heavy safety an really important on person. Subaru need. To fix it completely and permanently not temporary.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 70 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated. The information alerted the contact about an srs issue. The contact stated that there was an audible ding with the warning light flashing on and off. The contact buckled the passenger’s side seat belt to stop the dinging sound. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the contact was informed that, without a warning light being illuminated, the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact had taken a picture of the warning light. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the sensor needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the part was on back order. The dealer confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The airbag sensor (ods) malfunctions for front passenger seat. The "airbag off" warning lights up when the seat is occupied. This was fixed by dealer back in 2020 under recall wum-98/NHTSA id 19v-701000. However, this problem recurred intermittently about five months ago. I called capitol Subaru in san jose, CA and spoke with service advisor, dan padilla, who informed me that the recurrence of this safety issue would no longer be covered under this recall. He offered to schedule an appointment for a diagnosis, but I declined since it would cost $300. I also spoke with jorge, case specialist, from Subaru of America who reiterated that the aforementioned recall only covers a one-time repair and cannot be reopened. It is my understanding that safety recalls do not expire and that "federal law often mandates the manufacturer to provide free repairs for safety recalls on vehicles up to 15 yrs old. " how can NHTSA help in resolving this car safety issue with Subaru? the ods system is unreliable and poses a risk to my passengers.

A warning light will randomly light up indicating a problem with the airbag or airbag sensor in my front passenger seat. I have had it looked at by multiple Subaru dealerships and shops and have had various quotes in the thousands of dollars to repair it. The technicians have told me that the sensor likely has an issue because of potential spillage on the seat that would seep into the sensor and cause it a problem, however there have not been recent spills on the seat and the light has only been turning on in the past year or so. I recently heard from another Subaru Forester owner that a similar maintenance issue happened in their car so I felt it was appropriate to report this issue.

I called Subaru made an appointment for service. I was not aware of the recall, although the dealership said it was repaired. No water damage to the seat bottom, the airbag sensor in the bottom of my passenger side seat cushion was bad. It’s attached to the seat. They gave me a loaner for three months and then called to say the part is on back order until “sometime” in 2025. The part is not covered under the recall and it will be approximately $2000 to fix. This has been a complaint from many owners of the recalled airbag years. At this point it is being replaced so often the part is on back order with an undetermined in stock date.

Passenger's seat belt sensor is alarming when no one is in the seat. The passenger side airbag warning light is also coming on and off. I took it to the dealer, and they confirmed that the sensor in the seat pad is bad. The airbag light was intermittently going on for several weeks before I took it in. The car has been at the dealer since mid-August, and I am told that the part is currently on backorder without an estimated arrival date.

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.

Airbags and passenger seatbelt lights are on. Possibly recalls.

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.

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.

Srs failure passenger airbag default to off.

I am reporting a safety-critical failure of the passenger-side occupant detection system (ods) in my 2016 Subaru Forester, which deactivates the airbag while the seat is occupied. This issue was first documented at an authorized Subaru dealer on 11/15/2023, where the technician identified 'poor contact of connectors' (a known condition in recall 19v-701). The initial remedy performed was to reconnect the connector to restore the unstable electrical connection. However, that remedy has since failed, and the failure is now permanent. I have physically verified that my ods harness carries the defective supplier code 6578 and date code 15280—the exact 'ng' (no good) hardware identified in the recall. The dealer has quoted me $1,244 to replace the seat cushion assembly but refuses to cover it under the recall because my VIN was excluded from the initial list. Subaru is requiring me to pay out-of-pocket to remedy a documented manufacturing defect that they have already acknowledged and attempted to repair once before.

With car engine running and adult sitting in passemger seat, the passenger airbag on-off orange warning light will flicker between "on" and "off".

The srs airbag light is coming on and off due to a manufacturer defect.

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.

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.

Sensor on passenger side airbag stays off at times when there is a passenger in the seat. The notification on the dash and above the gps screen notifies the driver that the airbag is off. This was a previous issue and pertains to a recall that was completed. This has not resolved since the recall has been completed and the problem still continues only 3 years after being "fixed".

The airbag srs sensor on the passenger side cuts on even if someone is sitting in the passenger seat. Then it will randomly cut off when no one is in the passenger seat. I’m concerned that if I was to have a wreck then someone could die. I called the Subaru dealership when I first noticed it 2 years ago. They told me to bring it up there. They checked it out and said that no codes were showing. However, that sensor wasn’t showing at the time. They also told me that if it did come back on to bring it back up there and then proceeded to quote me a price of $1500.

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.

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( jf2sjafc7gh553710) . 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.

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.

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.

Had recall completed for Subaru Forester (wum-98) where dealer replaced ods sensor harness in 2020. At the end of 2021 had the srs light intermittently come on but would then go off for months( front passenger seat). This kept happening intermittently so I brought it to dealership and had it diagnosed in 2023. They suggested replacing the passenger seat ($1200 p&l). Dealer said no water damage to seat and cables looked good. Brought it to new dealership in 2024. They said it needed a new ods sensor harness and replaced it. Since this was replaced, I have not had the srs light come back on. This is a huge safety risk to front passenger riders. Disappointed that it needed to be replaced so soon after the recall was completed. I did open a case with soa and they offered goodwill assistance but said the recall warranty only lasted a year.

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.

The recall on the occupant detection system was performed in 2019, but the passenger srs light still lights up intermittently with no obvious indication of what is causing it. Sometimes the front passenger seat has no one in it, sometimes it appears as soon as someone sits in it, sometimes after it has been occupied for some time, and sometimes I can complete a long trip with the light never appearing. The seat has never been soaked and the diagnostic fee alone is $200. All indications are that only replacing the entire seat at a cost of over $1500 will remedy the situation.

Tl-the contact owns a 2016 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA recall number19v701000 (air bags). The vehicle was not taken to the manufacturer for repair. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded an reasonable amount of time to complete the repair. Bh.

On October 2nd 2019 I was traveling on the express way at highway speeds when I was involved in an accident. Damages to my car were so bad that the claims department deemed it as a total loss. The front of my car was completely smashed in. Neither of my airbags deployed. I always thought that Subarus were supposed to be safe so this is very disappointing. I'm not sure where to go from here about this but it is scary that this happened.

Passanger airbag is off no matter if someone is sitting in the seat and will not turn back on. This happens if it is sitting still or moving so not safe for passangers.