The passenger air bag systems shuts off when a passenger is in the seat on our 2017 Subaru Forester. We've tried several things to getting out of the vehicle and back in, shutting the car off and starting it back up to see if the air bag system would reset itself. It does not work. We have not gone to the dealership yet as this just started. Will be calling them soon.

- Lacona, IA, USA

2017 Forester SRS airbag sensor defective two years after purchase, the SRS airbag warning light appeared. This light flickers on and off, at random, whether or not a passenger is in the seat. (no passenger will be driving with me until this is repaired.) my Subaru dealership service manager told me that there was a recall (he misspoke, perhaps he meant 'should be') and said that he "sees this all the time". he immediately knew (prior to testing it) that they would be replacing the passenger seat bottom, for a new sensor pad. He said they are usually backordered. Backordered indicates to me that there is a high demand to correct this error in this critical safety system. At this point, I have Subaru corporate involved; I've emailed and spoken at length with kris drechsel, a supervisor in customer service, and charles hosier, a customer service advocate. While they both were superb in their interactions with me, I learned nothing about what Subaru is doing or intends to do about this reprehensible situation, other than pass along my complaint. I was emailed that they are "not aware of any trending issue with the passenger side seat sensor". Subaru is clearly aware there is a problem and is neglectful in not being fully transparent with owners that there is the potential that an airbag may not deploy in a collision due to this sensor defect. Subaru noted that they rely on customer feedback and that the appropriate protocol will be followed for such complaints. Considering the gravity of this issue, I assume, then, that I am the only customer who has provided this complaint and that they are now going to discover the 'trend' and provide notice of this SRS airbag defect to the public. There are 25 complaints on this site alone (of how many that "may appear"?), countless online forums, and apparently law suits pending. Is a death what's prerequisite here?

- Asheville, NC, USA

Passenger air bag switches to "off" despite passenger sitting in seat. Subaru dealership diagnosed faulty sensor. Air bag light switches to "off" at random times even when passenger is seated in seat. On the dashboard, next to the odometer, a red square with a lower case "I" appeared and below to the left the red airbag indicator lit. The system says to check SRS airbag and bring to dealership. This often occurs when car is stopped/parked and passenger gets out while car is still running. Dealership agreed to replacing sensor but the part has been unavailable for 6 months now. We keep being told "it's on order, can't say when it will arrive. " vehicle is unsafe to drive with a passenger as a result. See more complaints here:

- Olathe, KS, USA

My 2017 Forester began having the passenger airbag light switch off when there was a passenger in the seat and the vehicle was in motion. On the dashboard, next to the odometer, a red square with a lower case "I" appeared and below to the left the red airbag indicator lit. Also on the upper dash, the passenger airbag on light switched to off. In order to rectify this, I had to pull over, shut off the engine and restart it. This happened several various times during normal city street driving. Returning from a 1200 mile trip recently, it occurred near the end of my trip about every 40 miles. Very distressing! took to dealer and they said no codes were in the computer showing any problems. Said the seat might have had something spilled on it which never happened! they said that the red square with the white "I" in it meant the eyesight was malfunctioning which was ridiculous!! why would the airbag light make the eyesight malfunction" I have never had a problem with the eyesight and I use it all the time. When I looked online, I discovered that there were many people who had the exact same problem with exact same symptoms!! surprised that Subaru has not had a recall for this. Are they waiting until someone dies in an accident before they do anything" I recently had a person turn in front of my my 2015 Forester and all the airbags deployed reducing injuries. If my 2017 Forester airbags are not working in an accident, my passenger could be severely injured and Subaru would be responsible!! they need to fix this problem now!!!

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

The upper dashboard passenger air bag warning light above the steering wheel is going off and on weather there is a passenger in the seat or not. It may stay on after starting the engine and continue during driving. The last 45 minute trip I took it stayed on the entire time. Other times it has come on while a passenger was in the seat in the middle of a trip @ 45mph. The dealer on 2/28/19 says it's a "B1650 occupant detection system malfunction" and that the passenger seat bottom needs replaced but there is no replacement available at this time. Said they would call when it was available, but don't hold my breath. This is a safety issue as the air bag will not deploy in a crash if the light is on. I find many complaints about this issue online but no recalls. Why not. How many people will need to be killed before this safety issue is quickly resolved? this vehicle has 25,437 mile on it.

- Westerville, OH, USA

Passenger air bag switches to "off" despite passenger sitting in seat. Subaru dealership diagnosed faulty sensor, suspected cause being seat covers. Removed seat cover, sensor is still faulty. Air bag light switches to "off" at random times even when passenger is seated in seat. Dealership agreed to replacing sensor but the part has been unavailable since Sept. 2018 (6 months now). We keep being told "it's on order, can't say when it will arrive." Vehicle is unsafe to drive as a result.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

The front passenger airbag sensor system is defective. I was informed on 9/1/18 that parts would need to be replaced and it was recommended that no one use that seat. I have been waiting over 6 months now for the replacement parts. The Subaru dealership says they have no way to determine when the parts will be in. I have had several other issues with this car as well. They have made multiple attempts to resolve a rattle sound in the dashboard, had the air conditioning knob replaced, and a loud squeak in the driver's seat requiring a part to be replaced. This is my first Subaru and I have not been impressed!

- Edina, MN, USA

The front passenger air bag sensor is defective in the seat cushion. Light on the dash shows passenger air bag is turned off even when someone is sitting in the seat.the problem occurs intermittently while driving. There is no predicting when the light will turn on or off.the problem began in July of 2018 when the forrester was one year old. The seat has not been wet.the problem began in July 2018. The new seat cushion was ordered in August 2018.the new seat cushion did not arrive until February 2019. 5 1/2 months later. Does it take this long for Subaru to replace safety equipment under warranty ? kelly Subaru, in chattanooga, tn. Scheduled the repair to be done 2/22/2019. We live approximately 75 miles from kelly Subaru. The appointment was scheduled for 10:00am eastern time. At around 9:45 am ben carter ( service representative) called stating the service department was "swamped". the appointment was cancelled and now is scheduled for March 4th.my wife had driven from our home in mcminnville tn., and was within 5 minutes of the dealership when the appointment was canceled. This is apparently a fairly common problem with Foresters per carcomplaints.com.

- Mcminnville, TN, USA

Takata recall notice was received

- Arlington, OH, USA

This car has suffered a persistent failure of the passenger seat occupant detection system. It happens at random with or without a passenger in the seat, and there is no specific trigger for it that I can discover. The dealer diagnosed this issue after several failures on January 7, 2019 and on the dealer's advice, we gave the car to the dealer for service on January 9, 2019, and we have been in a loaner since then. The last we have heard from the dealer is that the parts to repair this issue are currently not available and they won't be available until April, 2019. This is not an isolated incident and we have seen on the internet numerous other Subaru owners with this issue

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

Passenger airbag off warning is given in hot weather. Dealer says new sensor is needed. We have been waiting since August 2018 for the part to be received by our dealer so repair can be made.

- Metuchen, NJ, USA

Subaru Forester 2017, bought new. The dashboard monitor information signal read there was no airbag on for the passenger while one was seated there and the car was in motion. This had occurred earlier in June when I was driving from pa to ca but no passenger was seated there. I assumed it was just an oddity - and it did not occur regularly. July 16 (2018) I took it for repair which Subaru determined was an electrical problem in the passenger seat. They expected the part in late July, then late August or early September, on September 11 I called and asked more specific questions to learn that no airbags would work while driving that car, and they agreed on September 12 to loan me a car while I waited for the part and repair. It is now November 29 and the part and repair have not occurred. Subaru national customer service can barely do more than say "sorry" and gave me a repair date of December 4, which as of November 26 was moved to "some time in December". first: This is a serious problem that I was not fully informed of: With this problem the airbags will not activate. Second: I have been repeatedly assured of the part's arrival and repair but it continues to be delayed as if safety is not a priority at Subaru. I have learned through a comment made by Subaru customer service person that there may be others having the same problem. For the safety of us all, I think this situation deserves investigation.

- Palm Springs, CA, USA

Front passenger airbag warning light started coming on during May 2018. Dealer determined fault is in passenger seat cushion and ordered part which was back ordered to mid October. On 10/23/18 the dealer says the part isn't expected until November 15. The warning light remains on most of the time while driving with a passenger.

- Sisters, OR, USA

The passenger airbag will stop working while the passenger is seated in the front passenger seat. Two alerts show up in different areas on the dash lights indicating a problem with the passenger air bag advising to have it check immediately by the dealer. When I took the vehicle to the dealer they first advised me that the airbag light was do to the seat being wet, placing a cell phone or lap top on the seat. None of those things have caused the malfunction light to go on in my vehicle. The light would randomly come on advising me that the passenger seat airbag was not on. When this occurred the vehicle was in motion every time. The dealer claimed that my problem was caused by a stain on my seat, they claimed the mechanic cleaned the seat and they were going to release the vehicle to me. I insisted however that my seat was never wet nor stained. The service advisor then spoke to a manager and they then informed me that the problem was the airbag sensor in the seat. They said it would take 2 days to get the part. Two days later they told me it was a national back order on the part. My vehicle has been at the dealer since 09/11/2018 and I am still waiting for the part which they keep calling me and telling me it is on backorder. They have provided me with a loaner. Corporate Subaru personnel have also contacted me concerned about this issue. As of today 10/18/18 Subaru as not corrected the issue.

- Westminster, MD, USA

Less than one year after purchase of a new 2017 Subaru Forester I noted periodically the passenger airbag failure light would turn on and stay on when a passenger was in the passenger seat. This did not occur immediately on seating of the passenger and was sporadic. It occurred both in motion and while the vehicle was not in motion. Once lit it remained so until 2 or 3 new restarts. Taken to dealer they found a code verifying the complaint. Told it was due to a cellphone on the seat. Cellphone removed. Same problem. Took it back to dealer held for a couple of days and told a specialist in codes indicated that it was due to usb cell phone wire. This was not an acceptable explanation. This resulted in their specialist reviewing their code reading again. They indicated a sensor failure and that the part would take about a month to obtain. I could drive the car in the interim including with a passenger.. I therefore requested written certification of the safety of the passenger seat regarding the airbag. This resulted in a rental car which I have had for 7 weeks. Called 2 weeks ago with the response that they were waiting for a new airbag. I want to be certain that the ntsb is aware that there may be a problem with Subaru airbags in the 2017 Forester. How this potential problem is dealt with is also a concern. Is a recall in order? the consumer stated the manufacturer offered a new vehicle as a settlement.

- Crestview Hills, KY, USA

Within the last two months while driving with my wife in the passenger seat the passenger air bag system has disengaged several times and we receive three warning lights. A red SRS light in the lower dash. A white "I" on a red background next to the trip odometer letter, and the SRS indicator in the middle of the dash next to the time indicator comes on sayinf the SRS is off. Took to dealer on 8/24/2018 and they sad they got codes B1650 and B1760 which they reset. They could not duplicate the problem and said water must have gotten on the seat, which has never happened. This weekend, 9/2/2018, we started having the same exact problems while driving. Restarted the car and the lights went off after a short drive and then came back on while driving. The lights only come on when there is a passenger in the front seat.

- Denver, CO, USA

29 June wife and I are on the highway driving when the passenger airbag light goes to off and the fault code appears on the heads up display tell us to take into service immediately. Well we car off and we don't hear anything back for a few days. We called them back on the 5th of July because of the holliday. They told my wife on the phone they were going to replace seat cushion because that seemed to be the issue. Fast forward to 9 July my wife recieves a call telling her the car is ready for pickup. My wife asks what did you end up doing to the vehicle" he said we functional tested the seat it's good to go. So I call the service department and speak to the service manager. I said so let me get this staight you had our car for 10 days and you did a test and hand my wife back the keys? where is the new seat cushion? he said to me sir I want to help you but corporate won't release the parts they instructed me to do the functional check and if it passed they would not release the parts. So I ask what if it happens again what then" well sir we would need to submit the service history problem with the next request to escalate the issue. So I call the wife tell her to go pick up the car but ask the service manager to take a little ride in the passenger seat to ensure it works.... so my wife starts the car then goes at sits in the passenger seat. Boom air bag fault light come on immediately with the service manager standing there. Service manager turns red. My wife's smiles and says I can't take this car home it's not safe. So they keep the car to try and order the seat cushion again. The service maanger call me back to (10 July) to let me know they hack escalated the problem to Subaru corporate and the cushion is now on order. However turns out 73 cushoins are on back order for pretty much the same issue. This may require a recall.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

Passenger air bag light remains off when passenger seat is occupied, or turns off after seat has been occupied for several minutes. This results in SRS airbag error light on dash illuminating. Dealer claims "seat was wet" and it will resolve itself when seat is dry. Seat has never been wet - no spills, no wet swimsuits, nothing. Problem started intermittently 1-2 months ago and now occurs nearly every time car is started. Dealer "fixed" before 500 mile interstate trip only to have problem return mid-trip.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

Front passenger airbag warning light comes on intermittently, either on start up or while driving, stays on for hours or days at a time, unrelated to whether the seat is occupied or not. When it is on, passenger seat belt light indicates it is not fastened even if it is. The seat has never had spills, rain or otherwise wet. This has been going on for at least 6 months. Subaru dealer states past error code B1760 which they reset and say there is nothing they can do because they can not find an immediate problem. Dealer admits that when warning light is on, the airbag will not deploy. This is so unsafe I hesitate to Transport any front passengers. It is a large safety issue that is being ignored! can you do anything?

- Coatesville, PA, USA

SRS airbag system light comes on intermittently since May 2018. Occurs while the car is in motion with or without front passenger. Light will turn on several hours into the drive or after several minutes. Usually when I start the car the light is not on. By the time I could get to the dealer the light was no longer on. Dealer advised this can happen if the seat gets wet. Occurred when there was no rain, my clothing wasn't wet, no spilled drinks. Still not resolved and I do not feel safe driving my car knowing that airbags are off. I chose Subaru due to their safety record.

- Reston, VA, USA