2008 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

RED "AIRBAG" DASH LIGHT COMES ON AND STAYS ON. THIS RENDERS AIRBAGS INOPERABLE AND CREATES AN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITION. AN ACCIDENT WITHOUT AIRBAGS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE OVERHEAD PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG INDICATOR ASSEMBLY FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR $333.24. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT POOR SOLDERING ON THE AIRBAG CIRCUIT BOARD CAUSES THE INDICATOR ASSEMBLE TO FAIL. BASED ON THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS, AND THE FACT THAT THIS COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL SITUATION. *TR

MY VEHICLE IS "GHOST WALKING" AS DEFINED IN THIS THREAD: HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/66-PROBLEMS-MAINTENANCE/16527-ALL-GHOSTWALKING-OUBACK-OWNERS-PRINT.HTML THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE SLIDES FROM SIDED TO SIDE AT A CERTAIN FREQUENCY ABOVE 35 MPH IN SNOW CONDITIONS. THIS PROBLEM GETS WORSE AS MORE WEIGHT IS ADDED TO THE VEHICLE. *TR

AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY ON MY 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. I?M NOT SURE UNDER WHAT SPECIFIC CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES THE LIGHT STAYS ON FOR DAYS. AND RECENTLY IT HAS BEEN ON CONTINUOUSLY. THE AIRBAG LED INDICATOR FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT DOES NOT WORK. I TOOK THE OUTBACK TO THE SUBARU DEALER, AND THEY SAID I NEEDED TO REPLACE OVERHEAD CONSOLE MODULE DUE TO SHORTING AND CHARGED ME $117 FOR THE INSPECTION, $137 FOR THE PART, $148 FOR SERVICE AND TAX. THE TOTAL WILL BE $402. I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ONLINE AND FOUND MANY PEOPLE HAD SOLVED THIS PROBLEM WITH SIMPLY SOLDERING THE CONNECTION FOR ALMOST NO COST. THE SUBARU DEALER SERVICE NEVER OFFERED TO TRY SOLDERING, ONLY WARNED ME THAT THE AIRBAG WOULDN'T WORK WHEN LIGHT WAS ON. THE SHEER NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS FILED AND SUBJECT DISCUSSIONS ONLINE SHOW THAT THIS PROBLEM IS PREDICTABLE AND COULD BE SOLVED CHEAPLY. SUBARU MUST MAKE BETTER SOLDERING, ESPECIALLY WHEN LIFESAVING AIR BAGS ARE AT STAKE. *JS

I'M UPDATING MY 2/3/15 COMPLAINT 10680982. I CONTACTED SUBARU DIRECTLY ON THE SAME DAY AND INCLUDED A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT I FILED WITH NHTSA AND MY BILL FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE OVERHEAD AIRBAG CONTROL MODULE. IN THE REPORT THE SUBARU TECH SAID THE UNIT WAS SHORTING OUT, SHOWING CODE "26 FOR PASSENGER?S AIRBAG INDICATOR FAILURE AND S8 AIRBAG LIGHT ON." I ALSO GAVE SUBARU MY TALLY OF MY FIRST CURSORY SEARCH OF THE NHTSA COMPLAINTS DATABASE ON THE WORD "AIRBAG" FOR ALL MODELS OF SUBARU FROM 2000 TO PRESENT. THE SEARCH RESULTED IN 145 COMPLAINTS. AFTER I LOOKED THROUGH THE FIRST 60 COMPLAINTS I FOUND 45 OF THEM THAT SEEMED TO BE ABOUT THIS EXACT PROBLEM - THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD AND/OR PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG OVERHEAD INDICATOR GOING ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. THESE COMPLAINTS WERE ACROSS EVERY MODEL OF SUBARU AND YEARS FROM 2003 TO 2013. MY 2008 OUTBACK HAD THE MOST COMPLAINTS - 13. OTHER SEARCHES FOR DIFFERENT KEY WORDS AND SPELLINGS OF AIRBAG RESULTED IN MANY HUNDREDS OF RESULTS, TOO MANY FOR YOUR DATABASE TO DISPLAY, PROBABLY MANY OF THEM WERE ABOUT THE RECENT AIRBAG RECALL ISSUE. SUBARU'S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY AND ON 2/12/15 THEY PROMISED TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE ENTIRE $352, THE TOTAL COST OF PARTS AND LABOR TO REPLACE THE MODULE. I URGE ALL SUBARU OWNERS TO TEST THEIR PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHTS AND THOSE WITH PROBLEMS TO LODGE A FORMAL NHTSA COMPLAINT AND REPORT IT TO SUBARU. SINCE THE AIRBAG DOESN'T WORK WHEN THE LIGHT ISN'T WORKING PROPERLY THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM! ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO THE NHTSA WILL HELP PRESSURE SUBARU TO FINALLY LET ALL POTENTIALLY AFFECTED OWNERS KNOW ABOUT IT. *TR

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT TURNS ON INTERMITTENTLY ON DASH AND OVERHEAD. NOT SURE AIRBAGS ARE WORKING. DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT CANNOT FIND PROBLEM. *TR

DASHBOARD HAS SUDDENLY BECOME VERY STICKY/TACKY, AND EXTREMELY SHINY. ATTEMPTS TO CLEAN OR REMOVE APPARENT RESIDUE HAVE HAD NO EFFECT ON STICKINESS, AND LINT FROM RAGS OR PAPER TOWELS TENDS TO STICK TO DASH. IN SUNLIGHT, MOONLIGHT OR STREETLIGHT, DASHBOARD SURFACE REFLECTS ONTO WINDSHIELD AND POSES A SAFETY HAZARD. DASHBOARD PLASTIC APPEARS TO BE CHEMICALLY BREAKING DOWN OR MELTING. A SIMILAR ISSUE AFFECTED SEVERAL MILLION TOYOTA VEHICLES FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURE DATE (2007-8), PARTICULARLY IN SUNNIER STATES WITH MORE UV EXPOSURE (FL, AZ, CA) AND TOYOTA ISSUED A RECALL. SUSPECT THE SAME/A SIMILAR SUBCONTRACTOR PROVIDED SIMILAR/IDENTICAL PLASTIC TO BOTH MANUFACTURERS. OUR CAR HAS BEEN KEPT MOSTLY OUTDOORS IN MD, CA AND HI. SUBARU HAS YET TO FOLLOW TOYOTA IN ISSUING A RECALL. SEVERE VISIBILITY HAZARD. *TR

AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY ON 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK, NOT SURE UNDER WHAT SPECIFIC CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES THE LIGHT STAYS ON FOR DAYS. DEALER SERVICE SAID I NEEDED TO REPLACE OVERHEAD CONSOLE MODULE DUE TO SHORTING AND CHARGED ME $350. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM I FOUND MANY PEOPLE HAD SOLVED THIS PROBLEM WITH SIMPLY SOLDERING THE CONNECTION FOR ALMOST NO COST. DEALER SERVICE NEVER OFFERED TO TRY SOLDERING, ONLY WARNED ME THAT THE AIRBAG WOULDN'T WORK WHEN LIGHT WAS ON. THE SHEER NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS FILED AND SUBJECT DISCUSSIONS ONLINE SHOW THAT THIS PROBLEM IS PREDICTABLE AND COULD BE SOLVED CHEAPLY. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SUBARU HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL THE MONEY OWNERS HAVE SPENT ON THIS AVOIDABLE AND SIMPLE PROBLEM. *TR

WAS DRIVING VEHICLE IN HEAVY SNOW, SUDDENLY LOST POWER, THE DASH LIGHT FLASHED, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER NEEDLES MOVED AS IF THE CAR WAS STARTING UP. COULD NOT RESTART ENGINE, WOULD NOT CRANK. ALL OTHER ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT WORKED. SAT IN HEAVY SNOW FOR TWO HOURS (NO TOW TRUCKS AVAILABLE UNTIL NEXT DAY). SUDDENLY AFTER ATTEMPTING TO RESTART AFTER MANY FAILED ATTEMPTS, IT DID. DROVE IT HOME FINE. STALLED NEXT DAY ON WAY TO REPAIR SHOP. HAD CAR TOWED AND SHOP FOUND ONE CODE, BUT NOTHING ELSE WRONG. DROVE HOME FINE, RAN CAN FOR 45 MINS, FINE. NEXT DAY DROVE FOR 35 MIN TO WORK, FINE BUT LEFT WORK AND IMMEDIATELY STALLED JUST LIKE FEW DAYS BEFORE. TOWED TO SUBARU DEALER AND TOOK A DAY TO FIGURE OUT WAS MAIN ENGINE COMPARTMENT WIRING HARNESS. REPLACED WITH MINIMAL CHARGE OF $50, EVEN THOUGHT THREE MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY. VEHICLE HAS BEEN FINE SINCE THEN. *TR

HEAD GASKETS FAILED AND, ONCE DISASSEMBLED, VALVES WERE FOUND TO BE LEAKING. *TR

MELTED DASHBOARD ON 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.5I. CAUSING GLARE IN WINDSHIELD REDUCING VISIBILITY. *TR