A faulty sensor, which is prone to short-circuiting, has prompted a recall of nearly 119,000 Subaru vehicles. The problematic part can prevent the passenger air bag from properly inflating during a collision.
Airbags that fail to deploy during a frontal collision put vehicle occupants at increased risk of suffering injury, according to the recall documents that Subaru submitted to the American NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) last week.
Fortunately, according to the Japanese automaker, no injuries have yet been reported as a result of the faulty sensors.
The sensors in question are part of the passenger seat assembly, which communicates with the affected car’s Occupant Detection System (ODS). The ODS, manufactured by a third party contracted by Subaru, may have allowed faulty or cracked circuit boards to slip through their quality control for the affected years of Outback and Legacy vehicles.
Cracked circuit boards are vulnerable to moisture intrusion, which can lead to short circuits, according to the recall notice. When a short occurs, the vehicle may fail to detect the presence of a body in the passenger seat.
In the event of a possible short, the dashboard is designed to alert the driver with an airbag warning light. If the light is lit, this indicates that the airbag may not deploy as designed.
Subaru has stated that the ODS sensors will be replaced free of charge for owners who bring their vehicles to a nearby dealership.
This is the latest in a series of major recalls issued by car makers in the last few months. General Motors recalled 820,000 pickups due to a problem with their tailgates, while Hyudai and Kia recalled 147,110 vehicles for battery charging issues last week.
The Legacy and Outback models from the 2020 through 2022 model years are covered by the Japanese automaker’s recall. Questions should be directed to the company’s recall hotline at (844) 373-6614, and callers should mention recall number WRA-24.
