2018 Subaru Forester · symptom sheet

Airbag warning light or recall

96owner reports
20,000median miles
$1,100median quote
2involved a crash

Newest report Aug 28, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

96 of the 493 complaints on this car describe airbag. Only windshield is reported more often on this car.

Tick what matches of 96 reports

the airbag light stays on

passenger seat sensor

the airbag did not deploy in a crash

airbag deployed with no crash

the recall part is not available

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (45 reports).

Recalls and investigations

One recall on the airbags covers the 2018 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

19V-701Oct 3, 2019

Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may loosen.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If the connection loosens, the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the ODS sensor mat harness, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUM-98.

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

What owners paid

14 of the 96 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $200 to $1,300.

$200$1,100$1,300

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

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 8,300 and 40,000 miles, from the 29 reports that gave a mileage.

618

1619

520

721

1422

1223

1524

1025

1126

What owners wrote

“The SRS passenger warning light comes on intermittently. Sometimes with a passenger the indication is the air bag is "ON" and everything seems to be fine. Sometimes with a passenger we get the message that the "SRS SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE CHECKED". And sometimes we get that message even without a passenger. This started at around 80K miles.”
Filed Aug 11, 2023 · 80,000 miles

“Passenger air bag light displays intermittently on and off (mostly off) regardless of whether there is a passenger in the seat. It has not yet been inspected by any dealer, service center, manufacturer, police, insurance, or others.”
Filed Sep 12, 2022

“I have been getting an airbag warning light for the past few months. I took it into my local Subaru dealer and they confirmed that the issue was the passenger recognition system. The system will recognize a passenger and turn the airbags on sometimes, and sometimes it will not. This puts the passengerâs life at risk in the event of an accident and the airbags donât deploy.”
Filed Jul 26, 2022

“Passenger seat when empty will at times indicate person is sitting in seat without buckling seat belt and sound alert”
Filed Jul 22, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 2 of 96 reports involved a crash and 3 people were hurt. 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.