Recall · 20V003000
Subaru of America recalled 7 models over air bags
111,562
Vehicles covered
7
Models
54
Model years
January 2, 2020
Filed with NHTSA
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
- The defect
- Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- What it can cause
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- What the dealer does
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
- NHTSA's note
- Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| Saab9-2X | 2005 to 2006 | Not published here |
| SubaruBaja | 2003 to 2006 | Not published here |
| SubaruForester | 2009 to 2013 | 2010201120122013 |
| SubaruImpreza | 2004 to 2011 | 20102011 |
| SubaruLegacy | 2003 to 2014 | 20102011201220132014 |
| SubaruOutback | 2003 to 2014 | 20102011201220132014 |
| SubaruWRX | 2004 to 2014 | Not published here |
How this campaign compares
At 111,562 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 93% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers model years 2003 to 2014, so the oldest vehicles on it were 17 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
Subaru vehicles have been recalled over the air bags 21 times before this, most recently in December 2019 as 19V910000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 50 of the 54 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 5,947 complaints with NHTSA, 4,940 of them before this campaign was filed. 1,137 of those name the air bags, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in November 2002, 17 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 4 other recalls published here: 23V076000 (air bags), 22V838000 (seat belts), 20V002000 (air bags), 20V001000 (air bags).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Subaru of America, Inc. with NHTSA on January 2, 2020 as campaign 20V003000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2020-01-02.
Independent developer and analyst