Front Air Bag Sensor Control Problems of Subaru Forester - part 1

No damage or water spill to the car whatsoever, but now the srs passenger airbag light is on. This is a recurrent issue with suabru, and there was even a recall for this part a few years ago, which was replaced in my vehicle during that period. Less than 5 years later, there is already an issue with it. This is not an oil change or a tire replacement; it is an airbag sensor!! I cannot find any definite information indicating that my own driver's airbag will go off while the srs light is on. To think that my airbag may not go off, from no fault of my own, due to an issue with the passenger airbag, is unacceptable. Subaru claims this is out of warranty, will not pay for it, and is charging me over $1000. This is no cosmetic issue; this is incredibly dangerous, and Subaru is aware of this. There needs to be some warranty in place for this part in particular, considering it is a model-wide issue among all Subaru vehicles. This is not something that the vehicle owner should need to pay for when it could end their lives. Some diagnostic codes claim the sensor got "wet" after their cars were just detailed! unacceptable! if the airbag sensor cannot withstand daily wear and tear, then it should not be allowed to be produced and purchased. Not only can the part be damaged way too easily, but it also impacts the safety of all passengers involved. I am so upset with this outcome, in all honesty. My car is unsafe to drive because the recall piece continues to have issues.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Occupant detection system (ods) malfunctioning. Passenger airbag is off when an adult is seated in the front passenger seat. Sometimes the passenger airbag is on while there is no one (and nothing) on the seat, causing the seat belt warning chime to occur until seat belt is buckled. Supplemental restraint system (srs) light appears on dashboard and shuts down airbag system while driving. These things occur somewhat randomly when starting the car, continue while driving in the city and highway, and don't go away until the car is turned off. Sometimes restarting the car will correct the problem. I brought my Forester to the dealership today (1/26/2021) and they reported that the sensors of the ods system were not working properly and will need to be replaces. Cost estimate is about $1,100 and I have to wait until the part gets shipped in. They said the likely cause is moisture or the seat got wet. I live in a dry climate area and have not gotten the seats wet at all recently (and barely ever in the past). Through research, I have found a very similar problem has occurred in the 2015-2018 models and there is a recall (wum-98) for those years. My Forester is a 2014 and is of the same generation but isn't included in the recall for some reason. Is it possible that the 2014 model should also be included if the same problem is happening? appreciate any help and insight you can offer!.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Forester 🔎.

My 2014 Subaru Forester has recently started having warnings about srs. Passenger seat sensor occasionally does not recognize a passenger is seated and therefore the airbag is �off� even if seat is occupied. Both front seats are heated and it looks like this is the same issue that lead to a recall for 2015 Subaru Foresters. Please extend the recall to include 2014 models. Very unsafe and costly ($900-$1,200 according to other complaints) to repair this sensor in order to have the passenger airbag operational. Passenger seatbelt warning also occasionally comes on even if there is no one sitting in seat.

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.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester 🔎.

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.

While my son was driving normally with a passenger in the right front passenger seat 2 days ago, the red airbag sensor light came on and passenger airbag sign went to "off". I took it to the Subaru dealer in olympia, wa and they claimed this was caused by water damage (we had never spilled water in that seat) and they wanted $2100 to fix the problem by replacing the entire right passenger seat assembly. We are going to have it fixed elsewhere, but then while driving on the way home from the Subaru dealership yesterday, the airbag sensor light went off and the right passenger airbag started working again. Right now it is working again. While it was not working, it didn't matter whether the car was in motion or stopped. This is a very unsafe condition if a passenger is riding in the front seat. We can't depend on the airbag being there if needed in an accident.

On October 4, 2019 my car was parked and the passenger rear bumper was hit and damaged by a school bus. My car has been in the shop 4 times to get fixed and it is still not fixed. The bsd/rcta sensors are not working. The dealership has "fixed" this issue 4 times now and I am taking it back to the dealership for a 5th time.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The front passenger air bag turns off while a 130 lbs. Passenger is riding in that seat. Adjusting the seat forward or backward while traveling turns the sensor back on (indicating the passenger air bag is on), but as of today, 4-5 minutes later it would turn off again. . . Occuring 5 times in 35 minutes. I fear that if we are involved in an accident, the airbag to protect my wife as a passenger may fail to deploy.

Front seat airbag sensor light came on and won't go off. Code says that the seat sensor is not working and airbag stays off. Moving, stationary and code will not reset.

Passenger occupancy sensor faulty. With an adult passenger present in the seat, the passenger airbag system will frequently turn off while the vehicle is in motion. This can sometimes be resolved by pulling over and restarting the vehicle. Restarting the vehicle does nor reliably resolve the error.

My Subaru forrester 2017 airbag sensor came on for Friday and Saturday September 20 and 21 while driving and stationery in my driveway. Took it to the dealer and no one was available to perform a diagnostic test. Schedule this Monday 23 and the sensor required to one. Cost $961. 00. Called Subaru headquarters and asked about my extended warranty and does not cover. However since this was not my fault, they will do the repairs at no charge. Awaiting for parts to be delivered so that I can bring my car in for repairs.

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.

The airbag sensor is not functioning properly. The airbag will turn off even when a passenger is sitting in the seat. I am worried about the safety of the vehicle. I am tried to contact my service department multiple times in the past few days with no call back.

Received recall notice about seat sensor and airbag defect. Need to,get,this repaired as a recall, but parts supposedly not yet available. Error messages since August when dealer told me that it was an air bag issue.

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

Sensor in the passenger seat went bad under normal use and Subaru does not want to cover expense to replace, and this sensor lets driver know if airbag is engaged (on) or not.

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.

Front passenger air bag sensors erratically report a malfunction and suggest an inspection. This has happened both when vehicle is in motion as well as stationary. It has happened both with and without a front seat occupant. I called Subaru America and brought the car into napleton Subaru arlington heights, IL on July 24, 2019. On that date I could not recreate the error messages. Napleton inspected and told me system needed a reset which they did free of charge. Since there was no error message either immediately before or after the visit, I had no way of knowing whether reset was effective. The next day the error message was back. Pictures attached as well as receipt from napleton describing work performed.

The airbag sensor in the front passenger seat randomly goes off when there's a passenger in the car or not. The seat belt alarm for the passenger side goes off without a passenger in the car. Airbag sensor says "off" with a passenger in the car. This is very unsafe, as I do not know if that airbag is truly functional, and also an annoyance, as the seatbelt alarm dings while I'm driving.

Our Forester has a problem with its airbag system. It would alert us on the dashboard that 'srs airbag system needs to be checked' and a red warning symbol of the airbag being inflated. In addition, it would show my passenger airbag is off even when someone was sitting in the passenger seat. This happened one time when we were on our driveway just starting to leave; other times while we were driving down local streets; maybe one time on a highway too. It seems to be more frequent in recent months. Now no one sits on the passenger seat upfront while we try to find a solution to the airbag problem that our Subaru dealership seems to be clueless. We believe this is a manufacturer issue, just based on the fact that Subaru dealership mechanic could not identify what the problem is or its cause. So far I have been told the passenger seat sensor is somehow defective and that it is not covered under any warranty. This is a major safety issue that Subaru should have it rectified real fast before any life is lost.

Usually while driving, the passenger airbag sensor will turn off and put an error code out that says not on even with an adult in the seat. Resetting the code can get it to go off but it returns. Has turned off on its own before and come back. Turning car off and on does not reset it.

In early may 2019, the vehicle started giving airbag warnings and disabling the front passenger airbag when the front passenger seat was occupied. I reported the problem to my Subaru dealer's service department when I took it in for routine service a couple weeks later. It took a month to get an appointment to have the warning diagnosed. Finally they did the analysis and told me the passenger seat sensor had failed, and claimed it was because the seat got wet (it didn't). After I complained to management they comp'd the repair and replaced the front passenger seat cushion at the end of June. The problem hasn't recurred.

Front passenger seat occupancy sensor not turning on the air bag.

Seat bottom occupant detection system failed to work. Notice that the air bag system needed to be serviced appeared on dash message. Notice occurred both when stationary and when moving. Dealer replaced seat bottom sensor under a b1760 code. Part(s) used:64139sg140vh. This is a leased vehicle (private).

Keep getting message "srs airbag system needs to be checked" while driving. Dealer wants to replace the set sensor at my cost. The vehicle only has 41,000 miles. This is a known problem with this vehicle and Subaru is not fixing the issue leaving driver in danger. This needs to be a recall!.

Tl the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The air bag system was deactivated. The seat belt alert was activated. The vehicle was taken to Subaru of kennesaw (905 ernest w barrett pkwy NW, kennesaw, GA 30144) however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was later diagnosed and the contact was informed that there was a wiring harness connection failure, brake pedal sensor and that the seat bottom needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that she felt unsafe operating the vehicle and requested that the manufacturer buy back the vehicle. The failure mileage was unknown.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Passenger side seat sensor detects person sitting in seat and turns on the airbag when the seat is empty. Notifications turns on at car startup and will turn on while vehicle is moving. Car was bought may 31st, 2018. This behavior started on the first cold day in my area (roughly late November/early December 2018).

The front passenger airbag sensor system is defective. I was informed on 9/1/18 that parts would need to be replaced and it was recommended that no one use that seat. I have been waiting over 6 months now for the replacement parts. The Subaru dealership says they have no way to determine when the parts will be in. I have had several other issues with this car as well. They have made multiple attempts to resolve a rattle sound in the dashboard, had the air conditioning knob replaced, and a loud squeak in the driver's seat requiring a part to be replaced. This is my first Subaru and I have not been impressed!.

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.

Less than one year after purchase of a new 2017 Subaru Forester I noted periodically the passenger airbag failure light would turn on and stay on when a passenger was in the passenger seat. This did not occur immediately on seating of the passenger and was sporadic. It occurred both in motion and while the vehicle was not in motion. Once lit it remained so until 2 or 3 new restarts. Taken to dealer they found a code verifying the complaint. Told it was due to a cellphone on the seat. Cellphone removed. Same problem. Took it back to dealer held for a couple of days and told a specialist in codes indicated that it was due to usb cell phone wire. This was not an acceptable explanation. This resulted in their specialist reviewing their code reading again. They indicated a sensor failure and that the part would take about a month to obtain. I could drive the car in the interim including with a passenger. . I therefore requested written certification of the safety of the passenger seat regarding the airbag. This resulted in a rental car which I have had for 7 weeks. Called 2 weeks ago with the response that they were waiting for a new airbag. I want to be certain that the ntsb is aware that there may be a problem with Subaru airbags in the 2017 Forester. How this potential problem is dealt with is also a concern. Is a recall in order?.

Passenger airbag off warning is given in hot weather. Dealer says new sensor is needed. We have been waiting since August 2018 for the part to be received by our dealer so repair can be made.

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.

The front passenger air bag sensor is defective in the seat cushion. Light on the dash shows passenger air bag is turned off even when someone is sitting in the seat. The problem occurs intermittently while driving. There is no predicting when the light will turn on or off. The problem began in July of 2018 when the forrester was one year old. The seat has not been wet. The problem began in July 2018. The new seat cushion was ordered in August 2018. The new seat cushion did not arrive until February 2019. 5 1/2 months later. Does it take this long for Subaru to replace safety equipment under warranty ? kelly Subaru, in chattanooga,TN. Scheduled the repair to be done 2/22/2019. We live approximately 75 miles from kelly Subaru. The appointment was scheduled for 10:00am eastern time. At around 9:45 am ben carter ( service representative) called stating the service department was "swamped". The appointment was cancelled and now is scheduled for March 4th. My wife had driven from our home in mcminnville TN. , and was within 5 minutes of the dealership when the appointment was canceled. This is apparently a fairly common problem with Foresters per carcomplaints. Com.

There is an intermittent problem where the passenger air bag is disabled. I have had the dealership look at the problem and they claim Subaru knows about it and it is caused by a sensor getting wet in some fashion. The front passenger seat is never wet when the problem occurs. Most recently, today, June 10th 2018 the front passenger airbag disabled light came on while driving in dry conditions and no beverage or moisture of any kind was in the car. This is always the case. After I park the car, turn it off, have the passenger exit the vehicle and get back in the system is fine again. I find it incredulous that I have a 16 month old car that this happens repeatedly in. I have made the dealer aware twice and they simply list my Subaru maintenance records as routine and never show the detailed reason my car was taken in. I am afraid there will come a time when the system will stay disabled and I will have to have my wife ride in the back seat. The problem is there are only 2 of us in our family and I sometimes have the rear seats folded down and the cargo area is full. There would be no safe place left for her to be seated in the vehicle. If the NHTSA requires airbags it should require the manufacturer to make sure the system is not defective. I have the Subaru starlink system and received an email today that they were notified of the airbag system issue. The vehicle is always in motion when this occurs and is either on a city street or highway. It has occurred no less than 8 times and the dealership has been made aware twice prior to today.