While driving on the highway at about 65 MPH, the alerts indicating the front passenger airbag system was off lit up on the dashboard and central console in our 2012 subaru impreza. My husband was in the passenger seat, and we had been driving continuously for over an hour already when this happened. When we left to return home later that day, the alerts were off when I turned the car on. However, after about an hour and a half of driving on the highway with my husband in the passenger seat, the alerts indicating the front passenger airbag system was off lit up again.
2012 Subaru Impreza airbags complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 105, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Problem with the passenger side air bag. When passenger seat is occupied the air bag will randomly turn on and off. Occurs with both light and heavy passengers. Subaru service retrieved a code b1650 from computer. Subaru estimated cost to replace is $300.00 for control unit replacement.
The sensor that determines whether the passenger seat is occupied or not isn't working properly. When there is a passenger the air bags sometimes won't turn on. I have taken my car into the subaru dealership, where they replaced the sensor and it continues to have the same problems.
With a passenger in the front seat the airbag dash light came on and the passenger airbag sensor light illuminated the off signal.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. While driving on an icy road at approximately 30 MPH, the brakes were engaged and failed to stop the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into the preceding vehicle and the frontal air bags failed to deploy. It was unknown if any injuries were sustained or if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound yard and then to the dealer. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Driving down mountain after day of skiing. Roads were treacherous and icy. 20 minutes into the drive, driver and passenger airbag lights turned on, indicating that airbags would not deploy in the case of a collision. Several months later I was wearing a damp bathing suit while driving and the same situation occurred, indicating that the airbags would not deploy in the event of a collision. On another occasion, I was driving on a hot day with the windows down. I was sweating quite a bit and the airbag light on my subaru impreza turned on yet again. This issue was brought up with the dealership while the car was still under warranty. The dealer's service department simply reset the sensor, not solving the issue or comprehending the severity of this issue. The occupant detection sensor in the seat must have faulted and turned off the airbags when a small amount of snow/water/sweat on my rear caused a fault in the elecrostatic sensor. The occupant detection sensor is an electrostatic sensor that will fault when it senses an arbitrary amount of moisture. An internal memo in august 2012 from subaru to it's dealers in north america acknowledged, but not solved this problem with the airbags not engaging when the seat is wet. From subaru's internal memo: "when water or anything with high moisture content is spilled on the front passenger seat cushion, the airbag is designed to remain off until the seat cushion is dry".
Passenger airbag randomly turns off when passenger is in the car. Took to a dealer and they couldn't repeat. Was told it was probably just a weight issue. If the airbag doesn't go off with a passenger there it could be fatal.
On 2 separate occasions airbag warning light on dash lit and airbag light stated passenger airbag was off despite seat being occupied..subaru states cant find issue but I have a pic of the warning light on(looks like pregnant women!!). Worried car /airbag unsafe.
Tl* the contact leases a 2012 subaru impreza. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the front passenger air bag warning lamp illuminated even though there was an occupant in the front seat. The dealer stated that the jumper cables under the passenger seated resulted in the sensor not operating properly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
To whom it may concern: I have a 2012 subaru impreza prez, and am concerned that my airbag may fail on impact. When will the recall make it to the dealerships so they may be able to service my, family members and friends cars to make them safe with fear-free driving! The country would appreciate your departments response to our valid concern for safety, as I'm sure all of the humans working in this department are concerned for themselves, their families and friends. Thank you for your valuable time and effort to remedy this most important concern the united states population has.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the driver's side of the vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained neck and back injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 58,000.
At any speed, while carrying a passenger, the passenger airbag on light will turn to the off position. Passenger airbag is disabled while passenger is in vehicle at any given speed randomly. Could potentially cause severe injury/death in an accident. I have owned multiple 2012+ imprezas with this exact issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that the air big light sporadically illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 3,000. Updated 3/31/15*cn the consumer stated the air bag light illuminated when a passenger was sitting in the seat, updated 04/30/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that the frontal air bag indicator illuminated in the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 22,000.
The dashboard "airbag malfunction" light turns on and the passenger airbag light switches to "off" while there is a passenger in the car. This probably means that if there was a collision, the passenger airbag would not deploy, with passenger in front seat. It was happening about 40% of the time that I had a passenger in the front seat. Took this to alexandria's beyer subaru and they were able to pull the code/reproduce problem. Apparently there is some sensor in the seat that causes this malfunction. They are replacing the sensor free of charge (covered under warranty). ..updated 01/20/15 *tr updated 08/28/2017
When someone sitting in the front passenger seat leans slightly, the airbag sensor frequently malfunctions and the car turns off the airbags for that seat, as indicated by the lighted dashboard indicator sign.
My subaru is equipped with a passenger airbag monitor. When someone is sitting in the passenger seat, the light should indicate the airbag is on. When a passenger is sitting in the front seat of my impreza, the airbag consistently turns off. I called subaru the first time it happened. They told me there was a recall. When I took it into the dealership to be fixed, they said there was no recall and they could not duplicate the problem. I took it in a second time with the same response. I am now out of warranty and the passenger airbag turns off about 75% of the time someone is sitting in the seat.
I sideswiped a parked car and the momentum caused my car to flip over and land on its roof. Have not heard from the adjuster but it is obvious the car is "totaled". Writing to you to let you know that I also wrote to subaru to advise them that I think that the airbags should have deployed but none of them did. The accident occurred in union, n.j.
When driving with a passenger and going on a highway, the air bag indicator for the passenger and driver shows "off", meaning if there was a collision, there would be no air bags. After several trips to the dealer, they finally test drove with a passenger and got it to fail. The sensors in the passenger seat were replaced. There are other reports on this problem and subaru should recall the vehicles. This is a serious safety issue. *tr the consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 01/16/15.
Passenger airbag fault light went on while driving. I pulled over to side of road shut engine off restarted the engine and the light went off. This problem has occurred with increasing frequency since then in a random manner with the light occasionally staying on even after shutting off the engine. I brought it to the dealer for repair during the warranty period. The dealership claimed that they could do nothing since the warning light at that time was off. Imo this is a serious safety issue since one never knows if the passenger airbag will be functional.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru impreza. The contact stated that the passenger's side air bag warning light erroneously illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 29,116.
While driving at highway speeds, with a passenger in the passenger seat, the 'passenger air bag off' light become illuminated and remained illuminated, indicating the passenger air bag was off. After pulling over and restarting the vehicle several times, the sensor behaves normally. Incident has occurred 3-4 times since, with no apparent pattern related to vehicle speed/driving conditions. Subaru dealership service has claimed it may be related to passenger weight or shifting in the seat, or cellular phone chargers nearby. Incident has occurred with or without said chargers present in the car, with passengers weighing 130 lbs and 190 lbs. Also, the relevant sensor (occupant detection system, or ods) in the 2012 subaru impreza is not based on weight at all, but on electrostatic capacitance. Seemingly random malfunction of the ods resulting in deactivation of the passenger air bag with an adult seated in the passenger seat constitutes dangerous failure of the airbag system.
2012 impreza... Bought new, nothing but headaches. All problems listed below occurred before I had even owned the car 2 years. 1. At 8-10k miles - while driving car would randomly turn off passenger airbags and illuminate no passenger seatbelt on the dash. Took car to dealer 3 times. Dealer refused to fix as the "error was not stored in the computer." suggested cell phone was the problem even though cell phones were not near the seat during each of the multiple incidents. I had to complain to corporate who told the dealer to replace the sensor in the seat. No problems since. 2. At 15k miles - multiple times car would turn on check engine light and traction control light simultaneously. First incident dealer said "dirty camshaft sensor." second incident I had to refuse to take the car back until they actually fixed a part. Dealer kept car a whole week and made calls to corporate engineers. Tests revealed it was a "failed oil pressure valve." replaced the part and no more problems. 3. At 25k miles - bad battery. Had to replace when car was only 1 year and 10 months old.
Passenger air bag light turns from on to off with a passenger sitting there. Manual says this happens when there is moisture in the seat. First of all, the airbag should not turn off for that reason, that is a safety problem. Second, it turns off even when there is no moisture. It scares me. I need to know that the airbag is still working even if that off light is on if my son is sitting there.
Usually it should be on, with a passenger sitting in the front passenger seat while driving. But since about 3 months ago, the passenger air bag off indicator light turned on when there was passenger sitting in the car. This.happened about 5-6 times during the last 3 months. We made an appointment and sent the car to garavel subaru dealer in norwalk, ct on 9/5/13 at the milage around 29,000miles. They looked at the car for just 10 minutes and could not find any issue related to this. Same issue occurred again once after above visit. I hope dmv could help me to solve this safety related issue before the car warranty expires at 36k. Thank you very much.
While driving with a passenger the air bag indicator on the dash board went from on to off and the air bag light illuminated on the drivers dash. This has occurred a few other times but only occurs when there is a passenger in the front seat.
The passanger airbag is in off position with person sitting in seat. Happens occasionally. Dealership claims that "it shows no eros when the test it".
Followed too closely through a double intersection with a non-functioning light. Police officer directed traffic through the intersection but apparently we had to stop before the second intersection. Apparently I slowed down enough that the airbag did not deploy. I indicated 20 but surely my airbag would have deployed at that speed. Was able to drive the car under its own power off the road into a subway parking lot. As I was maneuvering into a parking spot the engine caught on fire. It seems strange to me that if I was going slow enough for the airbag not to deploy but for some components to catch on fire that the car is road worthy. Worth looking into?
The airbags in this vehicle turn off while driving (driver and passenger side dashboard icons indicate airbags are turned off). Vehicle must be stopped and restarted for the airbags to turn back on. There seems to be a relationship to electronic interference - passenger use of iphone or ipad may be involved - but it has happened with no passenger as well. This happened 5 times in one day recently while driving at high altitude (pikes peak, co). Probably related: the seat belt alarm has gone off when iphone is placed on empty passenger seat while driving.
I started noticing that the front passenger airbag light wasn't always "on" when there was a passenger seated there. It seemed to malfunction more frequently when a heavier person was on the seat. Attempts to get it to activate (unbuckling and rebuckling seatbelt, bouncing on the seat, stopping the car and restarting) all had no effect. This problem has continued intermittently.
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