Air Bag Problems of Subaru Legacy - part 1

Vehicle was involved in a front-end collision in which the airbag failed to deploy. The vehicle has been considered totaled by the insurance company. A police report is available.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

I purchased my 2025 Legacy from brunswick Subaru (brunswick,OH) on 9/22/25. A few days later, while riding in the passenger seat, the airbag light/icon stayed off. I am a petite female, weighing 100 pounds. I immediately called brunswick Subaru's service department. The service manager drove me around, and he saw that what I was reporting was true. He said he would order sensors to fix the problem. I was told that the airbags should deploy at 35 pounds from my salesperson and 80 pounds from the service director. The sensors arrived in December, and I made an appointment on 12/30/25 to have them installed. I waited two hours only to learn that they could not be installed since this was a safety issue and Subaru is all about safety. I had to leave my car, and I was provided with a loaner, which was also a 2025 Legacy. The passenger seat's airbag light/icon stayed off when I sat in the passenger seat of the loaner too. I reported this to mark harris, a Subaru advocacy rep. He told me to sit in the back seat from now on. He also said to put my purse on my lap to add weight, which is highly discouraged in the Legacy's manual. As of today, 1/19/25, my Legacy is still in the service garage at brunswick, and no one is giving me any answers-not the service manager, john cross, nor the Subaru advocate, mark harris. I have emailed and called every day since 12/31/25. Because this behavior occurred in two separate 2025 legacies, it appears to be a system design defect rather than an isolated incident. The owner's manual states that the airbag may not activate for a "small adult", but this term is not defined by weight or any objective criteria. As a consumer, I had no way of knowing that an adult my size would not be protected by the front passenger airbag. This lack of disclosure prevented an informed purchase decision. I believe this presents a safety risk because adult occupants may be riding without frontal airbag protection. I request NHTSA review my concerns.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The OCS sensor is faulty and doesn’t detect a passanger and may cause the airbag not to deploy, this is common according to other Subaru owners. This is a common problem on many cars and those cars have been recalled.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

I was traveling into work in boston and a Dodge ram 1500 pickup hit me broadside (drivers side wheel, rear door). My air bags (driver front or side) did not deploy and my car was determined to be a total wreck by my insurance company. I was bruised and out of work for a couple of days but was a fortunate to walk away from this accident.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Emergency breaking deployed during traffic where no indication of collision was about to take place; vehicle safety features disabled and enabled off and on automatically while driving, this led up to sudden stop of vehicle in heavy traffic and vehicle would never restart. Subaru starlink emergency services failed to work or respond after trying for several minutes. Steering wouldn’t work to guide vehicle safely out of traffic.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while reversing into the driveway, the driver's side air bag unintendedly deployed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The vehicle was scheduled to be towed to the local dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to have the vehicle towed to the local dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Subaru has failed to remedy recall on airbags.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The occupancy detection sensor module failed. Similar to the 2014 forester recall the module has failed and Subaru dealership wants $3300 to replace the module. The passenger airbag is off due to the sensor not working. Previous airbag recall has been resolved, but I am concerned that they are related.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Ods sensor recall still not fixed/remedy available, used heat for first time since I purchased the car, minor cracks in the windshield, car radio/monitors randomly go black, reverse camera won’t work, restarts on there own after a while.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v227000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Passenger airbag does not turn on when someone who weighs 100 pounds or less occupies the front passenger seat. This issue also occurs on my 2024 Subaru crosstrek VIN # [xxx] . It also occurred on the loaner car the dealer gave me which was a 2025 Subaru crosstrek. I asked two Subaru dealers, pinebelt in lakewood, NJ and lester glenn in toms river, NJ to fix the problem; but they stated that they could not adjust the passenger airbag sensor. I told Subaru of America about the problem and they have not responded or tried to address the issue. This is a serious issue that should be addressed by the NHTSA. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

When my wife (who weighs under 99 pounds) is seated in the front passenger seat the indicator light for the passenger airbags does not always show that the airbags are on. When I sit in the front passenger seat the indicator light always shows that the airbags are on. The car was taken to the selling dealer (pinebelt Subaru, lakewood, NJ) who stated that the weight sensor for the front passenger seat was calibrated properly and they could not adjust it for my wife's weight. Since this also happens with my 2024 Subaru Legacy and also occurred with my friend's 2023 Subaru outback, I believe that Subaru has a problem with lightweight passengers on all of it's vehicles. We are concerned that should we get into an accident and the airbag is not on due to my wife's light weight serious injury or death may occur.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v227000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Recall not fixed yet, what happens if a car hits me & the passenger airbags don’t work? unsafe, doesn’t seem like it’s being fixed in a timely manner.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v227000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

A recall was issued Mar 22, 2024 for a dangerous safety issue. An air bag that does not deploy during a crash can increase the risk of injury. Remedy dealers will replace the ods sensors on the front passenger seat, free of charge. Interim letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed may 17, 2024. Owners will receive a second letter once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is wra-24. Nhtsa issued their recall for this problem. Nhtsa recall number24v227000 recall status recall incomplete, remedy not yet available now 8 months later Subaru drivers are still forced to drive around with this dangerous defect. This is totally unacceptable, irresponsible and local Subaru dealers have received no part for this repair and have not idea when they will ever get them. Nhtsa needs to step in and get answers from Subaru and issue notices to owners with this problem of the danger involved if there is a crash and their passenger is killed because of this delay.

My vehicle is suffering of the exact same issue described in recall wra-24. However, this recall only covers the model years 2020 to 2022, mine is 2014 with approximately 106,000 miles. Since the last week of December, my vehicle has been to the fort wayne, in Subaru dealership approximately 9 time for the same issue. It has cost me over $2,500 plus the fuel used for all this trips (I live over 40 miles away from the dealership). The problem is still not 100 percent fixed after they changed the seat cushion, the airbag module, the seat belt buckle sensor, and I don't know what else. The last time (a couple of weeks ago) that the car was at the dealership, they had the car for over 2 weeks. The next morning, the car did the same thing again where the red airbag warning light turns on and the passenger airbag shuts off with a passenger sitting on the seat. I've taken videos of the issue to show the dealership as they seemed doubtful of what I was explaining to them. The dealer claims they have been in contact with Subaru and they don't know what else to do. They started providing me with a loaner free of charge after the 4th visit. In summary, same issue as wra-24, over $2,500 so far, and still not resolved.

The driver’s side airbag of 2018 Subaru Legacy deployed as I was reversing out of a parking lot going approximately 5mph. It has not been fixed due to the company’s negligence. One of Subaru’s accident advocate specialist claimed the engineer found a mysterious brown liquid that caused the airbag to deploy although I had not been in the car for two hours nor was I drinking any substances; especially “brown”. My and other’s safety was put at risk to a degree that is fatal, I was a short distance from the highway to head home. Had I been driving at the normal highway speed in my city (55mph) with the airbag deploying in my face, with others on the road, and inhaling blinding fumes, I can assure you it would’ve been detrimental to my and other’s being. The car was inspected for a few months by multiple Subaru engineers, one of the accident advocate specialist refused to give me any documentation or pictures proving this was the cause. There was absolutely no warning lights or other malfunctions occurring. The car is in great condition, and in a previous accident did not deploy its airbags.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

My wife is a petite woman, 4 feet 7 inches, 85pounds clothed. We bought the car March 29, 2023 and drove home, and the passenger airbag worked properly thru April 2. Behavior after that became erratic, passenger airbag sometimes on, sometimes not. Became more erratic and brought to dealer (balise Subaru) April 12. Service technician reported system worked properly, no error codes. I asked service manager to look at the car with my wife rather than a 180 pound technician sitting in it. He observed that with my wife in the passenger seat he would start and stop the car, and sometime the airbag was on, other times off even though she never moved or change position. He was going to check with Subaru, saying nothing in the system could be adjusted and it had a trigger weight of approximately 80. 5 pounds. Erratic behavior became worse such that airbag was off 75% of the time. Tried various seat positions to no effect. Note: my wife sits 23 inches from the dashboard. On April 18 on a round trip to a doctor she weighed 84. 6 pounds on a medical scale in normal indoor clothes, and wore a light coat (1. 2 pounds) while in the car in both directions. The airbag was on the entire trip to the doctor, and off the entire trip home. Subaru responded she was so small and near trigger weight was the likely cause. Dealer did re zero the passenger seat, no change. Car has been at the dealer 3 times for this problem, and system has become somewhat less erratic such that the airbag is either on immediately or more often within 5 minutes of driving 50-60% of the time, yet my wife's weight has held steady. Two patterns I have found: temperature sensitivity: more consistent when temp is in the 40s or 60s, worse in the 50s, and variable otherwise. Having the ac on seems to help so I'm wondering if the control unit or seat sensors are overheating, also high lateral forces on on-ramps will turn the airbag on. I also suspect the seat sensors lack precision and weigh my wife erratically.

I was in a wreck were my car slammed into the center barrier on the interstate twice and my air bags didn't deploy and I was slammed into my car door I know my friend's dad that owned the car said that the car was totaled and the mechanic that towed the car was wondering why the air bags didn't deploy because of where the car hit and where the damage was.

I was going down the hill in my development, I made it approximately 2-300ft at 7-10mph when suddenly there was a loud “bang”. I could not see anything, my airbags had deployed and blocked my field of vision. I ended up hitting an electrical pole. There was no need for the airbags to go off. I could have been killed. There is no airbag recall on my VIN number.

Contacting Subaru going on 4 years to get airbag recall completed. Subaru has persistently promised to call back to set appointment but never calls. Just did 2 chats again today both mysteriously disconnected as usual. Please record for legal purposes my absolute frustration at trying to get Subaru to fulfill this critical recall for deadly airbag repair.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

The contact owned 2017 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 - 45 mph on a two-lane road, he attempted to overtake the driver in front and crashed head-on into a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. The contact stated that the driver's front air bag failed to deploy however, both side curtain air bags deployed as needed. The contact stated that he suffered two fractures to his sternum along with other chest injuries. The contact stated that he was informed by the police officer that the other driver did not require medical attention. The contact was transported from the scene by ambulance to the local hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The contact stated that the insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss. The contact attempted to reach the manufacturer on several occasions but was unable to speak with a representative. The approximate failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

Almost hit a deer on meredith center road new hampshire my display warning did not go off cost $12,000 worth of impact on the front end of the car the airbags did not go off deploy broke ribs.

Front end collision air bad did not deploy face damage.

Tl- the contact owns a 2017 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph a second vehicle t-bone crashed into the driver side of the vehicle. During the crash the driver side curtain air bag did not iimmediately deploy causing the drivers head to make contact with the interior of the driver side door. The air bag then deployed down onto the head of the driver causing the driver additional injuries and also causing the driver to becoming entrapped by the air bag. During the crash the driver sustained injuries to both sides of the head which required medical treatment. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000 . Jft.

I have received over 40 notices regarding my 2007 Subaru Legacy that I have not owned since 2015. The car is sitting in a junk yard and I have called the number on these notices roughly 15 times and each time I am told something different. I do not own this car. Please take me off this list. I am being harassed for a vehicle I have not owned in over 5 years. Please work on your processes so that I am not being harassed anymore.

See all problems of the 2007 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

I keep receiving safety recall letters about the airbag in this vehicle. This vehicle has been scrapped since July 2017. I could no longer get it to pass emissions. I have since then called the number on the letters several times to remove me from the notice list but I keep receiving them. I recently noticed that every recall notice has a different phone number on it and it appears calls are going to a different call center every time. I believe that the us dot and NHTSA is being ripped off by whomever is contracted to send out these letters. Every operator at the call centers states they will update their file and remove me from the list, but like clockwork I still receive the notices.

See all problems of the 2004 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

2 car collision on a city street. Both cars in motion. Our car was turning left onto the main road and was hit in the left front area causing significant damage resulting in the total loss of both vehicles. The driver of our car was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be checked out. The driver of our car suffered a head injury on the left side resulting in pain and in particular short term memory loss. The accident report is available thru the kirkland, wa police department, case #20-19103. Although the report does contain errors and omissions it mostly describes what happened and includes several photos. The reason for this complaint is we are wondering why the airbags (side ones in particular) did not deploy? we feel it's very likely the head injury would not have happened had the airbag(s) deployed.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

2009 Subaru Legacy. Consumer writes in regard to airbag issue, the airgbag light came on.

See all problems of the 2009 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Deadly defective passenger airbag! air bag recall. Reported on local news channel.

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Legacy 🔎.

Tl- the contact owns a 2004 Subaru Legacy. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number 20v000000 (air bags) however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact contacted the dealership (webster groves Subaru located at 7982 big bend blvd, webster groves, mo 63119 phone number: 314-968-5167) who were unable to verify when and if they would be receiving the parts for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to provide an estimated time frame for the remedy. Parts distribution disconnect. Gl.

I got an airbag recall in the mail, International Subaru in orland park wants to charge me for this recall.

I have an airbag recall on this vehicle and have received a notice to get it serviced. When calling my local Subaru dealership they told me I'd be put on a waiting list and that they are booked out through the end of the year. In the notice it states that this could kill me or my passengers. Waiting till the end of the year doesn't seem like they care about my safety. The dealership was gustman Subaru of appleton wisconsin.

Takata recall - schaller Subaru of berlin, CT cannot accommodate this recall until October 8, 2019. Call to schedule the recall ASAP was made July 15, 2019.