Subaru of America, Inc.: Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module
Subaru of America, Inc. reported this defect to federal regulators on Jan 9, 2018 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 72,150. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk
An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began on February 9, 2018. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-18.
6 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Subaru Forester | 178 | 18 | 7 | 19 |
| 2009 Subaru Impreza | 104 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| 2009 Subaru Legacy | 65 | 13 | 1 | 3 |
| 2009 Subaru Outback | 106 | 13 | 3 | 1 |
| 2009 Subaru Tribeca | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 Subaru WRX | 41 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 18V014000.
Full record for the 2009 Subaru Forester → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →