Air Bag On-off Switch Problems of Subaru Legacy

I have owned my Legacy since '14 and my brother owned it before that. He rarely had passengers ride with him and since I've owned it the few passengers I've had have always been heavier than me. (I usually did all the driving). About a year and a half ago, I took a road trip with a friend and he did most of the driving. We started noticing that when I was in the passenger seat the airbag light for the passenger side would say off. I tried adjusting my seat and changing positions and occasionally I could get it to turn back on. We switched seats and it immediately worked for him. I am 5' 9" and was about 150 # at the time. He is 5'8" and about 165. I took it in to the local dealership and they confirmed something was indeed wrong and told me that I must have spilled liquid on the seat that had ruined the sensors. This didn't make any sense to me because while I could not activate the sensors, the dealership employee being heavier than me activated it immediately when sitting in the seat. My brother and I are very particular with our vehicles and no such thing ever occurred. They told me it would cost a few thousand dollars to fix. I could not afford that expense and figured that I would just try to live with it. Fast forward to recently when I took another trip with a friend and this time I could not get the airbag to turn on no matter where or how I sat. I am now down to about 135 # and apparently the seat doesn't recognize that weight as an adult. I have been researching what to do for this problem because, as a fire fighter, I have seen what happens when an airbag does not deploy in a wreck. I have found many forums online with doz of people stating that they have the same problem and have been having it since the vehicle was new. This is an obvious manufacturing issue that hopefully has not cost any lives and soa needs to be held accountable for their dishonesty.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Airbag light on. Code read on/off switch above rear view mirror defective. With airbag light on the airbags are disable. This is a known issue and the vehicle needs to be recalled to fix problem.

See all problems of the 2008 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Air bag sensor / switch for front passenger seat malfunctioning. Tested and verified with both 125lb and 135lb adult female. Indicator light shows passenger air bag as off most of the time and intermittently changes to on while driving. I have had the technicians both look at and verify the problem more than once and have also recorded video showing my wife sitting normally in the seat with the airbag indicator showing "off". Subaru has continued to insist that the sensor is functioning properly and has even gone as far as claiming that my wife is sitting improperly. They have tried to "re-zero" the sensor and they claim that the system is showing proper function. I was told that there is no longer a specific weight specification for the sensor (80lbs) and that it uses fuzzy logic (multiple sources of data) to determine the switch setting. I have made 4 trips to the dealership to correct the problem including leaving my new car with them for 7 days only to have it returned in the same condition them stating that it works according to Subaru's policies. They have also claimed to recreate the problem on two other 2010 models of the car bringing them to the conclusion that the sensor is functioning properly. At 125 / 135lbs, my wife is well over the 80lb threshold often used to determine if an airbag should deploy or not. It is therefore dangerous and potentially life-threatening for my wife to ride in the passenger seat of our new car.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

At time of a regular service, told that the air bag switch has failed, even though this vehicle has never been in an accident of any kind. Told that the air bags would not deploy in the event of an accident and told I need to purchase a new switch for $552 + tax and installation. There are 10 other events on your site showing the failure of the air bags to deploy, many resulting in injuries. I believ a recall is warranted here.

See all problems of the 1998 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

This is an airbag cutoff switch complaint. I couldn't find any other place on your website to lodge it. We got our cutoff swtich authorization almost a year ago. The Subaru switch was to be ready 12/98. Now there's no date even given. This is unfair. You force them to make the bag and us to buy it, can't you force them to make the cutoff switch? they advise we not use a generic. I sometimes have to cram 4 kids in my backseat sharing belts. Is that safe?.