2012 Subaru Impreza

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU IMPREZA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ERRONEOUSLY ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 29,116.

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

2012 IMPREZA... BOUGHT NEW, NOTHING BUT HEADACHES. ALL PROBLEMS LISTED BELOW OCCURRED BEFORE I HAD EVEN OWNED THE CAR 2 YEARS. 1. AT 8-10K MILES - WHILE DRIVING CAR WOULD RANDOMLY TURN OFF PASSENGER AIRBAGS AND ILLUMINATE NO PASSENGER SEATBELT ON THE DASH. TOOK CAR TO DEALER 3 TIMES. DEALER REFUSED TO FIX AS THE "ERROR WAS NOT STORED IN THE COMPUTER." SUGGESTED CELL PHONE WAS THE PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH CELL PHONES WERE NOT NEAR THE SEAT DURING EACH OF THE MULTIPLE INCIDENTS. I HAD TO COMPLAIN TO CORPORATE WHO TOLD THE DEALER TO REPLACE THE SENSOR IN THE SEAT. NO PROBLEMS SINCE. 2. AT 15K MILES - MULTIPLE TIMES CAR WOULD TURN ON CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT SIMULTANEOUSLY. FIRST INCIDENT DEALER SAID "DIRTY CAMSHAFT SENSOR." SECOND INCIDENT I HAD TO REFUSE TO TAKE THE CAR BACK UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY FIXED A PART. DEALER KEPT CAR A WHOLE WEEK AND MADE CALLS TO CORPORATE ENGINEERS. TESTS REVEALED IT WAS A "FAILED OIL PRESSURE VALVE." REPLACED THE PART AND NO MORE PROBLEMS. 3. AT 25K MILES - BAD BATTERY. HAD TO REPLACE WHEN CAR WAS ONLY 1 YEAR AND 10 MONTHS OLD. *TR

PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT TURNS FROM ON TO OFF WITH A PASSENGER SITTING THERE. MANUAL SAYS THIS HAPPENS WHEN THERE IS MOISTURE IN THE SEAT. FIRST OF ALL, THE AIRBAG SHOULD NOT TURN OFF FOR THAT REASON, THAT IS A SAFETY PROBLEM. SECOND, IT TURNS OFF EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO MOISTURE. IT SCARES ME. I NEED TO KNOW THAT THE AIRBAG IS STILL WORKING EVEN IF THAT OFF LIGHT IS ON IF MY SON IS SITTING THERE. *TR

USUALLY IT SHOULD BE ON, WITH A PASSENGER SITTING IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WHILE DRIVING. BUT SINCE ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF INDICATOR LIGHT TURNED ON WHEN THERE WAS PASSENGER SITTING IN THE CAR. THIS.HAPPENED ABOUT 5-6 TIMES DURING THE LAST 3 MONTHS. WE MADE AN APPOINTMENT AND SENT THE CAR TO GARAVEL SUBARU DEALER IN NORWALK, CT ON 9/5/13 AT THE MILAGE AROUND 29,000MILES. THEY LOOKED AT THE CAR FOR JUST 10 MINUTES AND COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUE RELATED TO THIS. SAME ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN ONCE AFTER ABOVE VISIT. I HOPE DMV COULD HELP ME TO SOLVE THIS SAFETY RELATED ISSUE BEFORE THE CAR WARRANTY EXPIRES AT 36K. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

FOLLOWED TOO CLOSELY THROUGH A DOUBLE INTERSECTION WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING LIGHT. POLICE OFFICER DIRECTED TRAFFIC THROUGH THE INTERSECTION BUT APPARENTLY WE HAD TO STOP BEFORE THE SECOND INTERSECTION. APPARENTLY I SLOWED DOWN ENOUGH THAT THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I INDICATED 20 BUT SURELY MY AIRBAG WOULD HAVE DEPLOYED AT THAT SPEED. WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR UNDER ITS OWN POWER OFF THE ROAD INTO A SUBWAY PARKING LOT. AS I WAS MANEUVERING INTO A PARKING SPOT THE ENGINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. IT SEEMS STRANGE TO ME THAT IF I WAS GOING SLOW ENOUGH FOR THE AIRBAG NOT TO DEPLOY BUT FOR SOME COMPONENTS TO CATCH ON FIRE THAT THE CAR IS ROAD WORTHY. WORTH LOOKING INTO? *TR

THE AIRBAGS IN THIS VEHICLE TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING (DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE DASHBOARD ICONS INDICATE AIRBAGS ARE TURNED OFF). VEHICLE MUST BE STOPPED AND RESTARTED FOR THE AIRBAGS TO TURN BACK ON. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP TO ELECTRONIC INTERFERENCE - PASSENGER USE OF IPHONE OR IPAD MAY BE INVOLVED - BUT IT HAS HAPPENED WITH NO PASSENGER AS WELL. THIS HAPPENED 5 TIMES IN ONE DAY RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH ALTITUDE (PIKES PEAK, CO). PROBABLY RELATED: THE SEAT BELT ALARM HAS GONE OFF WHEN IPHONE IS PLACED ON EMPTY PASSENGER SEAT WHILE DRIVING. *TR

I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT WASN'T ALWAYS "ON" WHEN THERE WAS A PASSENGER SEATED THERE. IT SEEMED TO MALFUNCTION MORE FREQUENTLY WHEN A HEAVIER PERSON WAS ON THE SEAT. ATTEMPTS TO GET IT TO ACTIVATE (UNBUCKLING AND REBUCKLING SEATBELT, BOUNCING ON THE SEAT, STOPPING THE CAR AND RESTARTING) ALL HAD NO EFFECT. THIS PROBLEM HAS CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY. *TR