Subaru of America has issued a recall of over 118,000 vehicles due to the automobiles having a faulty component, which may mean that the front passenger airbag may not deploy in the event of a crash.
Subaru informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the recall in a letter dated March 26. In the letter, Subaru told the agency that “A capacitor in the sensors for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may crack and short circuit, which can prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash.”
In a recall notice on its website, Subaru says that its recall is a result of the wider Takata-supplied airbag inflator recall that has been plaguing the automatic industry in recent years. “This recall only relates to the passenger-side front airbag inflator in certain Subaru vehicles, and does not affect our driver-side front airbags, which were not equipped with a Takata inflator,” the company said.
As for which Subaru vehicles are affected, the company says two automobiles are involved in the recall.
- The first is the 2020-2022 Subaru Outback. The production dates of these vehicles were from June 16, 2020 to July 13, 2021. Subaru says that as many as 103,114 Outback vehicles could contain the faulty part.
- The second vehicle included in the recall is the 2020-2022 Subaru Legacy. The production dates of these vehicles were from June 16, 2020 to July 12, 2021. The company says that as many as 15,609 Legacys potentially have the faulty part.
In the NHTSA recall report, Subaru says that while it is aware of 23 technical reports and 253 warranty claims related to this issue, the company is not aware of any injuries stemming from the problem. Still, the automaker is recommending that until your recalled vehicle is repaired no occupants sit in the front passenger seat.
Subaru says dealers were made aware of the issue on March 27. Owners of the vehicles will receive notification by May 21. However, the parts needed to remedy the problem will not be available immediately. Subaru says it will reach out to owners again when those parts do become available.
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