Four problems related to side/window air bag have been reported for the 2010 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2010 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2010 Outback.
The passenger side airbag of our 2010 Subaru Outback will intermittently turn off when there is an adult in the passenger seat. We've brought the car to two Subaru dealers and they both have told us there's nothing they can do unless the system is broken when we bring the car to the shop because the car doesn't show a fault code.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that when driving on the highway at 65 mph, the steering wheel began to shake violently. The vehicle also pulled from left to the right no matter what speed. The contact also stated that the front passenger side air bag off light was always illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where it was at the time of the complaint, awaiting a response from the manufacturer. This visit would be the fourth time the vehicle was taken to the dealership and had been kept for a long period of time. The current and failure mileages were approximately 10,000.
My wife and I own a 2010 Subaru Outback. The passenger side air bag does not function properly or has a faulty design. The weight sensor is supposed to turn on the air bag when anyone over 100 pounds sits in the seat. My wife weighs 130 pounds. The air bag does not become active more than 50% of the time when she is sitting in the seat. Subaru tells us that the sensor is functioning properly and is calibrated correctly, yet my wife continues to be unprotected more than half of the time. They offer no resolution to the problem other than recommending that she sit upright in the seat. The 2010 Outback is all new this year and I believe that this air bag design is a flaw with catastrophic potential. This is a huge safety risk for people in or near this weight range. The air bag is supposed to come on for anyone over 100 pounds, but in reality isn't reliably engaging unless you are about 150 pounds or more. Our local dealer has admitted to several complaints for the same issue. The internet also reveals others having the same problem. Subaru needs to investigate the problem and probably initiate a recall in order to replace the sensor threshold with a lower weight limit so average size people will be protected. This top safety pick vehicle has a major safety issue.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at any speed, the passenger side air bag did not activate when someone was sitting in the passenger seat. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer twice but the failure could not be diagnosed. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that the seats were set to activate the air bags at 125 lbs. The failure mileage was 200.