IllustrationTHE KEY IS GETTING STUCK IN THE IGNITION AFTER PARKING. THIS ISSUE IS HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES.
2016 Subaru Forester
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Forester years
Owner complaints for the 2016 Subaru Forester are substantially higher than the model-year median of 131.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Forester years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
690–25K
7825–50K
4350–75K
1175–100K
9100–150K
7150K+
217 reports with mileage · 196 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 99 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 93 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
39 crash reports3 fire reports14 injury reports
What owners actually said
413 reportsON NOVEMBER 7, 2020 AROUND 630PM, I WAS DRIVING ON CITY STREET GOING NW ON SUNSET IN FAIR OAKS, CA IN A FAR RIGHT LANE. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35 TO 40 MPH WITH ONE OTHER CARS INFRONT OR BESIDES ME. CERTAINLY WHILE I WAS DRIVING, I HEARD A LOUD BOOM. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LOUD BOOM, I COULD NOT SEE AND REALIZED MY STEERING WHEEL AI…
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ON NOVEMBER 7, 2020 AROUND 630PM, I WAS DRIVING ON CITY STREET GOING NW ON SUNSET IN FAIR OAKS, CA IN A FAR RIGHT LANE. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 35 TO 40 MPH WITH ONE OTHER CARS INFRONT OR BESIDES ME. CERTAINLY WHILE I WAS DRIVING, I HEARD A LOUD BOOM. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LOUD BOOM, I COULD NOT SEE AND REALIZED MY STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG DEPLOYED. THEN I LOOKED TO MY RIGHT I SAW A DEER LIMPING. SO I IMMEDIATELY KNEW I JUST HIT A DEER FROM MY FRONT LEFT CORNER BUMPER AFTER I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE STREET. AFTER I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE STREET I NOTICE ALL AIRBAGS IN THE CAR DEPLOYED INCLUDING THE SEATS, DASHBOARD, ROOF AND SIDE AIRBAGS. I TOOK MY CAR TO GET ESTIMATE FOR THE REPAIR. I WAS TOLD THAT BASE ON THE DAMAGE OF THE VEHICLE HIT BY THE DEER, THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE ENTIRE AIRBAGS IN THE CAR SHOULDN'T BE DEPLOYED. SO I COMAINT TO SUBARU. IT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. I BELIEVE HITTING THE DEER SHOULD HAVE NOT MADE THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOYED ESPECIALLY THE ENTIRE AIRBAGS SYSTEM. THE ESTIMATE CAME OUT TO BE OVER $15000 TO FIX. MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE CAR.
I HAVE HAD APPROXIMATELY 10 EPISODES WHERE I HAVE BEEN DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT GETTING ANY OR VERY LITTLE GAS EVEN THOUGH THERE IS PLENTY OF GAS IN THE GAS TANK . THESE EPISODES ARE INTERMITTENT AND STARTED LAST WINTER. THE ISSUE DIDN'T OCCUR OVER THE SUMMER BUT STARTED AGAIN WHEN IT GOT COLD. THE LAST E…
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I HAVE HAD APPROXIMATELY 10 EPISODES WHERE I HAVE BEEN DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT GETTING ANY OR VERY LITTLE GAS EVEN THOUGH THERE IS PLENTY OF GAS IN THE GAS TANK . THESE EPISODES ARE INTERMITTENT AND STARTED LAST WINTER. THE ISSUE DIDN'T OCCUR OVER THE SUMMER BUT STARTED AGAIN WHEN IT GOT COLD. THE LAST EPISODE WAS ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO ON THE HIGHWAY. I PUT MY FLASHERS ON QUICKLY AND LUCKILY AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT . UNLIKE PAST EPISODES, THE ISSUE DIDN'T RESOLVE ITSELF QUICKLY, I HAD THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR, BUT WAS ONLY ABLE TO DO A SLOW CRAWL. IT FINALLY ALLOWED ME TO GO AGAIN, BUT THEN ANOTHER EPISODE HAPPENED BEFORE I MADE IT TO MY EXIT. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SLUGGISH SINCE THEN ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S COLD, BUT ANOTHER EPISODE HAS NOT HAPPENED AS OF YET. I TOOK IT TO THE SUBARU MECHANICS IN CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND LAST WINTER WHEN THE ISSUES FIRST STARTED. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS BAD GAS, AND WAS CHARGED $95 FOR IT. I HAVE USED DIFFERENT GAS STATIONS, AND I'M SURE IT'S NOT BAD GAS SINCE THE ISSUE IS CONTINUING.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER.THE CONTACT STATES THAT HIS VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD ,THE CONTACT STATED THAT HIS LIGHTS ON HIS VEHICLE ARE NOT PROPERLY WORKING. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO 3 DIFFERENT DEALERS FOR REPAIR AND THE PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING .THE CONTACT STATED THE ENGINE STOPS ON ITS OWN WITHOUT A…
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THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER.THE CONTACT STATES THAT HIS VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD ,THE CONTACT STATED THAT HIS LIGHTS ON HIS VEHICLE ARE NOT PROPERLY WORKING. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO 3 DIFFERENT DEALERS FOR REPAIR AND THE PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING .THE CONTACT STATED THE ENGINE STOPS ON ITS OWN WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION
THIS CAR WILL SUDDENLY LOSE POWER WHEN UNDERWAY WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR PREDICTABILITY. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF ENTERING TRAFFIC OR EVEN WHEN MOVING ON CONGESTED ROADS. NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE AT ALL, THE CAR JUST DIES WITHOUT WARNING. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND HAS HAPPENED MONTHS AND EVEN YEARS APART. ALL ATTEMPTS BY THE S…
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THIS CAR WILL SUDDENLY LOSE POWER WHEN UNDERWAY WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR PREDICTABILITY. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF ENTERING TRAFFIC OR EVEN WHEN MOVING ON CONGESTED ROADS. NO ABILITY TO ACCELERATE AT ALL, THE CAR JUST DIES WITHOUT WARNING. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT AND HAS HAPPENED MONTHS AND EVEN YEARS APART. ALL ATTEMPTS BY THE SUBARU SERVICE TEAM HAVE FAILED TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND FIXING GUESSES AT TO WHAT MIGHT BE WRONG HAVE FAILED. I AM THE SECOND OWNER AND HAVE COME TO FIND THAT THE FIRST OWNER RETURNED THIS AS A LEMON FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. NOW SUBARU OF AMERICA IS REFUSING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THERE IS A PROBLEM AND WON'T AGREE TO TAKE THE CAR BACK AND GET IT OFF THE ROAD PERMANENTLY BEFORE SOMEONE DIES OR GETS KILLED AS A RESULT OF THIS ISSUE. SINCE IT IS INTERMITTENT AND THE SERVICE PEOPLE CAN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM IT MUST NOT EXIST AND YET THREE DRIVERS IN MY FAMILY HAVE EXPERIENCED IT AND A PRIOR OWNER (I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS IS) RETURNED THE CAR WITH THE SAME INDEPENDENT EXPERIENCE. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. I AM SURE WHEN THIS CAR WAS FIRST RETURNED AS A LEMON THEY COULDN'T ISOLATE THE PROBLEM SINCE THEY COULDN'T RECREATE IT. I SUSPECT THAT THEY FIXED WHAT THEY 'THOUGHT' WAS THE PROBLEM. BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT A TEST DRIVE OF EVEN A THOUSAND MILES MIGHT NOT REVEAL THE PROBLEM. THEY PUT IT BACK OUT THERE AS FIXED AND LIKE NEW. NOW THAT THE SAME PROBLEM HAS RECURRED IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE TO NOT TAKE THIS CAR BACK AS A TWO TIME LEMON AND DESTROY IT BEFORE A MAJOR ACCIDENT OCCURS.
VEHICLE STALLED IN INTERSECTION. CAR HAS A ROUGH IDLE, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS STALLED. DEALERSHIP HAS LOOKED AT THE CAR BUT NOT RESOLVED THE ISSUE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN DEPRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE ANY INJURIES OR SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED HE…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN DEPRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE ANY INJURIES OR SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED HE HAD EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL DEALER GRAYSON HYUNDAI ( 8729 KINGSTON PIKE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37923; (865) 693-4550) AND HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE AS OF YET. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 16,000.
2016 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5 PREMIUM WHILE DRIVING THERE ON THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH WITH 80 MILES LEFT PER THE VEHICLE THE CAR 'STALLED' ACTING LIKE IT WENT TO NEUTRAL AND PROVIDED NO RESPONSE TO THE ACCELERATOR BEING PUSHED. *BF CONSUMER STATED HAPPENED TWICE MORE WHILE DRIVING APPROX 70 MPH AND HAD TO PULL OVER, VEHIC…
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2016 SUBARU FORESTER 2.5 PREMIUM WHILE DRIVING THERE ON THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH WITH 80 MILES LEFT PER THE VEHICLE THE CAR 'STALLED' ACTING LIKE IT WENT TO NEUTRAL AND PROVIDED NO RESPONSE TO THE ACCELERATOR BEING PUSHED. *BF CONSUMER STATED HAPPENED TWICE MORE WHILE DRIVING APPROX 70 MPH AND HAD TO PULL OVER, VEHICLE STARTED SHUTTING DOWN. CAR RESTARTED APPROX 30 MINUTES LATER. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, CONSUMER WAS TOLD THERE WERE NO ISSUES.*JB
HAVE LESS THEN 10,000 MILES ON MY VEHICLE. I PURCHASED IT BRAND NEW. WHEN I TRIED TO START IT TODAY, THE STEERING WHEEL SEEMED LOCKED AND THE ERROR MESSAGE CAME ON. IT'S PARKED IN A SEMI-HEATED GARAGE AT HOME.
2ND OCCURRENCE NOW OF A SUDDEN AND COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER WHILE ON HIGHWAY AT 80MPH WITH NO WARNING (SEE NHTSA ID# 1131777). LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT HAD JUST COME ON A FEW MINUTES EARLIER...SAME AS LAST TIME. THANKFULLY HAD A SHOULDER TO COST ONTO AND LET THE VEHICLE SIT. TIRED TO TART A COUPLE TIMES, BUT WAS LIKE IT WAS FLOODED …
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2ND OCCURRENCE NOW OF A SUDDEN AND COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER WHILE ON HIGHWAY AT 80MPH WITH NO WARNING (SEE NHTSA ID# 1131777). LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT HAD JUST COME ON A FEW MINUTES EARLIER...SAME AS LAST TIME. THANKFULLY HAD A SHOULDER TO COST ONTO AND LET THE VEHICLE SIT. TIRED TO TART A COUPLE TIMES, BUT WAS LIKE IT WAS FLOODED WITH FUEL. AFTER :45 MINUTES OF SITTING...IT RESET ITSELF AND STARTED AGAIN AND WE CONTINUED ON OUR JOURNEY. THIS TIME ROAD CONDITIONS WERE DRY AND CLEAR.
Official recalls
319V701000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Oct 3, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may loosen.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the connection loosens, the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the ODS sensor mat harness, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUM-98.
19V149000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Feb 28, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.
16V162000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger
Mar 21, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, and Forester 2.0XT vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 20, 2015. The turbocharger air intake duct may crack and possibly result in an engine stall.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the turbocharger air intake duct, and replace it as necessary, free of charge, depending on the lot number found on the duct. The recall began April 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTA-62.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1PE19009 · Occupant Detection System (ods) Failure
Opened Aug 6, 2019 · Closed Jan 22, 2020
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Air Bags; Air Bags:frontal; Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module; Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
Additional source detail variants (4)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
Air Bags:frontal
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
Air Bags
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.