2018 Subaru Forester Air Bags Problems
- 19
- 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 19 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- passenger seat · 12 records
- front passenger · 6 records
- passenger side · 6 records
- passenger airbag · 5 records
- airbag system · 5 records
- sitting seat · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 15 |
| 30–60k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Air Bags · Seats
Nhtsa recall 19v-701 (subaru recall wum-98) includes only foresters with seat heaters manufactured from 1/20/15 - 8/1/17. My forester was manufactured on 6/6/18 and is not currently included. Page 3 of product campaign bulletin wum-98r revised 11/20/19 (copy attached) states if the date code on the front passenger seat cushion wiring harness is 18074 (74th day of 2018) or before and the supplier code is 6578, "the…
ODI 11292320
Air Bags
Ever since i purchased the car, the passenger air bag indicator light has shown 'off.' the nhtsa site shows numerous people have had the same experience. Some of those people were advised by subaru service technicians that they must have spilled something on the seat, affecting the sensor. I was told the same when i took my car in. Subaru techs ran a diagnostic that indicated no error codes. I discovered on my own…
ODI 11256570
Air Bags
I was in an accident in which a car t-boned my passenger side. No airbags deployed and we suffered injury as a result. The other car that hit us had all air bags deployed. This was a malfunction in the subaru i drive. The accident occurred while i was in motion going 40mph and a car hit me after running a red light going 45mph
Crash reported · 2 injuries
ODI 11252727
Air Bags · Electrical System · Seats
The airbag system became disarmed and seatbelt warning light came on when smartphone weighing 3lbs was on front passenger seat. This occurred multiple times the passenger front seat sensor is supposed to become armed when a 40lb passenger sits in passenger front seat only. Reading through the owners manual states that both driver and passenger airbags may not deploy which puts driver and passengers at risk for…
ODI 11269248
Air Bags
Airbag light comes on, passenger side airbag says 'off' on panel when person is on seat. Starlink emails me that there is an airbag issue.
ODI 11244085
Air Bags
The passenger airbag system intermittently turns off even if someone is sitting in the seat. It can be while parked or during driving. There's no set cause or circumstances that trigger this.
ODI 11243076
Air Bags
Airbag alert issued by car computer: 'airbag system needs to be checked'. Passenger was in seat and buckled in. Came on when car was started and remained on for duration of drive. Intermittent. Turned off when i went back to take a photo of the message.
ODI 11229449
Air Bags
When my husband shuts off the car, gets out and refuels, i remain seated in the passenger seat. He starts the car and drives off. The passenger airbag light reads that the airbag is off even though i am seated in the passenger seat. The first time it happened starlink told us to take the car in to be checked,but the didn't find anything wrong with it. This has happened so many times that i get out when he gets gas,…
ODI 11289753
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Occupant Classification · Seats
Passenger side seat sensor detects person sitting in seat and turns on the airbag when the seat is empty. Notifications turns on at car startup and will turn on while vehicle is moving. Car was bought may 31st, 2018. This behavior started on the first cold day in my area (roughly late november/early december 2018).
ODI 11184689
Air Bags · Occupant Classification · Seats
Oct. 25, 2018. Car in garage stationary/started vehicle/ dashboard red warning light of seat with belt/airbag. Turned vehicle off. 1/2 hour later, returned to car, saw headlights on, two front doors locked/didn't start car. Called dealer and took in. Said airbag problem and need passenger seat replacement-but on big backorder/months and months. No firm date. Said choice: drive it at risk/ or take a rental. Gm gave…
ODI 11143434
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Inflator Module · Occupant Classification
2018 subaru forester: passenger airbag system fails & turned itself off. Happen 4-5 times in fall 2018. 10/23/2018 i took to northend subaru service code b1650, part back ordered. 04/05/2019 passenger airbag system fails & turned itself off again. Called northend subaru service. Part still back ordered more than 5 months. They say 60+ are awaiting parts in new england. Is subaru reporting to you this type of safety…
ODI 11194757
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Occupant Classification
Some time in august 2018 i noticed that the air bag warning light would randomly come on indicating that the air bag on the passenger side of my new 2018 subaru forester was turned off even when an adult passenger was seated. I called the dealer who at first couldn't explain it. It happened again a few times, after which i notified the dealer who determined the passenger side indicator switch was likely faulty, and…
ODI 11149508
Air Bags
The forester has an automatic system that turns off the airbags for the right side front passenger seat when no-one is sitting there or when they do not weigh enough to activate the system. Should a person need to sit on a cushion in that seat for whatever reason, the system does not think anyone is there and turns off the airbags. I know several people that need various cushions for back support or other health…
ODI 11118105
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Occupant Classification · Seats
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru forester. While driving at an unknown speed, the front passenger air bag indicator illuminated and flashed on and off. The vehicle was taken to prime subaru hyannis [redacted], located at [redacted], hyannis, ma 02601) where it was diagnosed that the seat was wet. The dealer reprogrammed the air bag indicator, but the failure recurred when a passenger occupied the front passenger…
ODI 11151957
Air Bags
Takata recall passenger side airbag indicator showed a problem within first 200 miles of driving the new forester.
ODI 11110278
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Occupant Classification · Seats
My 2018 subaru forester is experiencing faulty activation of the passenger seat air bag light since june 2018. Vehicle was purchased new in august 2017. The dashboard reads that there is no airbag on for the passenger while someone was seated there and the car was sitting or in motion. This has happened on and off since june 2018. The light reads periodically that none of the airbags are on. After bringing it to my…
ODI 11166156
Air Bags · Occupant Classification
The passenger seat airbag has not been working for about 9 months making it dangerous for a passenger (or not available for passenger seat occupancy). The parts have been on order for months but still not delivered. There are many of these on backorder indicating to me a significant safery problem.
ODI 11165546
Air Bags · Front Passenger · Occupant Classification
For 2 months since may 19, 2018, the airbag warning sensor light goes on my dashboard while driving and the passenger airbag 'off' warning light also goes on ' see attached photo. This occurrence happens almost every time i drive my vehicle. I brought the vehicle to the dealer twice for repair but the problem still exists. Subaru ' starlink program has notified me with numerous emails that i should have this serious…
ODI 11111454
Air Bags · Seat Belts
Front passenger seat airbag sensor began not recognizing passengers sitting in the seat shortly after purchasing my brand new 2018 subaru forester. This started occuring while driving, turning off and on. After a while, it completely stopped recognizing any person sitting in the seat even after only just turning the car on. The dealership replaced it since it was in the warranty period but blamed us for it…
ODI 11243913