2012 Subaru Impreza Interior & seats Problems

The Airbag warning light has been lit within the dashboard. The front passenger seat airbag is faulty and is not able to correctly sense when a passenger is within the seat or not, which disables the airbags. This can be deadly to the passenger if in an accident. The issue seems to be in the ODS passenger seat mat that determines when the airbag is active or not. If moisture is able to get within the mat, then it can short the circuit and cause airbags to not deploy. My car was "supposed" to already been fixed with the issue in 2015 on the recall #WQT55, NHTSA Campaign 15V419000, but I don't believe the underlying issue was fixed correctly or the same part has failed again. Looking further into recalls, the exact same issue is happening again with Subarus with #WRA-24 and NHTSA campaign 24V227. The dealer has asked me to pay over $1700 on to replace this part. Subaru America should fully cover the cost of any Passenger ODS issue especially when there have already been two recalls with the exact same issue.

NHTSA ID

11634194

Incident

Feb 1, 2022

WHEN DRIVING MY VEHICLE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WARNING WOULD GO OFF WITH NO PASSENGER IN THE VEHICLE. WHEN I HAVE A PASSENGER IN MY VEHICLE, THE AIRBAG SENSOR CAN'T DETECT A PASSENGER WHICH IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. ALSO, FOR WHATEVER REASON THE DRIVERS SEAT ISNT DETECTING A DRIVER SO THE AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON. AFTER GOOGLING THIS ISSUE I SEE THAT MANY OTHER 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH NO RESOLVE.

NHTSA ID

11373499

Incident

Nov 6, 2020

Mileage

122,000 mi

THE OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR (ODS) CANNOT DETECT A PERSON WHEN SEATED IN THE PASSENGER. I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO SIT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WITH THE ENGINE ON AND OFF; WHILE IN MOTION AND ALSO WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY. THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT ON THE CENTER DASH REMAINS ILLUMINATED "OFF" ALSO, THE AIRBAG SYMBOL TURNS ON AT ALMOST RANDOM TIMES, INDICATING THAT THERE IS AN ERROR WITH THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. ABOUT 50% OF THE TIME I DRIVE, THE AIRBAG SYSTEM LIGHT WILL COME ON AND STAY ON DURING MY DRIVE, WHETHER I AM DRIVING ALONE OR WITH A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT. SOMETIMES IF I TURN OFF THE VEHICLE AND TURN IT BACK ON, THE AIRBAG LIGHT WILL TURN OFF - BUT THERE IS NO CONSISTENT PATTERN.

NHTSA ID

11181995

Incident

Feb 22, 2019

PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT SHOWS PASSENGER AIRBAG DISABLED WHILE A PASSENGER IS IN THE SEAT. THIS HAPPENS WHETHER THE CAR IS MOVING OR STOPPED. CAR IS A 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA 5-DOOR WAGON, BUILT 10/2011. I SEE 2012 IMPREZA SEDANS HAVE BEEN RECALLED, BUT I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AS THOSE, BUT MY CAR IS A 5-DOOR WAGON AND ISN'T ON THE RECALL LIST. PLEASE EXPAND THE RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11141154

Incident

Oct 17, 2018

Mileage

130,000 mi

OCCUPANT DETECTION SUSTEM ON PASSENGER SIDE MALFUNCTION, DOES NOT ALWAYS RECOGNIZE PASSENGER. SOMETIME S IT STOPS WORKING IN MIDDLE OF TRIP. HAPPENS SPORADICALLY, BUT IS BECOMING MORE FREQUENT AND DOES NOT ALWAYS RESOLVE WITH RESTARTING CAR. HAS TO DO WITH CAPACITANCE DETECTION, BUT SO FAR SUBARU DEALERS I CONTACT ACT LIKE IT'S NOT AN ISSUE THOUGH EARLIER MODEL APPARENTLY HAS RECALL FOR EXACT ISSUE. AND NO THE PASSENGER ISN'T WET. HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR OVER A YEAR AND WE HAVE PULLED OVER AND RESTARTED CAR, BUT ON RECENT TRIP IT WAS MUCH WORSE. AND SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING ANYWAY!

NHTSA ID

11120825

Incident

Aug 16, 2018

Mileage

100,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE WITH A PASSENGER AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND THE LIGHT FOR THE PASSENGER AIRBAG SAID OFF. WHILE DRIVING, MY PASSENGER LOOKED UP SOME TROUBLESHOOTING FOR THIS ISSUE. APPARENTLY THERE IS A RECALL FOR OTHER SAME YEAR, SAME MAKES AND MODELS OF MY VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE IS NOT PART OF THIS RECALL BASED ON WHAT MONTH IT WAS MADE. AFTER I STOPPED THE CAR AND RESTARTED IT, THE LIGHT DID NOT ILLUMINATE AGAIN UNTIL I WAS GOING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE. EVERY TIME WITH A PASSENGER AND DRIVING ON AN EXPRESSWAY.

NHTSA ID

11030746

Incident

Sep 24, 2017

Mileage

70,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WITH MY MOTHER IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WHEN I SUDDENLY NOTICED THAT THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD HAD COME ON. I THEN LOOKED AT THE PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT AND NOTICED THAT IT WAS IN THE "OFF" POSITION. IT CONCERNED ME THAT MY PASSENGER WAS NOT BEING DETECTED BY THE AIRBAG SENSOR, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT I WAS DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 65 MPH. WE CONTINUED TO OUR DESTINATION AND THEN SHUT OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTED IT TO SEE IF THE AIRBAG SENSOR WOULD DETECT MY PASSENGER, WHICH IT DID NOT. AFTER THIS INCIDENT, I BROUGHT THE CAR TO MY DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE SENSOR IN THE SEAT WAS FAULTY AND, AS A RESULT, THE ENTIRE SEAT BOTTOM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AT A COST OF ABOUT $1000. THEY CLAIMED THAT THE SENSOR CAN BE RENDERED INEFFECTIVE BY LIQUID SPILLS, THOUGH I HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF EVER SPILLING ANYTHING LIQUID ON THE PASSENGER SEAT OF THIS CAR. I THEN LOOKED ONLINE AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR SUBARU, AND THAT SUBARU ACTUALLY ISSUED A RECALL FOR 32,000 2012 SUBARU IMPREZAS (HTTP://BLOG.CARANDDRIVER.COM/SUBARU-RECALLS-32000-IMPREZAS-FOR-AIRBAG-SENSORS/). UNFORTUNATELY, AS WAS EXPLAINED BY MY DEALER, MY PARTICULAR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THAT RECALL. THE DEALER'S SERVICE REPS EXPLAINED THAT IF I CONTINUE TO DRIVE WITH A PASSENGER IN MY VEHICLE AS IS, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT, AS THE SENSOR MAY OR MAY NOT BE ACCURATELY DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF A PASSENGER. I BELIEVE THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN, AND ONE WHICH I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY TO FIX, CONSIDERING THAT THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A RECALL AFFECTING THE EXACT SAME MAKE/MODEL/YEAR CAR THAT I DRIVE. SINCE SEEING THE DEALER, I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN ONCE MORE. I WAS DRIVING CITY STREETS WITH A PASSENGER, AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT WAS "OFF."

NHTSA ID

11025147

Incident

Jul 27, 2017

Mileage

98,000 mi

THE AIRBAG SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT HAS FAILED 3 TIMES WHILE THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND NOW AGAIN OUT OF WARRANTY. WHEN A PASSENGER IS SITTING IN THE SEAT WHILE DRIVING, THE AIRBAG SENSOR DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THE PASSENGER'S WEIGHT, AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT WILL NOT TURN ON, PUTTING MY PASSENGER AT RISK. UNDER WARRANTY, CARR SUBARU IN BEAVERTON OREGON REPLACED THE SENSOR EACH TIME IT FAILED. THEY BRIEFLY EXPLAINED TO ME THAT THE SENSOR "FAILS ALL THE TIME" AND "ITS POORLY DESIGNED." IF I UNDERSTOOD THEM CORRECTLY, THESE TYPE OF SENSORS ARE NO LONGER USED IN NEWER MODELS OF MY CAR. I AM NOW HAVING THE AIRBAG ISSUE AGAIN AND I AM NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, I FEEL THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. SUBARU SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS FAULTY SYSTEM AND REPLACE IT COMPLETELY, RATHER THAT JUST REPLACING THE SENSOR THEY ALREADY KNOW IS FAULTY.

NHTSA ID

10924415

Incident

Nov 4, 2016

Mileage

20,000 mi

WHEN A PASSENGER OF 215LBS OR MORE SITS IN MY 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA PASSENGER SEAT FOR MORE THAN 10MILES THE AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS TURNED OFF.

NHTSA ID

10761915

Incident

Jul 20, 2015

Mileage

32,000 mi

MY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT DOESN'T REGISTER THE PASSENGER AND DISABLES THE AIRBAG.

NHTSA ID

10722026

Incident

May 25, 2015

THE SENSOR THAT DETERMINES WHETHER THE PASSENGER SEAT IS OCCUPIED OR NOT ISN'T WORKING PROPERLY. WHEN THERE IS A PASSENGER THE AIR BAGS SOMETIMES WON'T TURN ON. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR INTO THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP, WHERE THEY REPLACED THE SENSOR AND IT CONTINUES TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10713178

Incident

Apr 11, 2014

DRIVING DOWN MOUNTAIN AFTER DAY OF SKIING. ROADS WERE TREACHEROUS AND ICY. 20 MINUTES INTO THE DRIVE, DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHTS TURNED ON, INDICATING THAT AIRBAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THE CASE OF A COLLISION. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER I WAS WEARING A DAMP BATHING SUIT WHILE DRIVING AND THE SAME SITUATION OCCURRED, INDICATING THAT THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION. ON ANOTHER OCCASION, I WAS DRIVING ON A HOT DAY WITH THE WINDOWS DOWN. I WAS SWEATING QUITE A BIT AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON MY SUBARU IMPREZA TURNED ON YET AGAIN. THIS ISSUE WAS BROUGHT UP WITH THE DEALERSHIP WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. THE DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT SIMPLY RESET THE SENSOR, NOT SOLVING THE ISSUE OR COMPREHENDING THE SEVERITY OF THIS ISSUE. THE OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR IN THE SEAT MUST HAVE FAULTED AND TURNED OFF THE AIRBAGS WHEN A SMALL AMOUNT OF SNOW/WATER/SWEAT ON MY REAR CAUSED A FAULT IN THE ELECROSTATIC SENSOR. THE OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR IS AN ELECTROSTATIC SENSOR THAT WILL FAULT WHEN IT SENSES AN ARBITRARY AMOUNT OF MOISTURE. AN INTERNAL MEMO IN AUGUST 2012 FROM SUBARU TO IT'S DEALERS IN NORTH AMERICA ACKNOWLEDGED, BUT NOT SOLVED THIS PROBLEM WITH THE AIRBAGS NOT ENGAGING WHEN THE SEAT IS WET. FROM SUBARU'S INTERNAL MEMO: "WHEN WATER OR ANYTHING WITH HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT IS SPILLED ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION, THE AIRBAG IS DESIGNED TO REMAIN OFF UNTIL THE SEAT CUSHION IS DRY". *TR

NHTSA ID

10672345

Incident

Mar 10, 2012

Mileage

20,000 mi

AT ANY SPEED, WHILE CARRYING A PASSENGER, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG ON LIGHT WILL TURN TO THE OFF POSITION. PASSENGER AIRBAG IS DISABLED WHILE PASSENGER IS IN VEHICLE AT ANY GIVEN SPEED RANDOMLY. COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE SEVERE INJURY/DEATH IN AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE OWNED MULTIPLE 2012+ IMPREZAS WITH THIS EXACT ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10641835

Incident

Sep 17, 2014

Mileage

40,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, WITH A PASSENGER IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, THE 'PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF' LIGHT BECOME ILLUMINATED AND REMAINED ILLUMINATED, INDICATING THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WAS OFF. AFTER PULLING OVER AND RESTARTING THE VEHICLE SEVERAL TIMES, THE SENSOR BEHAVES NORMALLY. INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED 3-4 TIMES SINCE, WITH NO APPARENT PATTERN RELATED TO VEHICLE SPEED/DRIVING CONDITIONS. SUBARU DEALERSHIP SERVICE HAS CLAIMED IT MAY BE RELATED TO PASSENGER WEIGHT OR SHIFTING IN THE SEAT, OR CELLULAR PHONE CHARGERS NEARBY. INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED WITH OR WITHOUT SAID CHARGERS PRESENT IN THE CAR, WITH PASSENGERS WEIGHING 130 LBS AND 190 LBS. ALSO, THE RELEVANT SENSOR (OCCUPANT DETECTION SYSTEM, OR ODS) IN THE 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA IS NOT BASED ON WEIGHT AT ALL, BUT ON ELECTROSTATIC CAPACITANCE. SEEMINGLY RANDOM MALFUNCTION OF THE ODS RESULTING IN DEACTIVATION OF THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WITH AN ADULT SEATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT CONSTITUTES DANGEROUS FAILURE OF THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. *TR

NHTSA ID

10559081

Incident

Jan 10, 2013

Mileage

13,000 mi

PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR STATED THAT IT WAS DISABLED RANDOMLY (WHETHER CAR WAS IN MOTION OR NOT), EVEN THOUGH SEAT WAS OCCUPIED. AIRBAG LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE ON DASHBOARD. TO CORRECT ISSUE, VEHICLE HAD TO BE RESTARTED MULTIPLE TIMES, SO THAT AIRBAG WOULD REACTIVATE. THIS WOULD NEED TO BE REPEATED, AS ISSUE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY. IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT, AIRBAG MOST LIKELY WOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED DUE TO FAULTY PASSENGER SENSOR. SUBARU STATED AIRBAG MODULE REQUIRED REPLACING, AFTER INSPECTION WAS MADE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10473662

Incident

Jul 11, 2012

Mileage

1,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, HE NOTICED THAT THE DOORS WOULD NOT LOCK ON THEIR OWN. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE DOORS WOULD NOT OPEN WITHOUT ENGAGING THE LOCK BUTTON. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING AS INTENDED. UPDATED 7/26/12 *CN THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED IF HE LOCKED THE DOORS AND TRIED TO EXIT THE DRIVERS DOOR (OR ANY OF THE DOORS), THE DOOR MUST BE UNLOCKED BEFORE THE DOOR WILL OPEN. UPDATED 08/07/12 THE CONSUMER STATED WITH ALL THE VEHICLES HE HAS DRIVEN/RENTED, HE HAS NEVER SEEN A SITUATION WHERE THIS WAS THE CASE. IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH WHERE FUEL IS LEAKING, THE EXTRA SECONDS NEEDED TO RESET THE LOCK COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GETTING OUT THE CAR WITHOUT INJURY OR SUFFERING SIGNIFICANT/FATAL INJURY. UPDATED 03/26/13

NHTSA ID

10459127

Incident

May 11, 2012

Mileage

300 mi