10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,959 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #37

Sep 202022

Impreza

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owned a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 20 mph for unknown reasons, she veered off the road into a ditch, rolled over, and crashed into a tree. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an independent lot. The driver sustained injuries to her back, fractured vertebrae, and a cracked sternum and received medical attention. A police report was filed. There was no reported fire. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was towed by the insurance company and deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

- Portland, ME, USA

problem #36

May 012021

Impreza

  • miles
Passenger airbag turned off while driving with an adult passenger in seat. Pull over and turn car off it will be on again. Will happen completely at random when driving, not that often but about once a week. Dealer told me it was probably water damage to the sensor and to replace the whole seat for over 1000$. Never heard of another cars airbag sensor system breaking or becoming u reliable if it gets wet....because car seats get wet all the time. And if I replace it it will get wet again. If someone sits on seat who is even the least bit sweaty it will turn itself off. But also will turn off when there is just a normal (non sweaty or wet ) adult person riding in seat, while in the middle of driving! It's extremely unsafe and if this is the design plan extremely unfair and ridiculous for the consumer.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #35

Jan 062022

Impreza 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the driver-€™s side air bag exploded without warning or impact. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 105,000.

- Purcellville, VA, USA

problem #34

Oct 102021

Impreza

  • 91,554 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the contact was making a left turn when another vehicle struck the vehicle on the front driver side door which fractured the side mirror and glass on the driver side door. The air bag did not deploy. The contact was injured and sustained a cut on their left hand due to the glass but declined medical treatment at the scene from the ambulance. The contact mentioned that he will be seeking medical assistance in the future. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towed yard where the insurance provider inspected the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,554.

- Beverly, MA, USA

problem #33

Oct 242021

Impreza

  • 91,543 miles
The contact owns a The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph when the contact was hit by a different vehicle which resulted in the air bags not deploying. The contact sustained a cut on his hand and soreness in his back. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was awaiting repairs. The manufacturer was informed of failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 91,543.

- Beverly, MA, USA

problem #32

Aug 022021

Impreza

  • miles
Not quite sure what specific part or wiring location but it-€™s somewhere in the electrical system. The car is available for inspection upon request. Started out with electrical system on not allowing the windows to roll down and the Bluetooth connection malfunctioning to cause a high pitched screech. It is ear piercing and scared me half to death driving down the street with rush hour traffic and almost caused me to crash into someone. It does it at unprompted times and would be afraid to swerve into somebody and cause an accident. Trying to turn it off or turning the volume down makes it louder and the only way I-€™ve gotten it to stop is to turn off the car. A couple of days later, the power wouldn-€™t turn off on the media center or cycling through modes (FM/AM radio, Bluetooth, USB, CD) and caused the same high pitched screech. Now the drivers window does not roll all the way down and slams the window down the door at random times. Followed by the airbag sensor not enabling when an adult is sitting in the passenger seat. This can put passengers at risk if involved in an accident and can-€™t climb out the windows or the airbags from being deployed. The car is serviced at the dealership every time maintenance is needed. Dealership maintenance appoint is on Monday September 21st 2021 at the McCurley Dealership in Pasco Washington for other wear and tear maintenance but will ask them to inspect this as well. There has been no prior messages, symptoms, warning or maintenance lamps before this issue occurred. It started to do this back in the beginning of August 2021

- Richland, WA, USA

problem #31

Jun 262021

Impreza

  • miles
I purchased this vehicle 06/23/2021. I drove it the first time long distance (Concord NH to Stoughton MA) with a passenger for the first time three days after purchase. The passenger air bag is off light came on and would not register my passenger. It worked on and off the entire ride, starting with it working and then would shut off, on the highway, while my passenger never moved from the seat. I called the dealership and they said they would look at it. They did nothing, they blamed it on the seats having been steam cleaned (that dampness messes with the sensors" as if that's a reasonable reason my airbag won't deploy") I asked if they checked the connections and they just blanket answered that they'd need to see it with the light on, and that 'i'm sure the technician checked everything'. I'm unsure how to do that other than driving to the dealership with a passenger the next time it happened? Today I drove it, again with a passenger, and it worked only one way on the trip. I pulled over, tried to shut off the car and turn it back on, had my passenger get out and back in the vehicle, nothing would fix the light being on and the airbag indicator saying that the airbag was off. I'm extremely concerned and honestly don't understand why any vehicle would have a sensor that SHUTS OFF the airbag. There is already a recall for this issue in Suburu Foresters, years 2015-2018 I believe. I would also very much like this resolved in my model, it is extremely unsafe and I'd prefer not driving it at all but have no choice right now. I would be happy to have this inspected by someone. The internet suggested loose connections, or a faulty seatbelt, or the sensor itself which is connected to the passengers seat. This component has only been inspected by Ed Reilly Suburu on Manchester St., in Concord NH and they did not fix it. The vehicle only has 52,000 miles on it and is supposed to be one of the safest brands of vehicle to drive.

- Concord, NH, USA

problem #30

Jul 042021

Impreza

  • miles
Airbag notification light sometimes turns to off even when a passenger is in passenger seat. This causes me great concern as if I were in an accident would my passenger be protected? Looks like Subaru issued a recall for the 2012 model but not for the 2014 model. Please help me keep my passenger in the front seat safe and have Subaru fix this known problem.

- Spokane, WA, USA

problem #29

Mar 162021

Impreza

  • 75,000 miles
The passenger side airbag shows off when an adult is sitting in the passenger seat. This happens at start up and while driving. There are many such problems for this model and year being reported online.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

problem #28

Jan 302021

Impreza

  • 80,000 miles
It is happening when I am driving or parked. Passenger occupancy not being detected. When passenger sits in the seat, air bag light will come on on the dashboard and it will show that passenger airbag is disabled, it's been like that for the past 2 years..

- Wheaton, IL, USA

problem #27

Jun 082020

Impreza

  • miles
We contacted the company about getting the recalled airbags fixed and they said that they would contact the dealership in order to set up an appointment to get them fixed and they have never reached back out to us in order to resolve this issue.

- Corydon, IN, USA

problem #26

Sep 012016

Impreza

  • miles
The passenger occupancy sensor is faulty and it causes the passenger air bag to be disabled when a person is sitting in the seat. Often, if the person is sweating or if any part of their clothing is moist the air bag will be disabled. I had it fixed under warranty and it never really did much. The problem persists. Sometimes the person can be totally dry and it will still be disabled. There was a recall of this exact problem in previous years and models, and it is plain to see that the same issue exists for the 2014 Impreza. Just have a look at the number of complaints. It is criminal (literally) that a recall has not been issued.

- Timonium, MD, USA

problem #25

Aug 162020

Impreza

  • 83,155 miles
Airbag light comes on (red stick figure getting hit in the face with with airbag) illuminates in dashboard at random times. Passenger airbag is switched to on when no one is in the seat, but turns off when passenger is present. The weight of a cellphone can trigger passenger airbag to come on which they are claiming is normal. When driving alone passenger seatbelt alarm will ding forcing me to keep passenger seatbelt plugged in most of time. Ive taken the car in multiple times to two different Subaru dealership but they both claim everything is working in perfect order. The notes I use to describe this issue is always deleted when I arrive at dealership. I do not even want to drive the vehicle and cant afford the diagnostic fees on top of missing days from work. The issue happens when car is parked or driving. A little research shows Subaru is aware of this issue but continues to pretend nothing is wrong - they instead offer me to trade in vehicle. I would rather drive vehicle off a cliff than to have them resell vehicle to another person who will end up going through what I went through spending hundreds of dollars or worse - airbag not deploying causing increased injury or death.

- Fuquay-Varina, NC, USA

problem #24

Aug 102020

Impreza

  • 83,000 miles
The passenger seat occupancy sensor continually malfunctions and turns off the airbag while a front passenger is in place. This is the same issue for which a NHTSA recall was placed on 2013 Subaru Imprezas, so the problem is not limited to only that one model year. In fact, this appears to be common across all Subaru' electrostatic capacitance sensor. This recall must be expanded for the protection of passengers in these cars.

- Rocklin, CA, USA

problem #23

Jul 032020

Impreza 4-cyl

  • miles
Passenger air bag warning light is on and the indicator for the passenger air bag shows it is off even though a 200lb person is in the seat. If airbags are required then shouldn't they work? the car has 60K miles on it and we only put on 200 miles since we bought it. If we are in an accident this tells me no airbag deployment for the passenger

- Fredericktown, PA, USA

problem #22

Jun 152020

Impreza 4-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
While driving (on any kind of road), a light indicating the passenger airbag is off will illuminate, even when there is a passenger in the seat. The light comes on intermittently, and sometimes the passenger airbag will become active even with no passenger in the seat. Charging a phone or even placing a phone in the seat seems to make the issue worse. Taking it to a mechanic resulted in fault code B1650: Occupant classification system malfunction. I have since learned this exact issue was the source of a 2012 Subaru Impreza recall, but not for the 2014 models, where this issue is occurring. This is a major safety issue for 2014 Subaru Impreza models. Forum searching has revealed several hundred other examples of this issue, largely in 2013 and 2014 models. The 2012 recall should be expanded to 2013 and 2014 models, as these models clearly have the same issue as the 2012 models.

- Big Pine Key, FL, USA

problem #21

Jan 082019

Impreza

  • miles
At about 30,000 miles the passenger side airbag occupancy sensor failed. It did not detect a passenger present despite an average sized adult being in the seat. The dealer replaced the sensor. The same thing occurred at about 75,000 miles.

- Lutherville Timonium, MD, USA

problem #20

Nov 012019

Impreza

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that the air bag indicator did not illuminate when the passenger seat was occupied. The vehicle was taken to metro West Subaru (948 worcester St, natick, MA 01760) where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor on the passenger seat needed to be replaced and a new seat needed to be purchased. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

- Dover, MA, USA

problem #19

Aug 112019

Impreza

  • 98,000 miles
Since about a year after I got the car, the passenger detection system will turn off the passenger airbag with an adult in the seat, or just won't turn it on at startup. It's almost always off at any time while driving with a passenger. It will acknowledge a passenger, if one is present, as it dings to buckle the seat belt, but the airbag stays off. Or, it will be off, then detects a passenger after a while, and turn on, only to turn off a few minutes later.

- Bridgman, MI, USA

problem #18

Sep 072017

Impreza

  • 33,561 miles
Passenger airbag sensor deactivates with passenger in seat. Has occurred during in-town and highway driving. Does not always correct when vehicle has been stopped, restarted, etc. Dealership suggested telling passengers to refrain from cellphone/tech use in the passenger seat, as if that is a solution.

- New Orleans, LA, USA

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