Air Bag Problems of Subaru Forester - part 1

On Wednesday, may 6, the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle while traveling on I-270. After the impact, the vehicle continued down the highway lane and crashed into the highway divider. During the crash, the front hood opened and fumes/smoke came out from the front of the vehicle. Despite the severity of the collision and secondary impact with the highway divider, the airbags did not deploy. The failure of the airbags to deploy placed the driver at significant risk of injury during the crash. Law enforcement officers at the scene also expressed concern that the airbags did not activate given the magnitude of the accident. The vehicle and airbag system are available for inspection upon request.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Forester 🔎.

2017 Subaru Forester with heated seats. Recall wum-98 / NHTSA campaign 19v701000 was completed in 2020 by previous owner, replacing the ods sensor mat harness. The same passenger airbag off condition has now returned. Dealer has diagnosed failure of the ods sensor mat (seat bottom subassembly), quoting $1,800 for repair. This is the same safety defect — same system, same symptom — that the recall was intended to fix. The vehicle has approximately 17,000 miles and has been garage-kept. Subaru of America (case #260512-1901206) offered $1,000 goodwill toward the repair, acknowledging partial responsibility, but has not responded to further communications in over two weeks. I am filing this complaint to document that the wum-98 remedy was incomplete and that this safety defect remains unresolved.

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I was involved in a front-end motor vehicle collision while driving straight through an intersection. Another vehicle entered perpendicular to my path and stopped directly in front of me, resulting in a collision primarily impacting the front-left (driver’s side) of my vehicle. The impact appeared significant, and the front airbags did not deploy. Additionally, there appeared to be a partial or unclear deployment of the passenger-side airbag system, which did not resemble a full and typical deployment. The vehicle sustained substantial front-end damage, particularly on the driver’s side. I am concerned that the airbag system may not have functioned as expected for the severity and nature of the crash. I am requesting that this incident be reviewed to determine whether the airbag system, sensors, or deployment logic performed within appropriate safety standards. No warning lights or prior issues with the airbag system were observed prior to the incident.

1. The passenger seat air bag turn on mechanism malfunctions in a 2023 Subaru Forester limited. The seat mechanism can be tested (and has been tested) upon request. 2. An adult that weighs 104lbs is not detected when in the seat, so the air bag is not turned on. 3. The problem has been reproduced by two dealers. 4. No other parties have inspected the car seats or the mechanism. 5. The problem indicator is the status light that shows the air bag as off or on. 6. Testing of the car by the dealer found no problems with the setup of the srs and seat detection technology. Employees weighing more than the customer getting into the seat turned on the air bag. 7. Testing with the customer reproduced the problem 100% of the time. Testing was done by having the adult get into the seat multiple times after a restart of the vehicle. The air bag light never turned on. 8. The same test was performed with the adult customer using a different Forester. The detection mechanism of the other Forester also failed to detect the customer 100% of the time.

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The driver's side air bags, and seatbelt restraint system deployed while the vehicle was stopped without a collision occurring. The doors had not been opened. This occurred February 10, 2026, and the vehicle was taken to the local Subaru dealership for troubleshooting. The local dealership did not find and fault and reported this to Subaru. Subaru sent a technician and reported that a gouge was present in the door jamb and that this caused the fault which reset. There was no object in the door at the time to cause a problem. This seems unlikely to me as a collision fault should have remained active according to professionals I have spoken with. The safety issue paramount to this event is as follows: if the air bags had deployed while the vehicle was in motion on a highway the sudden and unexpected deployment could have an accident. If a deployment occurs and causes a fatal accident or even an accident with severe injuries, the root cause of the event might not have been diagnosed as in the subsequent crash the air bags would be expected to have deployed. Accidents such as this may have been incorrectly diagnosed and an improper cause attributed. I do not know how widespread this issue may be when it comes to other manufacturers. I do know that common technology and designs are used throughout the automotive industry. The gouge specified looks like it could have been made by a seatbelt that got caught in the door. This would have occurred some months prior to the event. Seatbelts do get caught in doors raising concerns that this is a more widespread issue than is publicly known. I say this because the Subaru technician did not spend much time at the local dealership and left without reporting any findings to the dealership I have been told,.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester 🔎.

There is intermittent failure of the passenger air bag occupancy detection system (ods). This shows up as aporadic display of the passenger air bag failure code in the car, and became more frequent until the code rained on. This was previously an issue, but a couple years ago I performed the Subaru issued recall related to this sensor and it went away for a time. Now the same issue has come back. It is pretty clear that the issue has persisted and the recall did not adequately address the issue, but Subaru refuses to address the issue, citing the completed recall. In searching online, it seems that many others have this same experience. \n\nif the passenger air bag fails to deploy in a crash this is clearly a major safety issue that Subaru should take steps to resolve, even if it means replacing the sensor multiple times.

On the morning of December 13, 2026, an incident occurred involving our 2024 Subaru Forester. While attempting to make a right-hand turn, the vehicle failed to decelerate as expected and subsequently struck a utility pole. The vehicle’s safety systems did not appear to activate in an effort to prevent the collision, and the airbags did not deploy. The driver sustained minor injuries, including a concussion. No vehicle inspections have been completed at this time. We are currently coordinating with the manufacturer to arrange a formal inspection. There were no warning indicators, malfunction lights, or known mechanical issues present prior to the incident.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving and merging onto the highway in the rain approximately 62 mph, the contact’s vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle that was driving erratically. Due to the impact, the vehicle spun out of control approximately 3-4 times and the vehicle bounced off the concrete highway sound barrier. The vehicle continued to spin out of control and struck the barrier wall on the passenger’s side before coming to a stop. The contact stated that the rear driver’s axle fractured and ended up on top of the wheel, and the wheel was flat on the ground. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy upon impact or during the crash. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact and his wife were transported to the hospital and were both treated for whiplash, body pain, and pain to the head and neck. The contact also had a throbbing headache from the crash. The contact and his wife both received CT scans that showed no signs of injuries. The other driver also spun out of control and struck the metal guardrail located in the middle of the highway. The contact stated that the other driver had not received medical attention at the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision yard where it remained. The insurance company had not inspected the vehicle; however, the contact expected that the vehicle would be deemed a total loss. The contact stated that the driver who caused the accident was cited by the police for causing the crash. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,400.

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I had a family member driving an 2013 Subaru Forester all-wheel drive with a manual transition. The car had crash and rolled. The car at the most rolled twice and none of the air bags never deployed. I have photos of the accident and of the vehicle at the towed yard and its clear as day that the air bags are still rolled up.

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There was a recall on this vehicle from 2022, and we did not own this vehicle at that time. Recall passenger side airbag contact under seat can cause fire or electrical issues. I contacted Subaru and they said the recall was satisfied in 2022. If that's the case, the repair piece must have been faulty as the issue has come back. The dealership I took the car to said they have seen about 4 of this same issue within the last two weeks. Subaru is unwilling to assist in this, and I cannot pay the 1800. 00 dollars the dealership wants to repair this vehicle. I've asked more questions of Subaru since their answer and have not received a response. I would like to know why their website says this was complete July 15, 2025, not 2022. It was not complete in 2025, or we would have had the repair done. Any help in getting someone to see if this is in fact another recall and how to tell if the recall was truly completed in 2022, possible faulty recall parts now. This is crazy if numerous folks have gone in with the same issue. We need Subaru to take a good look at this.

My 2017 Subaru forrester has experienced a second failure of the front passenger occupant detection system (ods) sensor mat, error code b1760. This system controls whether the passenger airbag is active — when the warning light is on, the airbag will not deploy, creating a serious safety risk for passengers. This is the second occurrence of this failure. The first repair was completed approximately six years ago. The vehicle has now been quoted $2,800 for repair at an authorized Subaru dealership. This appears to be a widespread and recurring defect across multiple Subaru models. I am concerned that a single repair does not resolve the underlying issue, and that many owners may be driving with a non-functional passenger airbag without realizing it.

Passenger airbag safety intermittently turns on stating that the passenger airbag is not able to deploy. If I turn the car off and on it goes away and doesn't turn until another time I start the car. Also detects a passenger in the seat when there is no passenger or weight in that seat. Overall some sort of issue with the airbag safety system in the front passenger seat. I will state no liquids have been spilled on the seat.

The recalled part which was apart of the wum-98r didn't fix the problem and dealership saying im the caused for the ods for front passenger airbag not to work and I fed up with them trying to charge me for a recalled part failure and I'm very aware that I'm not the first person who has the recalled part replaced and after the recalled the part starting to malfunction. They are trying to charge me 2k after they trying to blame me for spilling drinks on the seat when I don't let anyone drink in my car.

Previous recall for passenger ods. Having continued issues with passenger airbag ods not recognizing someone sitting there. Intermittently turns on and off even if no one is sitting there. Took it to a dealer and they want me to pay out of pocket for diagnostic and possible parts. Very high concern for even allowing someone to sit in the car (even my pregnant wife) in the case there was ever an accident.

I had an occupant detection system replaced under recall in my 2017 Forester. Five years later it went bad. Obviously, still faulty. Cost $1,800. 00+ (you read that right) to have it replaced. Contacted Subaru twice about this and both times denied for replacement cost. Really unfair and absurd. Will never own another Subaru for this reason. Not standing behind a sub par part. Unwilling to help out customers.

I just noticed today that the air bag warning light was illuminated. There was an adult in the passenger seat and the car indicated that the passenger air bag was off. This vehicle had a previous air bag recall applied that was to correct these same symptoms. I noticed that a zip tie was cut and not replaced that secured the underseat wiring. I checked the underseat connectors and they all appear to be securely connected.

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.

In 2020 my ods wireharness had been replaced. I'm now having the same issue in 2025 with the ods system. I had the ods recall fixed but the dealership is telling me it is the ods seat mat not the harness that needs repair and that is not covered under the recall. The airbag light is showing it is off even when I have a passenger. This is very dangerous because if I were to get in an accident my passenger is not protected. I have not gotten it replaced or fixed because they are quoting me over $2000 for the repair. This repair should be covered under the ods recall.

Airbag light came on intermittently at first, then constantly in 2023. It was determined to be a defective ods in the passenger seat, and was repaired at Subaru’s expense “goodwill” on November 2 2023. Again in 2025, the srs alert appeared intermittently at first, then continuously that the system needed service. The car was at fox Subaru for 8 days, and eventually I was told by Subaru customer advocacy they would not cover the expensive repair for a second failure, and I’m reluctant to pay for it based on my concern for its reliability. The defective component is still in the car, but I cannot accommodate a front seat passenger safely. Both times, I was told “probable” moisture damage, although the first repair in 2023 revealed no moisture, and this seat has never gotten wet. A failure of the front passenger airbag would put a front seat passenger as higher risk in a collision. In 2020 a recall of the ods electrical harness was repaired under recall. There has been a recall of Subaru outback, for a similar failure of the ods sensor. Other 2017 Subaru forrester owners have posted online of similar issues and excuses from Subaru.

Getting an srs airbag system needs to be checked. Took the 2015 Subaru Forester to williams Subaru in lansing mi and they stated the code b1760 for the occupant detection system mat was determined. The seat has not been wet and nothing spilled on it and was also determined dry by the repair specialist at time of service. They were able to reset sensor and did a test drive. Less than a week later when a passenger was in seat the warning srs airbag needs to be checked is back on. They stated if this happens then part cost will be approx $1000 not including service/repair (approx total $1700) they also state this part is on backorder. I have concern for previous recall completed in 2019 for the passenger seat sensor matt harness. Is this a continuation of a problem that should be recalled with the sensor harness. Service states passenger front cushion frame and assembly needs replaced.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Airbag light comes on due to some failure in the passenger seat. This vehicle year has had a recall on the same issue but this VIN number was not included for some reason. Another consumer posted his assessment which I have attached. My vehicle falls under his category. He has sold his since his was never resolved.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Srs air bag system needs to be checked alert on.

On 8/14/25, a diagnostic fee was charged by white bear lake Subaru in vadnais heights, mn for an issue that was later confirmed to be part of an open occupant detection system (ods) recall on a 2017 Subaru Forester. When the recall repair was completed on 8/27/25, the dealership refused to refund the diagnostic fee, saying reimbursement had to come from Subaru of America. Subaru of America then stated that diagnostic fees are determined by the retailer and would not be reimbursed. This left the consumer with an out-of-pocket charge directly tied to an open safety recall affecting the airbag system. Recalls are supposed to be performed at no cost, including any diagnostics required to confirm the recall issue.

Lately, airbag warning light comes on intermittently often. Sierra Subaru would not fix without charging me for inspection for $240 and then cost of rapair. Also cruise control is malfunctioning where it gets disengaged near the vehicle in front where I have to apply brake hard to avoid serious accident. Also the eyesight not working warning has started showing lately. My Forester 2017 at 44k miles showing airbag light at times along with cruise control disengaing near front car and eyesight not available mentioned above. Detail on airbag fix at sierra Subaru in monrovia, California. On August 12, 2025, I want to get this intermittent error fixed under warranty. On August 12, 2025 alexander in service told me that it will be $240 approximately of charge to inspect. Kindly let me know if the airbag warning light at such low milage not going to be covered for warranty. Please note that I bought the Forester at sierra Subaru monrovia CA and had every single service done there. Lately I have been charged in thousands of dollars at such low mileage to own the 2017 Subaru Forester.

I own a 2015 Subaru Forester that was involved in the NHTSA recall id 19v-701 - Subaru safety recall wum-98 in 2020. My VIN is [xxx] and my dealer is lancaster county Subaru in lancaster, PA. For about four months in the end of 2019 until February of 2020 we were unable to use the passenger seat due to the air bag problem which was intermittent. This required either my wife or I to ride in the back. We could correct this error on a restart by moving the yellow ods wire harness under the seat and restarting the car. But our dealer and Subaru of America could not assure us that the air bag would deploy properly if we were in an accident because the system only does a system check when first starting the car, not while driving. Two weeks ago, about [xxx] my airbag issue has returned, again it's intermittent. I opened a case with Subaru of America, case # [xxx] and they say there is no further recall for this issue. This is the same issue that was resolved by the NHTSA recall id 19v-70. When it faults an orange srs image appears on the screen then it shows an orange "I" on the top part of the center screen along with an orange image of the airbag error in the tachometer area and shows the airbag system is off. Once we aren't using the front passenger seat because of the safety concern about air bag not deploying properly if we were in an accident, because the system only does a system check when first starting the car, not while driving. Thank you information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I am reporting a recurring safety defect in my 2015 Subaru Forester (VIN: [xxx] ) that directly relates to recall wum-98 / NHTSA recall 19v-701 (occupant detection system wiring harness). Original recall (2019–2020): the occupant detection system (ods) failed, disabling the passenger airbag. Subaru performed the recall remedy at that time. Reoccurrence (August 2025): the exact same defect reappeared. The srs airbag warning illuminated and the passenger airbag was disabled while my wife was seated in the passenger seat. Subaru of lancaster county (PA) initially reported no error, but when I retrieved the car, the warning illuminated immediately. Repair: on August 28, 2025, the dealer replaced the ods wiring harness at my expense ($440. 73). Since then, the issue has not reappeared. Concern: this is the same safety defect already subject to recall wum-98. I believe the original recall remedy failed to permanently correct the defect, leaving owners vulnerable to reoccurrence and forcing them to pay out-of-pocket for a known recall-related safety failure. I request NHTSA’s review to determine whether Subaru’s recall remedy is adequate and to ensure owners are not unfairly charged for repeat repairs of the same defect. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My recalled ods sensor went out.

I’m facing a really big issue here. I’ve been experiencing all the textbook issues in my vehicle for both of the recalls that did exist for my vehicle. I purchased my vehicle in [xxx], and I was just in to walser Subaru in st. Paul mn where they said my recalls were completed in April 22, 2022. That is absolutely not true. I was at the dealership all day that day. So I called miller hill Subaru in duluth mn where it said it was done, and all they provided me with was the 2 dates I had brought it in for a general inspection and for an a/c issue. All I had done there was a transmission flush and both of those times were well after April 22nd. I purchased my vehicle from anderson auto in rice lake township. So now I have my car with recalls that were falsified that they were done, but I am expected to pay for them. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The right passenger airbag sensor is malfunctioning. When a passenger rides in the front seat, the air bag turns off and the air bag warning goes on. I believe this could be related to the earlier Subaru recall for the seatbelt harness. I have been quoted $1,900 by Subaru for the repair. I've read on Subaru forums that this can be a problem for model years affected by the earlier recall. I have a video showing my husband is the passenger seat, the air bag warning light is on and the air bag is off. The problem happens intermittently.

I was involved in an accident. My car was moving at less than 10 mph and the other driver hit the front drivers side, at the driver side wheel area, at about a 90 degree (t bone direction) angle while traveling an estimated 30-35 mph. The front end of my automobile was obliterated, grill was gone, and my vehicle was turned 90 degrees to the right after impact. The passenger front door could barely be opened due to the bend in the hood and front end, but no airbags deployed. Emergency response was quite surprised the airbags did not deploy due to the high rate of speed and area of impact. The accident just occurred and my car hasn't been looked at by insurance adjusters but it seems that airbags likely should have deployed and/or the car's starlink system should have registered the impact. I'm highly concerned there may have been some kind of malfunction as my car is a 2025 Subaru Forester hybrid - available for sale only for the last handful of months.

The passenager airbag on won't activate at the 88lb weight per local Subaru of gallatin dealership where I purchased the car from. They did a test with 88lbs in another Subaru vehicle and the passenger airbag on activated but won't activate on in the 2024 Subaru Forester. The local dealership stated that the airbag sensor is off by 10lbs in the vehicle I have. I have asked the dealership to address this issue three times. The third time they stated that subrau is aware of the issue but there is no current solution.

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 airbag sensor often, but not always, malfunctions in my 2017 Subaru forrester. Often it says passenger airbag off when there is a passanger. Occording to kbb kelly blue book there is a current recall in place for 2017 Subaru forresters for exactly this issue, including for my car - but when I typed in my liscnese plate in the NHTSA website, no unrepaired recalls showed up for my car.

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.

I want to bring a widespread safety issue up that is not being resolved by the manufacturer. I have a 2017 Subaru Forester with a faulty ods sensor. This is a known issue to Subaru and there are bulletins issued on this topic (wum-98 and 17-19-24). I had the original ods sensor replaced in 2021. Several months ago my passenger airbag lights started to turn off again. I took it to Subaru and they did a diagnostic test and found that the replacement ods sensor had again malfunctioned - code b1760 "occupant detector sensor mat fault. " I was told (at the dealership service center) that the sensor is on back order and was quoted to $1,887. 62 to replace the seat bottom. However, the seat bottom is also on back order. I was told to contact Subaru directly and they would likely cover the cost since this is a known issue with a bulletin out and the parts are on backorder through the dealership. I have since contacted Subaru many times only to be told that there are no active recalls on my vehicle and the recall for the faulty ods sensor shows completed on 6/28/2021 @ 57,096 and Subaru would not have a path of goodwill assistance towards the repair since it has been more than a year since the replacement.   Subaru forums are full of owners going through the same thing and being told the part is back-ordered, they need a new $1,800 seat bottom, or this issue isn't covered because their seat probably got wet, etc. If both the wiring harness and the seat bottom are both on back order, then what is the solution - buy a new seat, buy a new car? this is not a cosmetic issue, normal "wear and tear" or a maintenance issue. This is a model-wide issue among all Subaru vehicles. This is a defective part and clearly replacing the wiring harness does not fix the problem. This is a widespread safety issue that is not being addressed properly by Subaru, which is why I'm escalating this to the ntsb.  .