2016 Subaru Forester

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.

A recall repair (NHTSA Campaign: 19V701000) was previously performed on this vehicle to repair a defective occupancy sensor in the front passenger seat, which results in the passenger airbag being off even when the seat is occupied. Despite the work being done previously, the same problem has resurfaced, suggesting that the recall service was not performed correctly or was performed with parts that were still faulty. I contacted Subaru of America to alert them of this but they have refused redo the procedure despite the problem not being corrected.

NHTSA ID

11772973

Incident

Sep 3, 2026

We purchased two new Evenflo Revolve 360 convertible car seats in November 2023 (Manufactured September 2023). After only two years of use, the harness straps are frayed almost all the way through. We noticed the issue in December 2025 and reached out to Evenflo in January 2026. The company claims that the fraying is due to "environmental factors." However, we also own two additional Revolve 360 seats for our other child that were purchased in 2022 that have been exposed to the same cars and environments and do not have any fraying or other damage. These car seats are supposed to last for 10 years, so this is not "normal wear and tear." the straps are frayed in the exact same spot on both sides of the harness and in both seats that were purchased in 2023. I am reporting this as I believe it is a manufacturing defect that the company will not take responsibility for. There have been past complaints in Canada against Evenflo for the same harness strap fraying issue (94 complaints filed) and Transport Canada opened an investigation. I urge NHTSA to open an investigation into this issue or look into a potential recall. Due to the strap fraying issue, these seats are no longer useable.

NHTSA ID

11768322

Incident

Dec 19, 2025

The contact owned a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while at a complete stop with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated without warning and crashed into a fire hydrant. While the foot was still on the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate and struck a street sign. The vehicle continued to accelerate across the street and accelerated up a hill. The vehicle headed straight towards a home and crashed into the home, which caused the vehicle to stop. The air bags deployed upon impact, with white smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle without severe injury. Due to a setting on her iPhone, the contact's family members and Police were alerted immediately that there was a crash. The crash into the residence caused a pipe inside the home to burst and flooded outside the home. The crash caused damage to the home, the street sign, and the fire hydrant. Authorities arrived at the scene, and the contact’s vital signs were checked. The contact sustained a severe bruise to the left shin and severe mental anguish. The contact was transported to a hospital and was given an MRI; no further injuries were discovered. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and declared a total loss. A Police report was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11766126

Incident

Dec 30, 2025

Mileage

100,000 mi

While driving, the car will beep and display a warning that the SRS system is malfunctioning. It will then turn passenger airbags off, even when there is a passenger sitting in the seat. I took the car in to Subaru of Glendale and was charged over $1000 to replace it, being told that i was not eligible for free replacement under the WUM98 recall. Almost exactly two years later, the same beep, warning, and airbag deactivation started happening again. I once again took the car in to Subaru of Glendale and they quoted me over $2000 to fix the problem again. I called Subaru of America to discuss the recall and my repairs, and they have said that because i brought my car in to a dealership after receiving the recall notice in 2020 and it was marked as cleared because the car was not malfunctioning at the time, I was not eligible for any refund or replacement unless I paid out of pocket. I believe this is a mistake, as the issue with my car is exactly the issue described in the recall notice.

NHTSA ID

11764817

Incident

Sep 10, 2024

We purchased a used car for my [XXX] daughter on August 4th. of this year. On her trip to [XXX] on XXX., appoximently 5pm, the drivers side rear wheel fell off, causing damage to the wheel, lugs, shocks, caliper and tire. She was able to pull over into a parking lot, where a stranger helped her out till I arrived. When I arrived I was able to put the wheel back on, but all lugs nuts were gone and one lug was broken. We had to remove lugs nuts from the other wheels to secure the wheel back on. While removing the lug nuts from the other wheels, the passenger side real wheel lug nuts were all loose. Once we got the car back on the road, check warning lights were flashing and after scanning the codes, come to find the transmission is bad. We were very lucky that this did not happen the 70mph highway. There were no warning signs prior to any of this occurring. This happened at mile post 14 on [XXX] I have sent a certifide letter to Safford Subaru Mannassas, attn. the general manager, [XXX], which was received on signed off on Saturday XXX. at 10:18 am, but has been ignored. 1 week later, I sent him an email, which he acknowledged, but has again, ignored me. I have a copy of the letter that was sent to him and all of the pictures INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11764042

Incident

Aug 9, 2026

Vehicle reported an SRS Passenger problem intermittently, as displayed on the dashboard, the car's information system, and a diagnostic trouble code (the car's aftermarket radio is connected to the OBD-II connector and can pull codes). The problem would appear, and then disappear upon subsequent startup cycle, over the course of a two-week road trip. In total, the problem occurred three times over the course of 3,750 miles. Our mechanic verified the issue with a scan tool, and determined that this was a fault in the sensor mesh in the seat that failed to reliably detect the presence of someone seated in the passenger seat. To correct this problem, we had to replace the passenger seat of the car (the seat alone cost $1,100; labor was approximately $400). Since the repair, we have not seen the problem recur.

NHTSA ID

11760589

Incident

Jul 20, 2026

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the rear wheels of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the hub bearing needed to be replaced. The rear driver’s and passenger’s side hub bearings were replaced twice. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.

NHTSA ID

11757935

Incident

Aug 5, 2026

Mileage

110,000 mi

Airbag light is now consistently lit, Has come on & off for some time. when it first happened, I went straight to the dealership & a technician placed a device under the dashboard on the driver's side & switched off the light. No mention of a recall was discussed. Because the light is on most of the time of late, I researched & discovered a recall WUM98. On further investigating I discovered that the dealership had logged the recall as COMPLETE this is not the case as the passenger seat was never checked & repairs never done. I have contacted Subaru Corporate Customer Advocacy & their email response was: "I am sorry to hear about your airbag concern for your 2016 Forester. Currently there are no open recalls or warranty extensions for this concern. I would recommend having your local Subaru retailer address your concerns. I will follow up with you on Wednesday, August 19." This is not good enough I need Corporate to contact the dealership to fix this problem at no cost to me. This is a major safety issue! I have tried to call back but get an answering machine

NHTSA ID

11756549

Incident

Jul 15, 2025

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