The dashboard airbag light will come on indicating there is a malfunction with the airbag system. It used to go out on its own but now it stays on for days. Subaru has diagnosed and traced the problem to the overhead console component. When the dashboard airbag light is on, the airbags will not deploy in the event of a crash.

- South Burlington, VT, USA

My 2008 Subaru Legacy with 59K miles was having intermittent air bag warning light issues. The air bag light would turn off and on at random times with no pattern or reasons. The manual advises to have the air bag system immediately checked out to find reasons that would illuminate the warning light. Took the car to the dealer today and the problem was diagnosed as a faulty over head map console light cluster near the sunroof controls. The official part that has a short or faulty wiring is part # 84621ag51A. I only need the airbag wiring but unfortunately the entire overhead cluster is necessary because they don't have just an airbag wiring replacement part. The total cost to have the air bag system back to working order was $294 complete. I have ran an internet search engine and this issue is very common. It seems irresponsible for Subaru to have such an important safety system be disabled by a faulty crappy soldering job in the over head map light console.

- South Jordan, UT, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the driver's side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired or taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Marshall, NC, USA

I own an 08 Subaru Legacy 2.5I sedan with approximately 77000 miles on it. At approx. 76000 miles, the "airbag" warning light came on in the main dash cluster. Referring to the owner's manual, all it said was that this light indicates a problem with the airbag system and that the system may not allow the airbags to deploy at all during a collision, or may deploy with even a light collision. It recommended to take the vehicle to the dealer immediately. I took the car to the Subaru dealer I have always had service done, and they told me the "lamp assembly - map" had an electrical short in it and needed replaced. An "electrical short"? that sounds very serious. With parts and labor, the cost came in at $389.30, which seemed quite excessive. As critical as airbag systems are, it would be reasonable to think that this type of problem should warrant a safety recall, especially given the warning in the owner's manual that the system may not function at all if not taken care of. Also, the service agent I spoke with at the dealer said there have been a "handful" of this type of problem, and treated the situation as routine....like an oil change or filter replacement. I also own a 07 Toyota rav 4, which has had several recalls issued for seemingly much less critical issues. All of them were taken care of by Toyota. I wrote a similar letter to Subaru America, explaining that, given this issue, I would have to think twice about purchasing another Subaru vehicle in the future. Thank you

- Golden, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning light would mostly illuminate when the weather was colder. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician advised that the occupancy air bag module would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000. Updated 12/13/12 updated 12/13/12

- Higganum, CT, USA