The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, and Baja vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in 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 may be equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-16. Note: This recall covers vehicles that were not previously covered in 16V-358 for Zone A or 16V-359 for Zone B.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Subaru Baja | 2003, 2004 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2003, 2004 |
| Subaru Outback | 2003, 2004 |
Components: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru Baja | 2003 | 38 | 10 |
| Subaru Baja | 2004 | 18 | 9 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2003 | 60 | 14 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2004 | 49 | 10 |
| Subaru Outback | 2003 | 93 | 14 |
| Subaru Outback | 2004 | 90 | 10 |
Other air bags recalls in 2016
92 of the 919 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2016 concerned the air bags; Subaru of America, Inc. filed 101 campaigns in all.
| 16V946000 30 Dec 2016 | Porsche Cars North America, Inc. |
| 16V956000 30 Dec 2016 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 16V943000 29 Dec 2016 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 16V941000 29 Dec 2016 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 16V939000 28 Dec 2016 | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| 16V953000 28 Dec 2016 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 16V935000 27 Dec 2016 | Daimler Vans USA, LLC |
| 16V947000 22 Dec 2016 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2016