2016 Subaru Forester Air Bags Problems
- 49
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 49 stored complaint records:
- 6 indicate a crash
- 5 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- passenger seat · 25 records
- front passenger · 11 records
- passenger airbag · 10 records
- passenger side · 9 records
- airbag system · 8 records
- system needs · 7 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 24 |
| 1–30k mi | 10 |
| 60–100k mi | 2 |
| 150–400k mi | 2 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Air Bags
When driving with no one in the passenger seat and sometimes when there is someone in the seat i get an srs airbag fault but it never stays on after i shut down the suv. Sometimes when i restart the suv after about 5 minutes it will come back on and it stays on until i shut off the suv. Then nothing for weeks. I've wanted to take it to the dealer but every time i start to head over to then the fault goes out or…
ODI 11300624
Air Bags
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 subaru forester. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 19v701000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool…
ODI 11307297
Air Bags
For the past month, my passenger airbag light will indicate it is "off" intermittently when a passenger is sitting in the seat, and the car's ignition is turned on and driving. I brought my subaru to the dealer to have it looked at and they quoted me a price of over $1,500 in repairs due to the need to replace the seat. The technician told me not to worry about it unless the light is on continuously. At that point,…
ODI 11271379
Air Bags
I turned my vehicle on in the morning and a red 'i' appeared and a warning that srs airbag system needed to be checked. The panel on the dashboard has an airbag light blinking. The passenger airbag light continues to say 'off' despite there being weight in the seat. There has been no damage to the seat including moisture or anything to damage the seat. Happened completely at random.
ODI 11268238
Air Bags
When i start the car, this indicator turns on: srs airbag system needs to be checked passenger airbag remains "off" even person sits on the passenger seat. This happens when car is stopped or moving while the car is started.
ODI 11266423
Air Bags
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.
ODI 11265770
Air Bags
Airbag warning light registers off when passenger in seat. Subaru dealer found codes b1650, occupant detection, and code b1760, sensor mat abnormal. Determined that seat bottom with sensor needed to be replaced. 10/2/19 quote to replace airbag was $1168.00. Is this issue covered under recall?
ODI 11265760
Air Bags
On october 2nd 2019 i was traveling on the express way at highway speeds when i was involved in an accident. Damages to my car were so bad that the claims department deemed it as a total loss. The front of my car was completely smashed in. Neither of my airbags deployed. I always thought that subarus were supposed to be safe so this is very disappointing. I'm not sure where to go from here about this but it is scary…
Crash reported
ODI 11266030
Air Bags
Passanger airbag is off no matter if someone is sitting in the seat and will not turn back on. This happens if it is sitting still or moving so not safe for passangers
ODI 11265439
Air Bags
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
ODI 11265395
Air Bags
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.
ODI 11246704
Air Bags · Electronic Stability Control · Seats
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.
ODI 11289210
Air Bags · Seat Belts · Seats
Intermittent dash light saying the passenger seat belt and air bag is turned off with passenger in the seat and when car is being driven. Comes on in city and highway driving both..
ODI 11252254
Air Bags
The passenger side airbag does not function. The sensor cannot tell when a passenger is present. This began happening intermittently, shortly after i purchased the vehicle new. In the past month, the airbags have not been on at all.
ODI 11243218
Air Bags · Seats
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.
ODI 11241208
Air Bags · Electrical System
Airbag sensor for front passenger seat is defective. Srs warning light remains on most of the time that the car is running. Lights indicate airbag is off even with passenger in seat. Dealer has checked computer; told me that i may have caused damage to the sensor, usually with water. Seat has never been wet nor have we done anything that could damage the sensor. Google search brings up numerous cases of same issue,…
ODI 11255486
Air Bags
I purchased this vehicle early 2016, currently under 40k miles. The side passenger airbag warning suddenly came on stating the srs system needs checked. The warning comes and disappears sporadically. I tried wiggling and tightening the connection underneath the seat and the light was gone for over a month but it came back again.
ODI 11246720
Air Bags
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 subaru forester. When the vehicle was started, the air bag indicator illuminated. The next time the vehicle was started, the indicator did not appear. When the indicator illuminated again, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who suggested the contact take the vehicle to a dealer because the defect may be included in a recall. The contact took the vehicle to #1 cochran subaru…
ODI 11256887
Air Bags
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 subaru forester. When the vehicle was started, the srs indicator illuminated. The contact called flatirons subaru at [redacted] located at [redacted], boulder, co 80303) and scheduled an appointment to have the vehicle checked. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. *dt *dt the consumer stated subaru…
ODI 11254108
Air Bags
Takata recall- when driving the passenger seatbelt light switches off even when the seat is occupied. I cannot let anyone occupy the seat because i feel it is not safe.
ODI 11243482
Air Bags
The car has had intermittent srs errors starting shortly after buying the car in summer of 2016. We have had it checked out and nothing was ever found. There does not appear to be any consistancy as to when the "srs airbag system needs to be checked" message appears. Sometimes weeks go by with no errors. Sometimes it will go on and not appear the next time the car is started. My concern is the srs airbag system is…
ODI 11230006
Air Bags
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…
ODI 11243238
Air Bags
My vehicle all of a sudden began giving me a passenger side airbag censor error. No accidents occurred it just out of the blue appeared. I had to take my forester to the subaru dealership to be serviced where they confirmed that there was a problem with the passenger air bag.
ODI 11244774
Air Bags · Electrical System · Seats
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.
ODI 11221676
Air Bags
Ods / air bag light goes on and off. Doesn't matter if someone is sitting in the passenger seat or not. Service department says we damaged the sensor for the passenger seat. Part is in for repair and we're trying to schedule a time to get back into the dealer to have the do the repair at our cost.
ODI 11243337