- Vehicles
- 53,480
- Built between
- May 2004 – Jul 2012
- Models
- 8
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 6 March 2017
- Repaired
- 94%
- Unrepaired
- 1,457
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between May 2004 and July 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2012 Subaru B9 TribecaBuilt April 2005 to July 2012
- 2005-2006 Subaru BajaBuilt May 2004 to April 2006
- 2009-2012 Subaru ForesterBuilt January 2008 to May 2012
- 2006-2011 Subaru ImprezaBuilt July 2005 to August 2011
- 2009-2012 Subaru LegacyBuilt May 2008 to June 2012
- 2009-2012 Subaru OutbackBuilt May 2008 to June 2012
- 2006-2011 Subaru TribecaBuilt April 2005 to July 2012
- 2012 Subaru WRXBuilt July 2011 to June 2012
Repair progress
1,457 of 53,480 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2023.
94% repaired — 50,046 of 53,480 reported
- Scrapped or exported
- 1,977
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 2005-2006 Subaru Baja, 2006-2011 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), 2006-2012 Tribeca, 2009-2012 Forester, Legacy, Outback, and 2012 WRX vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
What could happen
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
What gets fixed
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2017.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtMay 2004 to July 2012
- Recall reported to NHTSA10 January 2017
- Owners notified6 March 2017
- Latest repair reportQ1 2023 — 94% 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 10 January 2017.
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 TKA-17.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- TKA-17
- 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.