Subaru Class Action Alleges Airbag Sensor Defect

According to a class action lawsuit, Subaru Foresters have defective passenger-side airbag sensors, putting passengers at risk of serious injury.

Allegedly, the affected Subaru Foresters include model years 2015 through 2018.

Plaintiff Janelle Kassien says she purchased a vehicle with an airbag defect and has tried to have the problem repaired.

However, Kassien claims that Subaru has not provided sufficient repairs for the problem.

Kassien says she purchased a new 2018 Subaru Forester for around $31,000 in February 2018. She claims that her vehicle was affected by a defect that causes the passenger-side airbag system to not accurately detect passengers or activate the passenger-side airbag system.

Allegedly, she took the vehicle to a Subaru dealership in September 2018, after she had experienced the defect intermittently.

Kassien states that the dealer found an error code in the vehicle’s memory, indicating an error with the occupant detection system.

The Subaru class action alleges that the dealer did not repair the problem, but merely told her that she could not put electronics, such as her cell phone, on the passenger seat.

Kassien goes on to say that she took the vehicle back to the dealership in August 2019, after she continued to experience the error. Allegedly, the dealership found the same error.

The dealership reportedly did not repair the problem, charged her $55.78, and told her to bring the vehicle back as soon as she experienced the problem again.

The Subaru passenger airbag defect class action lawsuit explains that federal law requires modern vehicles to have a passenger airbag sensor that detects whether there is a person of sufficient weight in the passenger seat. If so, then the sensor activates the passenger-side airbag if the vehicle is involved in an accident. 

The Subaru airbag class action lawsuit says that the affected Subaru vehicles are equipped with passenger airbag sensors and passenger airbags indicators as required by law. However, these devices allegedly only work sporadically in violation of a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. 

Kassien claims that she and many other Class Members have experienced the passenger airbag indicator turning on and off while driving their vehicles. Allegedly, this occurs both when there is a passenger in the seat and when there is no passenger in the seat. 

The Subaru airbag malfunction class action lawsuit asserts that the airbag sensor defect poses a danger to drivers and passengers because if an airbag does not work properly in an accident, a passenger can suffer serious injury or death.

Allegedly, Subaru was or should have been aware of the defect, because many customers have submitted complaints about the defect. However, Subaru has reportedly not provided sufficient remedy for the problem, and has not recalled the vehicles.

Have you experienced problems with the passenger airbag sensor in your Subaru Forester? Tell us more.

Kassien is represented by Michael Weinkowitz, Nicola Serianni, and Daniel C. Levin of Levin Sedran & Berman. 

The Subaru Forester Airbag Sensor Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Janelle Kassien v. Subaru of America Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-20689-JHR-KMW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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