Subaru Air Bags: Occupant Classification

Subaru is recalling about 30,348 vehicles over a problem with the air bags. If the ODS deactivates, the front passenger air bag will be turned off and the front passenger air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

Campaign
15V419000
Manufacturer
Subaru of America, Inc.
Reported
1 July 2015
Vehicles
30,348
Built between
Apr 2011 – Feb 2012
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
21 August 2015
Repaired
68%
Unrepaired
9,275

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between April 2011 and February 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2012 Subaru ImprezaBuilt April 2011 to February 2012

Repair progress

9,275 of 30,348 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2016.

68% repaired — 20,499 of 30,348 reported

Owners not reachable
574

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2012 model year Subaru Impreza 4-Door and Station Wagon vehicles (except WRX/STI models) manufactured April 21, 2011, to February 16, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may deactivate if a front seat passenger operates a device that is plugged into the power outlet such as a music player or cell phone, or touches a metal part of the vehicle such as the forward/rearward seat adjuster lever.

What could happen

If the ODS deactivates, the front passenger air bag will be turned off and the front passenger air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.

What gets fixed

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the Occupant Control Unit with a modified one, free of charge. The recall began August 21, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtApril 2011 to February 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA1 July 2015
  3. Owners notified21 August 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2016 — 68% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 1 July 2015.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQT-55.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
WQT-55
Recalling manufacturer
Subaru of America, Inc.
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand