Our car was recalled due to a safety hazard with the passenger side airbag in 2016, so severe that the letter stated that death could occur should the airbag deploys. After an initial appointment, we were told we had to wait about a month for the replacement to be delivered. During this time, we were not able to have a passenger in the front seat. We had to arrange for other transportation on the day that our car was repaired as well as when it was originally inspected for the replacement part. After the work was done, we had to take the car back a third time because in the course of fixing the airbag, the dealership damaged our keyless remote (which they fixed). We lost valuable time from work. Now, less than 3 years later, the same car is being recalled for the same issue: the passenger side airbag posses a safety hazard, this time due to the replacement airbag. We are taking it to a different dealer, but again, the soonest they can get it into the shop is march 11. Again, we are left with a car that cannot transport a front seat passenger for over a month. This time, the dealership is offering a free loaner car on the day that our car will be in the shop, but we are still losing valuable time due to this. This is the third recall on this vehicle since we owned it. The first was a brake line recall.
2006 Subaru Legacy airbags problems
13 complaints (15% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 106,000. 3 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 13
- of this car's complaints
- 15%
- typical mileage
- 106,000
- crashes
- 3
- recalls
- 4
Which part fails
- Frontal1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Subaru Legacy airbags problems in other years
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
Recall number 20V001000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
Recall number 20V002000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑844‑373‑6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
Recall number 20V003000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to July 21, 2004, 2004-2005 Impreza vehicles manufactured January 28, 2003, to May 31, 2005, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to May 2, 2008, 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles manufactured February 18, 2003, to May 5, 2008, and 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles manufactured February 11, 2004, to March 17, 2005. The affected vehicles are equipped with a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Subaru will notify their owners and General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The Subaru recall began on June 17, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1‑800‑782‑2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners of Saab vehicles may call 1‑800‑955‑9007. Subaru's number for this recall is WQR-53. Note: The recall completely supersedes recall 14V‑399 (WQL-48) and partially supersedes recall 14V‑763 (WQP-51) in that model year 2004 through 2005 Subaru Impreza and model year 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles are now only part of this campaign. Note: On December 18, 2015 Subaru informed the federal safety agency of an expansion of this recall to include certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy and 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles.
Recall number 15V323000 · Recall details
What 2006 Subaru Legacy owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Takata recall
Passenger airbag sensor is faulty resulting in the car not realizing when a person is in the front passenger seat. This will not allow the front passenger airbag to go off when involved in a collision
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 subaru legacy. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v323000 (air bags); however, the dealer refused to repair the vehicle due to scheduling. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer did not order the parts until two months later when they were contacted again. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Takata recall got recall letter, emailed (no response) then called.... Told them we are on an island in se alaska-no road, only amhs ferry. The nearest subaru retailer is in juneau (we had a retailer which closed a few years ago), juneau is only reachable by plane or ferry. The cost for us to take the car there is over $1,000.00 just to get there and return--no food, no lodging in juneau. The ferry does not run every day, so overnighting is mandatory. You cannot put your car on the ferry without a driver. My husband is disabled and I am not able to work due to health issues, we aer on a fixed income, and cannot afford the fare to get the car to the juneau subaru retailer. To take the car south to washington state is over $2,750.00 just for the ferry round trip!!! Subaru did state if we sent them the amhs invoice they would reimburse us $500.00! It is not our fault the subaru retailer isn't local anymore, nor is it our fault the airbags are being recalled, but why do we have to foot the bill to have it fixed. We had a place locally that would be willing to do the replacement-if subaru would reimburse them the cost of the airbag and labor, but subaru said no!! So we have a car we can't use for what we bought it for!! Neither of us can ride in the back and buckle up due to space and our physical issues (we are in our 60's)... The recall only seems to be done if it is convenient for subaru! This was my 2nd subaru, it will be my last! We are at a loss of what to do next...
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 subaru legacy. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v323000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 subaru legacy. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v323000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.....updated 08/29/16 *bf updated 08/30/16.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2006 subaru legacy. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v323000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 subaru legacy. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, another vehicle crash into the passenger's side of the contact's vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and the passenger sustained injuries to the shoulder. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileage was 106,000.
June 2012 - replaced front control arm bushings which were worn after only ~80,000 miles, earlier than would be expected. Rear control arm bushings are also wearing and will need to be replaced. August 2013 - airbag warning light on dashboard came on and stayed on while driving with a passenger in the front seat. Brought the car to the shop who informed me it was a faulty map light assembly. Was also informed that this is common with subaru's which research online confirmed.
Questions about the 2006 Subaru Legacy airbags
Does the 2006 Subaru Legacy have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the airbags of the 2006 Subaru Legacy, 15% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2006 Subaru Legacy airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 106,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2006 Subaru Legacy airbags?
Yes, 4 recalls: 20V001000, 20V002000, 20V003000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Subaru Legacy have bad airbags?
The Subaru Legacy model years with the most airbags complaints are 1995 (45 complaints), 2009 (31 complaints) and 2010 (28 complaints).
Other 2006 Subaru Legacy problems
Acceleration 30Engine 20Electrical 17Fuel system 16Brakes 10Transmission 8Suspension 4Driver assistance 2Steering 2Wheels 2Lights 1Seat belts 1Seats 1Visibility 1
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