2014 Subaru Forester · symptom sheet

Passenger airbag sensor problems

29owner reports
98,000median miles
$1,100median quote
0involved a crash

Newest report Apr 24, 2025 · checked Sep 19, 2026

29 of the 56 reports of airbag on the 2014 Forester describe passenger airbag sensor faults.

Part of Airbag warning light or recall (56 reports)

Tick what matches of 29 reports

the passenger airbag light stays on

the seat sensor does not detect a passenger

a light object is read as a passenger

the passenger airbag is disabled

a code was found for the sensor

the seat cushion or foam was replaced

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (20 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the airbags covers the 2014 model year as of Sep 19, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the airbags on the Forester

PE19-009opened Aug 6, 2019

Airbags · model years 2016 to 2018

Occupant detection system (ods) failure. Closed jan 22, 2020, led to recall 19V-701.

NHTSA summary

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehicles use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unsta

None of these investigations covers the 2014 model year.

What owners paid

14 of the 29 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $900 to $1,200.

$900$1,100$1,200

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 60,000 and 140,000 miles, from the 16 reports that gave a mileage.

215

117

218

719

520

521

222

123

224

225

What owners wrote

No report on this problem is short enough to quote in full.

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 0 of 29 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.