Problems with 2011 Subaru Outback AIR BAGS

We recently purchased a 2011 subaru outback. we bought it due to high safety ratings and other features. the problem is that while my wife (who is 115 lbs) sits in the front passenger seat, the front airbag sensor switches the airbag on and off randomly. we took the car to the dealer and had it inspected. their findings were that the car is working as designed. the airbag is turning off when her weight is not in an exact spot. i looked up the problem online and had multiple hits for complaints from owners of the same car (and the 2010 model). we were instructed to make sure my wife sits up straight with her legs extended and the seat fully upright and back to help the airbag sensor get a more accurate reading. obviously it is not reasonable to expect a person to sit unmoving for an extended length in a car. also, in the event of a collision, her weight would naturally shift and thus the airbag may not deploy. to me, this negates the safety rating for the front passenger and discriminates against smaller adults who ride in the passenger seat. many of the complaints i read had this problem with adults up to 140 lbs, and the dealership replicated the problem with a man weighing 125 lbs. *tt

Passenger airbag light goes on and off randomly when i am sitting in the passenger seat. i am 5'3 110lbs. the sensors were recalibrated when i took it to the dealer the first time. the problem continued. even if you sit in one spot and not move the sensor will turn on and off randomly. the dealership still doesn't know how to fix the problem. i was told the sensors have trouble sensing 70-90lbs of weight. i am over that therefore there should be no issue. i now own a car that the airbag might be on or off if i was ever in a collision. this is a huge safety concern! *tr

The passenger side front air bag indicator randomly showed the status 'on' or 'off' when the seat was occupied by an adult passenger. no pattern could be identified for the indication although we tried every perturbation of sitting, fastening seat belt, closing door, starting engine, etc. the vehicle was returned to the dealer for repair. the passenger seat sensor(s) was replaced as defective, now the indicator never indicates 'on', always 'off' regardless of actions as above. the vehicle was returned a second time, this time it was determined that the sensor(s) were being inhibited because of seat covers distributing the weight in such a way as to 'fool' the sensors. it took a 180 lb. person to activate the sensor, [a 170 lb. person did not] with the seat covers on, the sensors appeared to operate correctly without the seat covers. this raises the question of weight distribution, are large buttocks required given that there are multiple weight sensors in the seat, how about a small framed 120 lb adult. the answer is clear, the passenger air bag should always be on unless manually turned off by the user. subaru must provide a programming option to the owner to default the airbag status to always 'on'. my toyota and honda both provides a key lock option to disable the unit, default is, and should be required, to be 'on'. this is a safety issue, and subaru is opening themselves to class actions, and heaven forbid the first accident when the unit fails to deploy because it was not armed because of quirky weight distribution requirements. i believe that a preventive recall should be ordered if subaru does not unilaterally provide an always 'on' default option for the vehicle.

I have told the subaru dealer(s) that the front passenger airbag sensor light says "off" unless the passenger weighs over 150 lbs or so. the dealer(s) deny knowing anything about it. however, it is on a subaru blog and there are many complaints about it. the dealer is unable to tell me if the airbag is working or not. my brake pedal makes a clicking noise when i release the brake pedal. the subaru dealer told me he knew this happened to all of the 2010 models but didn't realize it was happening to the 2011 models and he said there is nothing he can do about it until subaru comes out with a recall. so far i haven't heard back from subaru, it's been 5 months. *kb

The passenger side airbag fails to activate or cycles on and off while the adult passenger remains seated in the proper position. dealer claims no defects detected yet is unable to resolve the problem. manufacturer representative is also unable to provide any assistance in the resolution of the problem even to the point of not acknowledging that a problem exists. i feel this is a serious safety issue as you cannot rely on whether or not the airbag will be properly activated or even deploy in the event of an accident. *tr

Front passenger seat airbag switch irregularly changes state with lighter occupant. the passenger side front airbag indicator light shows off even though occupant is within limits stipulated verbally by subaru salesman. the indicator light changes state with occupant in seat, even though the occupant remained completely still.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. the contact stated that the passenger air bag warning light illuminated intermittently. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the contact that the body type of the seat occupant was causing the passenger air bag light to illuminate intermittently and that there was nothing that could be done to correct the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 1,000 and the current mileage was 2,300.

The passenger airbag does not turn on when adult female ~120lbs is in the passenger seat. minimum weight to consistently activate airbag seems to be about 140lbs. the car was taken to the dealership and they re-calibrated the passenger seat weight sensor but this did not resolve the issue. the dealership said they were aware of other customers complaining of this issue but they did not have a solution (and did not think the re-calibration would help). they also stated they have been unable to solve this problem for other customers. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. while driving approximately 65 mph, the front passenger air bag off indicator would illuminate intermittently whenever the front passenger seat occupants weight was 100 pounds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer four different times for the identical failure; however there was not a remedy for the repair. the manufacturer was made aware of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 5,000. the vin was unavailable.

Sometimes the right front airbag indicator light is "off" despite a full-sized adult sitting in that seat. *tr

Occupant sensing airbag won't turn on for my wife who weighs 110 pounds. this is a new 2011 subaru outback. the dealership argued and was evasive about my complaint; and said the seat was calibrated to activate with a 120 pound person. they were "instructing" me on the proper seating position. i told them i didn't want the vehicle if the air bag wouldn't operate for my wife. i have an appt. this week . stay tuned. *tr

2011 subaru outback - passenger airbag indicating "off", not turning on when 140lb person is in the seat. subaru of america states that this is normal and there is no fix. subaru dealer where i purchased the car new does not agree and states something is wrong. he has another owner with the same problem. passenger airbag will not deploy in and accident with a 140lb person in the seat! *tr

A longer version of the following letter was sent to subaru on 1/3/2012: the purpose of this letter is to file an official complaint regarding the operation of the passenger airbag for our 2011 subaru outback and to request your help in resolving this problem. we purchased our outback in september 2010 from steven's creek subaru in san jose, california. the airbag sensor has worked intermittently since we first took ownership of the vehicle. specifically, it turns on and off frequently when my wife (approximately 120 pounds) is seated in the passenger seat. over the past year, we have made numerous complaints to the service technicians with no resolution. we have serious concerns for my wife's safety and it is un-excusable that subaru does not have a resolution to this life-safety issue. i am extremely disappointed that subaru did not disclose this issue before we purchased the vehicle. i have provided subaru with a series of email correspondence between the dealership and myself regarding the issue from late 2010 and early 2011. in one of the emails i provided links to youtube videos documenting the issue. we waited until this time to file our formal complaint as we were hopeful that steven's creek subaru could help us to resolve this problem. unfortunately they have not been able to resolve our concerns and have directed us to contact subaru headquarters directly. *tr

Passenger airbag is often turned off, even though a person is sitting in the passenger seat. this is repeatable. often, when my passenger (120 lbs, 5'7" tall) sits in the passenger seat, the airbag remains in the off position (as if no one is sitting in that seat). i've noticed that when the passenger sits, and puts their feet directly on the floor, the passenger's knees and upper thigh right above the knee do not make contact with the seat. when sitting in this position, the airbag will remain in the off position. when the passenger sits, with legs fully extended, so that the knee and upper thigh make better contact with the seat, the airbag is enabled. with the right combination of passenger length, and position of the passenger's legs while sitting, it is possible for the airbag to remain in the off position, even though there is a full-sized adult sitting in that seat. i believe the airbag (weight on seat) sensor, may be located too far forward on these seats. *tr

2011 subaru outback limited 2.5 passenger seat airbag not activated. i am 130 lb and the airbag system does not go on when i sit in the passenger seat. according to the dealer and subaru nothing can be done, but i don't feel safe. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. the contact stated that the air bag light would intermittently illuminate when someone was seated in the front passenger seat. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on several occasions and the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be repaired unless the failure was duplicated. the failure mileage was 10 and the current mileage 11,500. updated 03/14/12*lj