Subaru is conducting a recalled several years of the Forester SUVs, one of the automaker’s most popular models.
Subaru filed documents to recall the 2015-2018 Forester s with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall has 366,282 Foresters in the mix. Affected models come from the 2015-2018 model years, while a NHTSA investigation originally focused on just the 2016-2018 model years. The NHTSA originally investigated some 500,000 models for the airbag sensor defect.
The Japanese automaker traced the airbag sensor defect back to models equipped with heated seats. The issue is an electrical connection within the seats could loosen over time and cause a decrease in contact pressure. If this happens, the occupant detection system may fail to function properly and could deactivate the passenger airbag. I
Subaru said it’s not aware of any injuries related to the defect, however. Owners may see the airbag warning light illuminate if the problem occurs and the indicator reading “passenger airbag off” will also illuminate.
Notifications for owners will start on Nov. 29 — the delay is needed to get the need parts to dealers to perform the fix. Those who receive a notice will need to take their Forester to the dealer. There, a technician will inspect, if needed, install a new sensor for free.
