2019 Subaru Ascent Air Bags & Restraints Problems

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 75 MPH, a deer ran across the highway and hit the left driver's side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. A grayish smoke began to emit from the vehicle as the contact's wife immediately pulled off to the side of the road. Due to the damaged cause by the impact of the deer, the contact's wife had difficulty exiting the vehicle. The contact's wife used excessive force to open a crack in the door, which was enough to slide herself out of the vehicle. The vehicle became engulfed in flames soon after exiting the vehicle, and the authorities were called to the scene. The fire department arrived at the scene and managed to extinguish the fire. The contact's wife sustained bruising to her left shoulder, left leg, and left arm but did not seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was initially towed to an independent tow yard and was later towed to an insurance holding facility. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed as a result of the fire, but the insurance adjuster had yet to determine a final ruling on the vehicle. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had yet been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact's wife owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that the front passenger’s seat air bag sensor would intermittently fail to recognize his granddaughter seated in the passenger’s seat. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the air bag switch was recalibrated; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 37,097.

My fiancé and I driving down my driveway when I noticed my dogs were out, I stopped the car, put in park and got out, closing the door behind me. Unbeknownst to me the driver side impact airbag deployed causing my fiancé to loose hearing temporarily and obviously leaving her in shock. Corporate Subaru Of America did a 4 month investigation and told us we had to have shift a foreign object in the door (which we did not). We asked for a report on what happened and they refused. We asked for them to put in writing the exact words they used when they called us and verbally told us their findings and they refused that as well. My thought is if they have nothing to hide then why can’t we have in writing the exact same thing they told us over the phone.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2019 SUBARU ASCENT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH THE CONTACT CRASHED THE VEHICLE WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE HEAD ON. UPON IMPACT NO AIR BAGS WERE DEPLOYED AND SOS EMERGENCY DID NOT WORK. 4 PERSONS WERE INJURED IN THE IMPACT WHICH REQUIRED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO INSURANCE LOT, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BEING TOTALED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *DT*JB*DT CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS MULTIPLE FAILURES.*JB*JB*JB

In February 2020, my wife and I discovered fraying on the edge of the second row center seat belt on our 2019 Subaru Ascent. The belt was stuck in the connected position and would not retract into the ceiling retracting apparatus. Other than the fraying on the edge of the belt, the belt was in near-new condition. The vehicle had approximately 23,000 miles on it. She took it to the dealer, Adventure Subaru of Fayetteville. The wear pattern was substantially the same as depicted on a 2022 Subaru Outback we own, Complaint #11468872. The dealer refused to honor the belt’s lifetime warranty. The technician said the fraying was caused by an “outside influence”, possibly our dog. The dog could not have damaged the belt in the manner of the fraying and there were no teeth marks or stains on the belt. It was imperative that the belts be replaced on the spot since our five grandchildren were occasional passengers. The dealer has no records identifying the “outside influence” When the fraying was discovered on the rear center belts on our Outback in May, 2022 (Complaint #1146872), I checked all belts in the Ascent. I discovered that the right and left third row belts had the same wear pattern as on the rear center seat belt replaced in February 2020 AND as on the 2022 Outback (Complaint 1146872). The dealer honored the lifetime warranty on the belts and replaced them on June 8, 2022, when the car had mileage of 48439. The wear pattern on the belt replaced on February 20, 2020, and June 8, 2022, were substantially similar to each other and to the wear pattern on the 2022 Outback. I checked both vehicles closely to find a pinch point or some other edge that could cause the fraying. It is not possible that our dog could have chewed any belt in the pattern displayed. Attached are 8 photos of the belts replaced June 8. I could not upload two photos that exceeded the allowed size.

I WAS REAR-ENDED REALLY BAD AT 35+ SPEED OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY, WHILE I WAS AT FULL STOP. IMPACT TOTALED MY VEHICLE, BUT THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. SUBSEQUENTLY, I HIT A STEERING WHEEL WITH MY FOREHEAD AND SUFFERED ONLY A CONCUSSION, LUCKILY.

INTERMITTENTLY, APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE TIME, A PASSENGER SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT DOES NOT TRIGGER THE AIR BAG SIGNAL TO "ON". WHEN THIS STATE OCCURS, IT PERSISTS THROUGH THE PASSENGER EXITING THE VEHICLE AND RE-ENTERING AND THROUGH THE CAR BEING TURNED OFF AND THEN BACK ON. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM MAY GO AWAY HOURS LATER OR THE NEXT DAY WHEN WE RESTART THE CAR. WE HAVE NOT WITNESSED THE AIR BAG SUDDENLY ENABLING MID-RIDE AND WE HAVE NEVER SEEN THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT DISPLAYED. THE PASSENGER IS A FULL-SIZED WOMAN. HER CLOTHING IS TYPICALLY DRY AND THERE IS NO CELL PHONE ON THE SEAT. (WE ARE AWARE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS THAT MOISTURE AND ELECTRONICS CAN AFFECT THE SENSOR FOR THE ODS ON SUBARU VEHICLES). WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE CURRENT CASES UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS IN THE SUBARU FORESTER. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED TO OUR SUBARU DEALER (MICHAEL'S SUBARU OF BELLEVUE). WE HAVE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR THIS FOUR TIMES IN TOTAL, AND IT HAS STAYED AT THEIR FACILITY FOR A WEEK TWICE. THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THEY WILL VERIFY THAT ON ONE OF THE VISITS THE SENSOR WAS IN THE INCORRECT STATE (NOT ENABLED) WHEN WE BROUGHT IN THE VEHICLE AND THEY READ THE CODE. THEY ALSO SAW THAT THE PASSENGER EXITING AND RE-ENTERING THE VEHICLE DID NOT ENABLE THE AIR BAG, NOR DID TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON AGAIN.

AIRBAG SENSOR FAULT.