Air Bag On-off Switch Problems of Subaru Impreza

Airbag light comes on (red stick figure getting hit in the face with with airbag) illuminates in dashboard at random times. Passenger airbag is switched to on when no one is in the seat, but turns off when passenger is present. The weight of a cellphone can trigger passenger airbag to come on which they are claiming is normal. When driving alone passenger seatbelt alarm will ding forcing me to keep passenger seatbelt plugged in most of time. Ive taken the car in multiple times to two different Subaru dealership but they both claim everything is working in perfect order. The notes I use to describe this issue is always deleted when I arrive at dealership. I do not even want to drive the vehicle and cant afford the diagnostic fees on top of missing days from work. The issue happens when car is parked or driving. A little research shows Subaru is aware of this issue but continues to pretend nothing is wrong - they instead offer me to trade in vehicle. I would rather drive vehicle off a cliff than to have them resell vehicle to another person who will end up going through what I went through spending hundreds of dollars or worse - airbag not deploying causing increased injury or death.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

Takata recall, brake lamp switch failure. We live in a small alaskan bush town called dillingham that's not on the road system. We (myself and around 30+ other residents) have been trying to get Subaru to send a technician out for 2 years now to fix our defective airbags. Just today we received a recall for our brake lamp switch. We cannot simply 'go to a dealer's as there is none. We'd have to send our car as freight to anchorage (which costs thousands and can take upwards of a month) and most of the town cannot afford to do so. We even have a facebook group of people who need recalled cars fixed from Subaru, Honda and Toyota. We've been calling and writing for 2 years and nothing has ever been done. We're just told that 'theyll send someone out'. Someone shouldn't have to be killed by a defective airbag or in an accident just to get these issues fixed.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

The airbag sensor does not detect the front seat passenger during travel. The passesger airbag display is on at the start but then switches to off while the car is moving, after around 20 minutes or more of driving. So far, restarting the car has put the passenger airbag back on, but this requires the driver to find a safe place to stop and restart the car. This happened twice in June, once in July, and now twice this week (beginning of September). In June and July we were on an interstate going 70 mph. This week we were driving in town at 40 mph. The car was moving straight at the time. The seat was not wet.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

I really feel my 2013 Impreza should fall into the takata recall. I made sure to check my vehicle didn't qualify, but it appears to be doing similar things presented for those currently in the recall. The first time I have proof of my airbag indicator light was 7. 4. 2016 at 45,896 miles. At the time, I was the only person in the vehicle. When I went to the local Subaru dealer to have it checked, they said they couldn't check it unless the light was lit (which it was not) and suggested the seat might have been wet. Most recently, I have had a front passenger in my vehicle and the indicator light has come on and the air bag light switched to off at least 3 times in the last two weeks. I purchased my Subaru for the safety and this is a huge issue if the airbag does not deploy if for some reason I get into an accident. Just continuing driving with this light on caused me a great deal of anxiety for fear of the unknown. I like to think I am a good driver, but I couldn't live with myself if a defect of my vehicle was responsible for losing a precious passenger. Please try to review more of these cases and update the recall list. For the first documented instance, the vehicle was in a driveway and parked without a passenger. These last couple of incidences have been both parked and in motion along roadways ranging from 50-70mph.

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

Air bag is disabled when moisture or humidity is present on the passenger seat. Specifically the airbag red light illuminates and the amber passenger side air bag off light illuminates. This is a problem that presented itself soon after purchase. It has happened while stationary & while driving. It has been triggered by both humidity in the air & perspiration by the passenger. I believe the problem has to do with moisture compromising the passenger seat switch. The incident has happened many times. Most recently I had left the rear window open it was humid but there was no rain, when I went to work in the morning the red airbag light was on. The problem may be getting worse over time, in the past a towel or trash bag would prevent it but no, as mentioned it is being triggered by humid air. I videoed one example and have attempted to include it but it is too large I would be glad to email it if you are interested, my daughter is in the front seat, the airbag light is on and the passenger side airbag indicator shows off. The video was taken on sept 30th 2014, the vehicle had 35,212 miles on it at the time.

Warning lamps for stability control air bag randomly light up on my dash board panel. The passenger air bag will also switch to off even when a passer is sitting in the seat or the passenger seat belt warning sound will go off if a small object is placed on the seat. My mechanic can't find the issue as I cannot recreate the circumstances that cause the lamps to switch on or the warning siren to chime. Computer readings do not return any "codes" if the lamps aren't on.

To whom it may concern: on two occasions in the past week, while I was driving at highway speed with the front passenger seat occupied, the airbag warning light turned on in the dashboard and the passenger airbag light switched to "off". In each instance, the airbag warning light turned off later that day and the passenger airbag returned to normal ("on" when the seat was occupied). A representative of Subaru of America claims that it is normal for this to occur if there is any moisture on the seat. Of the two times that this has happened, there was moisture on the seat in one case, but not in the second case. My local Subaru dealership claims that the problem cannot be diagnosed or fixed unless it is actively occurring. The airbag system is far too critical of a safety feature to be subject to such intermittent failures, and I hope that this problem will be resolved as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.

While driving on the highway with a passenger, the air bag light came on and the passenger air bag indicator switched from on to off. I had already driven probably 35 miles at highway speed (65mph) at the time this occurred. I was in motion at the time, changing lanes as I prepared to exit the highway. After the vehicle was turned off, the lights behaved as expected but the vehicle had to be turned off to fix.

The srs sensor was lighting up and the airbag indicator light began to switch to off even when the passenger seat was occupied. I took my car into the dealership and they confirmed the switch has gone back and needs replaced. Luckily the car is still under warranty so I am only responsible to pay for the $100 warranty deductible. After much research, I have found that this is the same srs switch used in the 2012 Subaru Impreza that has been replaced due to a recall.

While driving the passenger seat airbag will switch off with an adult seated or switch it on when no one is present. At the same time the seat belt light will turn on. We have found that stopping the vehicle to restart the vehicle correct this issue. On the 2012 Subaru there was a problem just like this that was recalled. Subaru can't find anything because these problems are corrected after the vehicle is started again. No one at Subaru can state that the system is working while this happens.

The dashboard ¿airbag malfunction¿ light turns on and the passenger airbag light switches to ¿off¿ while there is an adult passenger in the front passenger seat of the car. This happens upon starting the car and continues until the car engine is shut off. I am afraid if there is a crash that the passenger air bag will not deploy.

Multiple sporadic issues with the front passenger air bag indicator. 1) when a passenger is seated with seatbelt fastened in the front passenger seat, once the car is in motion the passenger airbag indicator will change status to off and a red airbag/balloon indicator light will show on the dash as if there is no-one in the passenger seat. 2) when someone sitting in the front passenger seat exits the car, after driving away the passenger air bag indicator will turn on as if someone is sitting in the seat and the fasten seat belt chime will continue sounding even through the passenger seat is empty. 3) with no passenger in the car, if you place a cell phone directly on the passenger seat while it is plugged in to the usb port charging, the passenger air bag indicator will switch status to on and the fasten seat belt chime will sound. If you pick up the cell phone from the seat (still plugged in to usb port charging), the indicator will change back to off and the fasten seat belt chime will stop. If you place the cell phone back on the seat, the air bag indicator will switch back to on and the fasten seat belt chime will sound. Issue #1&#2 seem to occur most often in high humidity or rain. Issue #3 occurs if the cell phone is greater than 35% charged.

The dashboard "airbag malfunction" light turns on and the passenger airbag light switches to "off" while there is a passenger in the car. This probably means that if there was a collision, the passenger airbag would not deploy, with passenger in front seat. It was happening about 40% of the time that I had a passenger in the front seat. Took this to alexandria's beyer Subaru and they were able to pull the code/reproduce problem. Apparently there is some sensor in the seat that causes this malfunction. They are replacing the sensor free of charge (covered under warranty).

Warning lamps for stability control air bag randomly light up on my dash board panel. The passenger air bag will also switch to off even when a passer is sitting in the seat or the passenger seat belt warning sound will go off if a small object is placed on the seat. My mechanic can't find the issue as I cannot recreate the circumstances that cause the lamps to switch on or the warning siren to chime. Computer readings do not return any "codes" if the lamps aren't on.

Driving down the road with a passenger, airbag light switches to off and the airbag light on the dash illuminates. Passenger can then unbuckle seat belt and no alarms sound alerting that the seatbelt is off. This has happened on several occasions. Took to dealer and they blamed it on a pair of jumper cables under the seat. Service writer told me it could happen if someone didn't have enough water in their system, which is bs. If its not bs then I don't feel safe with a passenger. Even after jumper cables were removed the problem still occurs. Have seen many issues on forums with same problem.

Immediately after purchasing a new 08 Subaru Impreza, I noticed that the passenger airbag on/off warning light will intermittently switch back and forth from on to off when a person 5'11' and 160 lb was sitting on the passenger seat. I went to the dealer and they recalibrated the cushion seat weight sensor. This did not solve the problem. I went back and, according to the dealer, following Subaru's instructions, they replaced the seat cushion (including all the sensors in it). This again did not solve the problem. The dealer maintenance manager told me that the weight sensors are very sensitive and all the Imprezas exhibit this (don't know why they would replace the seat cushion if they all exhibit this). I requested to meet the regional service manager, which has not happened yet. This is a severe safety failure with potential catastrophic consequences. My vehicle has now less than 3,000 miles. Updated 10/03/08.

See all problems of the 2008 Subaru Impreza 🔎.

Passenger airbag sensor stays in "off" position when my daughter - who is 5'7" and 136 lbs. - is in the seat. We have driven the car over long distances and I slammed on the brakes hard enough to employ the abs, to no avail. The sensor continues to stay in the "off" position.