The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
The risk
An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-19.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Subaru B9 Tribeca | 2012 |
| Subaru Forester | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Subaru Impreza | 2010, 2011 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Subaru Outback | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Subaru Tribeca | 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 |
| Subaru WRX | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
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 B9 Tribeca | 2012 | 4 | 7 |
| Subaru Forester | 2010 | 262 | 17 |
| Subaru Forester | 2011 | 147 | 16 |
| Subaru Forester | 2012 | 105 | 15 |
| Subaru Forester | 2013 | 78 | 12 |
| Subaru Impreza | 2010 | 46 | 15 |
| Subaru Impreza | 2011 | 58 | 14 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2010 | 150 | 18 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2011 | 167 | 16 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2012 | 90 | 16 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2013 | 66 | 12 |
| Subaru Legacy | 2014 | 53 | 10 |
| Subaru Outback | 2010 | 360 | 18 |
| Subaru Outback | 2011 | 653 | 16 |
| Subaru Outback | 2012 | 294 | 16 |
| Subaru Outback | 2013 | 297 | 12 |
| Subaru Outback | 2014 | 208 | 10 |
| Subaru Tribeca | 2010 | 4 | 10 |
| Subaru Tribeca | 2011 | 2 | 8 |
| Subaru Tribeca | 2013 | 3 | 6 |
| Subaru Tribeca | 2014 | 0 | 4 |
| Subaru WRX | 2010 | 1 | 12 |
| Subaru WRX | 2011 | 4 | 11 |
| Subaru WRX | 2012 | 2 | 12 |
| Subaru WRX | 2013 | 7 | 11 |
| Subaru WRX | 2014 | 6 | 10 |
Other air bags recalls in 2019
76 of the 880 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2019 concerned the air bags; Subaru of America, Inc. filed 101 campaigns in all.
| 19V910000 19 Dec 2019 | Subaru of America, Inc. |
| 19V892000 16 Dec 2019 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 19V885000 12 Dec 2019 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 19V868000 6 Dec 2019 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 19V862000 4 Dec 2019 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 19V852000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 19V853000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 19V851000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2019