2018 Subaru Forester Air Bags

I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH A CAR T-BONED MY PASSENGER SIDE. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND WE SUFFERED INJURY AS A RESULT. THE OTHER CAR THAT HIT US HAD ALL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THIS WAS A MALFUNCTION IN THE SUBARU I DRIVE. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE I WAS IN MOTION GOING 40MPH AND A CAR HIT ME AFTER RUNNING A RED LIGHT GOING 45MPH

TAKATA RECALL PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG INDICATOR SHOWED A PROBLEM WITHIN FIRST 200 MILES OF DRIVING THE NEW FORESTER.

FOR 2 MONTHS SINCE MAY 19, 2018, THE AIRBAG WARNING SENSOR LIGHT GOES ON MY DASHBOARD WHILE DRIVING AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG 'OFF' WARNING LIGHT ALSO GOES ON ' SEE ATTACHED PHOTO. THIS OCCURRENCE HAPPENS ALMOST EVERY TIME I DRIVE MY VEHICLE. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER TWICE FOR REPAIR BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. SUBARU ' STARLINK PROGRAM HAS NOTIFIED ME WITH NUMEROUS EMAILS THAT I SHOULD HAVE THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FIXED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. AFTER NOT RECEIVING ANY SATISFACTION FROM THE DEALER, I CALLED AND WRITTEN TWICE TO SUBARU USA HEADQUARTERS IN CHERRY HILL, NJ EXPLAINING THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE OF HAVING NO ACTIVE PASSENGER AIRBAG WHILE DRIVING. THEY STATED THAT A PART HAS TO BE ORDERED TO REPAIR THIS SERIOUS ISSUE BUT IT HAS NOW BEEN 4 WEEKS SINCE MY INITIAL CALL TO HEADQUARTERS WITH NO RESULTS. I FEEL THAT THEY ARE STALLING AS THERE MAY NOT BE AN EASY FIX AVAILABLE. I'M EXTREMELY CONCERN TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITHOUT AN ACTIVE PASSENGER AIRBAG PROTECTION FOR THE SAFETY OF MY WIFE IF WE WERE IN AN ACCIDENT AND THERE WAS NO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT.

THE FORESTER HAS AN AUTOMATIC SYSTEM THAT TURNS OFF THE AIRBAGS FOR THE RIGHT SIDE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WHEN NO-ONE IS SITTING THERE OR WHEN THEY DO NOT WEIGH ENOUGH TO ACTIVATE THE SYSTEM. SHOULD A PERSON NEED TO SIT ON A CUSHION IN THAT SEAT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE SYSTEM DOES NOT THINK ANYONE IS THERE AND TURNS OFF THE AIRBAGS. I KNOW SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT NEED VARIOUS CUSHIONS FOR BACK SUPPORT OR OTHER HEALTH RELATED REASONS OR BECAUSE THEY HAVE SHORT TORSOS AND FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE SITTING HIGHTER. IF THEY USE THEIR PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS, THEY ARE NOT PROTECTED BY THE AIRBAG SYSTEM. IF THEY DON'T USE THEIR CUSHIONS, THEY ARE IN PAIN. I HAVE CONTACTED SUBARU AND THEY SAY THEY CANNOT CHANGE THE SYSTEM. I FEEL THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT PASSENGERS WILL USUALLY USE THEIR CUSHIONS TO AVOID PAIN AND HOPE THERE IS NO ACCIDENT THAT WOULD NEED AIRBAG PROTECTION. IN MY OPINION, THERE SHOULD BE AN OVERRIDE TO THE AIRBAG DISABLE SYSTEM SO ADULTS NEEDING SEAT CUSHIONS CAN STILL BE PROTECTED BY THE AIRBAG SYSTEM.

SOME TIME IN AUGUST 2018 I NOTICED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT WOULD RANDOMLY COME ON INDICATING THAT THE AIR BAG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF MY NEW 2018 SUBARU FORESTER WAS TURNED OFF EVEN WHEN AN ADULT PASSENGER WAS SEATED. I CALLED THE DEALER WHO AT FIRST COULDN'T EXPLAIN IT. IT HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW TIMES, AFTER WHICH I NOTIFIED THE DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE PASSENGER SIDE INDICATOR SWITCH WAS LIKELY FAULTY, AND AROUND OCTOBER 1, 2018 THEY ORDERED A REPLACEMENT PART. THE INDICATOR LIGHT COMES ON RANDOMLY (INDICATING THE BAG IS TURNED OFF) WHEN AN ADULT IS IN THE SEAT - I HAVE HAD THE PASSENGER SHIFT POSITIONS WHICH SOMETIMES TURNS IT BACK ON; I HAVE PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, HAD PASSENGER GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND GET BACK IN, TURN ON THE ENGINE AND SOMETIMES THAT TURNS THE BAG BACK ON. SOMETIMES THE INDICATOR SHOWS THE BAG IS ON (WITH PASSENGER IN SEAT) BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVE, THE BAG WILL SUDDENLY TURN OFF AND WE HAVE TO DO THE "IN-AND-OUT" DANCE TO GET THE BAG TO TURN ON AGAIN. AT LEAST ONE TIME, THE BAG TURNED ON WHEN NO ONE WAS IN THE SEAT! THESE THINGS HAPPEN SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR IS STILL IN PARK (BUT ENGINE TURNED ON), AND SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR IS IN MOTION. TOTALLY RANDOM. THIS OCCURS (SO FAR) DURING CITY DRIVING. THE DEALER ORIGINALLY SAID THE PART WOULD PROBABLY ARRIVE MID OCTOBER, THEN LATE OCTOBER, ETC. I CALLED SUBARU HQ AND TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THE ISSUE. THEY WILL "ATTEMPT TO EXPEDITE" BUT SAID THE PART IS "ON BACK ORDER" WITH ETA MID NOVEMBER, THEN LATE NOVEMBER "MAYBE," BUT THEY REALLY AREN'T SURE WHEN THEY CAN GET THE PART. IN THE MEAN TIME, I AM NERVOUS ABOUT DRIVING WITH PASSENGERS IN THE FRONT SEAT WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH A NUMBER OF TIMES WITH BOTH THE DEALER AND SUBARU HQ IN NJ REGARDING THIS ISSUE.