2023 Subaru Forester

1. The passenger seat air bag turn on mechanism malfunctions in a 2023 Subaru Forester Limited. The seat mechanism can be tested (and has been tested) upon request. 2. An adult that weighs 104lbs is not detected when in the seat, so the air bag is not turned on. 3. The problem has been reproduced by two dealers. 4. No other parties have inspected the car seats or the mechanism. 5. The problem indicator is the status light that shows the air bag as off or on. 6. Testing of the car by the dealer found no problems with the setup of the SRS and seat detection technology. Employees weighing more than the customer getting into the seat turned on the air bag. 7. Testing with the customer reproduced the problem 100% of the time. Testing was done by having the adult get into the seat multiple times after a restart of the vehicle. The air bag light never turned on. 8. The same test was performed with the adult customer using a different Forester. The detection mechanism of the other Forester also failed to detect the customer 100% of the time.

Driver and passenger seats are collapsing to the point we are sinking into the seats unevenly and we can feel the hardware in the seats. We have bells that ding intermittently while driving. The dealership stated this is due to the airbag sensors located in the seats. Both seat manufacturer covers are splitting extensively. Due to the defective breakdown/collapsing seats the airbag timing in an accident and deployment in an accident can be affected and/or the airbags could spontaneously deploy. The passenger seat foam and cover was replaced once, vin specific, and is collapsing worse than before. Subaru of America will not acknowledge this defect as it is very expensive and will likely not be a lasting fix as it has happened previously. The seat quality is defective and poses a serious danger to occupants.

The front passenger side air bag remains turned off when a 105 pound adult sits in it, but turns on when a 185 pound adult sits in it. Subaru service informs us that it is factory set so that it will not deploy when a child is in the seat and cannot be adjusted. This puts any small adult or teenager sits in the front passenger seat.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and the RPMs were significantly high. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact shifted to park(P) and turned off the vehicle, and the vehicle decelerated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed. Additionally, the contact stated while his wife was reversing, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly and hit a chained gate. The contact's wife depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle went into the woods, hit several small trees, and then the vehicle crashed into a big tree and bounced 30 ft. away from the tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact's wife sustained a sore neck, but did not seek medical assistance. A police report was filed. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was towed to an auto collision repair shop, awaiting for a damage estimate. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side occupant sensor failed to recognize a petite, smaller individual seated in the front passenger’s seat. The dealer was notified of failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified, and the contact inquired about the weight requirement for the passenger occupant sensor, and the manufacturer did not answer the question. The vehicle was not repaired or diagnosed. The failure mileage was unknown.

I purchased a new Subaru Forester on February 3, 2023 from Cross Creek Subaru in Fayetteville NC. I noticed that the passenger air bag was off at times with my wife in the passenger seat. I made an appointment to have this fixed, The air bag was always on for her in my F150, Honda CRV and all the other cars we have owned. When I took it in they put some weights on the seat, hooked up to a computer and said that the seat was measuring the weight properly. The air bag was still on some time and off some time with no obvious reason for the difference. The dealer could not find any information as to what weight the air bag should be on. I made another appointment and took it back in on February 21st. They again tested the seat weight measurements and that was working. The had my wife sit on the seat and with her feet on the floor it measured her weight as 97 pounds but the air bag was still off. The service manager told me to contact Subaru of America (800-782-2783) about this problem. I talked to Heath (856-438-2434) about this problem. He called me back a few days later on a recorded line and told me that the air bag should be on when the weight measurements at the seat was from 78 to 80 pounds. My wife weighs 102 to 103. My daughter gave me a 12lb weighted blanket to put on the seat. Even with the extra weight the air bag is off at times. It happens like this. We will got to the grocery store and the air bag is on, and when we get in to come home the air bag is off. This is with my wife not having anything even a pocket book with her. One of the conditions either on or off is not safe, so this car is not safe for us to drive. The service manager Jay at Cross Creek Subaru told me on 3/22/2023 to tell Subaru of America that I wanted to return the car and that he did not know how to fix it. My case number at Subaru of America is 230221-1700488 and I have called and talked to America, Rommel, Linda, Yenisei, and finally Bernadine on 3/22/2023.