The airbag indicator light on the driver’s dash is illuminated most times that I drive my car. The passenger airbag indicator shows that airbags are OFF, even when someone is seated in the passenger seat. This is a very serious safety concern. What if an accident occurred and the airbags don’t deploy? I’ve also read about a switch in the airbag assembly that could explode causing serious injury or death to the driver or passenger. The problem has not been confirmed or inspected but seems to be a problem with many Imprezas. It is the number 1 concern for 2013 Subaru Impreza owners.
2013 Subaru Impreza: airbag warning light
42 of the 251 complaints about the 2013 Subaru Impreza describe airbag warning light.
- owner complaints
- 42
- of this car's complaints
- 17%
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,100
- typical mileage
- 64,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 4 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Airbag warning light by model year
What owners say
When the front passenger seat is damp, the passenger airbag light shows it is off, and the dash lights display an error light on the dashboard. The concern is that the passenger is not protected while the airbag is not on.
Srs airbag light comes in dash when passenger is is car, airbags will not turn on for passenger side only. Research showed it is a common issue with 2012 and 2013 Subaru airbag systems and it is extremely concerning
In humid weather SRS airbag warning light illuminates and passenger airbag turns off even with passenger in the front seat. Car is in motion (or can be stationary but running) when this happens. Does not occur on days when weather is cool and dry. I feel this should be considered a very serious issue.
If a passenger with mildly damp pants or bathing suit sits in the car the airbag warning light will come on and the indicator for passenger airbag disabled will light. This happens consistently and does not require much moisture. It happens with a mildly damp bathing suit under shorts while sitting on a towel. It will not happen (again, consistently) if the passenger sits on a plastic bag. The airbag should be more reliable than this. The dealer said there is no fix for this issue and it is known that moisture may cause the airbag to not work. The customer advocacy dept of Subaru of America deferred to the dealer and just said there are no recalls for the vehicle. This appears to be the same issue as the 2012 recall. Subaru would not explain to me how my problem is any different from the 2012 recall problem.
The air bag light and “passenger airbag off” lights on dash come on sometimes when a passenger is in the car. I took my car to the Subaru dealer/service department and they charged me $140 to reset the lights and tell me the solution is to replace the passenger seat for $900.
Sometimes when a passenger sits in the front passenger seat the Airbag light will show that it is turned off. It happens about 70% each time we are in the vehicle. I don't know if it is a wire issue or the airbag sensor. It seems that it is covered in other recalls, but not my vehicle. Not sure why but it seems they are the same system.
I had my dealership investigate an issue with the passenger airbag in my 2013 Subaru Impreza. They diagnosed a short in the ODS module in the passenger front seat. The dealer stated they need to replace the passenger seat. After the diagnostic fee and labor, this would cost $1500. I did some research and discovered the ODS module was recalled in the 2012 Subaru Impreza, the federal safety agency Campaign ID 15V419000. The summary of that recall describes exactly what happened: "Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2012 model year Subaru Impreza 4-Door and Station Wagon vehicles (except WRX/STI models) manufactured April 21, 2011, to February 16, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may deactivate if a front seat passenger operates a device that is plugged into the power outlet such as a music player or cell phone, or touches a metal part of the vehicle such as the forward/rearward seat adjuster lever." My wife plugged her phone into the power outlet when the passenger seat airbag indicator switched to OFF.
The airbag indicator sometimes indicates "off" when a passenger is sitting in the front passenger seat. This is inconsistent and is a real safety issue. Obviously dangerous to the passenger if the airbag does not deploy because the airbag system does not recognize that there is a passenger sitting in the front passenger seat. This is serious and needs to be addressed. Fyi: this happens on start up or while the engine is running and a passenger gets in the front seat.
The passenger's seat ocs malfunctions with terrifying frequency. The car will be in motion with the passenger's seat occupied and the airbag light will illuminate on the dashboard. Once again while the car is in motion. I have seen many posts detailing the same experience. Subaru has recalled other cars for this problem. My 2013 impreza needs to be included as well.
I recently began to experience an issue with my 2013 impreza - in the beginning, when the passenger seat was occupied, the detection system would failed to detect the passenger, and the passenger airbag light would come on, indicating that the passenger airbag was not activated. I had the issue diagnosed while in for my regular maintenance, and it was determined to be a malfunction of the occupant detection system. Over the course of a few months, the frequency of the issue increased, to the point that the passenger airbag is rarely activated. I understand the occupancy detection system is under recall for subaru's forester model; though my seats are not heated, and my car is slightly older, my vehicle is experiencing the same malfunction, I believe it too should be subject to the recall and repaired by subaru.
My airbag light turns on and off intermittently. The passenger side sometimes says "passenger airbag on" inappropriately (nobody is sitting in the passenger seat). Also it sometimes says "passenger airbag off" if somebody is sitting in the passenger seat. I am nervous if I get in a crash my airbag system will no protect my passenger. There has been a recall issued for 2012 subaru impreza airbag systems, and the same system is used in the 2013 model, so I'm not sure why this is not being fixed.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2013 Subaru Impreza airbag light
Is airbag warning light a common problem on the 2013 Subaru Impreza?
42 of 251 owner complaints about the 2013 Subaru Impreza (17%) mention airbag warning light. The model year with the most reports is 2012.
How much does it cost to fix airbag warning light on the 2013 Subaru Impreza?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,100 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Subaru Impreza?
There are 0 recalls and 4 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2013 Subaru Impreza
Check engine light 16Oil consumption 12Stalling 11ABS 9Engine failure 9Brake failure 7CVT failure 7Loss of power 7Adaptive cruise 5No deployment 5Fire or smoke 5Transmission failure 5
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